Student's life in Dublin

So our first weekend in Dublin has gone by. At Friday we accompanied Declan who had a gig at the Botanic House. Expensive and not really crowded - so after a couple of pints later we decided to go home.

At Saturday and Sunday we tried to see cultural and touristic highlights, but unfortunately everything seemed to be closed as we arrived. We managed a few things (Student travel card, bus tickets) and went on a sightseeing tour on Sunday. Dublin has a lot of charm and personality - beautiful parks, many tiny avenues with shops and pubs and of course some hotspots one shouldn't miss: St. Stephen's Green, Phoenix Park, Grafton Street, Henry Street, O'Connell Street, Christ Church... Today we try to visit the National Museum.

Monday and Tuesday happened nothing of interest. By the way there is an ALDI supermarket in Ireland and, thankfully, the prices are affordable (except alcohol = wallet blaster).

Yesterday I had a meeting to clarify my tasks and workload for the next weeks: Optimisation and monitoring of a catalytic system for oligonucleosidic reactions using HPLC. I am not sure if the equipment at the DCU deserves to be called 'high performance liquid chromatography', whatever...

Later that day, in the evenings, we joined two Americans to celebrate the 21st birthday of one of them, Katie. Therefore we went to the Porterhouse which turned out to be pretty cool. Great atmosphere, nice audience and some dancing. Later we decided to change the location but I cannot remember where we finally had been.

Stay tuned.

Beer

Now its up to me to write something... :)

yesterday I stayed at home, cause I didnt feel good. Today its not much better, but I went to DCU to get my student id card.

After "work" Seppel an I went shopping just to get something to eat for dinner and get things we needed like light bulbs and stuff like that!

The rest of the evening we spent on watching TV, as Sebastian said, Simpsons and Friends and so on. We drank some beer and made plans for the weekend. One of our Irish flat mates is a DJ and tomorrow night he has a gig in a club/pub (I dont know) and he invited us to go there. So I think we will do!

At the moment the most important thing is beer, I think. It is expensive, but we dont care!! :)

so far for today...

The first days working and getting to know our lads

Hello again,

Benjamin's cold got worse the last days and I slept about 12hs the last nights under my new bought duvet with cover (that I forgot to buy the first time)!!! So what to say next. We got to know our two flatmates: Alan and I don't know if it's right - Daglinn. Two Irish students, pretty far at our age and ready for some beer anytime.

By now we are research students at the DCU and enjoy our new id's, travel cards and stuff like that. Actually we savour our every-day selfmade lunch and went to a local Pub on Tuesday. Therefor we have to say that Cidre really got us! It's grand! And cheers!

So meanwhile we're on our so called vacation and watching all the time SkyOne - Friends, Simpsons and local TV shows like 'Don't forget the lyrics'. Things students have to do, I think.

First impressions on Dublin

Today we started the day like good old touries: With ham and eggs. Afterwards we took a walk to our campus which is only 15 minutes from the hotel. The warm and sunny but sometimes changing weather accompanied our journey to the DCU.

We found out that the campus itself offers a royal student life (with gym, spa, swimming pool, soccer centre and a shopping mall). You even do not have to leave the campus to get money, pharmaceuticals, food, a haircut or lavation for your clothes. Damn - and we're going to miss it. In this way it was no good idea to visit the campus.

Disappointed and somehow jealous, we took the next bus to the city centre intending to get student tickets and an overview on Dublin. Therefore we thought it would be of advantage to frequent a tourist office. Instead of gaining information, maps and bus plans we found a short notice saying that it's closed on Sundays. Strike No. 2 for this day.

So there was nothing more to do as driving home. Oh, in addition we must say that having a lunch is quite expensive but tasty (Me: Roasted chicken breast with green beans, Benji: Meat balls with spaghetti and sauce - Both served with a portion of chips???).

I will go to sleep now.

Day One in Dublin

We arrived and - primary - we were not fortunate to meet someone at the students accommodation who is expecting us.

So after nearly two hours and a couple of phone calls later we decided to check in at Skylon Hotel.

Refreshed and good willing, we enjoyed our first contact with the Irish national drink: Guiness. During two pints we talked a bit to a young waiter. He recommended the DCU as a very good university in contrast to his own college where he's studying IT. Discussing and a little tipsy we graded the brown gold as pleasant to the taste.

Day One ended in the early mornings at app. 3 a.m., so we fell asleep very easily.

Welcome to Baile Atha Cliath

See in the next few months where the hobbits originally came from and why whiskey should be written with "ey". Even the most famous beer tours through the catacombs of Guiness and Kilkenny will be shown in its crude and rough simplicity.

So have fun and enjoy the fairy tales of two young men in Dublin - doing strange things.