Tag 5-7: Monday, 06.08.2018 to Wednesday, 08.08.2018 Dublin

We started at 8:00 am at our bed & breakfast and were kindly bid farewell by our landlords. After about 5 minutes we already reached the ferry port. There we were already expected, since the ferry company employee already knew our name. This was the only "check" from Holyhead to Dublin. The ferry was of similar size to the ferry from Dunkirk to Dover. This time too, the sea was calm and we had a relaxing crossing. T. slept most of the time during the journey while J. explored the entire ship ;-). After a snack on board (bringing our own travel food) and about 3 ½ hours of travel, we arrived at Dublin Harbour. Since we couldn't yet go to our accommodation, we decided the day before that we wanted to take a "small" hike in Howth Head. The "small" hike turned out to be a four-hour uphill/downhill tour. It went through the town of Howth, along cliffs, over a golf course back to our starting point. The beautiful route is recommended, but the route is long and our 1.5 liter bottle of water was already empty after half the distance ;-) (distance about 12 km). After that we bought ourselves a ice-cold drink and then drove to our parking garage near our accommodation. The QPark Four Courts parking garage is relatively hidden and probably costs only 16 € / 24 hours for this reason. We had already selected it online before. It is close to the city center and about 5 minutes from our accommodation. The LIV Student, where we stayed, is a student dormitory that can also be booked by tourists. There are four apartments with six rooms each (including private bathroom / WC) on each floor. The six share a living room + kitchen. The whole building is very modern and new. It smells like a furniture store everywhere and it is very clean (we can recommend it 100%). In the evening we wanted to explore the area around our "hotel" and go out for dinner or drinks. There was a nice pub just around the corner. However, we decided to walk a little further and explore other options. After half an hour we were back in front of the original pub and finally went inside. There we drank a few Guinness and ate a steak sandwich and bacon & cabbage. Later on, a few musicians started playing. Some locals danced traditional Irish dances. During the fourth dance (also called the Visitors Dance), J. was invited to dance by an Irishwoman (see pictures...). The men had to stand still and the women had to change partners. After that, we fell into bed.

07.08.2018

After sleeping in, we started in the morning to the Jameson Distillery (only about 5 minutes on foot). There we were explained the basics of whiskey production. There was also a tasting between Jameson Whiskey, Johnny Walker and Jack Daniels. The entire tour was super interesting and well done. Anyone in Dublin who has even the slightest affinity for whiskey - an absolute must. After that, we explored the entire city center on foot. In the evening, we participated in the so-called Musical Pub Crawl. Two musicians (one with a guitar, one with a flute) lead through the Temple Bar and other pubs. Irish songs are played and their history is explained. In the respective pubs, you sit in separate rooms (usually above the actual pub) and thus get a "private concert" - duration about 2 ½ hours. After that, we went back to the hotel and fell into bed, dead tired.

08.08.2018

In the late morning, we started again to the city center of Dublin. There we met the Pa. and Ko. family from our hometown. The seven of us explored many sights again and visited the Guinness Storehouse. It was incredibly busy there, but this "museum" was also very interesting. After about 1 ½ hours of sightseeing, you get a pint of Guinness as a reward. After that, we went to the Temple Bar together and had dinner there. Since the Pa. / Ko. family had to be at the airport early the next day, we parted ways there and had one or two beers in the pub from the first evening. Tomorrow is our last day in Dublin and we want to enjoy a "Full Irish Breakfast" again (of course in the pub from the first evening ;-) à Ned O' Sheas Pub). In total, we walked about 40 km in our three days in Dublin.

Mileage: 1,630 km

Insights of the days: Bring more drinks / Walk as far as your feet can carry you / The world is a village

J&T