By UL Student YULIA VELIKDUS
Four months in Limerick without a visit to Ireland’s capital – Last Tuesday, I finally decided to explore Dublin for my very first time.
Disembarking from a bus in the city centre, I knew little about the city and had to elaborate my sightseeing plan already in Dublin. The bus from Limerick is €10 each way, and took about 2.5 hours.
I kicked off my day with visiting the National Gallery. Unfortunately, the main building was closed due to refurbishment works and I could only enjoy its small part.
A good decision was to take a city sightseeing bus, which run through the main spots and provided me with guidance. The cost was €17 and the ticket was valid 24 hours – convenient and advantageous.
My next step was IMMA – the Museum of Modern Art that occupied the building of the Royal hospital Kilmainham. Candidly, I am not a judge of modern art but safe to say one will not sit loose to its exhibitions. I left the gallery appalled and found it to be an interesting experience, although not to my taste. I prefer classical and more comprehensible genres.
In the evening, the Temple Bar area is the hub of the nightlife full with restaurants, pubs and cafes. Thus, my friends and I finished a busy day in one of them.
The second day, I spent in the Dublin Writers Museum which cost €6 (the only museum I paid to enter). It was surprising to realize that some authors I had read or had heard of were Irishmen, including James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, Jonathan Swift, Bernard Shaw and Samuel Beckett.
The final tour I did to the National Museum of Decorative Arts and History. The perfect place to track Irish history including the Easter Rising 1916 and outline the Irish culture.
I would suggest everyone just to ramble around the city to the Georgian houses area, Department of the Taoiseach (the Prime Minister), Trinity College and St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Dublin appeared not to be a typical capital, as I have seen before across Europe. It is not a particularly beautiful or romantic city, it is not a big and progressive one, but one cannot be denied – it is unique. Gloomy city with seagulls and beloved Guinness factory; it has preserved its originality and mysterious vibes. You never find any place like Dublin city, and it is well worth a visit during your studies in Ireland.
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