Dublin!

Finally! It really wasn’t supposed to be this long before I actually wrote the entry. And now that I sit down (well, kneel down, yes I do that) to write it, I’m not really sure how it’s going to go. I suppose the best place to start is at the beginning.

Jen and I were there for roughly three and a half days. We got in super late on Thursday night, as our plane wasn’t even supposed to leave until 9:45 PM, and then of course was delayed until around 10:20. (We discovered this while sitting directly in front of big banners displaying “RYANAIR: THE ON-TIME AIRLINE!” Not so much.) We managed to get into Dublin airport at around 11:45. This was my first trip on any of the budget airlines, in any country, and I was impressed. There was actually a fair amount of space—both in terms of legroom, as well as empty seats. Despite the odd policy of no assigned seats, we were easily able to sit together, and it was rather comfortable. I can’t say very much in praise of the Ryanair color scheme; the bright yellow and blue slapped on every possible surface was a little unnerving, but otherwise it was a good flight.

We took a taxi to our hotel, which was very nice. Big rooms, nice bathroom, and so on. However, the best part we did not discover until the next morning. I got out of the shower, and looked at myself in the mirror, and then realised what I had just done. The mirror, somehow, didn’t fog. Well, it did. The outside edges were all fogged, but there was a nice little square in the middle that was perfectly clear. I have never seen this before. And it was awesome. Hence the bathroom picture on the Picasa album.

Because we had gotten in so late, we didn’t get going into the city until early afternoon. We got some 3-day bus passes that also included admission for the hop-on hop-off guided bus tours, which was probably worth the price in itself. Since it was pretty late already (about 3, and things close insanely early in the British Isles…), we decided, rather than starting off any heavy duty tourism, we would follow a walking tour that I found in the guidebook I had. It was supposedly of medieval and viking dublin, although we were hard pressed to actually find much that old. It did take us past the cathedrals, as well as the oldest pub in Ireland—the Brazen Head, where we went later for a drink. It was a nice way to get a taste of the city, if not actually historical, so it worked as an introductory course in Dublin.

After the walk was finished, we went to an evensong service at St. Patrick’s Cathedral with an all male chorus and an occasionally faltering but relatively good countertenor. Then, as all good Christians do, after church we went to a pub. The Brazen Head as I mentioned before. We figured that now was as good a time as any to get some food, and went through the guide book trying to find some place that was close, cheap, good, and that actually existed. We failed. Ended up at a place called Abrakebabra, which basically drew us in because of the name. And it wasn’t bad—not great, but not terrible. Then, we just went back to the hotel after a walk along the Liffey, as there wasn’t much to do.

We got into town somewhat earlier the next day, although I’m still not used to how early things close. We took the hour and a half guided bus ride around the whole way, to get a sense of what we would want to do later. And of course, by the time we got back into the city it was once again kind of late. The bus had to take a detour because there was a large march in protest of the revoking of pensions for older workers, although surprisingly this was a peaceful march and stayed peaceful. Three years ago when I was there, there was a similar march (in remembrance of some revolt, I think), which turned into riots, and explosions, and so on. This was better. We followed along with the march for a while, simply because it was heading where we were. We wandered Grafton Street, which is the big shopping district (as well as a bar in Cambridge), and found a pretty good street band. I spent ages here trying to get a shot of the rapidly moving violinist blurred in front of crisp crowds. Eventually it kind of worked. They were called Slainte, apparently, and they weren’t bad except for the fact that all of their songs sounded basically the same.

We headed down to Trinity College, which was a nice place to be as the light was failing. It was too late for the Book of Kells, but both of us had already seen it a while back, so it wasn’t too much of a problem. This was a slightly awkward trip in general because of that; we had both been to Dublin before, but not too recently, and so we were on a fine line between wanting to do the tourist things again, and remembering them and being fine with it.

We went back to the hotel for a late afternoon nap, and then came back in for a good Italian dinner at a place (finally) from the guidebook. It was amazing how inaccurate this book was for having been published a year prior. Nevertheless, it did lead us to a fairly touristy pub afterwards that had very good “traditional” Irish music. There was a singer, a guitar, a banjo, and a piper. Most of this time was spent by me trying to figure out whether or not the framed portrait behind the banjo player was him or not. I think it was, although I have no evidence to prove this, sadly. And, I discovered that you can never escape Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” as they of course covered it.

