Trackcat: Day 1 : July 2 - Layover in Dublin, Ireland

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Day 1 : July 2 - Layover in Dublin, Ireland

Boston to Dublin ~ 5.5 hours
Dublin to Munich ~ 2.5 hours

Janda and I just returned from our European honeymoon yesterday afternoon. We spent time in Ireland, Germany, Austria and France. It was an awesome vacation and we really packed it in and got to see so much, but we both agree- It's great to be home! Here's the recap of what we did.

We left Thursday evening and flew to Dublin on an overnight flight. The transatlantic flights are pretty cool in that you get your own TV screen with movies, games and TV shows. We both watched a movie or two and played some Battleship. Since we were arriving in Dublin at 5:30am local time, we did try to get some sleep, but we had no luck. I think that I got less than a half and hour and that Janda got less than an hour. Before we knew it, the plane had landed and we each had the first stamps in our new passports.

Around 7 we took a bus into Dublin. It was actually pretty crazy b/c it was a double decker bus and we sat right over the driver. Interesting point of view! We drove by the Spire of Dublin on our way into downtown. I have no idea what it's significance is, but it is very modern looking. We got off the bus at 7:30ish and starting walking around. We were totally underdressed for Dublin weather and thus we were a little bit uncomfortable all day, especially when you take into consideration that we had our jam-packed carry-ons with us! Nonetheless, we tried to make the best of it since it was better than sitting in the airport for 12 hours.

We headed towards the tourist area of Dublin, along the river. Once things finally started opening, we got breakfast at a cute little cafe on the river to start our day. This was also the point at which Janda realized that the coffee he was going to be drinking for the next two weeks wasn't quite the coffee that he's used to at home. Two big differences, not as strong- way more milk and not as big- regular coffees were sold in espresso-sized cups!

After breakfast we went across the pedestrian bridge to the other side of the river to do a little sight-seeing. We saw the Temple Bar neighborhood, which was extremely cute with brightly colored buildings and flower boxes in every window. We made it up to Dublin Castle and took a break to hang out in the courtyard and gardens. Next we went to see St. Patrick's Cathedral. After we walked back through the Temple Bar area, we headed over the the Docklands to see the Famine Memorial. After walking around the Docklands, we were both cold and tired, so we went to the train station for a little nap. Then we caught the bus back to the airport and grabbed lunch/dinner at Burger King. Our flight was delayed, but we finally made in to Munich around quarter of 9. We got another stamp on our passport, got our rental car (a cute red VW) and headed to the hotel. We got there with a minimal amount of problems, even though it was dark and settled in for a good night's sleep after only an hour the night before.