Tom`s travels: Dublin (26-27/11/2022)

For the end of November, we decided to do a weekend trip in Dublin after securing cheap flights from Berlin. Our alarm clock rang before 4am as we had our flight departing at 6am. Once we landed at Dublin Airport we quickly figured out which bus to take and headed on to the city center. We got a Leap Visitor Card which with 8 euros per person per day allowed us unlimited travel within city limits. We took bus 16 and got off at O'Connell Street, the large avenue cutting through the city center from north to south, and came upon the Spire a large, stainless steel, pin-like monument 120 meters high located on the site of the former Nelson's Pillar. It was completed in 2003, and as I had been as a kid the last time in Dublin in 2000, I had not seen it before. It contracted quite a bit with the surroundings thanks to its modern look but it was nonetheless impressive. Moving on we passed by the monument to nationalist leader Daniel O'Connell, who also gave the name to the street, and then reached the Liffey River which cuts through Dublin, from west to east. We walked along its northern bank and reached then the Ha'penny Bridge a pedestrian-only cast iron white bridge built in 1816. Before the bridge was built there were ferries across the river, operated by a certain William Walsh. The ferries were in a bad condition and Walsh was informed that he had to either fix them or build a bridge. He chose the latter option and was granted the right to extract a ha'penny toll from anyone crossing it for 100 years, thus how the bridge took its name. Crossing over the bridge we then reached the famous Temple Bar district, a tourist destination and Dublin's cultural quarter as well as a hotspot of the city's nightlife. As we walked through the pretty streets, well-preserved and decorated, we then passed by the well-known Temple Bar pub. This public house was said to be built in the 1840s and features a typical brick building with a bright red ground floor. It was richly covered in Christmas decorations and lights which made it even nicer to look at. We walked further passing some more nice historical buildings and pubs including the Norseman, until we reached the City Hall, built between 1769 and 1779, and originally known as Royal Exchange and used by the merchants of the city, today it is the formal seat of Dublin City Council and a nice typical neoclassical building. Behind it was the castle, a former Motte-and-bailey castle with much of the current buildings dating to the 18th century. Moving on we then reached Christ Church Cathedral, despite being the oldest of the two cathedrals in the city, it was once catholic but now serves as the cathedral for the Anglican Church of Ireland. Founded in the early 11th century under Viking rule, it was then rebuilt during the Norman period in the 12th century. However, its current form is that from the late 19th-century rebuilding which altered the aspect of the church. Entry cost 10 euros, which was quite hefty, and as we entered we noticed the clear neo romanesque aspect. The church was really nice and well-kept but unfortunately not old enough looking in my opinion. In fact, nearly nothing is left of the original medieval building and even the pavement which was once known for its verdant colors and high quality is now mostly a modern reproduction. What was nice about it were the figures of the so-called Foxy Friars, anthropomorphized foxes wearing the garb of a medieval pilgrim and carrying a pilgrim's staff. Also along the nave was the effigy of Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, also known by his nickname Strongbow. In 1562 the nave roof vaulting collapsed and Strongbow's tomb was smashed, replaced in contemporary times with a modern reproduction. The only surviving part of the medieval church is the crypt which we then visited. Considered the largest crypt in Ireland and Britain as well, it featured some interesting things such as a 14th-century copy of the Magna Charta and the mummies of a cat and rat, the one presumably chasing the other trapped then in 1850 in an organ pipe and ending up mummified. Both are mentioned by James Joyce in his novel Finnegans Wake. After visiting the cathedral we continued on and reached the nearby church of St. Audoen, built in the 12th century in a Romanesque style with its nice standing tower and considered as the only remaining medieval parish church in the capital. From that point, a walk southwards brought us to the next monument, St Patrick's Cathedral. This pertains to the catholic church and as the previous one, also this required an entry ticket of 9 euros. Built between 1197 and 1260 in honor of Ireland’s patron saint, Saint Patrick, it is the largest cathedral in the country. However, like Christ Church Cathedral, also this one was nearly completely rebuilt in the 19th century and very little is left of its medieval past. Curiously the restoration which took place between 1860 and 1865 was paid for by Benjamin Guinness from the famous brewing family Guinness. Once inside we then walked through the building with its impressive and large gothic nave and the nice baptistery with the original 12th-century floor tiles and the medieval stone font. Inside is also a Celtic cross on a stone slab that once marked the position of St Patrick's original well, where, according to legend, in the 5th century saint baptized the native population of the island. Another interesting feature was the grave and epitaph of writer and satirist Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels, who was dean of the cathedral from 1713 to 1745. After the visit, a short walk brought us to the next stop, Marsh’s Library. Opened in 1707 it is Ireland's first public library and a not-so-well-known jewel. After purchasing a ticket, we entered the small building and marveled at the beautiful 18th-century original fittings, with bookcases made of quarter-plained Baltic oak with carved and lettered gables. At the end of the hallway, there were even three alcoves with fences known as cages and which came into use in the 1770s in response to thefts in the library. Particularly nice was the rotating exhibition of selected books and manuscripts from the library's large collection on display. This included an exorcism book from 15th-century England and a 1486 map of Venice from a 15th-century travel guide from Mainz. Not on display but some of the most important pieces in the collection were a 1472 book published in Milan and the oldest printed book in the library's possession, a 1589 book from Venice mentioned in James Joyce's novel Ulysses, and a volume of the Lives of the Irish Saints in Latin from about 1400. From the library, we then walked back through the nice ground of St. Patrick’s Park, with a view of the Cathedral, and then reached The Brazen Head, a pub right on the southern bank of the Liffey River. After walking through its crowded rooms we managed to find a spot to sit as you get served only once you find a free spot somewhere. Ania had a vegan soup while I took a kind of meatloaf with mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes. We then also had a beer each to keep in with the Irish atmosphere. The pub was really nice, cozy, and jolly, just