The next day was perhaps our most touristic one. We got into the city in the morning, and first got a true Irish breakfast near Dublin Castle. Some people, who shall remain nameless (it wasn’t me), didn’t eat their black/white pudding, which I found surprisingly good. I still don’t actually know what white pudding is, although I have a sneaking suspicion it’s even grosser than black pudding. I liked it better. We then went to the Dublin Museum of Modern Art. Which was, well, terrible. Usually I can find a few pieces at least in a museum that I enjoy; this was not the case in Dublin. The building, at least, was nice; it was the Royal Hospital, which was designed by a famous 19th century architect who I can’t remember at the moment. We decided to go somewhere slightly less high-class, in hopes of better entertainment. The zoo it was! The Dublin Zoo was actually pretty nice. Some of the animals were nowhere to be seen, including my favorite red pandas, but regardless it was pretty fun. The big cats, for once, were not asleep, and were prowling around pretty close to the glass. There were also some entertaining parrots, which there are videos of on the Picasa album.

After the zoo, as the sun was setting, we went to Glasnevin Cemetery, which we had simply seen from teh bus windows when going into and out of town, adn we didn’t realise it was actually relatively famous. Daniel O’Connell, one of the most famous freedom fighters was buried there, as well as some others whose graves we could not successfully find. I managed to get some good pictures, at least.

We went back into the city and had dinner at a vegetarian restaurant called Juice. Which the guidebook described as being really snooty, and looking down on all clients, despite having really good food. The attitude seemed to be tempered when we got there, and the food was indeed very good. Afterwards, our last night in the city, we went to a more traditional traditional music pub, The Palace Bar. As soon as we walked in, it was clear that this was, well, more real. The musicians were all sitting in a circle, facing each other, and it was obvious that they were playing for themselves and not for the clientele. There were also about four other people in the Pub. The music was really good, and I was really glad we went there. The first song they played was not very Irish; it was a cover similar to “What If God Was One of Us,” which didn’t seem to bode well for the night, but it worked out (I don’t remember the actual song, unfortunately, but it was very much in the same awkward 90s vein.) The bartender was friendly, and made fun of the song with me, which was funny.

Finally, on Monday, we had to check out of our hotel. However, our plane wasn’t until 810, so we basically had the whole day in the city. We first followed my guidebook far south of the city to a nice (Jewish) bakery where we got soda bread and muffins to eat and take back. Afterwards we went to the oldest public library in Ireland, Marsh’s Library, which was right outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It was exactly as it would have been 300+ years ago when it opened—the same books, the same shelves, the same furniture, etc. The only new things (including the people, who seemed starved for company) were some display cases showing various treasures of the library. I saw about five different books I had just recently studied—Newton’s Principia, Hobbes’ Leviathan, things by Boyle and many other authors. There was also a lot of Jonathan Swift related literature. Swift was, as well as an author, the dean of St. Patrick’s, and he apparently wrote most of Gulliver’s Travels while sitting in this very library. We talked to for far too long by one of the staff members, who had a long philosophy of life, love, the pursuit of happiness, and so on.

Then, we decided to pursue a more liquid type of happiness: Guinness! This was, I must confess, my third time going to the Guinness Storehouse. But, it was still entertaining. Although the name suggests otherwise, the Guinness Storehouse does not store anything. Rather it’s sort of like the Disneyland of alcohol (although not as much as the Scotch Whiskey House in… Edinburgh?, which has a barrel ride). There are simply displays of the various ingredients, and interactive screens and so forth. Nevertheless, it is worth it for the end. You get a free pint of Guinness at the Gravity Bar, which is a very high up glass-walled pub, so you can see out over all of Dublin and out to the scenery beyond.

Finally, we had a little time to spare so spent it in St. Steven’s Green, which is really nice. We then took teh airport bus back to the airport, waited again for another delayed plane, and finally made it back Monday night.

I’m not sure what I think about Dublin. I like it, but I don’t know if I like its atmosphere. Perhaps if I spent more time there, I’m not sure, but it seems at once too touristy (there were millions of people speaking French, German, with American accents everywhere) and too closed off (opening hours, people at pubs, etc.) It’s also extraordinarily expensive. I never managed to do my own Big Mac index, but a pint there was typically 5.80 at the cheapest, and in London the same stuff is 2.90 or so. The exchange rate is not that high. I’d certainly like to go back to Ireland, but I think I’d stay out of Dublin from now on. I’ve been there twice now, and I think that’s enough.

Finally, two stats:

Low point of trip: Going to the amazing Chester Beatty Library (which I loved last time) three separate times on three days and finding it closed.

High point of trip: “I think I remember there being something on the ground.” “What?” “Over there, once we cross the street, there’s something on the ground, that’s cool!” “What are you talking about?” “A thing, on the ground, you know, a thing. I don’t remember what it was, but I know there was something.” “Okay…” Cross the street. Look down. Small bronze plaque about Ulysses. Win.