Vikings!

Vikings
Originally uploaded by Gary McMurray.

As I have previously said, last Friday we had no classes as term had finished, bit we were still in Dublin for the Community Weekend at College. After three years of anticipation, we finally went on the Viking Splash Tour!

The tour bus (see my Flickr account for a photo) is an amphibious American-built landing craft from the Second World War. The main part of the tour is around Viking and Georgian Dublin, with the driver tour guide pointing out features, telling stories and sharing jokes. Then the vehicle gets its water wings fitted, and the passengers get lifebelts, and it's off onto the water, for a quick circuit of the Grand Canal's docks and basin. There you can see the U2 recording studios and the regeneration work around the docks, where fashionable apartment blocks are being constructed.

All in all, it was a good hour and a bit. I managed to see things that I had never noticed before in Dublin, including a Huguenot cemetery on the corner of St Stephen's Green. But most of all, I got to wear a Viking helmet and roar at the 'Celts' walking along the footpaths of Dublin city centre! And don't worry - there is neither raping nor pillaging!