Dublin Decided 2015

As soon as I exited the airport in Prague, I felt my Dublin-smile turn upside down. My frown only deepened after the bus ride, two metros and the walk back to my apartment alone, dragging my suitcase behind me, over the cobblestones.

My friend, Paco (a Mexican who has lived in Prague for four years), is right: once you’ve been in a city for a long time, you start to pick up small mannerisms, like walking around with a scowl on your face and glaring at people for no reason. 

My weekend escape to Dublin was a much-needed breath of fresh air, after a very hectic week leading up to the Royal Visit and all of the festivities for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award ceremony. For the next week in Prague, I was terribly homesick and heard the Friendly City* calling my name.

Of course, my few days away were so great, because I stayed with family, who I hadn’t seen in ages. My Aunt Mags has three sons, and so I filled the gap of the perfect shopping companion, cappuccino-drinker and honorary daughter. I was thoroughly spoilt, from our movie-style reunion at the airport to eating at the best restaurants (Fade Street and Taste at Rustic Stone), as well as being treated to home-cooking, with just the right amount of chilli.

Smoked Japanese Cheesecake with Banana and Salted Caramel Sauce
from Taste at Rustic Stone.

Even the chocolate had chilli!

Everywhere you go in Dublin, people ask how you are and they really want to know. When Mags and I went for a coffee in the morning or paused at a park bench, we were often joined by students and grannies alike who struck up conversations and who thought it was just “lurv-ly” that I was from South Africa.

I was also lucky to see history in the making that weekend. Dublin was buzzing and Irish citizens from all corners of the world had turned up to vote on the legalisation of same-sex marriage. After the ‘yes’ vote was announced, you could not walk down the street without a smile on your face. People filled the pubs and restaurants and crowds spilled out onto the streets. Almost every shop that we passed had a ‘YES’ sign displayed in the window and one of the gay clubs had a giant billboard flashing ‘YES’ against a background of the rainbow-coloured LGBT flag.

Ireland became the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage by popular vote that weekend. Ireland joined 18 countries in the world and I was there to see it happen! [The South African parliament voted for this in 2006, 230 to 41.]

The Friendly City became even friendlier that night!

*In 2013, Dublin was named the 8th friendliest city in the world and Cork, also in Ireland, number one.