When you’re young, business traveling has a certain romantic quality to it. “Look at me, I’m important enough to be sent to different offices in order to do my work” tends to be the thought and of course, the status that comes with it, real or imaginary. Admittedly, I had a similar view of business travel early on in my career too. I thought, “I love to travel so being able to do it on the company dime is a win-win!” that is, until I traveled for work for the first time. Thoughts of wandering the streets of some unknown city with your colleagues or visiting exquisite local restaurants turns into twelve to fourteen hour days, chock full of meetings and the odd delivered sandwich. However, business travel to another country is a completely different story. OK, maybe not completely different. The meetings and long hours are still applicable but the ability to explore the days leading up to and following in person work days provides a perfect opportunity to get some great work done, make valuable connections and explore a new country.

Ireland hasn’t been on either Lauren’s or my priority list of places to visit. No offense to the Irish but it’s always felt a little too mainstream, too well traveled and a little too similar to other places we’ve visited. Of all of the folks I know who have traveled abroad, all but two have visited the emerald isle. However, when work provided an opportunity to visit our office in Dublin I did not hesitate to say yes and since solo work travel leads to experiences that I mentioned above, Lauren was more than happy to tag along.

I got word about four weeks ahead of time of the travel dates and since neither one of us has taken a look at Ireland for pleasure, we had four weeks to come up with something that could resemble an itinerary. Thanks to the well traveled nature of the island, we were able to solicit a ton of recommendations, mostly ignore them and explore as much as we could in the three days leading up to and day after my three day in office session. Like most adventures to Ireland, our story begins at the Dublin airport.

Belfast and Dunfanaghy

Quiz time!

Did you know that Ireland is one of 75 countries/territories that drive on the left hand side of the road? Did you also know that most of the world uses a manual transmission for ICE vehicles? Now, can you guess my level of experience with either one?

Zero. The answer is zero.

In fact, I’ve never driven in another country and with Ireland’s USA-esque dependence on the car, I didn’t have much choice but to roll up my sleeves (pant legs?) and take the plunge. I negated one risk by being able to book an automatic car (with a ten euro/day premium) but driving on the left with a right hand drive car was something that had to be learned while doing….and Lauren constantly yelling at me to turn into the left-most lane.

Once relatively comfortable driving on the left side of the road, we were off on the M1 heading to our first destination, Belfast, situated nicely in the UK country of Northern Ireland. Despite being in a completely different country, the transition from Ireland wasn’t anything more than a sign on the road and an indication that all speed limit signs are now in mph instead of kph, the standard of Ireland. Seeing how I was in our VW Golf for a matter of like an hour, I had no idea how to change the speedometer so that meant adding a mental speed conversion into the mix of my international driving adventure.

I can’t say I knew a lot about Belfast prior to arriving but what I do know is that its home to the Harland and Wolff shipbuilding company which, back in the day, built a little known ship that wouldn’t become famous until it was at the bottom of the Atlantic. Of course I’m referring to the Titanic and situated at the base of the original slip where it was built, is the five story Titanic museum.

I’ve been to a few museums and exhibits that feature the Titanic and most focus primarily on the ship and its fate but where Belfast Titanic museum excels in the background of the workers and the history of H&W leading up to and throughout the build of the Titanic. The tour tells the first hand stories of a handful of shipbuilders as they laid the keel, added the iron panels and placed the (over) three million iron rivets, all by hand. Overall there were two big highlights: 1. during the tour there’s a 180 degree view overlooking the original slip, fully marked where everything was a 2. the violin that belonged to Wallace Hartley, the bandmaster of Titanic’s eight piece band.

In typical road trip fashion, we stopped at a Tesco to pick up provisions for our ride across the northern part of island on our way to a small coastal town called Dunfanaghy. We chose this small fishing village due to its proximity to two beaches that were well within walking distance but the town itself exudes charm. During strategic lapses of rain, we were able to explore the town and of course have the requisite pint at the local pub before dinner. Upon leaving the village, the rain held out just long enough for us to take a quick three mile hike through the Lurgabrack Nature Reserve to arrive at Tramore, a beach that spans well over a mile.

