Good Night, Dublin

Crossing the Liffey for the last time.

Christ Church Cathedral. Across the street from our hotel. 

The Streets of Dublin

Chaotic, not for the faint of heart, dirty, crowded, and friendly!! The streets are full at all times of the day and night.

Famine Memorial - starving Irish walk towards the ship leaving Ireland. 

Modern section of Ireland in Docklands (like London)

Craziness around four-year construction of LRT line. Millennial Spire in the distance. 

Georgian houses. Queen Victoria decreed all doors in the kingdom be painted black when Albert died. Of course while some retain their black, you see all colours. 

Combination of old and new

All good things have to come to an end...

Well we've checked off everything on our Dublin list and are now printing boarding passes and packing suitcases for the last time. Hard to believe a month has gone by. We are sad to be leaving Ireland but glad to be going home.
Today was museum day with three stops: National Museum of Ireland - archaeology, Museum of Natural History, and the National Library. We also walked the area around Trinity College again as well as  the streets of southeast Dublin. I don't need a fit-bit, my feet say it was a full day!
Much of the fun in the time we've been in Dublin has been the impromptu conversations we've had with people trying to make our stay better. Bus drivers were always anxious to help, a lovely guy in the Museum of Ireland not only gave us directions but drew us a map with highlights noted along his suggested route, When we asked directions from a fellow who sold tickets for the hop-on, hop-off bus, he said he was off duty and going our way so walked us twelve blocks to our destination, all the time giving us a running commentary of the sites we were passing, the economy of Ireland, and what was best about being Irish ("laid-back, easy-going, nothing bothers us").
Did we like Ireland? You bet.

A real-life depiction of Bog Man . There have been many discoveries of Iron Age bodies in the bog lands of Ireland - perfect conditions for preservation. They are respectfully displayed in small, private rooms. 

Bronze-age gold jewellery from the "hordes of gold" hidden in the bogs. 

Main floor of museum. Modern adaptation of a very old space. 

Bog butter - actual butter preserved in containers in bogs (To keep it cool, then forgotten? For sacrifice?) 

Extinct giant "Irish Elk"

Traditional Methods of Display in Natural History Museum - static but quite beautiful 

Take the bus!

Driving in Dublin is great - if someone else is doing it! Construction of new Rapid Transit line has torn up most streets. We are just happy that the bus strike ended a few days ago. 

Books - old and older

Next, Trinity College and The Book of Kells. We started with a tour of the college led by a student who entertained us with her take on college-life. Trinity was started by Elizabeth I although women were not allowed to enrol until 1904. Our student guide was pleased to tell us that 65% of students are now women.  

Our tour was followed by a pretty short wait to see The Book Of Kells. While most art galleries and museums now allow taking pictures (without flash), The Book of Kells is another story and a very loud, gruff man shouted at anyone trying to sneak a shot of the famous book. The display is interesting with enlarged pages and detailed descriptions of the history and art of illuminating manuscripts. The book itself has been divided into four parts and two parts are on view at once. Pages are turned every few months. Other than our shouting guardian, the room was silent as we took turns to get close views. The book itself is smaller than I expected but fascinating to see. 
We moved upstairs into the Long Room, part of the Old Library where 200,000 antiquarian books are stored. 

Dramatic Long Room

Books are arranged with largest on bottom, getting smaller as they ascend. Busts of 98 famous scholars and intellectuals line the room.

This book happened to be on display in the Long Room - so this is as close to a view of The Book of Kells as I could get. 

A grim start to the day.

A full day in Dublin. We started with an early bus trip to Kilmainham Gaol - a must-see if I thought we could learn from our past. So many repeated attempts to achieve independence and its brutal consequences,  along with the history of punishment and "new" improved programs to set the prisoners on the right path, emphasizes the sheer viciousness of the powerful. We were glad to escape and breathe the fresh air.

Built in 1798, the open windows were thought to minimize disease. Prisoners were given one small candle every two weeks to use for warmth. 

Closed in 1924 (last prisoner went on to become President), the prison was abandoned until the 1960's when restoration was begun. 

Innovation in the late 1800's in the East wing provided a sky-light so prisoners could see God and rethink their ways. 

Two Solitudes

The majority of the population of the Republic of Ireland live in Dublin. It is a chaotic city even on a Sunday - crowds of people, knots of traffic, litters of garbage, mixtures of buildings - historic and modern, and pubs everywhere. We did a hop-on, hop-off bus tour for an introduction and now have our two full days planned. We spent the evening walking along the Liffey and into the Temple region along with hundreds of others people (most at least three decades younger). It was such a change from the green glens, beautiful coastlines and colourful bog lands of our three weeks in the rest of the rest of Ireland. 

Dublin: a grownup version of an Irish town

Commemorating the 2016 anniversary of the Easter Rebellion

Modern City Hall

Ancient Christ Church Cathedral

Strange clouds forming as we walked across the Liffey

Ha'Penny Bridge

Setting sun 

Moving day

We've moved to our final B&B for one night - ours had been fully booked a while ago. Tomorrow we turn in our car at the airport and head to our hotel in Dublin for our last three days in Ireland. All advice says don't drive in Dublin and the cost of parking overnight (more than the cost of the car rental) made this decision easy. We're buying a "Freedom Pass" which gives us hop-on, hop-off privileges for three days as well as transport to and from airport. Bill will finally be able to actually relax and look at the scenery.

View from our B&B

More swampy matters - bogs part 3

Turf is a very inefficient source of heat but Irelands’ main electrical plants are heated by peat. Yet, as we drove through the peat lands, a tiny portion of which is being conserved, we noticed signs against wind mills. 

