Last night I posted on some Ireland FB pages to get some more suggestions of places to check out in Dublin. WOW! There’s a ton of things to do here! I already had planned on doing 4 things today: Two of the National Museums, the exhibit on the Potato Famine, and a Folklore Dinner. I had room for one more thing…and two suggestions popped out the most to me. EPIC- an exhibit on Irish immigration, and the Kilmainham Gaol. I looked them both up on the map, and EPIC was more in the general direction of where I was going to be for the day, so I decided to try that. Packed up my gear, snacks, and water, and headed out for what was going to be a VERY long day!

There were a few ways to get to EPIC. I decided on the one that didn’t require a change of bus. That meant walking for about 15 minutes to a new bus stop in the neighborhood. I took off and about 2 minutes in realized I didn’t put on deodorant! And I needed it- the weather was beautiful and sunny!! Back to the house, missed my bus. I don’t freak out about such things though, because there always a reason… Headed back out to catch the next bus. Found a Leprechaun!

Go Ireland!!

Um, if the king was writing out proclamations every time, I’m shocked he didn’t run out of paper! Those Irish didn’t take English rule too kindly!

From EPIC, I walked to the National Museum of Archaeology. As I walked through the streets, I still wasn’t feeling connected on any level to the city, although I admit, this area was definitely nice than where I was yesterday. The museum is gorgeous inside! And the displays are really well presented. I looked through everything, except the ancient Egypt part. I’m here for Ireland!

The museum looks like a cake! 🙂 Or, I’m just super hungry for anything that doesn’t contain peanut butter or noodles…

By far, the most impressive exhibit were those about the bogs… What’s a bog? Well, it’s a type of landform found in Northern Europe, kind of like a wetland of sorts. Dead plant material accumulates in these wetlands, creating the bog. This is where peat can be found- the precursor to coal. The water in the bog is very acidic, and that, combined with the cold temperatures and low oxygen levels, causes a slow decomposition of the plants. But not only plants decompose every-so-slowly here. Any organic material that winds up in the bog has the same fate as the plants. Enter, the bog bodies! A rather ominous sounding name given to something that’s well…rather ominous looking! The remains of humans have been found in these bogs. And they are surprisingly well preserved! 17 have been found in Ireland so far, and 3 are on display at the museum. I’m not going to lie- I was in the museum as soon as it opened, like 3rd person in. So it wasn’t crowded. I was alone in the room with a bog body (they’re in separate little room-like things) twice, and I seriously felt it could come to life at any minute!

Meet Clonycavan man. He was found in 2003 after getting stuck in a peat-harvesting machine (which explains why he’s just a torso). He’s been dated to 200-400 BCE!! Holy crap, that’s 2200 to 2400 years old!! The super crazy thing about this one is the hair. It is so well preserved, that it looks like a wig! Kinda creepy. He had beard hairs, too.

Last, is Gallagh Man. He was discovered in 1821. It is thought that all of these were sacrifices that were buried in the bogs…
While these bog men were undeniably fascinating, there was also an exhibit of clothing that had been found in bogs. And the condition it was in was REMARKABLE!! I seriously couldn’t get over how well preserved they were.

Dress from the late 1500s/early 1600s.

Look how well preserved the fibers are!

This cap looks practically new. Seriously. But it’s from the mid 1500s!!!!!!!! It was found in a bog in 1847!

Not just people and clothes were found in bogs. These fish traps (see the pointed end? fish would swim in the big end and get trapped) were found there as well in 2006. Take a guess at how old they are…seriously. Try it. Answer is at the very end of the blog.

Ok. The Potato Famine Exhibit was FAS-CIN-A-TING!! It was so simple- there was a 15 minute movie and then 50 numbered boards that you read the story from beginning to end. This is what I live for- history exhibits that have flow and continuity. I learned SO MUCH. I’ll ignore the irony of it being next to an all you can eat buffet…. 😉 And if I needed another reason to hate the English historically, well, I sure as hell got it. I left there a combination of sad, appalled…angry.

The only thing that can get me in a mall….HISTORY!! Pay attention, Sherman Oaks Galleria!

Wow. Look at the things they did almost 200 years ago! Appalling isn’t it?? Oh, wait- that is hitting a little too close to home. Circa 2018. This made me so angry. Those who don’t understand history are doomed to repeat it. If you think things like potato famines and 1 MILLION (yes, 1 MILLION) people starving to death because they were considered to be “less than” can’t happen today, check yourself. Check yourself hard and fast. #endrant

There was only one thing left on today’s spreadsheet, and it didn’t start until 6:30. That gave me a full hour to wander around. I decided to go ahead and do something that was on tomorrow’s agenda- St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Yes, that St. Patrick! He’s the patron saint of Ireland, famous for running the snakes out of the country. Of course, no snakes ever lived in Ireland- they’re just a symbol of paganism. St. Patrick is credited with bringing Christianity to the “heathen pagans”.

