Hello again. Long time no see. It's been about two months since we went to Dublin, so I have finally decided to sit down and put all of our memories and photos together. Here it is!
It all started when we were checking Ryanair website (again). It was after Christmas break and another Worcester week (which is a week when we don't have lectures at Uni) was coming towards us. This time it was not only me and Mary, who wanted to go for a trip but also few more people. When we checked Ryanair, there were flight tickets to Dublin. Just £20 for a round trip?! :----))))) Insane. We didn't even hesitate and booked those tickets immediately.
It all started when we were checking Ryanair website (again). It was after Christmas break and another Worcester week (which is a week when we don't have lectures at Uni) was coming towards us. This time it was not only me and Mary, who wanted to go for a trip but also few more people. When we checked Ryanair, there were flight tickets to Dublin. Just £20 for a round trip?! :----))))) Insane. We didn't even hesitate and booked those tickets immediately.
There were seven of us, who finally decided to go. Me, Marie, Tereza, Arny, Fred, Mira and Stepan. It was an early morning flight from Birmingham. However, the last possible train that could get us to the airport was leaving Worcester at about 10pm. THE ONLY WAY FOR US WAS TO SPEND THE WHOLE NIGHT AT THE AIRPORT. Not only once. We actually had to spend a night there again on our way back as the first train was leaving the airport at 6am. Thanks, Karma.
Back to the first night at the airport. We got there and it was quite alright, we were all fresh and full of energy, so we decided to keep it fun and watched a movie. All the shops were closed but at least the waiting area was full of "sofas" and places, where one could possibly get some kind of sleep. Except from the freaking cold at the airport and the lack of sleep or rest, it was not THAT bad (when I NOW think about it, back then it was very tiring).
Back to the first night at the airport. We got there and it was quite alright, we were all fresh and full of energy, so we decided to keep it fun and watched a movie. All the shops were closed but at least the waiting area was full of "sofas" and places, where one could possibly get some kind of sleep. Except from the freaking cold at the airport and the lack of sleep or rest, it was not THAT bad (when I NOW think about it, back then it was very tiring).
After we all "woke up" we went through the security control and had some geeewd breakfast and COFFEE at Costa in the duty-free area. Then we were waiting again.
After almost 8 hours at the airport we were finally on board ready to fly to Dublin. The flight was really quick. We were in the air for less than an hour. I couldn't even have a nap as it was so quick.
The perks of flying.
I LOVE it. If there is a place I feel the safest, it is right there. Up in the sky.
I LOVE it. If there is a place I feel the safest, it is right there. Up in the sky.
So there were we. In Dublin, for the first time, already catching some of the Irish accent haha (firstly, we were actually told that Irish accent was not understandable. Nevertheless, we found it actually pretty understandable and a bit similar to American accent. But it may have appeared that way just to us).
When we arrived to Dublin, there was a bus at the airport and on the bus there was a picture of a dog, ever since then when we've seen a dog (and not only then, haha) we've been howling like wolves at each other. This's become a kind of a "signal" slash greeting for us since Dublin.
Here it is. "Ah uh ah uuuh". This is Mira's video from our second day in Dublin, actually. This small playground was situated right next to our Hostel. We are normal, don't worry, we just got carried away a bit. Ok, Let's get back to the day of our arrival.
We had to get to the city from the airport somehow. We found some buses, but had no clue, which one is going to the centre and which is not. After finding out we stood there for another hour, because we didn't know that we had to buy bus tickets before actually getting on the bus. For future reference- do note that there are some kind of tickets machines situated near the bus stop or you can buy them in news stand. I am not even going to mention how tired we were after the "night", also it was freezing in Dublin. We got off the bus, some lovely old-ish lady told us where to. We had already booked the accommodation so we just needed to find the place and check-in. On our way to the Generator Hostel I took some pictures of the lovely centre of Dublin.
