Little Poland in Dublin (day one)

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So, let's start. I hope to gradually describe my previous trips and travels and also to be rather systematic with the trips that are yet to come. I already have one "analogue" diary - written by hand, with photos developed in the old-fashioned photo lab, something I can carry with me when I travel. But... maybe it'd be nice to actually share my experiences with someone? We will see how it goes.

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02/04/2013 - Warsaw -> Dublin

There was a heavy snowfall on Sunday before I left from Warsaw to Dublin (no White Easter jokes please) and I was pretty worried that there may be some problems with the flights. Fortunately there were none and even with the whole de-icing procedure we still got to Dublin early and had to hear the stupid Ryanair fanfare... Almost wished we got a bit delayed! I've met with N. at the airport, we got the free city map from the Tourist Information - unfortunately, the map wasn't very good - it showed all the main city attractions, but unfortunately it was "not to exact scale", which was a problem with judging the distances - especially with the further from the centre and less touristy areas. Still, it was free, so there's no point complaining. From the airport we decided to take the standard city bus (no 16) for €2.80, the journey took about 50 minutes. There are some dedicated Airport Transfer buses, which are probably faster, but more expensive. Time wasn't an issue though.

We got to our hostel at Camden Place just after 14:00, so we could just check-in and go exploring. On the first day we mainly walked around the city without any greater scheme. The main goal was to feel it, to see, what's interesting, and what's not. I don't really like exploring the city with a set route - that's why it's always a a problem for me to enjoy myself on any organized trips. What I want to do is walk - a bit randomly, maybe having in mind the final destination, but if the route goes right, and I see something very interesting on the left, I will - obviously - turn left. In that way we found quite a few interesting street art pieces in the side streets around the centre and the Temple Bar part - in general I was very pleased with what the streets of Dublin could offer me. Some of the pieces were "official", some were definitely not, all added something to the way city looks.

We decided to see the St. Marys Chapel of Ease, also know as the Black Church, which is further north from the city centre. I'm not sure if the story behind the church is true - I don't mean the one about summoning the devil, but the one with the colour - I don't know if the church really turns black(er) when it rains - it looked pretty standard when we were here, but on the other hand the weather was extraordinary, not a smallest cloud in sight, not to mention rain. So maybe next time if we're "lucky" and get the so-called standard Irish weather the church will show us its true face. (Oh, there are three nice elephants on the walls nearby - so all in all it was worth having the walk from the centre). On our way there we also to the Dublin's earliest existing Gregorian residential street (Henrietta Street), walked past the King's Inn, various parks, main streets - O'Connell Street being very busy with preparation for the Tom Cruise's visit... or something.

I knew before that Ireland (and particularly Dublin) was one of the main destination for the latest wave of Polish emigration a few years ago but I still wasn't prepared to see and hear so many Polish people there. The tourists were one thing, people definitely living there permanently were the other. I was surprised to find an enormous Polish shop with the standard Polish food - and I don't mean just the most standard one, like frozen pierogi. No, it was a proper market with all food imported from Poland. It was strange... but convenient, as my SO, who is Scottish, has a special interest in the Polish food, so he insisted that we buy the "true Polish" dinner with pierogi and sauerkraut. Talk about leaving your country behind...

At the end of the day we had the wine&cheese night at the hostel - a nice way to actually "force" people staying there to spend some time together. We decided to go to the city after that to have a drink and listen to some live music and chose the supposedly most expensive bar in the most expensive touristy area, ech. Or maybe it's just that in Dublin you can't drink anything but the beer if you don't want to spend an atrocious amount of cash. The walk back was nice and in general the first day in Dublin turned out to be very pleasant.

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Photos

Dublin #1
Too bright...

Dublin #2
The Black Church. (House nearby is more interesting)

Dublin #3
Examples of the Dublin's street-art scattered around the city.

Dublin #4
What more to say...

Dublin #5
A peak through the hole - bike's cemetery.