Berlin to Dublin

My holidays began in Dublin, Ireland. While I picture Ireland to be rolling green hills with little pubs on every corner, I wasn't sure what to expect from Dublin. It's like thinking of Germany, as a whole, and not thinking of Berlin -the international city. Putting that aside, Dublin reminded me a bit of parts of Philadelphia. Dublin is a small city. The only public transportation we used while we were there was the bus to and from the airport.

We found Dublin to be filled with friendly and polite people. On the sidewalks, people moved and apologized. This is a very big difference than Berlin -where people will just push past you and don't consider personal space. One evening we were at a pub, at the bar there seemed to be about six local men drinking. There are two things I noticed while there. One- when the female bartender had to ask a man to leave, all six men turned to make sure she was OK. It was not out of noisiness or curiosity, but simply out of caring and clearly they look out for each other. Two- when she came back to the bar and got a couple of guys the next round, she said, "You have two more." It was clear she was keeping track of how many beers they each had. I don't know the laws but maybe they only serve so much (?) It did come through very clear that it is acceptable to drink, to even drink many beers but to be drunk is not OK.

I found Dublin to be a city to live in rather than visit too many more times. I truly enjoyed the fact that there was a pub on every corner with their own twist on food. I ate so well in Dublin! We even found buffalo sauce in a restaurant. Oh I was on Cloud 9.

During my time in Dublin, Bethany and I took some time touring the city, shopping, and of course, trying out different Irish food. I believe we both feel this way - we have one regret that we didn't get a day to go outside of the city. I would like to go back to Ireland and tour Galway, Cliff of Moher, and of course, I should of done PS I Love You tour. Another day.

Edinburgh next.

xx