Dublin: The Land of Green, Guinness, and Good Luck

I was stranded in Charles de Gaulle in Paris for six hours after I missed my flight to Dublin. My friend Jo already arrived in Ireland and I envisioned her having the time of her life at our hostel as I sat by myself eating an overpriced baguette with brie in the airport. So far, getting to the land of luck had not gone well.

I finally made it on a British Airways flight and as we descended into Dublin, I caught a glimpse of a rainbow over the rolling green hills. No matter what, compared to the previous six hours, I told myself Dublin was bound to be enjoyable…and it certainly lived up to expectations.

I grabbed a five pound bus ticket to the city center as soon as I landed, anxious to find my hostel, my friend, and a pint of Guinness. I couldn’t help but smile en route, despite the dreary weather, as I realized that I had finally made it to Dublin. I was following in the footsteps of U2 and during the week of St. Patrick’s Day, no less.

Once we docked downtown, I wandered aimlessly sans map until I came across the cobblestone path that led to The Oliver St. John Gogarty's Hostel—a long name for such a small hostel. But it was a fabulous find, as the Gogarty was smack dab in the middle of Temple Bar, the area best known for bar-hopping and keg-rolling. Also, forget lurid tales of bad hostel roommates, we got who we hope to be a life-long friend from Finland in ours.

I found Jo, ditched my backpack, and set out to explore. We referred to our map in the middle of the bustling road and a passerby offered some useless advice: “You’re in Dublin, Ireland!” But with that, we abandoned the map and just wandered around the city center. No matter what direction you turn in Dublin, you’re bound to find something historic or interesting.

The friendliness of the Irish people can barely be described; they truly live up to all stereotypes related to being nice. After spending the previous few days broke in Paris (see: gypsies, ATM, being robbed blind), our faith in humanity was fully restored when Jo dropped a ten pound note and a woman hurried after us to return it. Seriously…we had just been robbed by teenyboppers and now a lady was going out of her way to return money to us. Dublin=Paradise.

If you claim to love beer and Guinness ranks in your top choices, you need to visit the Guinness Storehouse at St. James’s Gate Brewery. Just follow the River Liffey, eventually take a left, and you’ll be at the heart of this renowned brewing company.

You’ll get the history of the Guinness-making process, a taste of the barley, and there’s even an interactive web-camera that takes a picture of you to send to friends (being without a phone, this was how I communicated to my parents that I made it safely to Dublin after the tear-filled, six-hour hold over in Paris). The Storehouse highlights the advertising campaigns over the years and has a room devoted to posting notes for other visitors to peruse (click the photo to read the message).

But what makes this “museum” unlike the rest is the prize you get at the top for having soaked up all that historical information: a pint of Guinness. Jammed packed at any time of the day, The Gravity Bar at the top of the Storehouse gives you the best view of Dublin.

After a few hours and some photo shoots, we stopped at a traditional Irish pub near St. James’s for a hot meal. The further away from the city center, the cheaper the food and the pints. Jo, ever the friendly traveler, met friends in flight and we came across them while walking back to town…a testament to this petite and practicable city.

We explored the quiet sanctuary that is Trinity College, located in the middle of downtown. The Book of Kells attracts over 500,000 visitors a year, according to the Trinity Web site. It was probably blasphemous to skip it, but we got the downlow: it was written in or around 800 AD and is a “richly decorated copy of the four gospels in a Latin based on the Vulgate edition.” Rockin’.

On to more sinful things, we came to Dublin for the nightlife and took full advantage of our stay in the Temple Bar area. There are three main pubs we checked out and I suggest you do the same if you find yourself in Ireland.

1. Ha’penny Bridge Inn
   Up some narrow stairs you’ll find a room full of Irishmen laughing over pints. Well, perhaps they won’t always be laughing, we just happened to stumble upon the Ha’penny on open-mic comedy night. And yet another testament to how small this world really is, we met a group from New Mexico and one guy with them went to our high school (“Go Bulldawgs,” they yelled drunkenly as they left).
   
   
2. The Temple Bar
   This joint had a chill buzz. It’s a tourist hotspot thanks to the name, but beware of price hikes during high season (like the week of St. Patrick’s).
   
   
3. Oliver St. John Gogarty
   We certainly saved the best for last, which coincidentally was also our hostel. You’ve got two spots to choose from, the traditional Irish band upstairs and the more modern take on Dublin downstairs. Both had their charms, but in retrospect, the only one worth going to was the upstairs pub. The room was heaving with people as the fiddles wailed and the pints were drawn. Dancing seemed mandatory and the hardwood floors were scuffed as a result of all the nights of jigging about.

You could take a map to help find your way around Dublin, but you’ll have a more memorable experience if you nix the directions and go with your gut. Embrace getting lost and take a wrong turn…because you never quite know where you’ll end up, which is part of the fun.

Dublin is certainly convenient enough that you can always find yourself back on the right track if you end up wandering around aimlessly. And if not, there’s a pub around every corner, so just go in, relax by the fire, and enjoy a pint of Guinness. Eventually, luck will find its way to you.