Six degrees Celsius and strong gusts of
cold wind was Ireland’s way of saying “welcome” as I stepped
off the Ryan air flight from Barcelona to Dublin. The cold weather
was somewhat expected for a late-October Ireland but coming from
t-shirt weather in Spain it was still a bit of a shock. Our time in
Dublin would be spent getting accustomed to the cold temperatures and
strong wind on long walks through the city center.
The “wow, you’re actually in
Ireland” moment hit me on the first evening while entering the
Temple Bar part of town via Ha’penny Bridge. We found out later
how the bridge got its name as it was at one time the only bridge
crossing the River Liffey and a half penny was what it cost to cross
it. That first night in Dublin however, we crossed it for free.
While stepping off the bridge the scream of that high pitched Irish
fiddle caught my ear from a bar just down the street. Needless to
say we entered that bar and my moment of realization hit me just
then. The stained wood frames, floor, tables, and bar along with the
bright golden walls, the old bartender standing behind a bronze wall
of taps, the fiddle, the guitar, all forces coming together that took
me back to those nights at the Snooty Pig in Corning. But this
wasn’t Corning, this was Dublin, and all those beautiful Irish pubs
around the world pouring out pints of Irish beers are imitating this,
Dublin. We stayed until the music stopped. It was two young guys,
one on the fiddle and the other on vocals and guitar. They sang the
traditional tunes including “Whisky in the Jar”, “Dirty ol’
Town” and “The Wild Rover” splitting them up with original
tunes with the fiddle leading the way.
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| Ha'penny Bridge |
We continued around the Temple Bar area
that night and the following night passing scores of loud, drunk
college students, the gals bearing the cold in their short-skirt,
suggestive Halloween “costumes.” Irish pubs lining the streets
and dotting the city corners most of which featuring live music
satisfied a fix of mine from summer weekends back home, a fix that
went largely unaddressed in my 3 years spent in Romania.
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| Halloween weekend in Dublin |
The following day we took a 3.5 hour
free walking tour with a guide that loves history almost as much as
she loves Ireland. It was by far the most informational walking tour
I have ever experienced and it really showed the charm of Dublin.
Unfortunately I came ill prepared for the cold weather and despite
the wonderful history, places, and stories presented to us it was a
slightly miserable experience significantly lowering my body
temperature. Back in Poland, a month or so earlier I misplaced my
beanie, that being my favorite beanie of all time that I have worn
every fall and winter of the past six years or so. On our walk back
to the hostel from our tour I stopped to replace it and now I’m
much happier.
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| A view along the River Liffey |
Sunday, we lazily strolled through the
city more after figuring out our evening transport to Galway. We
ended up in St. Steven’s Green, a small but beautiful park where
the wonders of autumn caught our attention. We spent as much time as
we had at our disposal appreciating the leaves and their bright
colors against the green backdrop of the grass below realizing that
if we had stayed back in Spain, we would have missed fall this year.
What a tragedy it would be to miss fall. So for us, Dublin was not
just a cold slap in the face after a nice warm Spain, but it
introduced us to two beautiful things that we continue to enjoy,
Ireland and autumn.
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| A bridge at Steven's Green |
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| Mihai enjoying autumn in front of Trinity Church |
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