The fellow who started the Irish conservation movement (now supported by EU) was Dutch. A scientist, he was studying bogs but had to travel to Ireland for field studies since all the bogs in Holland have long gone. When he realized Ireland’s bogs were about to go the same route, he financed a conservation effort which earned him international recognition. Ironically, much of the peat moss still produced in Ireland is sent to Holland for use in their tulip beds. 

The other side of the fence - bogs part 2

While out in the countryside wandering the bog lands, we heard the tractor start in the neighbouring property. We knew they were harvesting peat and we waited for the tractor hauling a load of cut turf to come down the same narrow road we had parked on. We talked to two young fellows - one the boss, the other a camera-shy helper. Their enthusiasm was touching. They even insisted we take a 'sample' piece of turf home to Canada with us. These local guys work hard to harvest the peat and sell it in their community. He figured his truck load would sell for about 300 euros. It is weather-dependent - they have only managed one cut this year. A good year would be three cuts.

They also told us that there are much bigger industrial operations that can harvest far more in a cutting than them. We had already seen fields with huge swaths of cleared bog.

Getting bogged down - part 1

After spending much of our past three weeks surrounded by boggy landscape, we decided today to head across country to find the Bog of Allen Nature Centre. We were admitted to the damp-smelling stone building (no heating on when groups are not expected) and were treated to a private lesson about the formation and ecology of these 10,000 year old bogs. These important ecosystems are critical in flood prevention and carbon sequestration - Ireland has 50% of Europe’s remaining bogland. 

The peat bogs have been a critical source of fuel in Ireland for centuries. During WWII the army was sent out to harvest peat to heat the towns and cities when ships could no longer transport coal. Much of Ireland still depends on it - especially if the cost of oil is high. 

We went out to two sites of conserved bog lands after our session and wandered freely in the fens with its beautiful subtle colours of the Irish landscape. Fens have been cut but then left to turn into meadows which attract butterflies. 

We followed board walks over the raised bog which in summer is alive with exotic sun dews, orchids, frogs, and salamanders. 

A Day Trip to Wexford

Wexford is on the south-eastern tip of Ireland, location of some of its best weather. It was a beautiful sunny day today and only windy on the waterfront. Wexford is not as high up on the tourist must-see list as the neighbouring Waterford - perfect for us. We didn't see one t-shirt or souvenir shop.
When we talked to the woman at the TI and I suggested we might just drive by some of the highlighted sites she mentioned, she replied calmly but firmly, "Oh no, you wouldn't want to do that. We agreed after our walking visit.  The streets might win the "narrowest street' award of any town we've visited. And apparently they still follow the fish bone pattern established by the Vikings who settled here. The streets fan off the winding main street and meander themselves. The city has adopted a system of one-ways which is the only sensible thing to do but hopeless for new drivers. We found walking with a map enough of a challenge.

We love these familiar streets - you could be on the main street of any Irish town we've seen

Narrow? Even the sidewalks.

The Pikeman - commemorates the failed Irish rebellion in 1798. This farm weapon was all the locals had to use against the British forces, armed with canons, muskets and horses. 

Medieval Church now in ruins. Graves go back to Cromwell's invasion. 

Second instalment for gardeners

I had two gardens on my Irish wish list. Powerscourt, because of its National Geographic ranking, and Mount Usher Garden which has its fans too. The two gardens are utterly different. Mount Usher is a renowned Robinsonian garden - a garden designer who turned away from the formal controlled garden to a more naturalistic style. It was also a move from expensive and labour-intensive use of annuals to gardening around the use of perennials. The garden contains hundreds of rare and exotic trees and shrubs. You "feel" you are in a garden in this one, wandering through 22 acres of paths which meander alongside the Vartry river. There are clear numbers at the base of the champion specimens and a guide with name and description. My favourite was the Caucasian wingnut....

Colour is only just beginning to start. Many of the trees are described as having brilliant and stunning fall colour but they were still a dark green with no hint of the glory to follow.

Chilean Myrtle, one of the oldest surviving plantings in the garden - 1890. It is covered with tiny white blossoms.

Numbers found at base of 87 different species of trees

One of many different species of Gum trees - this one, the Urn Gum, is notable for its beautifully patterned bark. It is over 100 years old, planted in 1911.

A rainbow of weaving

We had a much quieter but beautiful day today. Avoca hand weavers was our first stop where we had a tour of the mill which has been in production almost continually since first weaving cloth for the miners who worked the copper mine in the region in the late 1700's.

Evening walk in Glendalough

Climbing with Billy Goats Gruff

We have booked our B&B for five nights and are slowing down before our final stop in Dublin. We've picked Laragh, a small town close to Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains in order to take advantage of the beautiful hiking trails in the area.
This morning, the forecast was for no rain and some sun so we set out for a trail along the Upper lake at Glendalough. When we got out of the car we realized there is more to Irish weather than rain! The wind was gusting and we were fighting an uphill battle getting ourselves on the trail. We were soon in  the trees and somewhat protected but our only consolation was the fact we'd have it at our backs on the way out.
The trail took us along the lake then followed a trail up to an abandoned 1850's copper mine. More stone ruins! We spotted a few birds on the way as well as feral goats - leftover from the goats kept by the miners. They are the image of Billy Goat's Gruff - with long horns and beards perched high on the hillsides and only clearly seen through binoculars.
We were almost alone heading out but coming back we ran into a Dublin high school group. Our hilarious encounter was with a group of eight or ten who liked our accent and ended up teaching us a few Irish phrases. The most fluent of them proudly told us about his brother who has left for a job in Canada and now lives in Waterton! They were heading to the top of the mountain (steep hill) and were going to swim in a lake on the other side!

Looks deceptively calm...

Wild goats

Ruins from 1850's copper mine