Guinness and Fiddles

I must admit, Dublin wasn't on my "must visit" list when we moved to Europe. But when I found out discount airline Ryan Air is based in Dublin, I decided we had to go. We chose to skip Carnaval in Limburg (a controversial decision) in favor of a long weekend in Dublin, before the summer crowds and prices hit. Did it rain? Yes, a bit. Were there partying students? Yes, they just added to the charm. We'll definitely be back, and it will be a longer visit so we can see more of the country next time.

Five outstanding reasons to visit Dublin:

Photo: Em' Milie

They say that Guinness tastes better in Dublin than anywhere else. More Guinness stout is produced here than anywhere else in the world, including every pint consumed in America. Having enjoyed it on two continents, I can affirm that it tastes good, no matter where you are.

Photo: munksynz

The Book of Kells is neither a book, nor is it from Kells. But it is a cultural gem and Trinity College's Old Library is a lovely setting. Don't forget to go upstairs and check out Ireland's oldest harp.

Photo: Éole 

Speaking of harps, Dublin is a great place to experience traditional Irish music. To learn a bit about it, we joined a musical pub crawl our first night there, and the next night visited a pub recommended by the musicians (it turned out to be right around the corner from our hotel). The music was amazing, probably because the musicians were playing solely for their own enjoyment.

Photo: Fergal of Claddagh

Dublin is crammed with history and the architecture is varied and delightful. We enjoyed old churches (St. Michan's hosts a slightly creepy crypt tour complete with mummies you can touch), parks such as St. Stephen's Green and Merrion Square, and charming Georgian terrace houses.

Dublin's best treasure is Dubliners. People were very willing to encounter us, and invariably friendly, gracious and welcoming.

Photo: me!

We were standing in front of this pub Monday morning, looking at a plaque. A man came out of the pub and asked if we were James Joyce admirers; we told him we were following the Ulysses walk. He told us the pub didn't open until 11, apologized, and invited us in for a look around. Which we did (we now feel as though we must read Ulysses, but that's another story ...)


Still not sure Dublin is for you? Check out this video:

Koninginnedag

According to Wikipedia, Koninginnedag (Queen's Day) was originally celebrated on the queen's birthday. But that's in February and since the weather is so much nicer in late April, it's now celebrated on April 30th. Although the big celebration is in Amsterdam, every town has their own festivities. So we stayed home this year for Queen's Day and enjoyed the local offerings.

April 30 fell on Saturday this year, so our Queen's Day started at the weekly Saturday market. The market includes produce, clothing and textiles, as well as flowers, sausage, fish (fresh, smoked and fried) and of course cheese. This week our purchases included a scarf, some sausages, 2 kilos of grape tomatoes and a 5 kilo bag of assorted fruit. We love these bags of fruit - for €5 (about US$7) we got a pineapple, a coconut, a bunch of bananas, and about a kilo each of apples, pears and oranges.

In the afternoon there was a fun fair for families in the park adjacent to the Saturday market. There were inflatable bounce houses for young children, as well as crown making and other crafts. Beer was on sale for the parents, and fruit was on sale for everyone. It looked like great family fun.

In the evening, there were two separate public celebrations in downtown Venlo. For the older generation, there was a tattoo featuring the Joeks-Jagers ("Joke Hunters") in the same square I mentioned in Thursday's post. In addition to the tables that fill one side of the square, there was a bandstand set up in front the the old city hall, and next to that were several WWII-era trucks brought out for the big day. Crowds of spectators (including us) lined up along both open sides of the square. Needless to say, there wasn't a lot of room for the performers!

Just before 8 o'clock, we heard a drum corps approaching. Spectators at one corner of the square parted like the Red Sea, and a drum major marched in, followed by about eight drummers. They drummed and precision marched their way around the square a couple times, and then marched out again. It sounded great but our kids weren't impressed - they took off for the other celebration immediately.

The crowd of mostly older folks continued to wait so Tim and I waited too, and our patience was rewarded. Within 5 minutes, the drum major was back, followed this time by a full marching band with reinforced drum corps of at least 15. They made an impressive noise in the cobblestone square surrounded on all sides by stone and brick buildings! Even more impressive was the way they were able to march in various formations around the square - which was about the size of a baseball diamond's infield. We enjoyed more than an hour of music before they marched out of the square. I recognized just one tune - Sentimental Journey - but enjoyed them all.

Heading home, we stopped by the other celebration, in the same park as the family celebration earlier in the day. The crowd was much younger than the tattoo audience, and security guards were searching bags on the way in. We listened to a few minutes of techno-pop while we watched the light show, but were happy to head home to watch a movie as our Queen's Day finale.

Enjoy a taste of the tattoo on YouTube:

Pasen

photo credit: Lars

Our Easter celebration started the Thursday before Easter with the local orchestra's performance of the Saint Matthew's Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach. Performances of this masterpiece at Pasen (Easter) is traditional all over the Netherlands. It was wonderful, and thanks to Dutch friend Pieter, we had a German-English libretto so we could follow along.

Chocolate bunnies and colored eggs are also traditional here. We also tried Passtolen, a sweet yeast bread with raisins and almond paste filling. The favorite treat around our house seemed to be chocolate eggs with hazelnut filling. Another treat: the kids enjoyed having two days off school - Good Friday and Easter Monday.

Easter worship is always jubilant, and this year was exceptionally so. We attended Easter Mass at Sint Martinus parish church, pictured above. The church is beautiful, the choir and organ music likewise, and the rousing Halleluia Chorus finale (in Dutch) was stirring.


Gelukkig Pasen!