Dublin, Pot O’ Gold at the end of a Rainbow

We bid farewell to Megan’s parents and the warm weather of the Costa Del Sol and said hello to brisk and breezy (both understatements) Dublin. We actually had a few nice days, but there is a reason that Ireland is such a green country. The extent of the greenness is hard to describe, but basically it is lush and green everywhere you look that is not a building, body of water, or the sky. There are many shades of green, but the deepest, richest green may only exist here.

We were very excited to be in Ireland and in hindsight it was a good decision, as we were wavering on whether or not it was worth the flights to visit for 11 days. Ireland has a very unique culture and the Gaelic language is still very prevalent. Everyone we met was very helpful and kind, and it was very refreshing to be back in an English speaking country.

Our hotel was on Dame Street, right in the middle of Temple Bar, the main nightlife district in Dublin. The room came with complimentary ear plugs to help deal with the late night revelry, which was only an issue on the weekends. This view from our window looks towards Trinity College, which is behind that clump of trees at the end of the street.

We discovered that Ireland often places their tourist information office in old historical buildings and here they have converted an old church.

We wandered around our neighborhood of Temple Bar. There was a pretty good crowd out and about enjoying the street performers, grabbing a drink or a meal at one of the many bars and restaurants. Pictured is a landmark bar in Temple Bar; the ‘Bar’ refers to a bar of land in this area, as much of the it is reclaimed land.

The next day we took a tour of Trinity College, which was founded in 1592 on order by Queen Elizabeth I. It is very small in comparison with many American universities. Our tour guide was great and gave us a lot of good information about the college and insight into what it is like to be a student there.

This sculpture was the same one we saw in the Vatican and apparently there is also one at UC Berkeley. Behind it is a really nice looking, old building of the university that is a small library specific to certain subjects. Trinity College has several libraries, including a copyright library, which means that they store a copy of every single book that is published in the country.

This is the outside of the Old Library. Originally there was no ground floor, you could pass through to the other side under the archways. The Book of Kells, along with The Book of Armagh, the Book of Durrow, and several other old illuminated manuscripts, is exhibited inside the library. The Book of Kells was created by Celtic monks on the island of Iona around the year 800 and it was stored in the Abbey of Kells where it gets its name. The book contains the Four Gospels of the new testament written in Latin. It was amazing to see how well preserved this old texts were and the art work is simply amazing. On the top floor, there is The Long Room, which is a 65meter long hall filled with 200,000 of the library’s oldest books, busts of former chancellors, and the Brian Boru's Harp that dates back to the 15^th century.

We crossed over this bridge to check out the North side of the Liffey River. The northern side is the newer part and has a large shopping district.

This crazy structure in the middle of a major thoroughfare O’Connell Street is the Spire of Dublin (or the Monument of Light) that seemingly sprouts out of nowhere. It was built in 1999 on the site where Nelson’s Pillar stood before it was bombed by the IRA. The steel structure is almost 400 feet tall and has a beacon of light at the tip.

Along the river is this memorial to the Great Famine where about 1 million people died and another million emigrated. The population of Ireland still has not recovered to previous levels.

Dublin is famous for its Georgian architecture, especially the Georgian Doors. Here are just several examples, but they are everywhere.

This is St. Patrick’s Cathedral, which was founded in 1191 and is the largest church in Ireland. Jonathan Swift was Dean of the Cathedral and is buried here.

This is Christ Church Cathedral, is a medieval church founded in 1028. There are some ruins of the original church in the courtyard and a nice looking bridge that connects it to a museum across the street.

We visited St. Audoen’s Church, mostly because it was free and there was a bathroom. It is the only surviving parish church of medieval Dublin. This stone has some sort of mystical significance, but mystically we forget what it is.

This is Vince looking very pleased to be at St. James Gate Brewery, the birthplace of Guinness. The Guinness Storehouse is the name of their museum that has 7 floors of interesting exhibits.

The interior atrium is shaped like a giant Guinness pint glass. In the floor of the Atrium is the original 9000-year lease agreement Arthur Guinness signed. He wanted this brewery because it had access to very clean water, which is necessary for a quality beer.

The tour is self-guided, but there was a lot of great information about the history of the company and the beer making process. Pictured is a giant pit of barley, and indoor waterfall, and an enormous kettle.

Two of our other favorite exhibits included an old video showing the barrel making process by coopers employed at the factory. It was a highly skilled and well paid job in those days. Another exhibit displayed many of the imaginative ad campaigns they had.

At the end of the tour we were treated to a pint of Guinness at their rooftop bar that seems to be the tallest building in Dublin. The Guinness that we get I America is brewed at this brewery, so the difference in the taste is just that it is so fresh here. We also drank in the wonderful views of the brewery and the city.

This is the atrium to the National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology part of a group that comprises the National Museum of Ireland. No pictures were allowed, but there was an excellent collection of archeological findings in Ireland. The most impressive collection they have is of prehistoric gold artifacts that were mainly found in hordes that were buried and left. There all sort of interesting pieces from small earrings and rings, to huge plated necklaces and arm bands. Other cool exhibits were bog bodies, bodies that were preserved by bogs, and artifacts of the Vikings who raided and conquered the island.

We made our way to the Dublin Castle complex. It’s a small area with a few government related buildings. We wandered into the Chester Beatty Library (atrium pictured below, again no pictures), which has one of the largest collection of old religious books. It was kind of like the continuation of the Book of Kells exhibit, but in addition to Christian literature, they also had Muslim and Far East religious texts. The books and scripts varied greatly in style and subject matter, and many included some impressive illustrations and miniature drawings.