Whiskey in the Jar

In June I was able to make a trip across the pond to the lovely Emerald Isle herself: Ireland. This post is the first of two about that trip; in the second one I will list some recommendations about things I did and saw, but this one will simply be a top-10 list of some surprising or unexpected things I encountered while I was there.

starting with this hand

1: Beer OCD. In bars in the US, some fancier or snobbier or namby-pamby beers (think Stella Artois or any high-grav) require they be served in their own special glasses with their logo printed across them. Other more humble, down-to-earth beers are happy to be served in any old pint glass. Well, in Ireland you'll be happy to hear that all beers are treated as equals, served in proper glasses with their own logo.

2. Guinness really does taste better in Ireland. But it has some stiff competition from Murphy's and Beamish, other local Irish stouts.

3. Crosswalks take FOREVER to get across as pedestrians. The light takes an eternity to turn, and regardless of how long you've waited, you have 10 seconds of walking available before the next long wait. Needless to say, jaywalking is quite common. When you're diagonally crossing intersections in, say, Dublin, assume 5 minutes before you'll get across the street if you follow the lights.

Muckross House, in Killarney National Park

4. The Irish have a way of underestimating distances. "Just down the road" could mean several miles. Unlike in America where walking times seem to be based on elderly and disabled walking speeds, "a 15 minute walk" absolutely means a 15 minute walk (or more) for a healthy young person in Ireland.

5. Biking on the highways is a common and acceptable practice in Ireland. And I'm not just talking "cycling," with aerodynamically-efficient kitted-out roadies cycling at speeds of over 30 mph. I myself rolled along in a straw hat and scarf  on a mountain bike at a casual (read: dehydrated) pace and initially had some question as to whether or not I should even be on the highway, where cars have speeds around 80-100 kmh. I felt reassured after seeing a couple on bikes taking a leisurely date and after seeing a family of very out of shape Eastern Europeans hitting the road. When there aren't bike paths available in beautiful scenery, that's when you change over to the highway. And since everyone bikes on the highway at some point, drivers aren't rude or surprised by bikes and handle them accordingly.

goats not included

6. The food everywhere I went was shockingly good! I wasn't expecting it at all, but I enjoyed some genuinely excellent meals across Ireland. (See caveat in the next point.)

7. The espresso drinks I tried were terrible. I had them in a few different places with baristas probably of different skill levels and ages, but they all tasted like... burning or drip coffee or.. something. I'm not sure what happened to all of them, but the best coffee drink I had was in an airport cafe. Like many in the British Isles, the Irish are fans of instant coffee rather than drip coffee (or apparently espresso).. ugh. Enough said.

8. Something I miss from living in Europe is seeing baby strollers with plastic hoods covering them in times of rain. You don't really see that in the US much because people don't walk in the rain or take public transit (some metropolitan areas excluded).

9. Live music, or more specifically, "trad" sessions of traditional music in the pubs is fantastic. You can find free live music in a pub any night of the week in pretty much any city in Ireland. From old-timers playing the concertina and spoons to the young, new faces of traditional Irish music playing fiddles and guitars, there's great music everywhere, though Doolin near the Cliffs of Moher boasts being the birthplace of Irish music.

best pub in Doolin

10. Finally, the most important point, the Irish truly are some of the friendliest people on the planet. You'll never be alone in hostels or pubs in Ireland, and when you start chatting with the locals at a bar, there's nothing but great craic (a good time) to be had.