World Traveller

Yo - Harare!

Okay guys, MB here. Currently in Zim, checking out the old elections and stuff. Brief descrip'n of Harare is thus: chaotic, cool, electric. Best not check out right now as is in a bit of mess but on gen. terms it's a pretty decent bolt if you fancy that type of thing.

You can catch more here on the old blog thing:
http://reportagefromthefrontline.blog.co.uk/

Best.

MB.

Hi all!

So, I was in Dublin last weekend. Visiting Ireland has always been a dream for me, so just the thought of finally getting to go to Dublin was amazing.

It was not quite what I expected. The city was much bigger than I thought, not as much of a small town feeling as I thought it would be. Of course I know it is quite a big city, I just didn't think it would feel like one.

Starting out with the O'Connell Street. Despite being so big and commercial it was quite powerful with all the sculptures and especially the immense Spire in the centre of the street.

The Trinity College was too quite an experience, being placed in the city centre as it is, yet as soon as you enter the area in between the college buildings it suddenly feels like you are in a different world. It is so calm and peaceful, with the grass fields and the beautiful white buildings.

Another famous part of the city is the Temple Bar and the area around it, which I was very impressed with. This was my favourite part of Dublin, with the small streets filled with pubs, restaurants and shops.

I visited five different pubs while there, and they all lived up to my expectations of cosy, crowded pubs with a mix of young and old happy Dubliners. Four of the pubs I went to during a Literary Pub Crawl, which I can recommend. It was run by two local actors, telling stories about Irish authors and literature, as well as making minor sketches. It was a nice way to discover the pub life of Dublin at the same time as learning some things about its history. You don't even have to be very interested in literature to like it. I'm not, and I enjoyed it.

I also visited the Guinness Store House, which is a seven floor museum on Dublin's pride, their dark beer Guinness. I am not all that into beer, but it was interesting to learn how it was produced, and learn some about its history. Don't let the thought of it being a museum or the fact that you don't even like beer all that much scare you - it will be worth it! I enjoyed it from the beginning to the end, especially the end I must admit, when I reached the top floor, surrounded by panorama windows and thereby a view over the entire city. Up here you get your free Guinness, and get to sit down and drink it while enjoying the powerful view.

A disadvantage with the visit of the Store House was that I was there on a saturday, which means a lot of people. I had to stand in line for one hour, however I think it went quite fast anyway, the line was in almost constant motion. However, to avoid the queuing, you can book tickets in advance, so that you won't have to stand in line, and you also get a 10% discount. I didn't know that until it was too late though, but don't worry if you forget; it will be worth the effort anyway!

There were loads of other major tourist attractions in Dublin, such as the St Patrick's Church and the Ha'Penny Bridge. However, I am not going to go through all of them. What you've read above is my favourite parts of my weekend in Dublin. Maybe you will find other favourites, but these were my personal recommendations.

If you have any questions or opinions about it, just let me know, and I'll be happy to answer it or to defend myself.

Vicki

I spent a few days in Minsk back in November. A great undiscovered place to visit. Friendly people, good prices, lots of cultural stuff to see. You get big wadges of money at the bank - 4800 Belarussian Roubles to the pound.

Sorry, I still haven't had a chance to write-up our latest trip into the Czech Republic, though it was a brilliant 7 days. However, while stumbling, I came across this place:

Tobbot, aka Tobstv