The seventh and penultimate season of the TV adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s fantasy novel series Game of Thrones premiered in the US last night (July 16).
As a die-hard fan of the epic series myself, I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to visit a couple of the show’s famed filming sites while on an overseas university exchange in Sweden late last year.
When I sat down to plan which countries to visit while I was there, I had a serious case of wanderlust for Northern Ireland — mostly because so many iconic scenes in the TV series were shot there.
Despite surviving on a student-friendly budget, I forked out the student price of $47 (S$65) for the Belfast Iron Islands & Stormlands Adventure package from the local Game of Thrones Tours company.
A cult hit suffused with a effortless blend of natural and man-made landscapes, the show chronicles a battle to the death among rival houses for the ultimate prize: the Iron Throne.
Let’s backtrack a few seasons and let me take you on a $47 tour of places I visited when summer was everlasting in Westeros and Jon Snow still knew nothing.
Does Carnlough Harbour look a tad familiar? That’s because it’s also the steps of Braavos where Arya Stark climbed out of the water.
“Valar Morghulis,” our tour guide — who incidentally starred as a wildling extra in the TV series — greeted us. The phrase translates to “all men must die,” which is a customary greeting in the show.
One of our first few stops was the Cushendun caves, a rocky beach where the red priestess Melisandre gave birth to a shadow assassin in Season 2.
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