Spring Break 2010: Day Four

Day four we set sail (literally) for Ireland, the land of roughly 1/4 of my ancestral heritage! Boarding a train at a horrific hour of the morning, we rolled through the fields and countryside of England, under a surprising amount of sunshine. Passing mountains, castles, beaches, and valleys, we journeyed all the way from London to Holyhead port in a matter of five or six hours. At Holyhead, we boarded a ferry for Dublin Port. I was assuming it would be a standard Wisconsin ferry- no flare, just gets you to your destination. But no, this ferry had an interior resembling the inside of a hotel, complete with several restaurants, a bar, a casino, even a movie theatre! All for a two hour voyage! While most people slept, I was drooling over what I was seeing in the distance: the giant cliffs, the immense greenness, and the jagged rocks of the Irish coast.

Upon arrival, a bus took us to Dublin city center. The bus was transported by the first of many aggressively friendly Irish people I would meet. Whenever a woman asked him a question, he would always respond by saying "my darling," whether he was referring someone to a restaurant or giving directions to a hotel. Amazing customer service!

The bus station was a long walk from the hostel on Aungier Street. Thus, I learned the hard way that streets in Dublin change name roughly every 100 to sometimes 200 feet. This makes navigating fairly difficult. Nevertheless, we did finally arrive. That night was very relaxed- it was spent eating fish n' chips, and listening to the Dublin City Jazz Band at a swingin' nightclub called 'The Button Factory.' I never knew the Irish were in to jazz- but they played as tight as many of the pro groups I've listened to in the states. They had a very good trombone section too- their bass trombonist doubled as their vocalist.

Returning the hotel, we met a rather friendly fellow on a side street... who politely tried to sell us some marijuana. Obviously, we refused. But how many drug dealers address you as "gentlemen" and wish you a "pleasant evening" after you reject their offer? Seriously, the Irish are the world's nicest people.

With that, here are a few pictures from that first night in Dublin, in particular the cathedrals of St. Patrick's (where Patrick first baptized the Irish pagans by dunking them in a giant well) and Christ Church (where Handel's "Messiah" was first performed in the 1700s). I'd like to point out that the modern looking building is their national bank- surely it was designed by the same architect who built Van Vleck and Van Hise for the UW campus.