Ireland Day 2 (16 June 2018)

The forecast for today was for no rain, so when it rained a few times and then had sun and wind the rest of the time, I called it a win!

We started off the morning by heading to the General Post Office (GPO). The Irish gained their independence in 1922 after there was a sort of seige on the GPO (in 1916). There are still pock marks from the gunshots in the pillars. 

The way I understand it, every country eventuallly fights for their freedom.  It may take decades or even centuries, but we all want to be free, and are definitely willing to fight for it. 

We then walked over to Dublin Castle!  According to our trusty guide, the castle was for the viceroy, which was a government appointed position.  While we were waking, the guide told me he thought he’d be a great viceroy, because he’s good at both hosting parties and talking to people. 🤓

No one has ever laid seige on Dublin Castle. It also took 30 years to build, which was average time to build a castle at the time. (Just imagine the amount of patience needed 🤨). 

We purchased tickets for the tour at noon, so we had nearly an hour to go exploring. We walked up to Christ Church Cathedral, and found the area where Handel’s Messiah was performed in 1742!  

When we headed back for the castle tour, we had our bearings down in the Viking and Medieval area of town. 

The Castle Tour was pretty interesting!  There were different parts what were destroyed during a fire that lit the Power Tower and took two days to put out. It was interesting walking around and learning about such a different history from my own!  

I learned that the name ‘Dublin’ comes from ‘DubhLinn,’ which means ‘Black Pool.’ 

We were able to go into the chapel. It was really quaint   The pillars were made from wood and plaster, but looked like marble. It was also decorated in more of a French style, which was different from what I was expecting!  

We finished up in the State apartments of the castle.  They still hold all sorts of events in the castle, however, no one can get married in the chapel. 😁

The State apartments were not too shabby. Other than having to clean the rooms, I could see myself living in a place like that. 

While we were purchasing tickets for the tour, I mentioned to Tami and Darlene that we needed to make sure to eat lunch today. The cashier heard me and suggested we go to a place called ‘Queen of Tarts,’ which was delicious!  We had to wait about 20 minutes for a table, but it was worth the wait. 

I had the Irish Reuben sandwich and the sweet potatoes and ginger lime soup. 

We then walked up the hill to the Christ Church Cathedral. 

We were able to walk down to the crypt too!  (I don’t recall ever walking through a crypt before). The architecture was pretty impressive both in the main church and down in the crypt. 

After visiting the cathedral, we walked over to Dublinia, which is an interactive Viking/Medieval museum. I guess didn’t realize what an active role the Vikings had in some of the history of Ireland. It makes sense, but until I had a chance to learn about it in context, I guess it didn’t click.  There was an established Viking settlement in Dublin by 880 a.d. 

The Dublinia is exactly where I would go if I had young ones who wanted to learn some cool history in interactive ways.  This man explained how he created coins, and then pounded one out for me! 

It was an educational experience for me too.  The museum alluded to the Vikings trading goods, services, and slaves. There was a board that explained that there were so many kidnapped and sold into slavery from the Slavic region of Europe, that it may be where they got the word ‘slave.’

We walked through all three floors, then hiked the 96 stairs up to the top of the tower. From there, we were able to see some pretty impressive views of the Medieval area of Dublin!

We then walked down to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. That was a treat!  When we first were waiting in line, we could hear music, but I didn’t know what it was coming from. Turned out that the National Symphony for Ireland was warming up for a concert that will be played tonight. We even had to pay less money for the entrance fee because of the disruption of the self guided tour. It’s an impressive Cathedral too!

We then walked to the Old City Wall from 1240 a.d.   It helped me better envision what life was like during that time. We learned during the castle tour that those people who wanted to pay taxes, lived inside the city walls and were protected and had food. Those who lived outside, were in constant danger of losing their lives to the weather, starvation, or the wild wolves. 😳

We then walked up by the river to the Temple Bar district for dinner. 

We found a geocery store on our way to the bus to stop for snacks for the start of the road trip tomorrow!  Some of them were pretty unusual, but I’m sure they’re good, or they wouldn’t sell them, right? 

Dublin is a lovely smaller big city. It feels familiar with its culture and polite people everywhere you turn.  If someone possibly bumps in to you, they apologize before you have a chance to apologize yourself. The sites are impressive, the food is delicious, and the people are warm and friendly. What a great start to the vacation!