November 21
After accidentally oversleeping, I had the quickest shower of my life, threw some clothes in a bag, and seriously sprinted all the way to the metro so that I could make the train to the airport and catch my flight. I luckily made it just on time and everything went smoothly for my first flight, to Frankfurt, Germany. (I stepped on the tarmac, does that count?). My flight from Frankfurt to Dublin also went smoothly and I even got a stamp in my passport!!! :D Only my second one since being abroad... This and Copenhagen. After landing in Dublin, I took the bus to O'Connell St., found the hostel, checked in, and met Jess and her friends, Lindsay and Andrea. Going through Dublin customs and the journey from the airport took longer than expected, so I felt bad that they waited for me, but as soon as I got there, we ventured out in the dark and pouring rain to find someplace for dinner. We wanted to go to the Brazen Head, but Jessica took us in the completely opposite direction, probably half an hour walk away in the opposite direction. Payback for me navigating in Paris I think? Hahaha, no, in her defense, two options showed up on Google maps and we just happened to choose the wrong one :/ . Adventure! We got to see the back streets of Dublin and walk along the River Liffey, which was pretty, just wish it wasn't dark and pouring rain! After that little detour, we found a fish and chips restaurant in the Temple Bar area and had some dinner. After we ate our fill, we headed back to the hostel to dry off and crash for the night.
November 22
The four of us got up SUPER early and caught our bus for the Cliffs of Moher tour. After making a quick pit stop to grab some coffee and snacks, we were on our way! The "wifi" they promised us was pretty spotty and our tour guide insisted on talking in her late night radio host voice for pretty much the ENTIRE bus ride, which were both pretty annoying, but after about 2 1/2 hours, we made it to the Cliffs of Moher!!! The Irish countryside is so green and pretty and there are so many sheep and cows. The rain stopped and the sun came out just as we got there, which was wonderful! After some safety guidelines and our tour guide telling us we weren't supposed to go past the barriers (with a wink and her telling us to just ignore those!) we were released to explore for about 2 hours. We chose the path to the right and took A LOT of pictures, even jumping the barrier to sit on the edge of the giant cliffs! The views were absolutely breathtaking!!! I can't even explain how pretty it all was. We went pretty far down the path and jumped the fence to go even further. I am not a huge fan of heights, even the 3 meter diving board freaks me out, but I knew this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, so I was right there crawling to the edge of the windy cliffs to take pictures and take it all in. Before we knew it, we had to head back to the bus and drive to the next stop. We saw a lot of "castles" along the way, but I think of them more as towers. Our next stop was to walk around the Burren landscape. We had to climb a bit to get to the top, but it was so cool! All the exposed rock looked like something you would see on the moon and on the way back to the bus, we even saw a rainbow! Guess the leprechauns are close-by! Our last stop was the city of Galway. We were given two hours to explore the Christmas market, where we had burgers, and then we shopped! I bought a ring and Jess got a lot of souvenirs. After our last stop, it was another 2 1/2 hours until we were back to Dublin, but I had a great trip and I am so glad the four of us decided to do this. I feel like it gave me a more complete picture of Ireland and the views were absolutely AMAZING!! Once we returned, we wanted to do some shopping, but the stores were closed and so we decided to try and find the REAL Brazen Head Pub for dinner again. We did find it, but the kitchens closed right before we got there. :/. Just our luck lol. The whole reason we wanted to go there in the first place, other than it being Ireland's oldest pub, it because Jess and I did swimming in High School and our old coach had gone to Ireland a few years before us and put his signed dollar up in the Brazen Head Pub and wanted us to see if we could find it. We tried!!! It was REALLY crowded and a lot of the dollars had been covered up over time :(. We eventually had to give up because we were getting dirty looks from the people around us and it was super busy. We left and walked back through Temple Bar to grab dinner at a little restaurant. We went back to the hostel to drop of Andrea, who had an early flight in the morning, and then Lindsay, Jess, and I headed all the way back to Brazen Head to meet up with Julia, another high school friend of Jess and I who is studying in Limerick, Ireland for the semester. We were extremely lucky that the three of us just so happened to be able to meet up at the same time in the same city! What are the odds?! We had a beer at the Brazen Head and then ventured out to go bar hopping in the Temple Bar area. Our next stop was THE Temple bar and then we ended the night at the Norseman Bar (Hehe). The Irish people we met were all very friendly and talkative, so we had a lot of fun getting to know them and just having fun. After the Norseman, we walked Julia to her hostel and then headed back to ours for the night.
