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Published: June 22nd 2009
Top of the morning to you,
I might be at the bottom of a Guiness, as I'm in Dublin right now. Why go to Dublin for the weekend you ask? Well, because I can. Chris, Phil and decided that we wanted to get out of Belgium for the weekend and we decided that Ireland would be a great place to go.
We bought our tickets on Ryanair, on which I had never flown before so I didn’t really know what to expect. We also made a reservation at a hotel that was located 1km south of the Liffey River that splits Dublin (that was a bold faced lie, but more on that later), as Chris and Phil aren’t part of the hostel crowd.
From Brussels, we caught the Ryanair bus to Charleroi, which was slightly dilapidated and foreshadowed the flight to a certain extent. We arrived at Charleroi, which is an hour south of Brussels but still called Brussels-South Airport for some reason. The terminal itself is quite modern, but still much like the one in Prince George. We checked in and went through security, which was thankfully simple. The guy in front of me was not as
lucky because they are very strict about the size of your carry-on and his duffle-bag was about three sizes too large. Inside the terminal, we waited, and waited, and waited for our flight which finally showed up over an hour late. There is no Ryanair ground staff so you have no idea what is going on but we finally got on the place, which definitely looks like its part of a budget fleet, but I managed to get some legroom so I didn’t complain. Well, I didn’t complain about the legroom but I did complain. I have been battling a cold for what seems like the better part of the last three weeks and I guess I coughed on my hand and got something in my eye because my eye became very irritated very quickly.
We landed in Dublin and took a cab to the hotel but every food place was closed except for the fast food ones so dinner consisted of McDonalds and Fanta. I can hear the drool hitting the keyboards right now! We then booked it back to the room and hooked up to the internet so we could use Chris’s swing-box to watch Game 7
of the Stanley Cup playoffs, which the Penguins won 2-1.
In Ireland, the game ended at 4am, so we didn’t get much sleep before having to go out wandering the next day to attempt to maximize our time in the city. Chris needed Starbucks first, which is the first one that any of us had seen since we left home, and then we went to St. Patrick’s Cathedral which had a Spar convenience store located next to it. This fact wasn’t significant but for the fact that, are you ready for this, they sold Tim Horton’s donuts and coffee!!! We were in heaven! After donuts, we walked them off by heading over to the Guinness Brewery. We wandered through the 7 storeys, which are in the outline of a Guinness glass, learning all about the history of the stout and how it is made. Once at the top, there is a viewing lounge with spectacular views over the city as well as the best pint of Guinness ever to help you enjoy the view. Despite the view and the pint, it was expensive. I then hit the gift shop on the way out. Big mistake. They had a lot
of cool stuff and I have a bit of a problem with impulse purchases. Anyways, I only bought one bag of goodies so it could have been first.
We then walked (a recurring theme) over to the old part of the city which was founded by the Vikings. We went into Christchurch Cathedral, which was the first proper church that I had been inside on my trip. The interior was extravagant and there was even a contemporary art display throughout the church. I am generally not a fan of contemporary art, as both Kif and anyone at ARoS knows, but I quite liked many of the pieces that were there. They were by a Polish artist named Ludmila Pawlowska and I recommend checking out some of her work online. I saw the tomb of the legendary Norman knight Strongbow before heading down to the crypt, which with its vaulting has stood for over one thousand years. Do you hear that construction industry? Standing for one thousand years and no computers or fancy modern technology! Believe it or not we actually ran into some Penguins fans in the basement that were very happy that there team had won the night
before.
We went to an Irish pub for lunch, and then moseyed along the Liffey promenade towards the new area of town. The city has had many construction projects, largely convention centres and residential buildings, that have been commissioned with EU money. We weren’t actually looking for modern architecture, but actually U2’s recording studios, which we managed to find. They were located in unassuming buildings and there was a lot of graffiti, but it was cool to see where the band recorded.
Trinity College was up next. The College was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth as Ireland’s first university. The campus feels much like a compound, but it is very pretty to wander around. We wanted to do a tour because it included entry into the Colonnades Building. The Building is significant for two reasons. The first is that it is home to 4 illuminated religious works, including the Book of Kells. The book is beautifully illuminated but I wasn’t allowed to take any photos so I suggest you look online as it is incredible. The next reason for the building’s significance was the Long Room. The Long Room is the original library on campus and it
is full of books that are stacked on very tall shelves in, you guessed it, a very long room. It was cool to wander through the room but good luck finding any books in their as they are organized by size so take a ruler and have fun. We got back from the Colonnades and proceeded on our walking tour. Our tour guide, who had recently just graduated from the College, told us about many of the buildings including the auditorium where graduation ceremonies are held. They are all in Latin and you are called based on your grade, not your name so public humiliation for some is complimentary.
After the College we walked down Grafton Street where we saw a man playing a guitar for money. You know how some people have signs saying “Hungry, please help”, or “I need bus fare to Kalamazoo”? Well, his said “Ninjas killed my family, need money for Kung Fu lessons”. I couldn’t stop laughing! We soon arrived at St. Stephen’s Green, which is a large park surrounded by much of the city’s Georgian architecture. We went back to the hotel before heading back downtown for dinner. We went to the Temple
Bar neighbourhood which is where many of the bars are located. We went to one called The Auld Dubliner where we each enjoyed a pint, some good local food at the requisite U2 music being sung in the floor below us. The place itself was very atmospheric with much of the original stone work still present around the doorways and wooden stairs, curved by time and feet, leading to different floors. We ended the night by going to the Clarence Hotel, which is owned by Bono, and having some Jameson whiskey in the Octagon Bar.
