Adventures in Dublin (museums)

 Yes I do like museums, and wandering around streets seeing contrasts between now and then. So here are some images of our two days in Dublin.

Making our debuts down the Grand Staircase at Dublin Castle. This was the seat of English rule since the early 1200s. Clearly they kept up with changing decor trends. 

This place was full of portraits in oils and fancy ceramics. The throne in the Throne Room was massive - apparently to accommodate the big arse of William IV. Queen Victoria would never use it, gosh she could hardly have climbed into it.

One canny architect rebuilt the chapel in wood, and then clad it in stone tiles. You could never tell. Much of Dublin Castle was built on the ‘Dubh Linn’, the black pool of water near the Poddle River where Vikings first moored their longboats when there was looting to be done.

Probably not the outside of a local school near the hotel, any more. Surely taking child safety just a little too far, compared to the black, metal railing fences that are now around Australian schools, and locked during the day-time. The barbed wire is a little unexplained, and I did not see such wire anywhere else on my wanders.

 

Who knew there were fans of Geelong Football Club amongst the construction workers on a northern Liffey River building site.

I was thrilled to see it. Although I am not bothered about footy any more - they keep losing.

Amongst the general Hurley burley of going off to work, still time to sit on the longboat conveniently by the waters edge. Dubliners love the longboat motif. And this one is certainly useful. The road in front of it, bordering the river, takes cars, buses, and horse drawn carts. On other roads are trams and there is a suburban railway network the LUAS, although I did not travel on it. Traffic seemed to flow really well however cobble-stoney the road surface.

The giant Guinness factories are just one km down the road, still on the water of course.

A typical roadway or river scene - majestic working buildings and an awful lot of buses. Although they are attractively coloured.

Pedestrians are catered for with lights allowing pedestrians across quite frequently. Lots of tourists.