November 23
After breakfast, Jess and Lindsay checked out of the hostel and we were finally able to see Dublin during the day-time and take pictures! I got in too late Friday and then Saturday was spent on the bus and on the other side of the country, so this was really our first chance to look around Dublin. We started the day with a tour of the Guinness Storehouse, where the highlight was being able to pour our own pints of Guinness and getting to drink them in the Gravity Bar, where we had a panoramic view over Dublin. Dark beer isn't my favorite, but it was still a cool experience! After that, we headed over to take pictures of St. Patrick's Cathedral and The Dublin Castle. Our last stop was to Trinity college to see the Book of Kells. It was SUPER detailed and cool, but my absolute favorite part was seeing the library. It was just... ahhh... beautiful! I don't think I would ever want to live in Dublin because it can be very rainy and the people can be pretty... rude, but I was telling Jess that I would want a magical painting where you can just walk into them and instantly be at the Cliffs of Moher or The Trinity Library. After we finished our sightseeing, Jess and Lindsay got some last minute souvenirs, we all got drinks from Butler's Hot Chocolate, and we stopped to grab sandwiches for lunch. They then picked up their luggage from the hostel and I walked them to their bus to say goodbye. I had a great weekend with them and it was great to see Jess again and meet Lindsay and Andrea! I had decided to stay another night because it was cheaper, and so after they left I went shopping! Everything is sooooo much cheaper here than in Norway, so I went a little crazy, but it was fun! Just don't know how I am going to pack everything... After that, I didn't want to go out drinking or do anything in the city at night alone, so I picked up some food and had a relaxing night in the hostel, getting everything ready to leave in the morning.
November 24
This morning started out with getting ready and then checking out of the hostel. I walked along the River Liffey to take some last minute pictures and do some souvenir shopping before catching my bus back to the airport. My first flight went smoothly and I had another layover in Frankfurt, this one being 5 hours. I considered leaving the airport and exploring the city, but decided against it because it was already getting dark when I landed and everything I researched to do seemed to be closed on Mondays. Instead, I just bought a pretzel from the food court (I was in Germany after all) and then read on my Kindle. My flight to Oslo also went smoothly, but then I missed the Flytoget train and had to wait another 20 minutes to get downtown, which made me worry that I would miss the last metro, but luckily I made it just in time and returned home around 3 a.m. So tired, but seeing Dublin and everyone there was well worth it!
November 25
Today was spent mostly sleeping and unpacking/cleaning. I chose my housing for next semester and it looks like I am rooming with a Freshman?... we will see how this goes and if it changes. I also think I might have Jess convinced to come visit me in Oslo?! It might be this weekend, but I know she was experiencing some problems, so it might have to be pushed back. I am so excited and hope it works out!!!
After accidentally oversleeping, I had the quickest shower of my life, threw some clothes in a bag, and seriously sprinted all the way to the metro so that I could make the train to the airport and catch my flight. I luckily made it just on time and everything went smoothly for my first flight, to Frankfurt, Germany. (I stepped on the tarmac, does that count?). My flight from Frankfurt to Dublin also went smoothly and I even got a stamp in my passport!!! :D Only my second one since being abroad... This and Copenhagen. After landing in Dublin, I took the bus to O'Connell St., found the hostel, checked in, and met Jess and her friends, Lindsay and Andrea. Going through Dublin customs and the journey from the airport took longer than expected, so I felt bad that they waited for me, but as soon as I got there, we ventured out in the dark and pouring rain to find someplace for dinner. We wanted to go to the Brazen Head, but Jessica took us in the completely opposite direction, probably half an hour walk away in the opposite direction. Payback for me navigating in Paris I think? Hahaha, no, in her defense, two options showed up on Google maps and we just happened to choose the wrong one :/ . Adventure! We got to see the back streets of Dublin and walk along the River Liffey, which was pretty, just wish it wasn't dark and pouring rain! After that little detour, we found a fish and chips restaurant in the Temple Bar area and had some dinner. After we ate our fill, we headed back to the hostel to dry off and crash for the night.
