Dublin Trip: Day 1

After leaving bright and early at 8:00am we had a long drive ahead of us to Dublin.  Since our professor's baby still hasn't (at least to our knowledge) been born, a different professor, an expert on the Vikings, came with us.

Our first stop was the National Museum of Archaeology.  I think we were running a little bit late so we didn't get as much time there as any of us wanted.  However, this just made us all convinced to come back some day.  The museum has incredible collections on a variety of things including Vikings, Medieval art, and bog bodies.  I found it incredible that this museum was free.  The only downside of this museum was that we weren't allowed to take photos, but some people managed to sneak a few (my camera is a little too large for me to be able to get away with it though).

Our Professor Explaining about the Black Pool

After that we had a bit of walking tour of important Viking-related sites in Dublin, there are quite a few as Dublin was founded by the Vikings.  One was the original site of the Black Pool, which is actually where Dublin gets its name.  Dubhlinn, the original name (note that bh is pronounced like a v), means black pool.

Us around the Viking House

At another point in the city there was an outline of a Viking house.  We all stood around it and learned a bit about Viking life (I was a door post).  What I found the most interesting is that their houses were rectangular while most Irish houses of the time were circular.

Christ Church Cathedral

Some of the Stained Glass in Christ Church Cathedral

Then we headed to Christ Church Cathedral.  The original cathedral was made out of wood, but was also made by the Vikings.  It had both Gothic and Romanesque features.  One of my favorite parts of Christ Church Cathedral was the beautiful stained glass everywhere.

The Cat and the Rat

However, the most intriguing part of it was the crypt which had both a giftstore and a cafe.  As per our instructions, we all checked out the cat and the rat.  To quote the sign in front of it:
The cat and the rat
The one, presumably chasing the other
Became trapped in an organ pipe in the 1850s
And were mummified
They are referred to in James Joyce's "Finnegan's Wake"
Where someone is described as being
"As stuck as that cat and that mouse in that tube of Christchurch Organ."

Our Hostel Room

At long last it was time to check into our hostel before we had a few hours off to explore before dinner.  After dinner we were all pretty exhausted and most of us went straight to bed.  Unfortunately none of us got much sleep as our hostel was near a lot of night life, but that didn't matter much.  It had been a pretty great day.