The next morning, Chris and Phil were heading back to Brussels but I still had an extra day so I went to the bus stop in order to catch a bus to Belfast. While I was waiting for my bus, I started talking to a girl who happened to be from Kamloops. Misty was living in Wales for a bit and then heading to France before coming back to Canada.
I hopped on my bus and headed north for the 2.5 hour ride to Dublin. The bus was quite comfortable and the view from the windows was great. Ireland is very beautiful in
a barren sort of ways as there aren’t many trees, but it is all very green. No wonder the call it the Emerald Isle.
I arrived in Belfast around 830am and it was much like Brussels in the sense that I’m pretty sure that the bus driver, the other three passengers and myself were the only ones awake in the city at that time! I walked around for a bit, past the Crown Liquor Saloon, the Opera House and the City Hall (which was far grander than anything else in the city). I then wandered over to the waterfront and, like in Dublin, saw a lot of new construction. I walked past the Albert Memorial Clock tower before heading back to the city centre then to the west side of the city.
There are two streets in west Belfast called Falls Road and Shankill Road. They run parallel to each other, no more than 500 metres apart and separated by walls and barbed wire, but one is Catholic and the other is Protestant. Much blood has been spilled over the two roads throughout the years. My first stop was Falls Road. Falls Road is the Catholic heart of
Belfast. I didn’t feel particularly comfortable wandering along the street, but I was more at ease when I saw the murals painted on the peace wall.
I proceeded to do a large detour in order to get to Shankill Road. I walked along it for a bit and took a couple of photos when an older gentleman said “hello” to me. I responded and then he proceeded to tell me that the area around the Shankill Road used to be a lot nicer. He then proceeded to invite me back to his place so he could tell me more about it. His name was Louie West and he was a well-respected man in both religious communities. On the way back to his house, Louie told me about his time serving with the British army on peacekeeping missions in Cyprus and it became evident that he had always been a man of peace. At his house, I sat down and he gave me some literature on the area and the peace process. He then proceeded to tell me stories about his family, the people of the neighbourhood, bars getting machined gunned and the amount of friends and family that almost
everyone on both sides of the conflict have lost. He gives lectures and presentations on the peace process and what can be done to make it more efficient and effective. He even ran for a seat in parliament with the Ulster Unionist party, but unfortunately, he was defeated. It would have been fantastic if a man with such good ideas as Louie could have been such a position of authority. All he hopes for is peace. Life is too precious to waste on bickering over things so petty as a different faith. It was a complete coincidence that I met Louie. His personal experiences and ideas on the violence and tensions in Northern Ireland were thoroughly interesting to listen to. I learned a tremendous amount from him and I feel privileged to have met a man such a Louie. If anyone is going to Belfast, I have Louie’s contact information and you can experience his wealth of knowledge for yourself.
I caught a bus back to Dublin where I went to both the National Gallery and the National Museum. The National Gallery reminds me a lot of the National Gallery in Ottawa. In Canada, we don’t really have that
many significant artists, but we consider them to be Canadian and thus significant. Well, it’s the same thing in Ireland. The National Museum was quite interesting, especially after the Gallery. There was a very cool exhibit on bog people and how preserved their bodies can be when they are found at the bottom of peat bogs. One man on particular had been cut in half, but his skin looked liked the leather of a purse and his eyes still shone an iridescent blue. I couldn’t appreciate the museum as much as I wanted as there were a bunch of seppos running around, but I did what I could.
I checked into my hostel and then proceeded to wander around. I stayed at Barnacles Hostel which was located in Temple Bar. I had some quiet roommates though, but it suited me well as I was still nursing my cold. I had dinner at The Auld Dubliner again, before heading out to the Liffey boardwalk to find a place to sit and read. I found a nice place and started to read, when a less than salubrious fellow sat down 2 metres away from me. He was closely followed by another
‘odd’ looking fellow. The following is a recreation of their conversation.
Dirty Man A: “Where’s my money?”
Dirty Man B: “I’m not giving you the money until you show me the stuff.”
It was about this time that I decided that I had read enough of my book and I should continue my walk. I walked over the O’Connell Bridge and to the north side of the Liffey where I saw the Monument of Light. Most people call it “the spike”. Why you ask? Well, it looks like a giant spike! I wandered around there for a while before heading back to the hostel to attempt to get sleep as I had to be up very early the next day to fly back to Brussels.
Bye for now,
Peter
Things I learned in Ireland and Northern Ireland:
-Leprechauns are actually 7 feet tall and wear paper-maché hats.
-Ryanair is virtually the equivalent of the old electric busses that used to traverse Vancouver. It will get you from A to B, but you won’t enjoy it much!
-Gift shops have joined dürum and ice cream as another form of kryptonite for Peter.
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Teija
non-member comment
Damn seppos.... Sounds like a great trip though!