My Whimsical Weekend in Ireland

Even the passport stamp for
entering Ireland was green!

There is so much to tell about Dublin, that I'm not even sure where to begin! I guess I'll start by proclaiming my love for Irish pubs, Irish food, and Irish accents. Irish pubs in Dublin are exactly like I thought they would be. There is live music in all the pubs, and everyone is signing, dancing, and having a good time. On Friday night, Kaitlyn and I went to a district in Dublin known as Temple Bar. Temple Bar contains street after street of Irish bars, pubs, and restaurants. Walking down the street, you immediately get the feeling that each pub is trying to compete with every other pub for your attention. Almost every pub has live music all night long. The music ranges from the traditional Irish folk music to the music I grew up listening to on the radio. This made for such a fun atmosphere because if you ever got tired of one type of music, you could just walk to the next pub and experience something completely different. On Friday, Kaitlyn and I had an agreement. I would try Irish Whiskey, and she would try Guinness. I think both of us regretted this agreement, because I most definitely did not like the Whiskey and she most definitely did not like the Guinness. Surprisingly, I fell in love with Guinness in Ireland (Yes, John Leeman, you read that right!). It tastes so different from the crappy Guinness they sell back in the states. I also fell in love with Irish food. We ate a lot of seafood, fish and chips, and traditional pub food. I ended up trying raw oysters and seafood chowder for the first time. The chowder was a huge success, but the raw oysters made me feel like I was purposely swallowing a mouthful of sea water.

On Saturday, our agenda was literally "Let's wake up whenever, walk to wherever, and just try to get a feel for the Irish culture." Unlike many of our other trips, we had a really laid back attitude towards sightseeing. Dublin is not a huge city, nor does it have many touristy attractions, so we were able to just meander around the city all day. A lot of the sidewalks and small side streets are still made out of cobblestone, and the gardens and parks are green and full of life. All the green got me really excited for spring in Hamburg! One slightly negative observation we did make of Dublin though is that a lot of the city looks the same. Most of the buildings, both historic and non-, are gray. Thus, after a few hours of wandering around the city, it all started to look the same.

Even though we were mindlessly wandering around Dublin, we did manage to make a few touristy stops. First up was Trinity College, which was founded in 1592. The campus was completely open to the public, so Kaitlyn and I made our way around campus looking at all the old buildings. We then walked through the Viking/Medieval District of Dublin, which houses the Dublin Castle and the Christ Church Cathedral. Next on our miniature tour was St. Patrick's Cathedral, which is the site were St. Patrick baptized converts for the first time in Ireland. Finally, we walked through the downtown shopping district en route to St. Stephen's Green, or Dublin's largest park. Kaitlyn and I were both reminded of Boston Commons when we reached St. Stephen's Green. There were two large lakes, a lot of trees and gardens, and tons of people laying out in the sun talking with friends and family. On the way to the park, we passed this really awesome electric band that was playing on the corner of a street. The sign on their guitar case read: "Please Help. Our girlfriends need new clothes. Thank you!" It definitely gave me a good chuckle!

Part of the Trinity College campus

Half of Dublin Castle. There was also a more modern, brick
part to the castle. Behind the castle was this circular green
area that Kaitlyn and I enjoyed taking pictures in.

Side view of St. Patrick's Cathedral

A really good band that we passed on the street. They had a
very modern feel to them which made us question whether or
not they were Irish. I looked up their band when I got home,
and it turns out they were Irish. They consider their style of
music to be "'Mongrel Music' in that it cannot be pigeon
holed to one genre." 

