Dublin, Ireland

October 25-31, 2019

If you check Wikipedia, it’ll tell you that English is the main spoken language in Ireland. However, in Dublin I found that in some cases, they have invented a language all their own.  Here are a few phrases:

1. Gerrup ow’da = If you would kindly stop that and move along it would be most appreciated

2. Gis a packet a crisps = I’ll take some of those potato chips

3. C’mere til I tell ya = when you have a free moment, come over and I will share a story with you

4. An aul one = an older lady

And then there is all the craic….

Irish craic is the word that most confuses outsiders.  It is the atmosphere – fun – surrounding a particular night out. ”How was the craic?” is the first question uppermost in most young Irish minds after a weekend and the topic of conversation with most taxi drivers – in my opinion.  

Here’s the encyclopedia definition:

“Craic” (/kræk/ KRACK), or “crack”, is a term for news, gossip, fun, entertainment, and enjoyable conversation, particularly prominent in Ireland.

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Dublin is a busy, energetic city with lots of things to do and lots of history.  Here are some of the highlights from my time in Dublin.

I often visit museums as I travel. They provide rich and interesting histories of the cities and people. However, the National Museum of Archeology has been my favorite discovery so far. It had wonderful exhibits including the history of the Vikings with ancient artifacts including replicas of the ships. There were exhibits explaining the discovery of gold in ancient Ireland and how the local people hid valuables in the bogs which preserved them for hundreds of years. There were entire sections dedicated to early saints and Christians and ruins from early churches. As with all museums in Ireland, there was no entrance fee and they are free for the public to enjoy.

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My favorite meal in Dublin was at a traditional Irish pub. The pub had many different levels and tiny alcoves of tables. We were advised to secure a table and order drinks before getting in line for our food as the tables were in high demand and would be occupied for some time. The food was ordered “cafeteria style” and was so interesting. I wish I had thought to take a photo of the options. The food was very heavy though with large portions of leg of lamb, pork shoulders, all kinds of meat pies and stews. The best surprise of all was the local music and dancing right beside our table! It was so fun – just the authentic experience you might hope to have while visiting Ireland.

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I took a day trip to the famous Cliffs of Moher on the West coast of Ireland.

“Better to see something once than to hear about it a thousand times” Ancient Chinese Proverb

The cliffs are certainly impressive, however the day I went, there was unexpected hail, rain and wind in excess of 60 miles per hour. I watched an older woman get completely swept off of her feet while fighting the wind with an umbrella! Although the sun didn’t come out, our tour guide said that throughout the year, only 50% of the days even have any visibility of the cliffs because of the heavy fog. They sure don’t put that in the brochure! So, I think we were supposed to feel “lucky” that we could see the cliffs at all. Humm…. well, it didn’t meet my high expectations for photographing the Cliffs, but it was a wild day. We did enjoy traditional Irish Stew with fresh, hot black bread in a tiny pub on the way back to Dublin which we all really enjoyed.

They funny thing about expectations… they never actually end up like you imagined. I saw a quote this week that I thought was applicable to my time in Dublin.

“Adventure is allowing the unexpected to happen to you. Exploration is experiencing what you have not experienced before.” Richard Aldington