Homeland War

Today we visited Fortress Imperial, an uphill hike from the city center of Dubrovnik. This fortress was one of the many buildings that witnessed the Homeland War during Croatia's independence from Yugoslavia, 20 years ago. From here we got the best possible view of Dubrovnik's walled city, where King's Landing was filmed in the popular tv series Game of Thrones.

Before the hike up, locals warned us to stay on the path. They are aware that land mines are still present in the forest. On the way to the trail, we witnessed many buildings with holes on the walls and doors. This made us realize how real and recent this war was.

In the fortress there was a museum that explained the war in detail, accompanied by pictures; pictures of bombs and fires, pictures of soldiers and civilians, pictures of destruction and desperation. The most interesting part of the day was walking inside the old city walls again, this time being able to compare the pictures we saw with the renovated buildings standing in front of us. If you keep your eyes open you notice the craters left behind by rockets used in 1992 on old stone walls throughout the city. It's my first time visiting a city that has gone through a recent war; I was left open mouthed.