The ambience of Dublin;

I had an unbelievably good time in Ireland this past week. The country is as green as it is always depicted, which is a direct result of the fact that is does indeed rain (at least a sun shower) every day. The rain never lasted more then ten minutes each time which did not hinder my walking around the city very much. The rain showers also allowed me to view a full bright rainbow on three different days during our seven-day trip.

The hotel we stayed at was a small B&B, just a ten-minute walk from Trinity college (the KDE location). The hotel was a typical European hotel, which means the rooms are small and the hallways tight. We ended up having to change rooms three times because the Ryder Cup was also in Dublin this week, and the hotel did not have the same room available for our entire stay. Two of the rooms we stayed in had only a shower and sink. The actual bathroom was down the hall on the landings. This is also very common in European B&B’s and other small hotels.

The people in Dublin were extremely friendly and polite. In fact, they went out of their way to help me if I was having trouble locating a street. One gentleman even walked six blocks with me to make sure I found what I was looking for. After being so used to listening to Norwegian accents, I found myself having a hard time understanding the Irish one. By the end of the week I was doing fine hearing the words, but every now and then I still could not understand what I was being asked.

One great thing about all the attractions and tours I attended, was the history lessons. While on my tours of churches or other monuments, the guides would give the customary history of the property and what it meant to the people of its time. They would then go further and explain how future history would be affected as a result of this particular site both in Ireland, and the rest of the world. As a result I know more about how the world impacted Ireland, and how it impacted the world, then I ever learned from other sources.