We had to get to the city from the airport somehow. We found some buses, but had no clue, which one is going to the centre and which is not. After finding out we stood there for another hour, because we didn't know that we had to buy bus tickets before actually getting on the bus. For future reference- do note that there are some kind of tickets machines situated near the bus stop or you can buy them in news stand. I am not even going to mention how tired we were after the "night", also it was freezing in Dublin. We got off the bus, some lovely old-ish lady told us where to. We had already booked the accommodation so we just needed to find the place and check-in. On our way to the Generator Hostel I took some pictures of the lovely centre of Dublin.
We got a room for 8 people, so there was supposed to be seven of us and one stranger. The hostel was so cool. Such a hipster place, really fancy bar and lounge areas, even the rooms were quite nice and clean and it was all extra cheap- just 10€ per night. I can only recommend this hostel (I think it is not only in Dublin, so if you are looking for a cheap and nice accommodation in the centre- check it here). Then we went outside to have a lunch and then back to bed. It was only about 3pm but we were extremely tired, so we just had a small nap till 6pm and then went to buy some dinner into the near grocery shop.
We were so fresh after the nap, hence we decided to go to the bar, which was downstairs in the hostel, to have some GUINNESS. What else could we possibly ordered? Guinness was finished immediately and the second round was all about the cocktails. Expensive, but no regrets. We (just girlzz) had Long Island Tea.
A bit tipsy we decided to play Billiard. Bad idea. Girls vs boys. We did bad, then we did good but then we did really bad. Tereza (I think I can name her as everyone knows this story:D ) destroyed the billiard. There already had been a hole in the billiard's cloth, but unfortunately she accidentally tore it and suddenly there was a huge tear in the cloth. Uppss we started to laugh so hard but then we panicked and inconspicuously tried to disappear from the venue. When booking the place Ernest had used his credit card so we were expecting him to see the receipt for the destroyed billiard (though he was not even there, but sleeping in the room, fortunately he hasn't received anything YET :D ). Teresa had really bad karma during the trip. Earlier in the afternoon her lunch was not given to her as the waitress misheard her order. Poor Tereza and her bad Karma. Next time, remain extra cautious when playing billiard with Tereza! Haha.
Next morning we had a breakfast in the hostel. When we were about to leave our room and start exploring the city we came across our roommate. She was from Canada and she was both very friendly and witty. Well that morning she was just coming back from the bathroom, she must have had hangover level 10000 as she couldn't even stick the key card into the door. It was so funny, she was laughing so much, being unable to open the door to the room. She got so drunk last night and came back in the early morning. I remember her saying slash giggling: "Seriously, who does that on Tuesday?". Nice girl, but that was the last time we saw her, she probably left or moved into another room with her friend but she still managed to tell us some great stuff about Canada.
Day one in the city. Here we go. In a nutshell we did some sightseeing first, had meals in the meantime, then did some sightseeing again, laughed, laughed a lot, ate, and again walked around the city.
Before the lunch we visited Trinity College. What a lovely campus in the centre of Dublin. We could all imagine ourselves studying there, but Worcester is Worcester. There we went to see some kind of an exhibition about blood, nothing interesting, really.
When planning the trip and the agenda we managed to pick up both interesting and walking-distance-accessible places to see. Everything was more or less in the centre and we didn't need to get any bus (Yaaay, more money to spend on Guinness :---)).
Later that day we went to St.Stephen's Green Park. It was so beautiful there. If it wasn't that chilly it would have been a perfect place for a picnic. But it was. I even had to buy a scarf (Now my absolute fav). Despite the cold it was great, the sun was shining and everything looked so calm and relaxed.
Later that day we went to St.Stephen's Green Park. It was so beautiful there. If it wasn't that chilly it would have been a perfect place for a picnic. But it was. I even had to buy a scarf (Now my absolute fav). Despite the cold it was great, the sun was shining and everything looked so calm and relaxed.
A video of guys (and me in the pink) trying to learn the cup song from Pitch perfect during our lunch haha. Daaaaaamn.
.....now back to the park.
.....now back to the park.
It was almost an evening so we headed back to the hostel, slept for a while again as we were exhausted and then went out for a dinner. Feeling extremely hungry we came across this American-style-dining bistro and decided to go inside and try it. We had some deliciously looking junk food and it was all not really #fitspo and #vegan and #healthy. Moreover, the waitress was from Slovakia (even though it was kinda weird).
