erin go bragh!!

i went to ireland with a friend, spent a week there and celebrated st patrick's day in dublin. we also went to some small towns near dublin (dun laoghaire and howth) and saw some beautiful scenery. we were actually planning on going to some other cities including galway, but things didn't go according to plan. looks like i'm gonna have to go back! i had an amazing time there, the people i met were so nice and friendly. i love the fact that shop owners or bartenders go "hey how are you?" or "hi, you ok there?" instead of a plain "bitte", like they do in vienna.

we spent 4 nights with an irish family, so we pretty much had the ultimate irish experience :) when we failed to sort out the accommodation for those nights because of a change in plans, an internet friend of mine whom i've been chatting with for like 5 years now, invited me and my friend to stay with him and his family. it was so nice of him especially given the fact that we had never actually met in person. i don't know what we would have done without him. i have lots of great memories; like his dad getting everyone drunk on dinner table, singing irish folk songs, chilling at home with him and his sisters, his mom cooking delicious irish dishes, his dad teaching us gaelic words and expressions, which we were very excited and curious about, while the children rolled their eyes :) they made us feel really welcome and they treated us like one of their own.

i really enjoyed the st patrick's day parade. i had never seen a parade before. the streets were full of people in green. dublin was crawling with tourists throughout the whole week. actually, there weren't many irish in the bars or on the streets. either they evacuated the city or they were hiding in a tourist free zone somewhere.

i have to say that i was very surprised by the fact that most bars in dublin close at midnight during the week. there was one tourist bar with unbelievably expensive drinks which was open till 2. the first time we were in a bar in dublin and the lights started flickering to call last orders (at midnight!!), i thought there was something wrong with the lighting. that might be the reason why half of ireland is in vienna. the other half should get their asses over here too, we need more irish.

nearly all of my friends here told me to bring a cute irish guy back with me but i'm afraid that mission has failed. "ps i love you" gives you false expectations. i mean even that ugly neurotic bitch can find a cute irish guy to kill merely by nagging the living hell out of him and yet my friend and i went home empty handed. oh well, maybe next time.

i can't summarize my entire trip or upload all of the photos here, but i can say that i love the country, had a great time and i'm looking forward to seeing more of it.




a place near the kilmainham gaol


the liffey


tourism office


no caption necessary


traditional irish folk music


st patrick's day parade!