After leaving the beach, Lauren discovered Emu View Brew Crew, a small coffee trailer located at the end of an emu ranch that was owner operating and had the best coffee we experienced, not just in Ireland but ranks highly against coffee we’ve had anywhere. The owner, Euan, was manning the espresso that morning and was an absolute joy to talk with while enjoying his coffee and recovering from our hike. It likely goes without saying but if you are ever in the area stopping here is an absolute must.

County Donegal

While the northern part of Ireland has the northern shore, mile long beaches and the United Kingdom, County Donegal is the section of the island that is notorious among tourists and locals alike. After telling my work colleagues that we had visited there, every one of them mentioned that its one of the best parts of the country, followed by the southern section of Killarney and Cork. Among the highlights of this area are the picturesque countryside and the Slieve League Cliffs. These cliffs tower out of the ocean nearly 2000 feet and while most normal people would take a shuttle to the viewing platform to see them in all of their glory, we decided to hike it….because….well….there was sheep involved and it was one of the few days where it wasn’t raining.

Dublin

Of the seven days we were on the island, it rained for all but two of them. At some points the rain was so hard we couldn’t even flag down a cab to take us to dinner or to wherever we wished to go. When we visit a city, we typically spend most of our time getting lost in it, exploring shops, parks or really anything that we stumble upon but unfortunately the rain prevented a lot of that. The even more unfortunate part was I was in the office during one of those sunny days so I was able to enjoy it from a conference room on the third floor of 3 Georges Dock in Dublin. Despite the rain, we trudged our way around the city to get some of the highlights all while being completely drenched.

The biggest surprise of the trip was Dublin’s coffee scene. Everybody knows that Ireland does beer and whisky but what most don’t know (I sure didn’t) is that they have more third wave coffee shops than any other city equivalent in size. Ok, I just made that up but I’m fairly sure its true of all the big cities I’ve been to and I’m 100% confident no other city has this many coffee shops that have this good of coffee. Every morning before work, at least once during work and the odd coffee run in the after, Lauren or I would visit a different coffee shop within a mile or so radius of our hotel or my office. Each and every one of them would serve a different roast, or roast in house and their execution was phenomenal, perfectly balanced with espresso bursting with flavor. In short – when you visit, try as many coffee places as you can and you won’t be disappointed…just don’t drink it at the US pre clearance section of the airport.

Now for beer.

The pinnacle of Irish beer, so much so that I’m honestly surprised it isn’t represented on their flag is the one and only Guinness. Any pub you walk by, any restaurant you visit, even at some cafes, they will have Guinness on tap and all of the locals will likely be drinking it. Guinness is so embedded into the fabric of Ireland’s culture that most pubs have their own, custom Guinness etching tool behind the bar that creates their logo onto the foam of the beer. Don’t believe me?

Suffice to say, Guinness is the king of beers here and in that spirit, their original brewery located on five acres of land in the heart of Dublin, is a monument to the empire that Arthur Guinness created way back in 1759. It’s now called the Guinness Storehouse but is still located at St James Gate and will remain there, likely forever, thanks to the 9000 year lease he signed in the late 18th century. Guinness only paid 45 quid a year on that lease when it was first signed and the company continues to pay that to this day.

The Storehouse is everything you’d expect from a brewery tour, turned up to 11 to align to the cultural significance it has to the Irish. Its six stories tall, features the world’s largest pint glass (you actually stand in it upon entering the building) and walks you through the process of making the beer, tasting lessons, marketing campaigns, a merchandise store that takes up nearly the entire first floor and of course, a bar on the top floor providing 350 degree views of the city.

Most who come back from Ireland will say that the Guinness tastes different there and its absolutely true. It’s less bitter, has more body and is remarkably smooth and the flavor is completely consistent across Ireland, a theory I was set on proving out. If you know anything about beer, the content of the tour isn’t anything new but as a cultural experience it was the perfect way to cap off a business trip.

