Return to King’s Landing
Dubrovnik is a place where the former visitors often wish to return and the Game of Thrones proved to be a trigger for Peter and Beth who came back after 50(!) years from their first visit.
The inclusion of Dubrovnik to Game of Thrones filming locations in 2011 has definitely moved the city up on the bucket list for many people as it has been already noted in one of the previous posts regarding the GOT tourism. However, seeing the Dubrovnik locations posing as King’s Landing has also made some former visitors nostalgic about this magical place and it is clear why.
It often happens that I have a chance to tour with travelers that have already visited Dubrovnik, but it is rarely the case that some of them return after half a century. Last time Peter and Beth were here was in 1960s. They were students (and apparently not good ones, according to their own recognition:-) who hitch-hiked around Europe during the summer break in their second year of college. They decided to include the former Yugoslavia to the list of countries on their Euro-trip and have made it all the way down to Dubrovnik. As a part of Socialist Yugoslavia, Dubrovnik was quite a different place then, but the charming medieval walled town and the warm hospitality of local people have left a soft spot for in Peter&Beth’s heart for Dubrovnik. And the Game of Thrones has reignited the old flame for the favorite place from their youth.
This time they didn’t have to hitch-hike all the way from England to get to Dubrovnik as their son Jack decided to reward them with a trip to Dubrovnik for their anniversary, after hearing their stories and knowing how much they longed to return here. They were obviously thrilled with the prospect of returning to Dubrovnik after all that time, however they didn’t know that Jack also booked them a private Game of Thrones tour since they were also great fans of the show. It was indeed a nice surprise as this has enabled them to once again enjoy the city of their youth as well as to relive the moments from their favorite TV-show. Judging from the pictures and expressions on their faces this was truly an unforgettable experience.
A perfect vacation in Dubrovnik is often followed by a firm decision to return again. Some travelers return earlier, some, like Peter and Beth, a bit later 🙂
