Dublin

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I scheduled my train and ferry to Dublin the morning of my 2nd day in London. I had a total of four usable days in London including my half-day trip to Stonehenge, which wasn’t enough time, especially given certain distractions. Thus I left without seeing the Tower of London, a Shakespearean play, or any of the musicals. Good thing I don’t have to be anywhere at any particular time after my trip to Scotland - London will be visited for the second time, before Paris.

I boarded the afternoon train to Chester at Euston Station. I missed the direct train to Holyhead, but the flexible tickets make it easy to switch things up. What isn’t easy for first time riders is figuring out where you need to transfer to get to your destination. I used the information desk, but the kurt answers from the attendant were only partially helpful and incomplete at best. I boarded the train with a vague notion of how to get to the ferry in Holyhead, but that’s what an adventure is all about. The train cars and seats were quite comfortable. I snagged a table and a plug, so I hunkered down for the 2 hour trip to Chester. Unfortunately, I shared the cab with a group of upper-crust sorority girls (which would have been great if I was 7 years younger and had slept the night before). These girls had a bottle of champaign and were popping pills. Uppers, by the sound of the car 20 minutes into the ride. No sleep for me. Once in Chester I met a single dad traveling with his daughters, and he was kind enough to help me find the connecting train platform. Good people, those single dads.

The next train had 8 or 10 stops and was substantially less comfortable and more crowded. The plus side to the slower ride was that I got to see the Welsh countryside. It was very beautiful for farm country. There were a lot of sheep.

Holyhead is a beautiful town. I wish I had more time to hang out in the town. The ocean was gorgeous. There looked to be some really cool ruins. I think Wales definitely has something to offer the casual traveler. I’ll have to come back through sometime.

I took the Irish Ferry to Dublin. There are two choices of ferries and this one was Rick Steves’ pick. The ride was quick and the ferry was well appointed, but the water was choppy and several people got sick. The ride takes a little less than 2 hours and is quite beautiful if you like the sea. Once docked I elected to walk into town. I would not recommend this to anyone. Most of the walk is through an industrial section of town, which is unattractive and a little depressing. Also, the walk is very long. It took me three hours to get from the dock to the hostel and I had to ask for directions. The air was warm-ish and the walk was pleasant enough. I certainly felt the time spent walking up the river was well worth the trudge with my pack, but I was ready to get off my feet and into bed as soon as I arrived at the Four Courts Hostel.

The Four Courts is a reference to the Irish legal system. The hostel is located across the river from the central courthouse. It is right next to a needle exchange, so they take security seriously - the door is never unlocked and they don’t let people in without a security pass (no sneaking visitors in). After walking up and seeing the clientele at the needle exchange, I am completely happy about this policy and it doesn’t detract from the stay at all. The hostel itself is built around a strong socialization common room. There is plenty of tables and space for people to hang out and mingle. The self-serve kitchen is well stocked with all of the common cooking implements you might need. The beds are clean and warm, although my room sits right next to a busy road. I don’t have a problem sleeping through the noise, but it might be a consideration from some travelers. The hostel is centrally located for all of the major tourist attractions - within walking distance of everything you might want to find. Aside from my walk into the city, I see no reason to use public transportation from this location.

My first day in Dublin was packed. I hit the major churches, the castle, other old buildings, and the Old Jameson Distillery. The distillery was pretty impressive. Tours run every 30 minutes and are really easy to book without a reservation. In the summer, you might need to plan ahead, but in general it’s a quick 30 minute wait and you are in. The tour itself is pretty cool too. They sit you down for some cheesy movies, but the tour guide is well informed and is very personable. The tour would be valuable for people interested in the process of distillation and/or good entertainment. They end the tour with a tasting, which was quite tasty. I have a new appreciation for Jameson, having seen the old workings of the operation; nevertheless, I am still a Johnny Walker Black guy for casual drinking.

