Thieves, Vassals and Vikings

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23rd April 2005
Dublin, Ireland.

Impetuosity won. I gathered my things, told the bank to stuff it (okay, I didn't, but if it's not sorted by Monday, when I return.....), and boarded a bus to Dublin. The countryside was lovely, just as I'd expected Irish countrysides to be. After a while little country lanes even started to appear, just like in UK shows like 'Heartbeat', where the road is edged in rock or thick hedge walls and is barely wide enough to accommodate one vehicle - and if another should appear, then it's a matter of one reversing until the other can get reach the end... Adorably impractical and entirely what I was hoping for.

The closer we got to Dublin, the more the signposts, etc, began to appear in gaelic as well as english, which I thought was great and very proper. Of course, there'd been gaelic translations up north on the trip to Portrush, but little or no sign of it in Belfast itself.

My first night in Dublin came with highs and lows. I made 'travel' friends (again, that's the sort you can talk to but don't end up with forever) with a nice Italian chick in my dorm, walked and gawked and enjoyed the sights, and woke up to discover all my money had been stolen. Yep. Bummer.

I'd gone to such lengths, too - sleeping in the bottom bunk, my carry-bag underneath the bed and up against the wall, hemmed in by the overnight bag, and with the purse's strap stuck through the gap between the bed and wall so that it could be looped around my wrist. I thought it would be infallible. Apparently not.

The reaction from the reception desk was gratifying, though. I rushed back from trying to buy breakfast and after searching everything with a bleak heart, I went up to inform them of my loss with the black disposition of somebody who knows nothing can be done. Yet, contrary to expectations, they (receptionist chickie and bouncer) got all fired up and, talling me to wait there, went downstairs to wake everybody up and search bags. Yeah, I know! Not a do-able thing in Australia. But they had no luck, and so there goes sixty euro, which is about $100 AU. So it could have been worse, but every damned penny - or euro - counts when there's nothing coming in.

That was another surprise. I knew, of course, that the Euro is king here, not the pound, yet I would have thought that they would accept pounds, just doing crude conversions of the currencies. No such luck. Have packed away my pounds for London - no, they didn't find them. Strangely enough, they didn't pinch my camera or cards, either, but there is not a single possibility in my mind that they did not steal that money. I sat up late last night seperating the euros from pounds and knew exactly what I had and where it all was.

But on to happier things - I wandered for ages today and acquanted myself with Dublin. She's exactly what I was expecting from Belfast, though a lot more European than I would ever have imagined for Ireland. I ended up stumbling across and then exploring the grounds of the Dublin Castle, a fairly small castle in relation to it's counterparts in Europe, but quite lovely and impressive nonetheless. I would have loved to climb the tower but there doesn't appear to be a way in for tourists, at least not on weekends - perhaps I'll go back early Monday and try my luck. There's also a wall-enclosed garden attached to the castle, basically just a large area of well-cultivated grass encircled in a perfect "O" by the path and with a very Gaelic design created across it with small garden pavers or something. You can see it from the path, but it's better viewed by climbing one of the bridge-like paths along the wall of the garden, and looking down to see the pattern properly, as seen in the photo. I quite liked it. There's also some flowers and shrubs and such around the edges in little paths going off, but it's not a very extensive or high-built garden, and the main focus is the patterned lawn.

I wandered a bit more and came across the Dublinia building, where there's this self-guided tour through the middle ages in early Dulbin and then a floor dedicated to the Vikings, as well. So I thought, bugger it, somebody's just going to steal my newly ATM'd money, anyway, might as well spend it first, so I payed the entrance fee and ended up enjoying the experience even more than I'd thought. The tour is very interactive, made to interest kids as well, though frankly I don't think it would for long, but it managed to charm me. And, of course, there's your explanation for this entry's title, "Thiefs, Vassals and Vikings". (For those not in the know, a vassal is, crudely put, basically the term for a peasant or the tenant of a Lord during the middle ages).

Not much more to say as yet, will let you know when I arrive in Belfast....or maybe not. Might have to wait til I hit Edinburgh. Nevertheless, you can count on another update.....eventually.

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