Game of Thrones and Local Drivers in Action

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I've been wanting to visit Dubrovnik for quite some time, not least because it looks pretty impressive in Game of Thrones (King's Landing, for those of you that watch it). The day was another hot one and we only had an afternoon, so decided to leave the walls on this occasion (we'd already decided we will be returning to spend a few days staying in Dubrovnik, before hiring a car and driving to Sarajevo). The town is a real stunner, albeit mainly just for the tourists and as a home for some of the countries most important cultural buildings and works these days.

We spent some time in the museum, where amongst the amazing artifacts you can see where a mortar shell came through the wall. They have placed a sheet of glass over it, as a visual reminder of what happened to the city in 1991 and 1992. During the seige 68% of the 824 buildings in the old town were struck by shells and 111 direct hits to the walls. There was further damage sustained to the pavements and if you look closely you can see it as you walk through the streets.

Due to my back being a bit dodgy, Simon valiantly offered to go up the long flight of steps to get the car. All I had to do was sit and wait on a wall. Simple, or so you'd think. About five minutes after he'd had set off I heard a loud bang and then the squeal of tyres from a bus, saw a small car pulling out on to the road, followed by an ominous crunching sound as a bus coming the other way squashed the tiny hatchback (the driver was fine). Chaos ensued and Dubrovnik basically came to a standstill. I couldn't call Simon, as my phone had been refusing to charge, so I set off in the direction he should be coming from, to try and prevent him from getting stuck in the traffic. After a long walk up a steep hill I came to a crossroads. I thought it best to turn round and go back to my seat on the wall, incase I choose the wrong route or he'd taken an alternative road. Having waited a bit longer I then decided to walk the other way, up the line of cars now parked and abandoned by their drivers. I finally found our car and not long after saw a rather exhausted husband jogging towards me. He'd run up the same hill as me and we'd missed each other!! Having then been told that the road wouldn't free up for twenty minutes or so, we went off to find a well deserved ice cream shop.

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Photos

Dubrovnik Stari Grad Placa or Stradun
300m main street paved in limestone runs between Pile and Ploce gates. The slabs have been worn to a smooth Shine by the thousands of feet that have walked there.