The Weather Hates Historical Tours
We left the hostel and immediately headed for the bank,
where we would be picked up for a tour of the Bru na Boinne (the Boyne valley),
a UNESCO world heritage site containing many Stone Age relics and buildings. We
boarded the bus, and in the time it took us to get there, the guide went
through the Stone, Bronze, Iron, and Golden Ages of Ireland, which was quite
interesting.
We
reached the information centre, and at 9:30 we got on a second bus, which would
take us to Newgrange, our first stop. The ride offered a view of the charming
landscape and many farm animals. The structure at Newgrange is a passage tomb.
Essentially, it is a mound of rocks with a tiny passage into the middle, where
the tomb is. The entire thing is decorated with spirals and rhombi, for no
known reason. The tomb at Newgrange is unique because for 17 minutes on
December 21, the passage to the tombs aligns with the sunrise, and the entire inside
is filled with light. Unfortunately, the only way to view this is to be one of
50 people chosen from a lottery.
We
reluctantly left the tomb into a terrible wind, and were driven back to the
information centre. After stopping for hot chocolate and an éclair the length
of my arm, we boarded our tour bus. We drove past Knowth, a site with another,
more extensive passage tomb that we didn’t visit because it is being excavated.
Our
next stop was Tara, a hill that actually contains several sites. It was an
optimal location for its inhabitants in the past, since the view from the top
of the hill allows you a panoramic view of anyone who approaches, or in our
case, the storm rapidly blowing toward us. There are many myths surrounding
some of the artifacts at Tara, for instance, it was said that anyone who wanted
to be king would have to put his chariot in front of two stones that were
extremely close together, and if the earth goddess found the candidate worthy,
then the stones would open wide enough for the chariot to pass through. In
addition, the would-be king would have to first fit into a royal robe, tame
wild stallions, and attach them to the chariot he would drive through the
stones. Once all of this was accomplished, the candidate would touch the Stone
of Destiny, which would then scream loud enough for all of Ireland to hear.
In
addition, there is a small passage tomb called the Mound of Hostages, where the
cremated remains of over 200 people were found, as well as the skeleton of a 15
year old boy. There was a lot more, but we had to run, because the thunderstorm
had hit, and it was pouring ice-cold rain sideways. Of course, the instant we
got on the bus, the dark clouds vanished and were replaced with a beautiful,
cloudless sky, complete with bright green rolling hills and chirping birds. 
Our
tour finished, we were dropped off near Christ Church. From there we went to
St. Audoen’s church, which has been constantly added to since its establishment
in the 12th century. Near the church, which contains a “lucky stone”
that has always returned to the church- it was once stolen by robbers, but the
farther they got from the church, the heavier the stone became, until the horse
carrying it fell over. The robbers dumped it and ran, and later, when workmen tried
to smash the stone, it moaned and rolled away. Near the church, there was a
part of the original city wall and gate.
From
there we went to the Brazen Head, a bar made in 1198. My dad got a Guinness,
while I enjoyed traditional Irish chips (French fries), bread, and fried Brie,
as well as a game of hurling. Played with spoon-like sticks, players can scoop
the ball up into their hands while being attacked and smacked by the sticks of
other players. They then serve the ball like in tennis, either into the soccer
goal or the rugby goal. It is truly a marvelous game.
After doing some shopping, we went
back to the hostel and collapsed.
Comments