Leprechauns and Guinness?

Arrival

Frankfurt Airport, 6th of September, 14:45: While getting closer to our new home for the next semester, our excitement rose to an extreme. The first thing I saw while landing was a big green island with a little lighthouse on it, this was the moment that I instantly fell in love with Ireland. In contrast to other cities Dublin is just a little one where there is ´leprechauns and Guinness´ everywhere. Just kidding, it’s a big flourishing city with lots of pubs and stores. Small, red headed people crossing the streets of Dublin on the wrong side, might be what you expected but on the contrary, there is Foreign people everywhere! You hear about every language you can imagine. It is a culturally rich country and whoever you meet is lovely and kind. Sometimes even ridiculously kind, apologising even thought something was you fault is a habit the Irish people show often.

Griffith College, a pretty small global village, that can be found in the middle of Dublin is about to become a new home and a new adventure for around 7000 students from all over the world. Its tininess gives it a family friendly feeling. As the housing facilities are also on the campus it literally is like living at university – good for late and long sleepers! No long ways, everything on side and even our own Starbucks, what more is there to ask for. Right, shops and supermarkets – even students need to eat from time to time. As if we were still living in Germany, Lidl and Aldi are close by to do some grocery shopping or to just walk into a shop and feel like you actually are back home.

Adventure time

As the college does not only offer several sporting clubs and society, it also offers special trips and activities.

Being part of the Volleyball team has brought up the opportunity to go on a hiking trip to an amazingly beautiful town called Glendalough. The team coach organises this trip every year with its colleges from the Garda (that’s what the police is called in Ireland), and he allows students to come along to make them see the real beauty of Ireland.

It is a rather long and exhausting way up the hills of Glendalough but it is more than worth it.  On top of the hill and even along the way one can look down and enjoy the incredibly stunning view of the upper and lower lake as well as the woods and animals passing bye.

It’s often referred to the phrase a picture tells more than a thousand words, I believe it is true and therefore check it out and built your own opinion – all I can do is recommend to go to a hiking trip like that if you ever happen to find yourself in Ireland, the nature simply is beautiful.

Celebrating good times

Around Dublin one can find numerous traditional Irish pubs serving the local people, from the most famous places on Temple Bar up to more local places like the Bleeding Horse, there is one for any occasion. You can choose from a variety of classics like, beers and whiskeys, as they both are quite traditional for Ireland, even more so the choices extend to all sorts of spirits and especially ciders. Another great spot here in Dublin is the “Stags Head” where there is are great comedyshow called the “Comedy Crunch” every sunday, monday and tuesday (free entrance and FREE ICECREAM) The Irish love to have an good craic (craic is a typical irish term for fun) .

Pubbing is nice, but what is student life without clubbing? Boring right? Dublin offers whole streets full of clubs that offer an amazingly fun time with your friends and the new people you get to know. From Everleigh Gardens to the Dicies Garden, going out at the Palace or the Flannery’s which is a combination of a pub and a club, a “Clubpub” that offers more space for smokers than for the dancing people, there is something for everyone.