as we had expected of Ireland, and made us really glad to have chosen it. After eating we were back to walking through the city center, stopping then at the Archaeological section of the National Museum of Ireland. The museum collection is in fact split up among different buildings, and the one we were at presented the collections of Irish and other antiquities dating from the Stone Age to the Late Middle Ages. The entry was surprisingly free and the collection was quite nice. Among the large collection, we also saw the bog bodies, bodies of people who died in violent, and perhaps ritual circumstances which have been naturally mummified in a peat bog. Furthermore, there were very interesting objects such as the Ardagh and Derrynaflan Chalices, silver cups from the 8th century, a series of crosses such as the 9th century Tully Lough Cross, religious artifacts such as the Shrine of St. Patrick's Bell and St. Patrick's Tooth, Celtic brooches such as the 8th century Tara Brooch, and a series of croziers such as the 12th century Lismore Crozier. after enjoying the visit to the museum we then headed back out and walking onwards passed by the Oscar Wilde House, the author's childhood home and where he was educated for the first ten years of his life. We then swiftly made our way to the famous Trinity College Dublin, as we had a 4pm entrance slot to the college's library. Founded in 1592, it is Ireland's oldest university and now consists of a large complex with a series of central quadrangles, called squares, surrounded by different buildings. Most of the buildings were refurbished or built between the 18th and 19th centuries, including the iconic bell tower known as the Campanile. One of the complex buildings includes the college's library which we then visited with our pre-bought ticket. The library is famous for holding the 15th-century Brian Boru harp which is a national symbol of Ireland, a copy of the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic, and the Book of Kells. The latter is a 9th-century illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. It was created in a Columban monastery in either Ireland, Scotland, or England, and is regarded as a masterwork of Western calligraphy and the pinnacle of Insular illumination. Its peculiarity is in fact the super detailed and beautiful calligraphies and illustrations within its pages. The book, which is now divided into four volumes, is open on display inside the library, with occasional rotations, to show a major illustration and a typical text page. During our visit, the book was open on folios 145v and 146r of the Gospel of Mark, unfortunately not as illustrated as other folios but nonetheless interesting. Another highlight is the beautiful Long Room of the Old Library, a 65-meter-long hallway with wooden shelves and a dark tone built between 1712 and 1732 and housing 200,000 of the Library's oldest books. The place was really crowded, though people barely stopped to see the book and just moved on to take pictures of the long room. It was undoubtedly fascinating but too overcrowded and expensive. Once we had toured the exhibit we then headed back out and left the college behind us, moving on to visit the next site: the National Gallery of Ireland. Entry was also free and its large collection went from the early Renaissance to the modern period. Highlights included Renaissance and Baroque Italian paintings, dutch masters' paintings, and local Irish paintings as well. After the visit to the museum, it was time for us to head to check in our accommodation. We took a bus and headed northwards reaching the Phibsborough neighborhood where our Airbnb was located. Once inside we met the owner, a guy, who slept in the other room of the apartment, who was quite weird and smoking weed as the place smelled quite a bit like it. The room was ok but the bathroom was quite dirty and yet we had paid quite a bit for it too. After leaving our stuff we then went back to the city by bus and looked for a place to have dinner. We opted for The Wild Duck, a nice and jolly pub where we had burgers and fries and a pint of beer. The ambiance was cool and festive and there was even a live band playing inside. After enjoying a second beer it was time for us to head back to the accommodation as we were exhausted after the super early flight and long day visiting.

The morning after, we woke up early but still at a decent hour, checked out, and then took the bus into the city center. Here we then took a train from Connolly station to reach the seaside village of Howth, still included in our leap visitor card ticket as it is part of the suburbs of the city of Dublin. In about half an hour we reached our destination and then looked for a place to have breakfast. We found a really nice cafe called POG where I had a fully Irish breakfast with eggs, cheese, toast bread, baked beans, sausage, bacon, and pudding and Ania had oat milk coffee and a smoothie bowl with berries and seeds and fruit. After breakfast, we walked along the village and the port and from the waterfront started our short hike along the Howth Cliff Walk. There were quite some tourists doing the hike as well but still little enough for us to still enjoy the beautiful views along the cliffside. A few minutes into the hike the weather changed and a light drizzle and strong wind started. We reached and passed the tip of the Howth Head peninsula, being able to see both Ireland's Eye, a small uninhabited island just north of Howth, to the left, and Baily Lighthouse to the right. We headed in the lighthouse's direction but didnàt go all the way down to reach it. Instead, we arrived at a vantage point known as The Summit, and from there started our walk back towards Howth village. We took another route through the interior of the peninsula, reaching shortly after the Ben of Howth, a hilly area about 170m above sea level from where we had a commanding view of the entire peninsula, the city of Dublin in the distance and both north and south coasts of Howth. The sun had in fact come out and granted us a really great view with also the Wicklow Mountains easily in sight to the southwest. From that point, we then walked through some heath and woods, past the golf course, and then through a residential area before reaching the village and port once again. We had a stroll along the rocky pier, basking in the low sun before then catching a bus back to Dublin. The bus had a more scenic route than the train as it went along the road facing south towards the sea, and took a little longer than the train. Once back in the city we walked along the Liffey River and strolled around the city center, looking very different with the sunlight. As we walked we stopped by some souvenir shops, food stores, and other types of shops and then ended up at the Ilac Shopping Center. Here we got some snacks for lunch and then bought a few things to take with us back to Germany. I got a selection of four different types of cheddar cheese all of which ended up being really tasty. Once the sun was starting to set it was time for us to unfortunately take the bus headed for the airport. We were really glad of that weekend trip which due to all the things we had seen and done had positively felt much longer.