Ireland/Czech - Day 3

I like eating breakfast, especially on vacation, so you’ll find that it’s a trend of our morning routine. Today, we went to over to Supervalu for a coffee and pastries – I tried a croissant and an apple tart. After eating in their convenient little seating area, we hopped onto the LUAS (Dublin’s new Light Rail Tram System) to get to the National Irish Museum. This institute is housed in a very historic building, the Collins Barracks. 

Collins Barracks Courtyard

The complex started out in 1702 as ‘The Barracks’ for English soldiers, was changed in the early 1800s to be ‘The Royal Barracks’, and was eventually renamed ‘Collins Barracks’ by the Free State in 1922. It’s a really nice setting for the interesting exhibits on Irish in warfare. While inside, we had the pleasure of talking to a few Irishman. I referred to them as the ‘disgruntled Irishman’ (he was upset that there wasn’t enough information in the museum, particularly regarding Irish national sentiment and the 1916 Rising) and the ‘cracked Irishman’ (He was very nice, spoke to us in Gaelic, and showed us his father’s WW2 medal. Also called himself cracked and I believed him!).

After a slightly longer-than-intended visit at the museum, we got back on the LUAS, then walked about 15 minutes to get to Kilmainham Jail (Gaol). On the way, I had a “cliff bar and diet coke” lunch – glad Lindsay remembered to bring something to eat since we were in a hurry! 

Neat bridge on the way to Kilmainham.

Fortunately, they were still giving tours when we arrived. This jail is definitely worth the visit. Since the jail was mainly used to house political prisoners, our stop at the National Irish Museum was mainly motivated by my lack of any legitimate knowledge of Irish history. Now armed with names like ‘Collins’ and ‘de Valera’, I was ready to appreciate the jail. Although the paid tour is non-optional, it was worth the modest fee to hear some stories. In particular, the history of the west wing (very old) and the philosophical underpinnings of the east wing (newer). 

The West Wing of Kilmainham from the second floor. Extra credit if you spot Lindsay.

Our tour guide explained that the new wing of the jail was constructed such that the prison guards could constantly see the prisoners without being seen themselves – the so-called panopticon or “all seeing eye”. 

The East Wing of Kilmainham aka the Panopticon. Quite bright and cheery!

The cells themselves aren't quite as cozy.

After the tour, I got special dispensation from our guide for a quick private tour of the yards (so Lindsay could get a better picture).

The Stone Breakers yard was where the leaders of the Easter Rising (1916) were executed.

 After the jail, we walked to the Guinness factory. Apparently, this is highly irregular. We asked several people for directions, both at the jail as well as on our way. All of them told us it was really far, but we were committed (and skint!). First, we got some Irish sandwiches at a gas station. Irish love slathering everything in excess mayo, but they are tasty for some reason. On the way, we noticed one of their gas stations is called “Emo” which struck me as amusing. 

Emo gas station

Also, a kindly stranger noted that we looked lost and walked together with us the last 5 minutes or so. I’m glad she did, because the street at the entrance area is under construction and we might have missed it! Plus we arrived much sooner than I expected, given the amount of warnings we received. After the fact, I mapped our (non-optimal) route – 1.1 miles total. Apparently, the Irish don’t like to walk.

Snapped this picture of St. James church while doing highly irregular walking in Dublin.

There were a lot of tourists at the Guinness factory. In hindsight, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but I was at the time. Admission is paid, but includes a free pint of Guinness – no tour guide. However, there is an orientation given by a real live person (don't listen to the naysayers!) who will point out the original 9000 year lease by Arthur Guinness in the floor. 

9000 year lease!

There is a relatively small museum that explains the Guinness brewing process, and gives some history on the building, business, and family. Also, the Gravity Bar (top floor) has a great view of the city – plus it’s where they are serving the free beer! One of the highlights of the tour was a neat exhibit about the lost trade of barrel-making (aka coopers). It seems unrelated until you realize that the Guinness factory employed up to 200 full-time coopers that suddenly became unemployable with the advent of steel barrels. The exhibit was a nice tribute.