And now, it was time for the grand finale of the evening! I rarely, rarely, RARELY eat out when I’m traveling. But I do always eat out at least once to try the local food. If I can be entertained while doing so, all the better. If I can be entertained AND learn something, well, stick your hand out, I’m giving you my money! And for my Irish experience, Food, Folklore, and Fairies was getting my $58! This was a 2.5 hour dinner at the Brazen Head Pub. This is Dublin’s OLDEST pub, established in…wait for it…1198!! And it’s just beautiful inside. Feels historic.

I walked in to a room with 5 huge tables and gave my name to a nice man named Ollie. Ollie told me to sit at the round table in the middle, and showed me the best seat for viewing the show! After getting people seated, Ollie came over and talked to me. I told him I am a teacher and am interested in mythology for a class I’m creating. He was really interested and had a ton of questions for me! Really nice guy! Soon, the room filled- I would guess there were about 50 people. I, of course, awkwardly stared at my phone and tried to blend into the tablecloth… We got to choose a 3 course meal- starter, main, and dessert. I chose fish cakes, Irish beef stew with Guinness sauce (there, I officially had Guinness in Ireland!), and apple pie. The show began with Ollie telling stories of the Irish people. How their folklore formed out of hardship. He spoke of the great hunger (the potato famine) that I had just learned about, rekindling that anger in me. He spoke of the stories they told. It was mesmerizing. Then, they interrupted us with food. Except that my fish cake was SO GOOD, I can’t complain!!

During the starter, the ladies next to me struck up a conversation. One of them has a little travel business and travels solo a lot, so she understood me. We really had a great conversation! Then, the plates were cleared and Ollie told us of fairies. Not tinkerbells with wings and fairy dust, but mean spirited creatures that would do you harm if you were unlucky enough to cross them the wrong way. I love how he really brought the stories to life and had me on the edge of my seat! Then, damn it, they interrupted us with food again! But once again, it was ok because my Irish beef stew was delicious! Stick to your ribs comfort food. The portion was huge and I couldn’t even eat all of it (got a doggie bag, no lie! I wasn’t going to throw that away!). The main course was a longer break, and Ollie came back over and talked to me. I told him about the Potato Famine exhibit and how I really enjoyed his stories since I had learned the history of it today. He had never even heard of it! He said that if I was interested, he was going to another Great Hunger exhibition on Wednesday and I could come with him. Seriously, that sounded SO WONDERFUL!! To go to something like that with an Irishman who loved the history. But I was leaving on Tuesday!! Damn the luck! I would have gone in a heartbeat…

Starters were cleared, dessert was served (the apple pie was literally the best I’d ever had in my entire life!!!), and it was song time! Ollie got everyone involved, and I was singing songs that I didn’t even know what the lyrics were! It was just so much fun- clapping and stomping and singing and laughing. I really didn’t want it to end. But it did. And it was 945pm….

Ok. I am a solo female traveler. And one thing I do is make sure I’m always in before it starts to get dark. Ok, granted, it doesn’t get dark here until like 10:30. So I had time. But I had a 45 minute bus ride back. Usually, I catch the direct bus from the spire, but the spire was .8 miles away (EVERYTHING I have to go to, I swear to god it does not matter what it is, is .8 miles away here!!). So I was going to catch some other bus, transfer to another bus, and then be home. Except I had a major concern. Google really sucks with the bus schedules. Seriously. I can’t count on it. It was late, and I knew the buses would stop or have a greatly reduced schedule soon. I just didn’t know when and didn’t trust google. And true to form, the stop I walked to from the pub that google said had a bus leaving at 10:05 had a sign saying that it was leaving at 10:25. Ugh. That was pushing me really late. I looked at my fellow bus stop mates. Three straight up junkies. I’m not lying. The woman was squatting on the ground, looking at me with dead eyes. I was in constant text contact with Brian. Standing in front of 3 junkies with a phone and a day pack. I couldn’t have been more obvious if I had put a sign on my forehead “HAPLESS SINGLE FEMALE TOURIST”. I told Brian I wasn’t feeling comfortable, and I walked several meters away to stand outside of a restaurant. But then, I got nervous. I really had no idea how long my transfer would be. I had no idea what kind of neighborhood I’d have to wait in. I had no idea if that bus had even stopped running for the night. And I was not feeling safe. I had to make an executive decision…

I started walking. Fast. Staying along the river where I felt it was safer than getting myself tucked into the buildings and alleys. Texting Brian the whole time. I was going to make it those .8 miles to the spire and get the direct bus! I crossed the bridge early because I kinda just wanted to put a river between that area and me. I saw a couple up ahead- the guy was pretty large. So I walked fast, caught up, and kept pace with them for several blocks. By the time they turned off, I was in a much more “touristy” area with a lot of people walking around. I could breathe again. 🙂  Made it to the spire just in time to catch my bus, and made it back no problems. Traveling solo as a female presents a whole set of issues that other travelers don’t have to deal with. It’s only you and your instincts. And I always follow my instincts and never question them. Better safe than sorry.

I walked back into the house right at 12 hours after I had left. A VERY full day in Dublin, indeed. I’ll be honest, I’m still not feeling the city. I’m not connecting with it. But there are at least some really cool things to see and do here, so I’m just focusing on that. One more day to go…

That fish trap is about 7000 years old!!!!!!!!! My mind was BLOWN!!!!!!!!!

CONTINUE TO DAY 4

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