Location: Dublin, Ireland
Travel Time: June 12-14, 2016
Our first destination on our third tour through Europe was Dublin. We flew Air Canada (http://www.aircanada.com/us) from Chicago to Toronto, Canada with a one-hour layover and then headed directly to Dublin, Ireland. The 5 of us were on one flight while Tracie (who was coming from New Jersey) met us in Dublin. The first leg of the flight was very comfortable, however, the second leg of the flight was on Air Canada Rogue and the comfort level was not the same. On one hand, the price of our airfare was incredibly reasonable so that was a huge plus. However, the flight itself was very low-budget: no in-flight movie, slow food/beverage service, and the leg room was non-existent. Depending on your comfort level with a 7+ hour flight, you might want to look at some other options. For us, our budget was more important so we bit the bullet and off we were.
The second to last row on our 7 hour flight to Dublin. But we made the most of it!
When we landed in Dublin, the time was approximately 10:00am. Being a Sunday, we all decided as a group that the first thing on our itinerary was to attend the congregation meeting. To our surprise, the Kingdom Hall was only 10 minutes from the airport (Kettles Ln, Nevinstown East, Swords, Co. Dublin, Ireland). We used Uber and taxis in getting around since fares were fairly low. The congregation meeting was in English and we had a great time listening to the public talk and participating in the Watchtower study. After the meeting, the friends were very welcoming to us. To our surprise, one of the brothers informed us that this specific Kingdom Hall had actually been featured in the Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom on page 327. It was so cool to see a part of our spiritual heritage! After visiting with the friends, we took a taxi to our hostel: Kinlay House Dublin (http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/Kinlay-House-Dublin). The 6 of us shared a room together. There was also a men’s and women’s bathroom down the hall with showers included. Overall, the place had everything we needed: complimentary breakfast, game room, decent size beds, but most importantly, it was a close walking distance to downtown Dublin. We unpacked our items and got settled in. Then, it was off to the Guinness Storehouse. We purchased our tickets in advance for the 5:00pm tour (https://www.guinness-storehouse.com/en). The tour was actually very interactive; photo displays explaining the origin of the iconic beer along with a rooftop view of the entire city of Dublin. Not to mention, we had the chance to go to the ‘Guinness Academy’ and learn how to pour our own beer. We had a lot of fun. After our tour, we ended the night with a nice sit down dinner in the Temple Bar area at the Shack Restaurant (http://www.shackrestaurant.ie/). We had a traditional Irish dinner that tasted fantastic! A good Irish stew was all I needed and then it was time for bed. With a busy first day combined with the jet-lag from traveling, I think it’s safe to say we all slept like babies that night.
The next day, our group decided to catch up on some much needed sleep. We left the hostel that afternoon for a nice stroll down O’Connell Street. We found a nice restaurant that had a special for burgers and beers. Afterwards, we just enjoyed the scenery and each others company. As a group, we decided that we wanted to attend the midweek meeting in Dublin so our plan was to return to the hostel by 5pm to prepare ourselves. However, on our way back we walked past ‘The Rolling Donut’ and we just had to stop for a little afternoon treat. I personally had the Bailey’s Donut and it was fantastic. We took a few photos on the Ha’penny Bridge and then returned to our hostel to change clothes. We took a bus to get to the Kingdom Hall. It was very easy to navigate through the downtown Dublin area. After a 15 minute ride, we arrived in Terenure where the Kingdom Hall was located on Wesley Rd. It was nice that we were able to participate during the meeting and enjoy the nice fellowship with our brothers and sisters afterward. One brother even showed us around the neighborhood where we found a building with Jehovah’s name on it. Taking the bus back to the hostel was just as easy at is was arriving.
Since we were leaving for London the next day, we decided to change clothes and head out for a little Dublin nightlife. We headed to Dublin’s iconic Temple Bar filled with traditional Irish Pubs. Since we hadn’t eaten dinner, we first stopped at a small outdoor cafe where we had some more Irish stew along with some fish and chips. We then headed over to the Oliver St. John Gogarty Bar for some traditional Irish music where we sipped on some Jameson Irish Whiskey and danced the night away. The crowd was extra vibrant that evening considering Ireland had just won the soccer match over Sweden. Overall, it was an awesome way to start of this European trip.
For our last day in Ireland, we opted for a view of the countryside instead of the city. So we took a City Sightseeing Tour to Malahide Castle and Howth Village (https://citysightseeingdublin.ie/malahide-castle-coastal-tour/). The tour was about €21 per person and the bus ride was about an hour from the city center. The bus ride itself was very informative about the history of Dublin. Upon arriving at the castle, our bus driver informed us that we would have an hour and a half to tour the facility. Part of the tour was guided, however, you did have time to go off on your own and explore. The castle was beautiful and still very much in tact. I’m sure most of it had to do with the fact that it was still owned and occupied by the Talbot family until 1975. There was also a garden outside the castle with a variety of greenhouses for you to explore. We then met back on the bus where our driver took us to Howth Village, a beautiful little city off the coast. It was so nice taking in the peaceful scenery while having some deliciously fresh calamari. They brought us back to our pickup location on O’Connell Street where we did some more walking and even saw our brothers participating in public witnessing. After chatting with them for a while, we headed to one last Irish restaurant for one last bowl of stew and a traditional Irish coffee.
Soon enough, the time had come for us to return back to our hostel, gather our things and head for the airport. Overall, Dublin was a fun city that did not disappoint. If planning a trip, be sure to bring a sweater and definitely an umbrella. The weather was not my favorite but the activities and atmosphere more than made up for it. It was also very nice spending time with all of our brothers and sisters; most of whom are serving where the need is great. We hope to visit Ireland again someday. In the meantime, it was time to grab our bags and head to the capital of Great Britain: London!
For the full album, please ‘click’ on the link below:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/FnMX3uZPb7VQJURz5
Enjoy the photos!
Agape,
Asia Johnson
Traveling Threefold Cord 