First Port – Split, Croatia

We sailed all night from Venice to Split, Croatia. We woke to this view of Split off of our veranda. The tower on the right is part of Diocletian’s Palace. Diocletian was the Roman emperor from 284 to 305. He was born in Dalmatia (now Croatia). The palace here in Split was his retirement home. The palace is a UNESCO World Heritage site – one of several that we will visit during this cruise.

More recently Diocletian’s Palace served as one of the filming sites for Game of Thrones (GoT). For fans of GoT, the subterranean level of the palace is where Daenerys Targaryen trained her dragons. The citizens of Split will be forever grateful for the notoriety and tourism generated by GoT. I doubt that Split would have been include on Viking’s cruise agenda without the cachet of GoT. We thought it was especially appropriate that when we return to the states the final season of GoT will be available.

Split also afforded us our first experience with Viking’s port excursions. In each port Viking offers a free included excursions and multiple optional excursions (read “additional fee required”). In Split we opted for the included tour. Our tour was led by a local school teacher who tried to herd 32 tourists of varying levels of interest in Split’s 1700 year history without losing them to Daenerys’ dragons. The GoT connection was clearly on the minds of most participants. 

Old Town Split exists inside the walls of the palace. Many of the rooms of the palace are now occupied by residents of Split who lack the financial resources to live elsewhere. As you can see from the photos, living inside the palace walls presents an almost insurmountable challenge for those with limited mobility. However with assistance from Keith and others, Joanne managed to see most of the palace despite the many steps and uneven surfaces. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scenic Split