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Time to Kill in Dublin

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Due to one particular gentleman, and I use that word very loosely, employed at the UK border, I had to make a border run to Ireland while I was living in London. (He just unilaterally wrote in my passport I had to leave London by an arbitrary date when I returned from Paris. There was no legal basis for this. His reasoning was that “you can’t just be traveling around all the time.”)

Of course there are worse things then being forced to hop on a flight to Dublin and have an Ireland vacation

. Or why not Cheap Hotels Dublin if you are feeling extra gregarious?   However, I didn’t really have much of a plan, and since I was just there for the weekend with my small backpack, I didn’t really need one. I arrived in Dublin and headed for the Temple Bar neighborhood, which is a cultural center that has maintained a lot of its medieval feel, while being cool and artsy at the same time.

 

 

I explored the area and it was pretty great. But I was in Dublin, so I was going to go hear some “traditional” Irish music and eat some “traditional” Irish food

in Dublin.

Lo and Behold, this building appeared out of the Gaelic night.

 

 

I’m not sure how traditional this music was. But it sure as hell sounded Irish. (My understanding of Irish music = Flogging Molly – Punk).  It was a very cool scene, even if it was pretty touristy. I drank a Guinness and fulfilled my cliche dreams.

I walked around Temple Bar some more, and enjoyed the surprisingly quiet night. Here’s a view of the River Liffey.

 

 

I liked the sentiment here. The irony, of course, is that those who litter will never see it, as it’s placed at the one point where litterers don’t go: a public trash can.

 

 

I love back alleys at night. That puts me in some pretty shady company, I know.

I eventually found my way to my hostel. The next day I had some time to kill before I traveled back to London. So I headed for Dublin Castle.
There has been a castle of some kind on the spot where the modern Dublin Castle sits since the thirteenth century. But most of it dates from the 18th. It was the seat of British rule in Ireland for centuries.
I’m not sure if this was the exact seat.
Here is the oldest part of the castle, Record Tower, which dates from 1228. I like how they somehow knew that this tower would have the record for being the oldest part of the castle, and named it accordingly.
Naturally, a castle as old as Dublin’s is going to have some serious ruins attached to it. Here are ruins from underneath the castle that are part of the original foundation. If there was a place where Banshees live, I’m guessing this would be it.
After checking out the castle, I headed to the Dublin Wax Museum, which is ostensibly about all things Irish. But right away I found Dracula. I mean, if you can get your hands on a Dracula wax statue, you don’t turn it down, regardless of what your wax museum’s theme is.
Ahh, now this is more like it. An appropriately themed mythical creature. I have to say, this was way scarier than the Dracula. Look at his temple veins. Now stop looking at his temple veins. You can’t can you?
This was an Irish boxer who had fallen on tough times. Now he works there pretending to be a wax statue of himself.
Kidding….but look at it. It’s so real!
I should mention that there were Harry Potter wax statues as well. At least England is closer than Transylvania.

 

I headed back to London that night. For having no plan, I was pretty happy with my stint in Dublin.

 

 

 

 

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  1. I’ll be in Dublin in May as a trailing spouse.  I’m thinking I might skip the wax museum—and the dark alleys.

  2. I’ll be in Dublin in May as a trailing spouse.  I’m thinking I might skip the wax museum—and the dark alleys.