November 22
The four of us got up SUPER early and caught our bus for the Cliffs of Moher tour. After making a quick pit stop to grab some coffee and snacks, we were on our way! The "wifi" they promised us was pretty spotty and our tour guide insisted on talking in her late night radio host voice for pretty much the ENTIRE bus ride, which were both pretty annoying, but after about 2 1/2 hours, we made it to the Cliffs of Moher!!! The Irish countryside is so green and pretty and there are so many sheep and cows. The rain stopped and the sun came out just as we got there, which was wonderful! After some safety guidelines and our tour guide telling us we weren't supposed to go past the barriers (with a wink and her telling us to just ignore those!) we were released to explore for about 2 hours. We chose the path to the right and took A LOT of pictures, even jumping the barrier to sit on the edge of the giant cliffs! The views were absolutely breathtaking!!! I can't even explain how pretty it all was. We went pretty far down the path and jumped the fence to go even further. I am not a huge fan of heights, even the 3 meter diving board freaks me out, but I knew this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, so I was right there crawling to the edge of the windy cliffs to take pictures and take it all in. Before we knew it, we had to head back to the bus and drive to the next stop. We saw a lot of "castles" along the way, but I think of them more as towers. Our next stop was to walk around the Burren landscape. We had to climb a bit to get to the top, but it was so cool! All the exposed rock looked like something you would see on the moon and on the way back to the bus, we even saw a rainbow! Guess the leprechauns are close-by! Our last stop was the city of Galway. We were given two hours to explore the Christmas market, where we had burgers, and then we shopped! I bought a ring and Jess got a lot of souvenirs. After our last stop, it was another 2 1/2 hours until we were back to Dublin, but I had a great trip and I am so glad the four of us decided to do this. I feel like it gave me a more complete picture of Ireland and the views were absolutely AMAZING!! Once we returned, we wanted to do some shopping, but the stores were closed and so we decided to try and find the REAL Brazen Head Pub for dinner again. We did find it, but the kitchens closed right before we got there. :/. Just our luck lol. The whole reason we wanted to go there in the first place, other than it being Ireland's oldest pub, it because Jess and I did swimming in High School and our old coach had gone to Ireland a few years before us and put his signed dollar up in the Brazen Head Pub and wanted us to see if we could find it. We tried!!! It was REALLY crowded and a lot of the dollars had been covered up over time :(. We eventually had to give up because we were getting dirty looks from the people around us and it was super busy. We left and walked back through Temple Bar to grab dinner at a little restaurant. We went back to the hostel to drop of Andrea, who had an early flight in the morning, and then Lindsay, Jess, and I headed all the way back to Brazen Head to meet up with Julia, another high school friend of Jess and I who is studying in Limerick, Ireland for the semester. We were extremely lucky that the three of us just so happened to be able to meet up at the same time in the same city! What are the odds?! We had a beer at the Brazen Head and then ventured out to go bar hopping in the Temple Bar area. Our next stop was THE Temple bar and then we ended the night at the Norseman Bar (Hehe). The Irish people we met were all very friendly and talkative, so we had a lot of fun getting to know them and just having fun. After the Norseman, we walked Julia to her hostel and then headed back to ours for the night.
November 23
After breakfast, Jess and Lindsay checked out of the hostel and we were finally able to see Dublin during the day-time and take pictures! I got in too late Friday and then Saturday was spent on the bus and on the other side of the country, so this was really our first chance to look around Dublin. We started the day with a tour of the Guinness Storehouse, where the highlight was being able to pour our own pints of Guinness and getting to drink them in the Gravity Bar, where we had a panoramic view over Dublin. Dark beer isn't my favorite, but it was still a cool experience! After that, we headed over to take pictures of St. Patrick's Cathedral and The Dublin Castle. Our last stop was to Trinity college to see the Book of Kells. It was SUPER detailed and cool, but my absolute favorite part was seeing the library. It was just... ahhh... beautiful! I don't think I would ever want to live in Dublin because it can be very rainy and the people can be pretty... rude, but I was telling Jess that I would want a magical painting where you can just walk into them and instantly be at the Cliffs of Moher or The Trinity Library. After we finished our sightseeing, Jess and Lindsay got some last minute souvenirs, we all got drinks from Butler's Hot Chocolate, and we stopped to grab sandwiches for lunch. They then picked up their luggage from the hostel and I walked them to their bus to say goodbye. I had a great weekend with them and it was great to see Jess again and meet Lindsay and Andrea! I had decided to stay another night because it was cheaper, and so after they left I went shopping! Everything is sooooo much cheaper here than in Norway, so I went a little crazy, but it was fun! Just don't know how I am going to pack everything... After that, I didn't want to go out drinking or do anything in the city at night alone, so I picked up some food and had a relaxing night in the hostel, getting everything ready to leave in the morning.
November 24
This morning started out with getting ready and then checking out of the hostel. I walked along the River Liffey to take some last minute pictures and do some souvenir shopping before catching my bus back to the airport. My first flight went smoothly and I had another layover in Frankfurt, this one being 5 hours. I considered leaving the airport and exploring the city, but decided against it because it was already getting dark when I landed and everything I researched to do seemed to be closed on Mondays. Instead, I just bought a pretzel from the food court (I was in Germany after all) and then read on my Kindle. My flight to Oslo also went smoothly, but then I missed the Flytoget train and had to wait another 20 minutes to get downtown, which made me worry that I would miss the last metro, but luckily I made it just in time and returned home around 3 a.m. So tired, but seeing Dublin and everyone there was well worth it!
November 25
Today was spent mostly sleeping and unpacking/cleaning. I chose my housing for next semester and it looks like I am rooming with a Freshman?... we will see how this goes and if it changes. I also think I might have Jess convinced to come visit me in Oslo?! It might be this weekend, but I know she was experiencing some problems, so it might have to be pushed back. I am so excited and hope it works out!!!