The Book of Kells, Museums, and Dublin Castle

Sadly, the Trinity College Library doesn't allow photography, so no picture of the Book of Kells. But I can assure you: the library's display is spectacular. Not only was it neat to see the Book of Kells (and other texts from that period), but the old library's Long Room was phenomenal as well. It reminded me of Suzzallo's Reading Room.

(On a side note, a very drunk, belligerent Irishman just got tossed from the hotel bar. Quite a funny scene.)

After checking out the Book of Kells this morning (quite expensive too: 8€ for students), we headed to the National Museum of Ireland—Natural History, which was thankfully free of charge. Again, no photography, so I only have a picture of the building.

Once inside though, I felt like I was in the movie, Up, or something. There were skeletons and stuffed animals everywhere. Quite impressive but also somewhat disturbing. There was even a snipe! Not exactly like the one from Up, but funny anyway.

I also found it amusing that the signs for exhibits seemed to have been written when the museum first opened years ago and have never been updated. There were still signs indicating finds from "Siberia, U.S.S.R." or "Turkmenstan (sic), U.S.S.R." I should've left them a note in the comment box.

Next, we headed around the block to the National Museum of Ireland—Archaeology and History (also free).

Pretty interesting to learn about Ireland's history in pre-historic times, Vikings, and the lot. At some point, there was a banner on the wall from the Bayeux Tapestry (commemorating William the Conqueror's victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066). I was so excited because I thought I was about to see another piece of fantastic history from the middle ages. I ran around all the exhibits only to find disappointingly that it was just a banner to illustrate how the Vikings made their boats. Lame.

Anyway, as much as I like museums, I breeze through them. As much as I like to be an AP Art History nerd and write about all these wonderful pieces on my blog, I really don't care much to scour every corner of museums. I don't read every word of every description, I don't look at every exhibit, and I don't spend more than 3 seconds on anything unless it is something I studied from AP Art History or is a famous piece of art. Funny that my family is split down the middle when it comes to museum-viewing styles. As a result of my speedy approach, I finished about 40 minutes before Olivia.

So I sat down in the cafe and ordered a gourmet sandwich, which I then proceeded to munch on while reading more of Ulysses. I've now gotten about 70 pages through it, and man, it is one dense read. I don't know what I was thinking picking it up off the street, but it's a tough book to understand.

After we finished at the Archaeology and History museum, we headed for Dublin Castle, which is today a center of the Irish government. It used to house prisoners at some point too, I think. We paid 3,50€ each for a student's priced tour, and we learned all about the Dublin Castle.

In one room, all foreign policies are discussed and debated by the top players in government. In the 1990s, President Bill Clinton was in the room (along with then-British PM Tony Blair and others) to discuss a peace agreement between Ireland and Northern Ireland. Pretty neat.

We wandered down one hallway that is apparently very similar to the hallway leading to the Oval Office in the White House. I guess that hallway was built by the same Irish architect.

In another wing of the castle, there was a waiting room that used to be where women dressed for state parties and events rested from all the dancing in the ballroom next door. Quite exquisite.

Next door, there was a dining hall full of paintings, and one in particular was interesting. It's of Lord Cornwallis, who surrendered to Gen. George Washington in Yorktown to end the American War of Independence. Funny that he failed in India and the Americas. Embarrassed by his previous failures, he did not want to fail at squashing a rebellion in Ireland (Ireland was under British control until 1922) and ended up overseeing the worst period of bloodshed in Irish history (or so we were told).

On the other end, there was St. Patrick's Hall, where the President of Ireland is inaugurated every 7 years. For the past 21 years, Ireland's had a female president (two actually, and they're both named Mary). Flags surround the hall, and two were mentioned in particular—that of the Guinness family, and that of the Spencer family (Princess Diana's family—it's actually the white one with a red diagonal stripe in the far left corner).

We also learned that in 1986 part of the castle collapsed. Apparently, there is a river that runs beneath it. Well, no one knew this when the castle was built, so for the past 200 years or so, parts of the castle had just been falling into the river. It finally collapsed, but thankfully, it fell on a Sunday when no one was working. Hence, no deaths. But we could go down and see the ruins underneath the modern building. Kinda humid and damp down there.

Behind the castle, there is the Dubh Linn, the Irish name for "black pool." Today, it's a big circle of green grass with the design of eels running through it (means fertility in Irish folklore). That's where the name Dublin comes from.

Next to it, we visited the Chester Beatty Library for the 25 minutes it was still open. Sir Arthur Chester Beatty collected old texts from the Orient, which were on display for free upstairs in the library. We saw the collection of Fardawsi's Shahnama (or "Book of Kings"). It is about Iran's historical and mythical past up until the introduction of Islam. The book itself has many stories and myths that include Zoroastrianism. Pretty neat. Sadly, I could not take pictures, but I was very impressed.

After picking up my little Irish flag (I pick up a mini-flag from every country I visit—as in walk around and explore; commuting through airports and with trains don't count), we picked up some postcards as well. Then we headed to dinner.

We went to a place called The Bleeding Horse, which could be argued to be the oldest pub in Dublin (or Ireland?). Apparently, James Joyce came in for a drink before an infamous drunk scene at Camden Hall. I have realized that the Irish are incredibly proud of their beef (and dairy products), so we've been eating lots of beef. We had beef lasagna today, and it wasn't too bad. It was quite delicious and filling actually.

Now, I'm back at the hotel and about to go read more of Ulysses. Tomorrow, we head to Galway for a few days before returning to Dublin on Saturday. I am looking forward to seeing more of the countryside. Going to Galway on the western coast will be a welcome change from the very modern streets of Dublin on the eastern coast. To be honest, aside from people driving on the "wrong" side and the actually-quite-difficult-to-decipher-Irish accents, I don't really feel like I'm in Ireland right now. I'm sure a bus ride through the Irish countryside will change that.

Until next time,

Sam