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| Plastic viking hats? Oscar would be wilde. |
by kissingfish |
2006-07-27 23:55:50 |
Dublin. The home of Guinness, James Joyce and Bono. This is where I find myself this week. I was here almost exactly a years ago and that visit left me with the regret of missed opportunity. The last time I was here, the sum total of my cultural observation was that there ar emany differences between Dublin and Melbourne, but a lot of similarities. They have Irish pubs over here as well. But they just call them pubs. How quaint. As detailed and usedful as this information tidbit is, this time around I was motivated to find out more.
And so yesterday I went on the 'Viking Splash' tour of the city. This unique experience celebrates Ireland's colourful Viking heritage by driving a large bus/boat aroudn the streets of Dublin. The vehicle then drives into a canal and you see parts of the city that can only be seen from the water.
As well as seeing all the major landmarks the town has to offer, passengers are required, frequently, to roar at baystanders in a menacing and specifically Viking fashion.
To the uninitiated, a Viking roar sounds like a bear half heartedly menacing someone with a knowledge that its culture will soon more from raping and pillaging to the successfull manufacture of modular furniture. To avoid any confusion on the part of the bystander, we are required to wear plastic Viking helmets.
There is something in you, as an adult, that wants to be embarrassed by this. It's the same instinct you developed in high school that tells you not to be different or stand out because the concequences will be dire. But I was able to overcome this impulse. Partly because I am a little more grown up thatn I was in high school, and partly because I was one of only five people on the tour over the age of 10 and the excitement of children is infectious. And so it came to pass that I was one of the more energetic and menacing Vikings ever to terrorise the people of Dublin from the safety of a car/boat hybrid.
However, my enthusiasm was taken from me in the last 10 minutes of the tour. It was when we pulled up in from of Oscar Wilde's statue and let out another Viking roar. In my head I could almost hear min saying something painfully witty along the lines of, 'if I ever caught myself wearing one of those plastic Viking helmets, I'd rape a pillage myself.' Although you never know. He might have just been so impressed by the engineer's ability to combine a bus and a boat that he overlooked the crass display of tourist foolishness. But I doubt it.
Finally I went to see the Book of Kells.
This is an ornate, handwritten and illustrated bible that dates back to the ninth century. It had the sort of details that had me genuinely asking how it was possible without laserjet printing. The answer was that monks spent much of their lives created the most beautiful version possible of their favorite book. I felt a little guilty, as I had just finished listening to the audio-book of the Da Vinci Code because I couldn't be bothered reading it.
But more than that, I was struck by the contrast of these two legacies. From violent Viking conquest to meticulous monastic calligraphy is about as long a cultural stroll as you can take. It is a reminder that often disparate and conflicting civilisations can come together to make something unique and worth celebrating.
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[ Reply ] |
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can i leave this here? | by inkey | 2006-07-28 01:21:14 |
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CLUTTER! | by ideur | 2006-07-28 01:27:03 |
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Welcome! (n/t) | by FST777 | 2006-07-28 01:49:23 |
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Clutter | by madjo | 2006-07-28 01:54:20 |
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Now THAT was worth the read. | by Esteis | 2006-07-29 13:33:51 |
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Welcome to the asylum! | by radiowave911 | 2006-07-31 19:09:54 |
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