Oh My Guinness: Dublin!

On Thursday, we headed East to Ireland's capital, Dublin.   We are starting to get accustomed to the bus rides so this three hour trip felt like nothing! Our first stop was the Rotunda Hosptial, the oldest maternity hospital in Ireland.   As the first maternity hospital, it was founded in 1745 in response to the appalling conditions in Dublin. As it is still a working hospital, the halls were busy with expecting mothers and new born babies.  We were able to get a complete tour of the beautiful gardens and main lobbies, but because of security we were not able to see the rooms.  Lucky for me, the director of our tour decided she could take a small group of students around who were interested in health careers to see more of the hospital.  We were amazed that all the rooms had 8-10 beds in them and that the hallways were extremely narrow!

Our group had dinner at the Brazen Pub-the oldest pub in Ireland! 

On Friday, we woke up to absolutely perfect, sunny weather!  Which was more than welcome since we would spend the next 8 hours walking around Dublin.  We met our Theology prof early in the morning for a walking tour.  We covered more sites and land then most of us would have liked.  Including, Trinity College, Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Castle and more! 

Trinity College- The most prestigious university in Ireland.  We looked at the Book of Kells, which is an illuminated manuscript very similar to the St. John's Bible.  The coolest thing was the library, or the Long Room. The books are still shelved as they were in the 18th century, from largest to smallest.  We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, check out this link to see the awesome room. Long Room

We also spent a lot of time at Ireland's National Museum. I think our group would agree that the "bog bodies" was the coolest exhibit.  These bodies were found perfectly preserved in bogs across Ireland and are dated back to the 2nd and 3rd century BC.  They are so completely preserved that their hair, nails, skin and clothing are still intact! Not only were bodies and clothing preserved, but also this big chunk of butter!

Bog Butter from 150 BC

On Saturday, we headed out of Dublin to see Knowth Megalithic Tomb.  On of the most famous tombs in Ireland is 600 years older than the pyramids and 1000 years older than Stonehenge. There were over 127 large kerbstones around the mound.  This huge boulders have artwork chiseled into them and most of the boulders come from over 50 kilometers away.  There are  passages in the tomb that go East to West, during the winter and summer solstice the sun aligns perfectly with the tunnels.

And for the highlight of the weekend... Sunday we went horseback riding!  I was one of only a couple who had never been on a horse before (Thanks Mom and Dad!)  Luckily, I got a small horse, Yorkey! We practiced a bit in doors and then headed out to the fields for a trot.  It was a lot of fun and we were all happy it wasn't raining. We elected to bypass a scheduled stop at another old monastic site in order to get back early and tackle all our mid-term assignments. Now we are all looking forward to break as we all had mounds of reading and papers to write waiting at the cottages when we arrived.  Only three more days and I will be Paris bound!