What I saw and did in Dublin by foot;

On Saturday morning I got an early start and headed out in to the city. My first stop was St. Patrick’s, which is Irelands largest church. I then headed to the Guinness Brewery were I saw how they make their beer. Your “ticket” was a free gift of a clear paperweight that contains a drop of real beer in the center. The tour ended with a free pint, but since I do not drink, I received a large soda instead. My next stop was the Jameson Distillery, where they make whiskey. This tour ended with four volunteers conducting a taste test of the different whiskies produced by Jameson, and other top manufactures. Everyone else enjoyed a free glass of whiskey, or in my case a soda. I then walked around the block to the Jameson viewing tower. The viewing tower is am observation deck nestled atop a tall chimney. I was the only one on this tour, and had the deck all to my self to take as much video footage as I wanted of the city views. I next walked to St. Audens, which is the oldest church in the city. Not much is left of the church, however one small chapel remains around the ruins, and still holds Sunday mass. Next I walked to Christ church, where I found the most beautiful tile patterns on the floors. My last stop was at Dublin Castle. The castle was turned in to more of a state home, and only one tower is left of castle. One the tour we were taking underground, where we could see more of the original breaking walls, and what is left of the moat (still filled with water from the river).

On Sunday I again headed to the opposite side of the city to take a tour of Kilmainham Gaol, a prison built in 1792. It was one of the first “modern” prisons that held people in individual cells, and focused on rehabilitation. It was also the site were many rebellion leaders were executed. Next I headed to Phoenix Park to see the animals of Dublin Zoo. My favorite moment was when I was alone at the Gibbon house. I knelt down as a young gibbon approached the glass and we observed each other from very close up. This exchange lasted only moments when a young girl shouted excitedly from across the path. She ran up to the glass and freighted the gibbon away. My last stop of the day was to see the Bram Stoker (author of Dracula) exhibit. My guidebooks, and online research of this attraction led me to believe it was an exhibit on the life of the famous author. I quickly learned that the exhibit was a long hallway of news articles about the writer, that turned in to a cheesy haunted house.

On Monday I arrived at St. Michans, which is home to four natural Mummies. For those that might not know, a human mummy can be formed in any environment, as long as the weather conditions stay constant. Like a dessert, in ice, in peat moss, or in a constant dry cool place. The crypts of St. Michans created the latter conditions. Some of the coffins were damaged and the remains fell out. The church will not explore the other hundred or so coffins to see if more mummies exist. The tour of the mummies included two priests, one nun, and a crusader’s remains. It is suppose to be “lucky” to gently touch the finger of the crusaders hand. When the group was allowed to touch the body, the Archeologist in me told me not to, but the curiosity in me won out, and I did gently touch the finger. It was a thrilling experience.

I then started to walk towards Trinity College, to Akadamy. I intended to do some shopping on my way back, and was crossing a street when a man about my age said “hi” to me. The people are very friendly in Dublin, so I thought nothing of it and replied “hello” to him in response. I was about to enter a store when the same man ran up to me and started to talk to me. When he asked if I was traveling alone, I started to tell him all about my spouse, and what we were doing in the city. He looked at me and said, “Oh, you are married?” while at the same time looking at my hand. I then realized he was trying to “pick me up”. I replied yes, and then asked him if he was going to ask me out. He responded that he was, and then apologized for not knowing I was married. Now it might seem strange that I included this experience in my blog, but this had never happened to me before. I have never been “hit on” or had a random person come up to me on the street to ask me out. It was an interesting experience.

When I arrived at Trinity College, I took a guided tour of the campus, which ended in the old library. It is officially called “the long room” and is the most amazingly beautiful library I have ever seen. There were no paintings, no stain glass, just the two stories high vaulted wood ceiling, with wood bookcases on the main level, and around the balcony of the room. Every shelf was full of old priceless books from floor to ceiling. The best part was the rich deep smell, of old manuscripts, and old wood. I found my spouse at the conference site and told him all about my day. The guys laughed as I told them all about the guy that “hit” on me.

On Thursday I went to the Archeology museum, where there were three peat moss mummies on display. I also saw some Viking artifacts, including a small scout ship (about the size of a canoe). It was fun to compare that ship with the ships I have seen on display in Norway. I also went to the national gallery, where I saw some famous Irish paintings and sculptures. I spent most of the day at the KDE conference, and I got online for the first time in a week.