I went back to the hostel for a quick nap before heading out on the town for the Hostel Pub Crawl. This is a formally organized pub crawl that is definitely worth the price of admission. It is 12 euros if you book it at your hostel, but you can just show up at the starting point (The Mercantile Pub right now) and pay the organizers directly. They start you off with a free half pint of Guinness or a shot. They switch bars every hour and at each bar they give you a shot. It’s important to point out that these are not American sized shots. In fact, it is difficult to breath in without drinking the whole shot by accident. No matter, it was a great time and we didn’t have to pay the cover charges or wait in line for any of the bars. The people who organized the crawl were really entertaining and easy to work with. I feel they did their level best to keep everyone in the loop, but by the transition from the 3rd to the 4th bar our group had dwindled from 100+ to less than 20. During weeknights the groups are smaller.

I made it back to the hostel in fine Irish form (stumbling heavily) around 3:00 AM. I stayed up chatting with some Danish kids about American politics - a cliche mistake for a drunk American, oops. I crashed hard around 4:00 AM after sending some drunk emails / texts. Sorry friends... again.

Saturday was spent recovering and dragging myself to the Guinness Storehouse. Unlike the Jameson tour, the Guinness Storehouse is a self guided tour. You start the tour on the first of several floors and climb up the “world’s largest pint glass,” a claim I found very disturbing because I was under the impression that it isn’t a pint glass if it is larger than a pint... The tour takes you through the broad strokes of the brewing process and discusses the history of the factory. The history is interesting, but I feel they could have had a less repetitive presentation and I would have still come away with the same knowledge. Specifically, I heard about the lease Arthur Guinness signed at least 12 times, the origin of the porter and the stout at least 4 times, the marketing crap more times than I cared to count, and a few other facts that were annoying by the 5th floor. Having said that, I really enjoyed the movie about the trade of the Coopers (barrel makers). Traditional barrel making looks like extremely hard work, which I have never fully appreciated until that movie.

I got to the top of the tour, a bar called Gravity, had my pint of Guinness and enjoyed the view. The view from this bar is worth the price of admission by itself. It is a 360 degree unobstructed view of Dublin. Until this moment I really felt that Dublin was a small place, but my opinion changed when I got the full view all at once. It sprawls a surprising distance and the red brick architecture is breathtaking. It displays stereotypical working class Ireland on a grand scale.

Sunday was a rest day until the evening hours, when I went on the Hostel Pub Crawl again. Let’s just say the line from Godfather Part 1 is 100% accurate. Sicilian women are more dangerous than shotguns; especially when you don’t speak Italian and they don’t speak English. Watch out! Sarcasm doesn’t translate well and the subject of marriage must always be avoided. I almost got clubbed over the head, packaged in a freight box, sent home to momma to be beaten into submission, and eventually married to a nice Sicilian girl.

Monday I woke up still in disbelief from the night’s twists and turns. After a slow start and a quick breakfast I worked up the energy to hit Trinity College. Trinity College is home to a old historic library and the Book of Kells. The Book of Kells is an old world copy of the gospels written with impressive coloring, intricate detail, and beautiful calligraphy on velum. I went with the audio tour and was mildly impressed with the overall content of the exhibit. The exhibit is in bad need of updating. 14 inch box TV screens are the “interactive-multimedia” exhibits. There is no way to examine HD digital imagines of the various books on display. The audio guide isn’t any more informative than the posted placards next to each of the displays (save the 5 euros and just read all of the information). Having said that, the Book of Kells itself is damn impressive. When you look at the detail and consider the technology of the age, it’s hard not to consider the hand cramps these monks must have experienced day-in-day-out. It is gorgeous, even in it’s deteriorated state. The Old Library, or the Long Room above the Book of Kells exhibit, is even more impressive. This room oozes history and classical elegance from the floor to the ceiling. All of my romantic notions of what a library ought to look like are encapsulated in this two story hall.

Overall the people here are far friendlier than in London and I really appreciate the Irish lifestyle. The cuisine reminds me of home, especially the shepherd’s pies. I probably booked too many days in Dublin without transportation to other parts of the country, but the pubs kept the entertainment light hearted for the quiet periods of my stay. I’d like to come back with a local and avoid all of the tourist trappings. There is definitely a side to this city that I didn’t get to see, but there’ll be time for more trips in the future.

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