After the tour, I was famished. I made my way into the city on a hop-on-hop-off bus and disembarked at the imposing Christ Church Cathedral in the Viking and Medieval Quarter, south of the River Liffey.
One of Europe’s oldest cities, Dublin originated as a Viking trading port over 10 centuries ago.
The cathedral was founded in 1030 and is the oldest building in Dublin. It was rebuilt by the Anglo-Normans in a Romanesque style, and later extended and restored. The Cathedral Café served a limited menu of sandwiches and beverages, but its location was truly unique – down in the burial vault!
I found the stairs that led down into the medieval crypt, which was unusual as it extended beneath the entire cathedral floor. Dimly lit and with a heavy musty smell, the crypt walls were lined with marble statues and memorials extolling the virtues of the dearly departed, and a glass display of a mummified cat and rat that were discovered trapped in the church organ in the 1860s. Tucked amongst these macabre items were places for the living – a gift shop, café, treasury exhibition and washrooms.
I would never have thought of eating my lunch in a crypt but here I was, with coffee and sandwiches, catching up on e-mails! Except for the mustiness, the experience was quite pleasant, and not in the least creepy. But out of respect, I avoided sitting where there were floor tombstones underfoot.
One other interesting feature of the cathedral is its record-breaking 19 change ringing bells; the peals are heard twice weekly. I opted for a guided tour because that was the only way to get into the belfry, or bell tower. After climbing two narrow circular stairways, we entered a room with ropes dangling from the ceiling. Change ringing is a method of ringing the bells in a particular order. Each bell, hung upside down, sounded only when each had been swung one full circle. Fortunately, there were only three people in my group, so I had the chance to ring a bell.
During the demonstration, it looked easy enough, but after taking hold of the rope, it took a lot of plunging movements before I finally made the bell swing one full circle. Now, just imagine standing in a circle, pulling a rope, and trying to coordinate with 18 other change ringers around the room. That feat alone would require much stamina, coordination and plenty of practice!