2. Pub culture
Just because you visited the temple bar shouldn't mean that you are done with the pubs. Even though when we travel we tend to skip the drinking and the nightlife side of the cities, but since in Dublin the night life doesn't only happen in night, it was pretty hard doing it. We had to keep going for pubs not only for a Guinness tasting but also to catch a coffee or dinner.
I am pretty sure Dublin has many other beer brands, breweries or cider types, but as a Guinness lover, I kept going after Guinness. Here, instead of going to a regular bar and have a glass of beer, you can simply visit the Guinness Storehouse Factory. The interior of the building is also built like a pint of Guinness itself. For about seven floors, you can learn about the brewing history in Ireland, Guinness family and how to reach the perfect pinch of beer. In the end, you reach the top floor, Gravity bar, where you can taste a pint of Guinness with an amazing Dublin view. In order to enjoy this trip, you need to devote at least 2 hours from your trip and 18€ from your wallet. We didn't have any of them, so we decided to get a Guinness in the temple bar for much less.
Let's talk about the Irish coffee for a while. When I was a student in Istanbul, Irish coffee was one of my favorite drinks to get in the afternoon. It was like the perfect combination of all my favorite things: coffee, alcohol and cream! You should drink the coffee through the cream. Even if the coffee is mixed with some sugar, it's mostly made bitter, with Irish whisky it gets even more bitter and when you drink it through the whipped cream, everything tastes sweet. In Turkey, instead of whiskey they used to use Bailey's, much sweeter and lighter and probably that's why I didn't really get what I had in mind. Plus, paying a cup of "coffee" 9€ was a little bit of a shock. Still, Dublin is expensive and there is nothing much to do about it.
Even though I kept talking about the Irish pub culture as if it's about getting mad and drunk, it is only partially true. You can also try the Irish cuisine in pubs: either a plate of fish'n chips or a creamy salmon soup. After traveling here and there in UK and being fed up with the fish'n chips, we decided to try their famous salmon soup and it was more than worth it! Obviously, you should also order a pint of Guinness with it.
3. Cathedrals
Besides all their drinking culture, Ireland is interestingly religious! So they have amazing cathedrals all around! The first one I love is the Christ Church Cathedral. It is open to visitors with an admission fee, which is donated to the church maintenance eventually. Even though we did not actually enter the church, you might find it worthwhile.
Just a few meters ahead, you will reach St. Patrick's Cathedral. The cathedral was built in the 12th century and besides certain renovations, the structure is still original. The outdoor architecture is marvelous and also inside the cathedral is quite amazing.
4. Dublin Castle: Before the Irish settlements, Vikings used to dominate Dublin. They used to have a medieval castle from which Vikings could defend their ground, which turned into the Dublin castle as we see recently in the 13th century. The castle was used as the headquarters for the British administration before 20th century. Once Ireland received their independence, the castle was handed over the government, who turned the place into a museum. Yet, I have to admit that for such a glorious history, the castle itself was sort of disappointing.
5. Trinity Collage Library
Just another incredible heritage to explore is one of the most dreamy library in the whole world; Trinity Collage Library. Even though the library itself is spectacular to visit, its decoration and magnificent look is not the reason why it's so popular. The real reason is the famous Book of Kells - an ornate, beautifully-illuminated manuscript containing all of the four Gospels of the New Testament that’s over 1000 years old. The Book of Kells is available to the visitors with an admission fee of about 12€ each. Even though this ticket gives tourists the right to walk around the Old Library, the main library is available only to the students, graduates and the staff of the university.
