Dublin is up and coming on the tourist scene

For years I have heard Dublin and Irland are a must country to visit: the fascinating pub culture and the fantastic nature. I did not see any of the main draws, but I still got some experiences I had not done before. I was surprised that Dublin was much more multicultured than I expected. Apparently, Irland is one of the most welcoming countries in Europe to welcome work immigration.

Dublin

To me, Dublin was like a provincial city in the UK. It looked just like an English city in buildings and designs. And that is not strange since the UK has had such a strong influence over Irland for centuries. Irland first gained its independence from the UK in 1922. At this time, it was one of Europe’s poorest countries and stayed that way the most of the 20th century. The harp in the picture is placed in the Old Library of Trinity college. It is the model for the symbol of Irland.

Impressive architecture in Dublin

It has to be said that Dublin has its share of grand and impressive architecture. One good example is Trinity College, founded by queen Elisabeth I in 1592. Its fantastic Old Library is worth the trip to Dublin by itself, and I will write more about that in another blog. The Old Post office is another building, not to forget all the churches Dublin is full of.

Kilmainham prison

This is not a place you visit with joy. It has some horror stories. The cells in the old part are ghostly and must have been a terrible place to be put in. When they built the new part you see in the picture, the meaning was to have one prisoner in each cell. The jail was built for around 200 prisoners; at one point, more than 9000 people were jailed simultaneously. The youngest was down to 4 years old. The prison was closed in 1924 and was left to decay for 30 years. Now it is a main tourist attraction and has been used as a film set in several films; one example is In the name of the father.

Dublins parks

Dublin is full of parks, the biggest one being Phoenix park. Even though February is a bit early for spring, this city’s grass is evergreen. I thought it was fun to see The hungry tree that was doing all it could to swallow the bench. Another thing I passed on my way was the Jameson Distillery. It was not open for a tour, but I still wanted to take a picture since Irish coffee is almost the only strong drink I enjoy.

My excuses

I started by saying Irland’s bar culture and landscape are worth seeing, and I did not experience that. Unfortunately, I only had a long weekend in Ireland, so even though Dublin is not significant, it is still enough to fill up three days to discover. Therefore I did not have any time to go to the countryside. When It comes to the bar culture. I am really not such a bar type any more; I went into one bar in the afternoon to taste a Guinness. But, to go to a noisy bar in the evening, alone, and with uncontrolled singing, is really not my cup of tea, so there you go. Maybe another time.

Afterword

Ireland is considerably more wealthy (the living standards are much better) than the UK, France,  or Germany. It seems it is more comparable to countries like Norway or Switzerland. Dublin has undergone enormous changes during the last few years, but still, there are significant differences between the rich and the poor. We must hope they manage to upgrade the living standards for the poorer and that they manage to sort out the housing shortage in Dublin.

One little thing I always find incredible is what I only had seen in the UK before, a sink in a public toilet, with a separate warm and cold tap, without a plug in the sink. Now also seen in Irland.