Christ, the castle and Krishna

After arriving into Dublin airport, I hopped onto the next bus into the city centre and made arrangements with the hostel I had picked. The flight was short and easy, and from the outset, I found the locals to be very friendly, charming and polite. Devoid of flight fatigue, I immediately set off into the city centre.

Although my first stop was going to be Trinity College, my wanderings around the city led me to Christ Church Cathedral. The building is impressive and imposing, despite the city council building and car traffic nearby. The cathedral is inspiring and relaxing to visit, and I found myself taking photos just to have a legitimate reason to marvel at the art and architecture.

It had nearly struck noon, and there was an announcement that peace prayers would be held at midday. Enamoured with the place already, I sat myself down promptly. The service was short but heartfelt and thought-provoking. It was a time to reflect and the blessing of "peace be with you" was such a lovely gesture. It sounds rather corny, but it was really lovely! After wandering around for quite a while thereafter, I decided to attend the eucharist service which was held at lunchtime in the lady chapel. The crowd was small and consisted of worshippers who had come to pray for sick relatives and loved ones. Despite being a non-Christian, I felt very welcomed indeed. The service was emotional as a first-timer, but left me incredibly calm at the end. I was very grateful to attend as a humble and ignorant observer, and really enjoyed speaking with the father and other attendees at the end.  

Feeling incredibly relaxed, I strolled off into the city centre again and decided to pop into Dublin Castle. The guided tour was well worth the effort, and is actually the only way of seeing the most exciting bits! The stately rooms were impressive, and seeing evidence of the Viking/Norman building efforts was insightful. The guide really gave you a good sense of Irish history, politics and tradition, and overall, it was nice to understand how the castle evolved. The gardens nearby, and the chapel royal, are also worth a visit.

By now, it was almost early evening and I decided to head back to my hostel for the official check-in. I sat down for a short while before heading out for dinner. I was looking for something that was stereotypically Irish, but really was stumped for a decent suspect.

Feeling increasingly hungry, I arrived at Govinda's restaurant. Run by the Hare Krishna followers, I was amazed at the amount of Irish locals that frequented the place. The food looked and tasted amazing, and I really didn't miss the lack of meat.

Faced with veggie overload, I decided to walk around the city to burn off some calories. There's something about the Liffey and Ha'penny Bridge that sums up Ireland rather neatly, but I can't explain what it is. I really enjoy capital cities which are dissected by a river - such as London, Paris and Rome - it just calms the city down and makes it nicer to wander around. After the Liffey stroll, I headed back to my hostel to have a natter with my dorm buddies.