There are all kinds of crazy and weird statues around Dublin. Like so:
But as it turns out, like so many monuments in Holland, there's a Canadian maple leaf on it! It's to commemorate all the Irish who came to Canada during the potato famine and helped build the country.
More statues...
Right on the edge of central Dublin is a large park called St. Stephen's Green. It's quite a pleasant place, similar to Stanley Park in its proximity to the downtown core.
And onto the busy and overpriced shopping streets of Dublin.
The picture below is from Temple Bar district, the trendiest part of Dublin today. 20 years ago it was a run-down showcase of urban decay, but it's been redeveloped and has a definite charm to it, if you can stand the throngs of tourists.
Dublin's downtown is flanked by a myriad of old stately buildings, many of which are either government buildings or museums today. I can't possibly remember what most of these are now, but I'll put up the pictures of 'em anyway.
(I think this is the Prime Minister's residence, or maybe the Parliament Building...)
Dublin's churches aren't nearly as large or impressive as other European capitals have, but they're still nice.
This is the entrance to Trinity College, one the most presitigious universities in Europe and one of the oldest in the world. It's alumni include Oscar Wilde, Jonathan Swift, Bram Stoker and Samuel Beckett. Located right in downtown Dublin, it's a very nice campus indeed. (UBC has better views, though!)
Back on the other side of the river, I walked down O'Connell Street, where I had first gotten off the airport bus. O'Connell Street is named after Daniel O'Connell, a 19th century Irish Nationalist, and that's his statue below.
Also on O'Connell street is the gargantuan Spire of Dublin, built in 1999. It sits on the site of the former Nelson's Pillar, a monument to Lord Nelson. But Nelson was the British naval hero who won the Battle of Trafalgar, and as you might be aware of, there's been a bit of tension between Britain and Ireland over the years. The IRA blew up Nelson's Pillar in 1966, and eventually Dublin decided it might be nice to build something in its place to spruce things up a bit.
This, of course, is the holiest of holies: the Guinness Factory. Did you know that Guinness actually fills you up less than other beer because it's not carbonated? Most people think it's more filling. Now you know.
I didn't take the tour, because...well, who cares what a beer factory looks like on the inside. But I walked very close by.
I did go inside the Arts & History branch of the National Museum of Ireland, where there's a large exhibit on the military history of Ireland. The museum is located in the Collins Barracks, so named after Irish independence hero Michael Collins. Collins Barracks was an actual army garrison until 1997, when it was incorporated into the museum.
The Irish civil war fought through the 20th century took place largely in Northern Ireland, where Belfast is; Dublin was mostly spared. The museum exhibits on the war were very good, and I learned a lot of things that surprised me. The number of people killed was relatively small as far as civil wars go--somewhere in the neighbourhood of 6,000--but it was a truly vicious battle.
There was a big ol' boat on display in the courtyard.
I did a bit of exploring in the area, and behind the museum I found a quiet church-yard and cemetary which contained memorials to those killed in the Easter Uprising, the event in 1916 that eventually set off the civil war.
That night I did what any tourist to Dublin is required to do: a pub crawl. I chose the Literary Pub Crawl, which was lead by two old stage actors who were quite humourous and lively (seen to the left in the photo below).
Ireland today is one of the most economically successful countries in the world, but as an unfortunate result Dublin is shockingly expensive. London is probably more expensive, but because Ireland is on the Euro it is easily comparable to the other European countries. A beer in a Dublin pub is three to four times as expensive as a beer in Amsterdam, which was...well, disappointing. Not that the pubs were any less busy because of it!
And that was my trip to Dublin. It's of course getting more difficult to write these blogs posts, as I'm so far removed in time from the actual trip. But two more cities to go, Copenhagen and Paris, and a couple other surprises along the way.
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