One of the lakes in St. Stephen's Green

Saturday night ended up being one of the record books. As Kaitlyn and I were leaving our hostel, we heard voices behind us saying "Today is your lucky day, ladies! Come out for drinks with us!" It turned out to be a 10 -15 person bachelor party. It was blatantly obvious that the groom-to-be had been intoxicated since 9am and that his friends were going to ensure he stayed that way until they left Dublin. The poor dude was wearing this hilariously tiny woman's tank top, and his friends had super embarrassing pictures of him from the night before. We had a few drinks with them, shared a lot of laughs, and then went on our merry way. Next up? The Monaghan United football (aka soccer) team. At the time, this group of guys tried to convince Kaitlyn and I that they were players for an Irish soccer team. Kaitlyn was quick to believe them, but I was definitely more skeptical. Hmm, a group of guys trying to convince two American girls in a bar that they were famous Irish athletes - doesn't sound falsified at all! Turns out, they weren't lying haha. On Monday, Kaitlyn and I verified that they were in fact members of Monaghan United. So, we can honestly say that we partied, danced, and drank with Irish football players in Dublin - how cool! [This next part is not for the faint of heart - so if you're a queazy person you might want to skip ahead] One might think that the hilarious tale of Saturday night would end with the Irish football players, but oh no, it just keeps going. When we got back to our hostel, everything seemed normal. Around 3am, Kaitlyn and I were both awoken by this godforsaken noise. It turns out that the French girl staying in our room was incapable of handling her liquor. So much so that at 3am she sat up in bed and started vomiting all over herself and her sheets. She didn't even try to get out of bed and go to the bathroom. It was seriously the grossest thing I've ever witnessed. Neither Kaitlyn nor I knew what to do, so I just got up, gave her the trash basket, and got her some toilet paper. Kaitlyn then went to open the window, and I made the trip downstairs to get her some new sheets. When I got to the front desk and explained the situation, the hostel worker goes "Are you kidding me? What the hell. Why do people always vomit in the weirdest places. Like the sink. Why do people always vomit in the sink? Is she going to clean it up?" His reaction was of pure disgust - not over the fact that she was vomiting, but rather over the fact that she was vomiting in her bed. So, the cute Irishman and I shared a quick chuckle over my French roommate before I headed back up into the vomit filled room. I figured the horror of that night would be over once I went back to bed, but it continued on into Sunday morning. I went into the bathroom at 5:45am to shower, and I found the girl's vomit-filled sheets lying in the bathtub. I was completely grossed out, but I needed to shower before our bus tour. So I tried to carefully move the sheets without touching anything that looked wet or sticky. And, just my luck, all the chicken bits and vomit that the girl didn't clean off the sheets fell smack dab into the tub. GREAT.

The "scantily clad" groom-to-be, two of his friends, and us.

On Sunday, Kaitlyn and I went on this marathon 13 hour bus tour to the Cliffs of Moher. We were on the bus by 6:45am, and we did not return to Dublin until 7:45pm. The tour was absolutely fantastic. Our tour guide told us a lot about the history of Ireland, sang a few dirty little Irish ditties, and made offhanded jokes about everything (all of which were done in his amazing Irish accent!). On the way to the cliffs, we stopped at King John's Castle and an Irish beach. The castle was less then impressive, but the Irish countryside butting up against the Atlantic Ocean was breathtaking. When we arrived at the Cliffs of Moher, I immediately found myself at a loss for words. I have never in my life seen anything so impressive. The cliffs just rose straight out of the ocean and continued upwards for what seemed like forever. Rather then trying to do them justice, I'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves. After the cliffs, we visited Burren National Park which is a large area of limestone in west Ireland. It was so dramatically different from the green, hilly countryside that it once again managed to leave me in a state of awe.

King John's Castle

An Irish beach that we quickly visited on our way to the
Cliffs of Moher.

First look at the Cliffs of Moher

Another view of the Cliffs of Moher

A picture of me with the Cliffs of Moher in the background.

Burren National Park - one of the largest areas of
limestone in Europe

Looking out over the edge of the Burren into the Atlantic
Ocean (photo courtesy of Kaitlyn)

An old fishing village we passed on our way home.

I had an amazing time in Ireland. Kaitlyn and I both decided that it was our favorite place we had visited. A combination of two memorable nights in Irish pubs as well as an amazing day excursion to the Cliffs of Moher left us wanting for more! Hopefully someday I'll make my way back to the green fields of Ireland. Tschüss