the next morning, i decided to walk in the dark & rain to the train station as the bus schedule was a little iffy. even though the storm was still in the city, the worst of it was over & online my train to dublin was still showing on time. i got there early to also stop at a pret to dry off, eat, & have some coffee. i was so wet, i had to use the hand dryers in the bathroom to dry my pack & head. i kept checking the marquee & everything was fine, but 15 minutes before my train was to leave it was cancelled. i was so mad. apparently all train tracks in & out of belfast were closed. i was frusturated because the rail companies had to have known this for hours. they were going to reopen sometime after noon when all the tracks were inspected for fallen trees. the republic of ireland's rails were open, but northern irleand does not have as reliable infrastructure or efficient system in place to manage, so they still needed to check tracks. i was adopted by an american family who was also trying to figure out what to do. when we got to the ticket booth, the worker could not provide us any alternatives of what we could do. because of my prior research, i knew there was a private bus company that drove between the 2 cities & when i asked, he let me know what bay they were in. luckily, there was a bus leaving soon & lot of seats available. the driver was so friendly & funny. he made the joke, "i hope your name is not amy" because the storm's name was amy. it really raised everyones spirits. the drive was not bad. there was still a lot of rain, but it did not affect our drive. luckily i arrived just about the same time as if i had taken the train.
after dropping my pack off at the hostel, i walked around to see some of dublin's landmarks while also listening to rick seve's dublin self guided audio tour.
ha'penny bridge (c.1916)
o'connell memorial - the statue was both damaged during the 1916 easter rising by bullet holes & in 1969 during the troubles by a bomb
i also visited the gpo museum. the building is the old post office, but it was also the headquarters for the 1916 easter rising. the rising led to independence of ireland from the british crown. the museum shares information about irish independence, the troubles, & the good friday agreement. part of the building is still a functioning post office. the facade of the building has remnants from gunfire during the easter rising.
the gpo museum
parnell monument
i next visited the garden of remembrance, a public garden dedicated to the easter rising of 1916 that led to ireland's independence. inside there is a statue of the children of lir from irish mythology. in the legend four royal siblings are cursed to be swans & the curse remains for centuries. the legend displays endurance & bond between the irish people.
garden of remembrance with the statue of the children of lir
this day, there was a very large protest over israel's treatment of the palestinians. i had heard a few conversations prior to the protest about this subject. some irish people identify with palestinians due to their own history. the irish people had been on the land for a long time & treated as second class citizens by the british empire.
i then walked over a mile to the arbour hill area of dublin.
my next visit was the collins barrack museum & national museum of ireland. the museum is a collection of art & history in an old military building. the building was constructed in the 1700s & used as military housing until the 1990s. i found the exhibits about war & conflict the most interesting. there were exhibits about the troubles, the irish civil war, & un peacework.
i then walked towards my hostel and stopped at a nandos for dinner. i found dublin to be very expensive. maybe it was because i was central to the city. after eating, i went to my hostel and called it a night,
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the next morning i walked across the street to a nero for some coffee & a snack, breakfast consisted of coffee, a flapjack, & ease-dropping on the garda (police) with their pretty irish accents. because it was so early, the temple bar area was empty & it was a good time to walk around for a bit to take some photos.
temple bar
the famine memorial
dublin is a part of the national famine way - a walking trail commemorating the tenants forced to emigrate from strokestown to canada during the famine (shown by bronze children's shoes)
my one reservation i made during my trip was the jeanie johnston, a reconstructed boat museum where you can learn about the journey irish immigrants made to north america. in ireland, i knew i wanted to learn more about the potato famine & the journey of those who left the country. you do have to take a tour to enter the boat & get any information (there are very few signs). i am not someone who generally likes this set up, but there is a reason why the irish are known as good storytellers. they have the gift of the gab. the tour was very entertaining though there was not much to see.
jeanie johnston - an irish famine story
the boat was modeled after the original ship that was built in 1847 to bring irish emigrants to north america & bring back timber to europe. the average journey was 47 days & at most, carried 254 people at one time. no one ever died on the boat & considering things, the captain made good decisions in how he cared for the boat (there was always a doctor on board & limitations on how many people & goods). this was not a coffin ship.
there are tons of mannequins inside
the linesman statue along the river liffey
after, i walked south of the river to where most of the national museums are. first was the national gallery of ireland (the national art museum). then i visited the national museum of ireland on kildare street. this museum is the archealogy museum of ireland that shows both irish & viking history (dublin was a viking settlement).
national gallery of ireland
there are bog people on display. peat bog can mummify bodies & can sometimes also preserve a lot of details in the face. this is gallagh man & he is dated 470-120 bc.
after the museums, i walked around st. stephen's green, a georgian public park established in 1880. this is also where i started rick steves second audio tour on dublin. the walk would have been more pleasant if there were not such aggressive seagulls. i do not know if i have ever seen it that bad.
the oscar wilde statue
fusilier's arch, near one of the entrances to st. stephen's green, still has bullet holes from the easter rising of 1916.
grafton street. this street reminds me of the movie once.
i then walked around trinity college. you can tour inside some of the buildings & there are museums (with reservations needed), but i was not interested. trinity college is one of the ancient universities of britain & ireland (found in 1592). it is also the oldest in ireland. i know it as a lot of movies & shows are filmed there.
the history, theology, & philosophy building at trinity college
the temple bar area (again). i was able to walk by one bar and hear a fiddle from outside the window.
the cathedral of the holy trinity
for dinner i wanted to have irish food since i had not yet. it was actually hard to try to find a place. i try to find more authentic & local places, but as a tourist staying in a touristy area, it was hard to find. i do not know if this place was authentic, but it tasted good. i had irish stew with lamb.
irish stew with lamb
