A full day in Dublin

Surprisingly, it seemed like we had jet lag when we arrived in Dublin.  Obviously we didn't, but with the hour time difference, and the fact that winter-time started the day we left for Ireland, Joern and I found ourselves wide awake at 6 am on Monday morning.  Annoyed that we couldn't sleep longer, we were able to get out pretty early on Monday morning.  We had no real plans for the day, which was good.  We just wound our way around the streets of Dublin, and had a fantastic day!
Since we were so close to the River Liffey, it was our first "stop" on our tour for the day.

 Then, it was over to explore Temple Bar a little deeper than we did the night before.

And then, we made our way towards Lower Mount Street, the location of my old school and my old dorm.
On the way there, we passed the Department of the Taoiseach, or the headquarters of the Irish government.  It brought back so many good memories, as I passed by this building quite often.

 As we got to the corner of Merrion Square and Lower Mount, I was immediately happy and sad at the same time, my old school, American College Dublin has been renamed Irish American University.

As we walked further down the street, the economic crisis that has taken hold of Ireland really hit me.  Almost all of the buildings lining the street where I used to live were for sale or for rent.  When I lived in Dublin ten years ago, the country was still in an economic boom.  It was almost impossible to find housing in Dublin, despite the fact that real estate had risen 300% between 1990 and 2000.  It was sad to finally see that the country is indeed in crisis.

 Only a few fronts down from my old dorm, my old pub Oil Can Harry's, seemed like a great place for lunch.

After a yummy lunch of seafood chowder for me, and fish and chips for Joern, and of course, a pint of Blumer's, we headed out to Guinness.  It turns out that Guinness is a long walk from Merrion Square, but it was definately an enjoyable walk.

Some sights along the way:

A pub preparing for another night

Dublin Town Hall

Christ Church

 

 

 

Once we finally arrived at the Guiness Storehouse, we had to make a few obligatory photos outside.

 The Guinness Storehouse is open to visitors, not the brewery itself.  But the Storehouse has undergone a huge rennovation in the past few years, which has resulted in an awesome visitor's center.  It was such a huge change since I was there ten years ago.  The old storehouse, while having a more authentic feel, was really unimpressive.  The new one was so cool!

The new storehouse consists of seven floors. On the entry level, you receive a brief introduction to the beer and the brand, and see a copy of the 9,000 year lease Arthur Guiness signed with the city of Dublin for the land for the brewery. 

The first floor is devoted to the product, Guinness.  I firmly believe the Guinness is a marketing wonder, so the product is not the only reason it is such a good selling beer, but a large portion of the brand.

The second floor is devoted to the history of Guiness.  And the third floor looks at the marketing of the brand.  We skipped the fourth floor, and stopped on the fifth floor to look at the exhibit of John Gilroy's advertisements, which have become icons.

The coolest though was the Gravity Bar on the seventh floor of the building.  For this Dublin lover, there is really nothing more exciting than sitting in a glass surrounded bar, drinking a Guinness, looking down onto the city I love below.

 Exhausted, we headed back towards the hotel at around 6:30.  We were able to stop for Joern's favorite meal in Ireland, fish and chips, before turning in for the night.  I'm pretty sure we were asleep by 8:00.  It was a fantastic and tiring day!