Actually, the food was not that good and it was a bit overpriced. We wouldn't go there for the second time. However, there was something more interesting ahead of us. Temple Bar! Temple Bar is a very famous street full of bars and pubs in the centre of Dublin. It is a must see or visit in Dublin. So we went there. We found this cosy pub with live band playing. We had a pint of Guinness, listened to the band, laughed, talked and enjoyed the moment. We felt like changing the place so we moved into another bar, it was a student's bar and it was pretty cool. We went down to the basement where we sat and had another pint of beer.
Both tipsy and satisfied we went back to our hostel. We tried to fall asleep but Ernest started snoring so loudly we couldn't. So basically we spent like almost an hour trying to fall asleep, trying not to laugh every time Ernest started to snore again (every 5 minutes). Six pack from laughter was on its way but we somehow managed to finally fall asleep. Second and last night in Dublin.
Both tipsy and satisfied we went back to our hostel. We tried to fall asleep but Ernest started snoring so loudly we couldn't. So basically we spent like almost an hour trying to fall asleep, trying not to laugh every time Ernest started to snore again (every 5 minutes). Six pack from laughter was on its way but we somehow managed to finally fall asleep. Second and last night in Dublin.
The last day we decided to visit Guinness Storehouse. We all know that if you are in Dublin you need to visit Guinness Storehouse, so we did. Firstly, most of us didn't want to go as the entrance was quite expensive- 15€ for students. I mean, no offense but it is quite lot to see how the beer (sorry- Guinness) is being made, anyway, despite being on a budget almost all of us went (except from Mira and Fred- they spent the whole day at Costa haha). So Me, Mary, Tereza, Ernest and Steve went to see how the glorious and delicious Guinness is being made (I've almost forgotten to mention that testing drinking and a voucher for 1 drink at some of the inside bars were included).
However, it was money well spent as the Storehouse tour was great. Inside the Storehouse there were about 7 floors (2nd-7th), where the last one is Sky Bar. On each floor there was something different. Starting with ingredients, craft of brewing, transportation, advertising, sponsorship and testing the actual Guinness the way it should be drunk and ending with Sky Bar with an overview of the whole city. As I said, it was all very nice, informative and well organised and set up. Nothing like a visit of Czech breweries in Czech Republic (like Ostravar).
Last but not least we paid our visit to the Sky Bar on the 7th floor. There we had our free beer (excited) and could enjoy the spectacular overview of the whole city. It was amazing there, we were there for almost an hour and got a bit tipsy haha. That day could not be more perfect at that moment. To be honest, we didn't want to leave that bar.
That was the end of our Guinness tour. We really do love that beer though. We went into the city centre afterwards in order to find the rest of our squad. We had some unhealthy and cheap lunch and then just walked around the city for few hours as we had to be at the airport at about 7pm. Before we took the bus we had some yummy frozen yoghurt and vegan pancakes. Well it was a delicious end of our trip.
We arrived to Birmingham at about 10pm so guess what followed. You are completely right! No trains, no buses leaving the airport at night. Another night to spend at the airport! This time we were extremely tired and some of us had to work the following morning (Marie).
Both exhausted and frozen we managed to survive the night at the airport (we promised ourself not to go through this ever again- but guess who is going to spend a night at the airport again? Yes, me, and very soon- on 13th of April. Well at least I already have my sleeping spot there).
We had a great time in Dublin. Some of us brought with them some souvenirs (Steve got new umbrella and a small case for headphones) some of us brought some serious sleep deficit but most importantly ALL OF US BROUGHT SOME UNFORGETTABLE AND NICE MEMORIES! Thank you guys for a great trip and our glorious Irish adventure!
We had a great time in Dublin. Some of us brought with them some souvenirs (Steve got new umbrella and a small case for headphones) some of us brought some serious sleep deficit but most importantly ALL OF US BROUGHT SOME UNFORGETTABLE AND NICE MEMORIES! Thank you guys for a great trip and our glorious Irish adventure!
Fred, me and Ernest "sleeping" at the airport. Funny, how everyone sleeps in a different "position".
Thank you for reading and see you soon!
Michaela