To the Motherland!

27.08.10

I’ve got some catching up to do!

The day Jen and Jacob left was a pretty rough day for both of us. We were both quieter than usual, and the silence was odd, as Jacob would always seem to fill it with made up songs and awkward questions. I turned around while heading to the airport, and for the first time, Jen wasn’t behind me keeping Tim company. After a rushed and admittedly confusing goodbye (come on, it was 7 in the morning!), Tim and I put on our iPods to fall back asleep, woke late, checked out, and looked for the nearest McDonalds. I know, I know, you’re all shocked and ashamed. However, until you’re a poor backpacker who can’t particularly read spanish, and have been cheated in spanish restaurants before, don’t judge us, haha. At this point, Tim and I had no idea what to do. It was approx 1:30, and our flight did’t leave until 6. So we decided to start our journey then, and spend 4 hours at the airport. This actually worked out quite well because I had downloaded The Pagemaster, a movie from our childhoods, and after that we just read. Haha, I like airports; they’re prime for people watching. There was an entire wall of layover-sufferers who were curled up and sprawled out sleeping. There was another wall of grumpy-looking travelers who were trying to busy themselves with reading, but were too tired/bored to do so.

Blah, blah, blah we get on our flight, we are lucky enough to sit next to a friendly Irishman named Peter who told us all the best pubs to go to, and even made sure we knew how to get to our hostel. The flight, I was told, was two hours and 20 minutes long. For me, however, it was one nap and 30 minutes. I would like to illustrate to you how victorious this nap was: fact 1: I cannot sleep on planes, fact 2: this flight was approximately 45 degrees Fahrenheit, fact 3: the seats do not recline at all, and they’re smaller in every way, as Ryanair is a budget airline. Despite all this, I put on my jacket, turned down my tray table, and slept through Ryanair’s constant advertising. Woo!

I felt instantly better when I looked out the window and saw Dublin. From the air, it looks like a slightly smaller Portland. Trees! Hills! Varied neighborhoods! We had scads of fun in Madrid, but I could never live in a place where I couldn’t see more than 100 yards in front of me. (The view is always skewed with large apartment buildings etc.) With the help of Peter, finding the proper bus was simple, and the walk from Trinity College to our hostel was almost too easy. Our hostel is in the south of Dublin, not really near anything, but we don’t mind because we love walking. We agree this is the best mode of transportation because we can actually experience and feel the city we’re staying in. By the time I showered and we had settled in, it was nearing 9:30, and after a desperate search for Irish food, we ended up at a 1950s themed American diner. How shameful! Unfortunately, pubs stop serving food at like, 8, so we were up a creek.

The next day we woke, ate our free toast, and headed out to another free walking tour. This one proved to be my favorite, not because the history is more interesting, but because of the group. I think Tim and I met and talked to at least 10 people in our 30 person group. There was even a pair of sisters from Seattle, Washington. Small world, eh? Our guide was James, the loudest person I’ve ever met, but it’s endearing because he has that adorable Irish accent. The tour lasted about 3 hours, and afterwards, about half of the group went to a pub together where we got a choice of four meals for 10 euro- a steal in Dublin. I chose the Guinness stew and Tim got the fish-n-chips. Holy moly I’ve never seen stew or fish like this before. As soon as I can, I’ll post pictures. From there, we headed to the Guinness Factory with an English girl from the group, Louise. The factory was huge and old and FILLED with tourists. Wall to wall. Most people would find this place interesting and worth the 15 euro they charge for admission, but I simply cannot take a brewing process that seriously. This museum was by far the most epic museum ever made. It put the Pergamon (ancient greek museum in Berlin) to shame with how epic and important every sign was. We passed a wall of TVs showing the ingredients of Guinness: BARLEY! HOPS! WATERRRRRRRRR! (something else too, but it’s slipped my mind) I laughed through all seven floors of history. On the fourth floor, we ran into the Seattle sisters from the tour, and spend the rest of our time with them. On the fifth floor we all learned to pour the perfect pint. I saw the six steps on the wall and snorted, while Tim nervously anxiously them aloud, hoping he wouldn’t scerw it up. Did you know, it takes exactly 119.5 seconds to pour the perfet Guinness? hahaha Thew view from the seventh floor was spectacular, and I even got to chat up a group of 30 middle aged women who were traveling together. It was a buffet of accents: Australian, English, and American. After leaving the factory, we parted ways with Louise, Laura and Anne, and headed for our hostel. We thought we were going to a pub crawl that night, but Tim sensed my homesickness and we just kicked it at the hostel and watched a movie instead. <3

Today we’re gonna fix my earring situation, find the trainstation and mosey on over to Cork. Based on pictures I saw on Google images, Cork is beautiful, but I’ve been warned by two different Irishmen that they’re kind of snobby down there in Cork. Whatever, Cork. Whatever.

On a more personal note, I’ve been having a bit of a rough bout with homesickness the last few days, which pops up routinely around 7pm. I think it’ll be better when I’m in my dorm in Tübingen, and great when I’m finally in Freiburg. It’s not that I miss Roseburg or any one person, per se, but I know that if I was home right now (Eugene or Roseburg, it doesn’t matter) football season would be getting started, leaves would be changing, school shopping would occur. Fall! My favorite time of year!