Travel/Post Details:

• Post includes travel from June 8-15
• Flights:
  • FSD > MSP > DUB (Delta)
  • DUB > MSP > FSD (Delta)
• Accommodations:
  • Dunfanaghy: Arnold’s Hotel
  • County Donegal: The Rusty Mackerel
  • Dublin 6/10-6/14: Hilton Garden Inn City Center
  • Dublin 6/14-6/15: Wren Urban Nest
• Rental Car: Sixt where we picked up our VW Golf at the Dublin airport and returned it at a parking garage in downtown Dublin. I vow to never own a Golf and especially never drive in the city center of Dublin again
• Food Notes:
  • Spar is an European chain of small grocery/convenience stores that became our best friend throughout the course of the trip. Upon leaving the Dublin airport, we were quick to find one in order to stock up on road trip food and random snacks for when we’re in our hotel
  • Dunfanaghy: Lizzie’s Diner which was on the main street through town that had both a restaurant and the Oyster Bar (pub) attached. We split the fish and chips and seafood chowder. The latter being more Irish fare than the former and while Lauren wasn’t fond of the soup, I did enjoy it and the fish and chips were alright. I had my first, in country beer, Smithwicks a red ale that seems to be served along side Guinness in most places both of which I enjoyed
  • Donegal County: We ended up eating at The Rusty Mackerel as Lauren looked ahead at the menu and wanted to try most of what they offered. We ended up sharing their namesake dish along with an Irish Stew. This meal cemented the idea that I don’t like mackerel, a preference I didn’t have until ten seconds after my first bite. The Irish stew however was incredibly good with a traditional brown sauce that was delightful. We ended the evening with an Irish coffee and a sticky toffee pudding that Lauren will likely dream about in the coming months.
  • Dublin
    • I’m not documenting the places I went to during my time at the office simply because I didn’t pay for it, nor remember even slightly where the food came from but nothing we had was anything terribly noteworthy. The one exception is Pickle, the Indian restaurant we went to the first night after work. The entire office raved about it before hand and many stories were shared about various executives exclusively dining there when they visit Dublin but I wasn’t impressed. Indian food is hit and miss on principle and the lamb shank I had was lacking flavor and yearned for another half hour cook. The guilt for that poor lamb will be a stain on my conscious for the foreseeable future.
    • Friday night we ended up at Apertivo after getting caught in the rain and unable to catch a cab to the Thai place we were planning on going to. This was a tiny place with maybe 8 tables, four of which were on the patio where we ended up trying our best to get away from the dripping awning. An Italian inspired restaurant, they specialize in small, shareable plates vs large entrees so one can try a variety of different items. We shared an asparagus risotto, short ribs, carbonara, lasagne and a tiramisu. All but the risotto were notable but their lasagne really shined.
    • Saturday night we found a table at The Trinity Bar, a restaurant smack dab in the middle of the old town. It had live music , none of which was Irish and we had the fish and chips and Irish stew both descent enough to satisfy our last night in Ireland and naturally I had one final Guinness, which after the storehouse tour, was the last thing I needed.
  • Coffee
    • County Donegal – Emu View Brew Crew
    • Belfast – The Galley Cafe – Titanic Belfast
    • Dublin
      • Cool Hand Coffee – Mayor Street Lower, Dublin 1
      • Roasted Notes – Dublin Airport and Hilton Garden Inn City Center
      • Coffeeangel – The Exchange, George’s Dock Dublin 1
      • Seven Wonders – Excise Walk, Dublin 1
      • 3fe – Mayor Square, North Wall Dublin 1
      • Shoe Lane Coffee Vibrations – 7 Tara St Dublin 2
      • Butlers Chocolate Cafe – 51 Grafton St Dublin 2
• Featured Image: Part of the Slieve League Cliffs as seen from the Pilgrams Path, just west of Teelin, County Donegal