The past two months have been an incredible adventure, full of meeting new people and exploring new places. For me, study abroad meant an opportunity to travel far outside the U.S. and far outside of my comfort zone - which meant to a brand new environment where I didn't know...well, anyone really. I've loved getting to know so many new people from all over the U.S. and Denmark, but with the semester halfway over (How?!), it's strange to think that I haven't gotten a chance to see some of my best friends in almost three months. I've been quite used to seeing on a daily basis for the last three years, and I've been missing them from across the Atlantic...but this weekend, that all changed as we were REUNITED in Dublin, Ireland! Although I was in the city for less than 48 hours, I've acquired a couple tips for finding your way around...here are the top ten. 1. Get a Leap Card The Leap card is a refillable ticket of sorts that you can use on the public transportation in Dublin, such as the metro and buses. There are various options for refilling - you can add an allotted amount of Euros, or get an unlimited day pass. Both options may be useful depending on how much you're using public transportation. Otherwise, it is possible to buy individual tickets, but the Leap card gives a twenty percent discount for each use! 2. Take a day trip! There are tons of cute areas around Dublin that are just a short train ride away. On Saturday, we took the train about twenty minutes outside of Dublin to the Howth Cliff trail, which was right alongside the ocean. The trail was covered in flowers (and mud, we may have had a few close calls) and surrounded by the ocean. If you're looking for a good photo op, the view from the cliffs is gorgeous, and there is a nearby beach area to get a little closer to the water. The view is so nice, we saw a couple taking their engagement announcement photos here... 3. If you'd like a stranger to take a photo, consider letting them use a phone. Now, I'm sure we've all had experiences that have made it clear that not every stranger we meet has the best eye for photos. I've had strangers who are dedicated to the mission, who will squat down and stand on their tip toes for different angles, take vertical and horizontal shots, and turn my quick request for a photo with friends into a full on photo-shoot. I have also had the slightly less interested passer-by whose knowledge of how to frame and focus iPhone cameras is a bit more limited. While I am grateful for both types of strangers taking the time out of their day to capture a moment for my friends and I, it's always interesting to see what kind of photos we end up with...if we end up with any at all. One of the funniest moments of the weekend was when I finally conjured up the courage to ask a stranger to take a photo of my friends and I on the cliffs. He agreed, and I handed him my big, heavy, slightly complicated to operate DSLR Camera. While I've had years of working with the camera, many people have had issues with figuring out how to use it. The man I asked seemed confident, however, and kindly said he would take a few. We thanked him profusely and turned to look at them when he left....to see that he hadn't actually taken any at all. This sparked full on belly laughter - the silent kind, complete with tears streaming down my face and my arms wrapped around my abdomen... the next time we asked somebody, we just handed them an iPhone... 4. Download Vipsy My friend Ciara, who is studying abroad in Dublin, advised us all to download an app called Vipsy, which offers discounts and free admission to different clubs around the city. If you're interested in going out and saving money, this is a great app to use, but make sure you go during the allotted time period so that the discounts are still valid.
6. Stroll around St. Stephens Green If you're looking for a relaxing place to spend a morning, go for a walk around St. Stephen's Green, which is like the Central Park of Dublin. After a walk down Grafton street (prompted by some new Ed Sheeran lyrics...), we spent the rest of Sunday morning strolling through the park before I had to catch the bus back to the airport. It was gorgeous and quiet walk full of flowers, statues, geese, and supposedly, a waterfall that we could not quite track down... 7. Or the Trinity Campus! Trinity College, where our friend Ciara studies, is a well-known site in Dublin. We walked through campus on our way to the train station, and she told us that all the tour groups were a pretty common sight. Other than tours of potential students coming to Rochester during the spring, It's not as popular to see large groups of people staring at our campus. However, much like the clock tower legend at the U of R (if you walk under the tower, you won't graduate in four years), Trinity campus has a myth all their own - if you walk underneath the arch, it's bad luck! Trinity is also the home of the Book of Kells, a beautifully illustrated Gospel Book written in Latin. 8. Fish and Chips and... Mushy Peas? For dinner one night, we stopped at a little restaurant to get fish and chips, served with a lovely little cup of what I originally thought was some sort of plant-based sauce for my fries. This was not the case...Ciara explained to all of us that mushy peas are served as a side dish, sort of like the Irish equivalent of Cole slaw at American restaurants. Seeing as I'm not the biggest fan of peas in the first place, I stuck to the tartar sauce.
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Hi Everyone!I'm Lydia, a 21 year old college student studying abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark for the spring 2017 semester. I'm excited to spend the next few months adventuring around Europe, and it'll all be documented here! Feel free to look around. Archives
June 2017
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