Poorly composed picture of us in front of Guinness Water. Taken by someone from Pennsylvania.

View from the Gravity Bar. Not pictured: Pint of "Free" Guinness.

After finishing up, we took a city bus from Guinness to check out Grafton Street. (Ironically, it’s only about 1.4 miles walking.) Grafton Street is one of the main shopping streets in Dublin, and it was packed with locals and tourists alike. We strolled through the avenue, which runs from College Green (north) to St. Stephen’s Green (south). (In Ireland, a “green” is a park. You probably figured this out already, but it took me awhile because I’m dumb.) Having come on to Grafton Street from the north, we exited to the south and took a stroll through St. Stephen’s green. 

The entrance to St. Stephen's Green / end of Grafton Street.

 We had just learned in the Guinness Factory that St. Stephen’s green was financed by the Guinness family, and noticed the monument to AE Guinness (aka “Lord Ardilaun”) on the west side of the park.

Lord Ardilaun aka AE Guinness.

Lindsay checking out another sculpture in St. Stephen's

Being satisfied with our time in nature, we exited St. Stephen’s Green and went north, towards Trinity College. Trinity is an internationally recognized university, but it is probably most well-known in the tourist circles for being home to the Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript that contains the four Gospels of the New Testament in Latin. We were content to wander around the college itself – paying $25 (for 2) to see a book seemed a bit steep. If there was more included in the price of admission, we may have pulled the trigger. As it is, we saved it for next time. (Spoiler alert: There’s a MUCH better place in Dublin to see illuminated manuscripts, plus it’s FREE. See Day 10.)

Book of Kells. Maybe next time.

 When we were on the bus, we spotted one of the restaurants that Lindsay had identified before our trip – Crackbird. At first, I thought the name was just some Irish joke that I didn’t get. As it turns out, it’s probably closer to Baltimore humor that I DID get. (Crackbird = addictive chicken!) This hip restaurant, which clearly caters to the college crowd near Trinity, serves fried chicken of various sorts. I got the Soy Garlic and Lindsay had the Buttermilk – both “half” (vs. “full”), but ended up being more than we could eat. The lady at the end of our bench was eating some noodles, so Lindsay asked her what they were. They are listed on the menu as “sweet potato noodles with chili oil & peanuts (served cold)” – honestly, not very appetizing. But they smelled amazing so we ordered some. In hindsight – get the noodles! Really tasty. Lindsay also asked for some honey – they brought out “thyme infused honey” accompanied by a cute little spray bottle of vinegar (“vinegar spritz”) – not free, but it was pretty tasty and neat. It’s one of those places. Either way, the total for our meal was about €30, which we thought was reasonable for an excellent meal.

crackbird. Addictive Chicken!

During our meal, we asked our server if there were any bars around that had traditional Irish music. She told us to go to “Oliver St. John Gogarty” or “The Quays” (pronounced “keys”) in Temple Bar, which is the general “Dublin Bar Scene” area of town. So after finishing dinner and paying*, we decided to walk through Temple Bar and check out the places she suggested. The band in The Quays was fine, but playing mostly “contemporary” music. In Oliver St. John Gogarty, we found a cool couple doing more traditional Irish bar songs. This duo was playing guitar and banjo, a popular combination in this area of town. Having already satisfied my Guinness taste for the day, I had a pint of Smithwicks. On the other hand, Lindsay had a rock shandy – a combination of orange and lemon sodas that is popular in Ireland. After enjoying the band for awhile and getting “No, nay, never!” stuck in my head, we wandered back to our hotel. On the way, we stopped by a tourist shop (“The Temple Bar Shop”) to explore and pick up some trinkets.

Irish trinket I didn't buy.

* This was our first episode of “The credit card machine doesn’t reach this far. Is it okay if I walk 5 feet away from your table with your card?” in Europe. Apparently this is a sensitive subject with a lot of folks. I found it awkward because they usually don’t give you a chance to leave a tip (they close out the transaction when the machine is still within range). It feels wrong to enjoy a fine meal and then stiff the server. I guess they don’t really expect tips, but it’s strange.