This past weekend Noel, Zach, Ben and I went to Dublin, Ireland. This was the second time I've flown to a destination, Croatia being the first, and the first time I've flown out of the nearest airport-- Dusseldorf Weeze. The airport is right over the German border and at around five in the morning on Friday we had a taxi pick us up at the Castle and take us the twenty-ish minutes to the airport.
This, in itself, started off the trip amazingly. Having a car pick you up from where you live and take you to an airport where you simply have to get on a plane is multitudes easier than waiting for the bus, taking the bus to the train station, waiting for the train, taking the regional train to the big train station, then waiting (sometimes hours) for another train, and taking that train to your final destination (and this last stretch is sometimes interrupted with waiting for transfers). Needless to say, the taxi/plane combo was a wonderful start to a wonderful weekend.
Since we arrived in Dublin around eight in the morning, we stored our bags at our hostel, ate a little breakfast, and started our tour. We began at Trinity College with a short, guided tour of the campus and then entry into their library which houses the Book of Kells. This book is a very, very old book which includes the four gospels of the New Testament and was created by monks in the 9th century. I had hyped it up in my mind to be this huge colorful book with pages barely staying together and possessing an aura of historic mystery. It was cool and all, but I was kind of underwhelmed. Sort of just and old book with fancy font. It was neat to hear about the process of making the book, though. Apparently the monks were so particular about the inks they used that only a certain red ink, found in a beetle off the coast of Arabia that had to be pregnant to extract the proper color, would do. It was because of their selectiveness that the vibrancy of the color in the book has lasted so long.
Then, we walked to the Guinness factory, stopping for lunch and some wheatgrass. Oh yeah, BTDUBBS there's a ROBEKS in Dublin. Who knew? It came as a surprise to me. My travel mates hadn't ever tried wheatgrass and we were all feeling a little tired (due to the 4am wake up) so we stopped in for a pick-me-up and burped grass for the rest of the day.
After my first Irish Irish pub experience, we arrived at the Guinness factory. I learned all about the process of making Guinness and then conducted my own taste test (a pint is included in the tour price). It's thick. I think I have to be in a special mood to drink Guinness. Anyway, I got my Guinness experience.
That night we stopped by Temple Bar (a district with pubs, street performers, etc.) but were too tired to really "go out." We were satisfied with watching a guy who had reversed the steering on a bicycle charge 5 EUR per attempt to ride the bike a few meters. No one had any luck.
Saturday began with some well needed sleeping in. Once we were up and about we got some doner kababs (cheap and yummy!) and went to the writers museum. If Dublin can claim anything, it's good writers.
We proceeded on a long walk to the Kilmainham Gaol, which is a long abandoned prison that apparently offers wonderful tours. We arrived at four-thirty in the afternoon and learned that it closed at four. So, we crossed the street and visited the Modern Art Museum. The current installment is titled "Exquisite Corpses" which was a game originated by Surrealists in France where something (art, poetry) is constructed from several contributors without the knowledge of what the others contribute. It was a lovely exhibit.
This is getting long, sorry.
Saturday night I had tentatively planned to see Ibsen's Hedda Gabler but we walked passed a movie theater and decided the 9 EUR ticket price to see Burn After Reading was a better choice than the 34 EUR ticket price for Ms. Gabler. It's a hilarious film. You should see it.
After having some nice Guinness beef stew, we slept, got up early to be at the airport by seven, took a cab from the airport back the Castle, and were home in time for lunch. Free food makes any trip.
OH! I almost forgot. It didn't rain once (besides BARELY a sprinkle on Friday night) during our trip in Dublin. Take that weather forecast.
