my arrival in dublin was anti-climactic, a welcome relief from the portly teenager i sat next to from chicago across the pond. the airport istelf was lettle more than a small pit stop, a surprise considering it serves as the gateway for the entire island. to top that off, one of my two bags was lost in transit, causing a great deal of stress which was only finally relieved several hours ago when i found it had been delivered, undamaged, to my hostel.

the city itself, once you get past the crap by the airport, is quite nice and pleasant, with an easy to walk scale and decent transit connections highlighted for me by the double decker buses (a la london) and the 3-year old tram lines. the first day was a bit slow, consisting of me meandering about until kathleen’s arrival. today was more active, as we took a train out to the town of Howth (rhymes with ‘both’). It is a bulbous crag of lag spat out on a peninsula into the sea NE of Dublin.

From Howth, we walked out along the road, leaving it after a point for a breathtaking cliff trail. A narrow compacted trail skimmed the side of the steep cliffs, covered in small bushes and flowers that trailed off sharply into the sea. it was a welcome respite from being in the city and the noise and bustle that comes with our central location. we took a number of nice pictures that i will post later, and all in all it was both a busy and relaxing day. looking forward to the next two, and will be relieved/glad to get my important luggage into kathleen’s attic in germany, after which my worries will be cut drastically