Days 20 and 21 - Hamburg to Dublin, Ireland
We didn't have to rush this morning and checked out at around 9:45. We did a complete repack of our cases. Tania purchased us some middle eastern bakery treats, similar to spanakopita or boreks.
Did our last quick walk along the sleazy street, it didn't feel any better ! Got to the train station and had a bit of trouble locating the platform for the airport train, and of course the lift and escalators were not working, so trudged down the stairs with our cases.
We had been warned that the first three carriages were the only ones that went to the airport, the others went off in another direction to other stations, not sure how, but they must-have detached at the interchange.
Arrived to the airport at 11:00, an easy process to check in, sit and enjoy our treats with a coffee, then passed through security, immigration and gate entry all without problems.
The flight which left a little late was also very smooth, landing around 15:15, progress through immigration and customs was also very smooth. Caught a taxi from the airport to our accommodation and arrived by 16:15. This time we had booked an apartment, and how comfortable it has a full kitchen, bathroom, Laundry, lounge and dining room.
We immediately did a load of clothes washing, then went to a close by LIDL to purchase some food to cook up for dinner ... Fish and vegetables with a tiramisu for desert ! Yum !
Wednesday 3rd September, 2025
The supplies we bought at LIDL last night also included items for us to make our regular breakfast bircher whilst OS -- again easy and YUM! Being self sufficient means we can eat what and when we like.
Today we pre-booked a walking tour of Dublin and checked the weather forecast first which was for rain so our gortex jacket, weather proof pants and umbrella were on hand. We left the apartment at 8:30 and found a quaint coffee shop prior to exploring some of the nearby Temple Bar area before meeting our tour guide at 10:00. Helena, our guide was a great communicator and walked us around some of the historic sites, explaining how Irish history intertwined with these sites. Ireland has had so many revolutions, wars and invasions. She was so entertaining and happy to engage with our group encouraging any questions we had.
After the walking tour we of course explored the city further, covering a lot of the city centre, both sides of the River Liffey, walked over Ha-penny Bridge, saw old Parliament House (now a bank), and the Dublin Castle. Dublin is an easy place to walk around with a lot of pedestrian streets catering to the crowds and 772 Irish pubs to wet your whistle should you so desire.
We also tried curry chips and had a lengthy entertaining chat to the food stall holder about sharks, travelling long distances, chances of him never coming to Australia etc.
Even though the temperature today was not overly cold, the bouts of rain were constant. We could enter a building when areas of the sky were blue and then 10 minutes later when we headed outside it was raining quite heavily. The umbrella was up one moment and then down the next, repeat, repeat. Another highlight was Graeme also got a haircut this afternoon much to Tania's delight !
Eventually found our way back to our apartment via LIDL once more and fish and veggies for dinner again !