Upon arriving to Ireland I immediately noticed some differences in the way people relate to one another there as opposed to Denmark. In Copenhagen I would never expect to be approached by a stranger, or to have conversations of any sort with people I don’t know. Don’t get me wrong, the Danes are very nice, but they keep to themselves and are generally a private bunch. 

I was traveling with a group of friends to Dublin, and we were tragically lost trying to find the B&B we were staying at for the night. A kind woman who must have noticed how confused we were stopped us and took the time to clearly spell out where we should go. Later that evening I went to a show, Once, (it was amazing!) and the woman I was sitting next to talked to me before the show, all through intermission, and afterwards as well. She even introduced me to her granddaughter and her son-in-law and they all gave me plenty of suggestions on what we should do while in Ireland. (Ironically enough she said she thought it was wonderful we decided to visit the weekend before, not of, St. Patricks Day. “All the locals hide out on St. Patricks Day… that’s not who we really are. People who come for that day aren’t really seeing Dublin, or real Dubliners.” she said.) 

We visited the small coastal community of Malahide, which was very beautiful. 

We walked around the grounds of the Malahide castle … 

Later that day we ventured downtown and toured the Guinness factory. Tickets included a free pint and an opportunity to learn from the experts how to officially pour the perfect Guinness. 

Admittedly our hostel was a little frightening. It was $16/night, so I suppose the old “you get what you pay for” speech is actually applicable, but it’s just mildly unnerving when the elevator wiggles so much that it should be a carnival ride and some of the doors to rooms are ajar because the only thing futilely attempting to keep them closed is a rusty old lock that some employee probably scrounged up from his locker when a guest complained that their door wouldn’t lock.

 (Not my door, mom. My door locked. Twice. And we had two complimentary German Shepherds and one of those Brazilian fighters that are legally bound to declare their hands as lethal weapons.) 

Overall I think my favorite thing that we did was take a day tour to the Cliffs of Moher. I highly, highly recommend it to anyone traveling to Ireland. I know spending all day on a bus sounds horrific but the drive itself is beautiful, and the Cliffs are definitely worth the journey. 

Anyhow in keeping with my traditional blog style, since my last posting I have

– Visited Ireland 

– Visited Austria 

– Planned more details of an upcoming trip to Switzerland 

– Watch an entire season of Gilmore Girls. (I know it’s kind of a crappy show and a random thing to share with readers such as yourself, but I’m embracing the concept of relaxing more here. Also, it’s really, REALLY cold outside and drinking coffee and watching crappy TV is nice. “Spring,” they call it. Lies.) 

I can’t bring myself to make a personal to-do list…. my family arrives in Denmark in two days and that’s all the further I need to look into the future for now!