One advantage of living halfway around the world in Bangkok Thailand from my home town in Canada is that I can choose different routes when I travel annually for my summer break. In reality, it's pretty much the same long journey regardless if I cross the Pacific or Atlantic oceans with flight stopovers in countries along the way.
Since I've flown the Pacific route these last 8 years, I figured it's time to change direction and take advantage of extended stopovers in Europe. And to this end, this year I decided to spend a week in Ireland to experience it firsthand. The decision to go to Dublin, in particular, was made easy when I learned that a few of my friends would be there from both Canada and Thailand. Interesting how the location and timing (second week in June) worked out for everyone!
Dublin is a great 'walking town' in that many of the highlights are centrally located and visitors can easily walk between destinations. For instance, my friends and I often met at
Trinity College (est 1592) and made our way through Dublin from there. This was only a 10 minute jaunt when walking through
Saint Stephen's Green (est 1880), a beautiful 22 acre Victorian park located across the street from my hotel.
Residences at Trinity College
Dining Hall
Chapel off Trinity's Parliament Square
Students at Trinity College in the 1800s (I didn't take this picture =)
The
Book of Kells has been in the possession of Trinity College since 1661. Visitors can read how monks at the Abbey of Kells (circa 800 AD) transcribed four New Testament gospels that depict extraordinary calligraphy, illustrations, use of color and Christian symbolism. Personally, I found my visit a revering experience as I viewed this book created some 1200 years ago that contains the same gospel message anyone can read today! While photos are not allowed in the exhibit, I found this image of a page from the
Gospel of John on the Internet:
In a similar vein, the
Chester Beatty Library hosts an incredible collection of eastern and western religious writings along with other artistic works from the 3rd century BC to the 20th century AD.
I was once again moved when witnessing centuries-old excerpts of the Bible -- in one case, the earliest known copy recorded on 2nd century papyrus! Amazing that I can find these same words on the digital version of my iPod Bible app in my pocket! What an incredible reminder of how special these words have been and what kind of care was taken with Scripture over the centuries. I believe the same reverence should be attributed to God's Holy message today even though it is easily accessible to us in so many formats.
A visit to Dublin would not be complete without a visit to
Dublin Castle and a nearby passageway called
Murder Lane or
40 Steps. This passageway connected the interior of Medieval area of Dublin with a rough area of the city known as
Hell -- a denizen of whorehouses and drug dens. Not exactly the most flattering part of town but complete with a LOT of stories.
The castle itself was used by Vikings as a military and trading center of slaves and silver, then used by the Normans during their conquest of the country and the British during their rule of Ireland for over 700 years. The prominent tower functioned as a high security prison and held native Irish hostages and priests in Tudor times.
Dublin highlights did not only consist of museums and castles, for we also enjoyed eating at the oldest pub in the city, the
Brazen Head established in 1198. Hard to imagine this was a gathering place during the Norman invasion of Ireland and subsequent 800+ years of Irish history. Not only was the architecture a treat for the eye but the food certainly satisfied the palate and the Irish music the ear.
A weekend football (soccer) match between Scotland and Ireland sure brought out the fans, including those from Scotland who were well-adorned with kilts and Scottish chants.
It was wonderful to relax in
St Patrick's Cathedral Park and take in the architecture of the national cathedral at the same time. This cathedral was founded in 1191 (at the same time as Brazen Head) and is the largest church in Ireland. Jonathan Swift is perhaps the most famous dean of the cathedral for his works including
Gulliver's Travels and other prose.
Alison, Brian and I decided to head to the
Natural History Museum one afternoon and I'm sure glad we did, for I found it one of the best national museums around.
Not only did I take an interest in the specimens of animals from around the world but the early 20th century Victorian architecture that housed them!
An added bonus was experiencing the
2015 Bloomsday Festival that just happened to be in full swing when we were in town. This annual festival commemorates one of Dublin's authors James Joyce and his book
Ulysses which takes place in Dublin. Festival celebrations include dressing up like the book’s characters in period costume, tours, readings, performances and street parties. I must admit it was a great way to envision what this city must have looked like on June 16, 1904.
