When we started looking at flights to return to the States for Thanksgiving, the options left a lot to be desired. While Bilbao has connections to many major European cities, the itineraries required an early morning departure [something in the 7:00 hour] and a long [4+ hour] layover. Having taken advantage of stopovers on prior trips, we considered booking these flights as two separate legs and spending a couple of days in the connecting city [Paris or Amsterdam]. Unfortunately, initial research into this option showed that it more than doubled the price of the transatlantic flight.
Not thrilled by these prospects, we researched itineraries from Madrid, thinking we could take the train down, spend a couple of nights, and then at least have a direct flight to Dulles. Unfortunately, the tickets weren’t any cheaper, and the itineraries still required a long connection. Finding none of these options appealing, we delayed making the purchase.
While I typically wouldn’t recommend this strategy [we all know ticket prices usually increase while we delay the inevitable], it actually turned out for the best. It soon occurred to us to look into other cities with direct flights to/from Bilbao [and to/from Dulles] where we could enjoy a stopover. We played with the dates and eventually found two solid options: we’d start our trip in Dublin to enjoy a few pints of Guinness and return via Munich, where the Christmas markets would be in full swing.
First Stop: Dublin
It was 60º when we left Bilbao. Unfortunately, the temperature in Dublin was much colder. On our first evening we wandered around the neighborhood near our hotel and felt shocked by the cold. We were also stunned to find how early everything closed for the evening. [After all, dinner doesn’t start in Bilbao until at least 9:00pm.] Luckily we found a ramen spot that was still serving at the “late” hour and warmed ourselves with the tasty broth before returning to the hotel.
At breakfast the next morning we found an impressive spread and were served carafes full of coffee. [In my opinion, this is MUCH better than the Spanish standard of a freshly made, but very small, cafe con leche.] We stuffed ourselves and even lingered over a third carafe before heading out to explore.
We were again shocked by the cold that hit us when we exited the hotel. This was made worse by our typical lack of desire to visit the traditional sites [churches, museums] prioritized by most tourists, instead preferring to simply explore a city without much of an itinerary. We began wandering and found some lovely street art and a slightly odd sculpture known as the Spire. But, the cold quickly got to us, so we decided to look for a bar to partake in our first Guinness.
Despite the reputation of the Irish as heavy drinkers, the bars open much later in Dublin than in Bilbao, especially on weekdays. We had to walk a while to find somewhere that was open, eventually making our way to The Brazen Head, the oldest bar in Dublin. We ordered a round and took a seat, desperately seeking warmth.
Unfortunately, this was when we first discovered that bars and restaurants in Dublin are not well heated. We’re unsure if this was due to the heat systems not yet being turned on [the cold-snap apparently arrived the day before we did] or if this is their standard operating procedure, but the temperature was rarely much warmer indoors than outside.
Here, as would become the theme in almost every establishment we visited, we kept our coats on while drinking our Guinness, and enjoyed a nice chat with the bartender and another couple visiting from the States.
We spent the afternoon visiting Phoenix Park, home to an obelisk known as Wellington Monument, and the nearby neighborhood of Stoneybatter. Our adherence to the Spanish meal schedule was again a problem, as many restaurants were closing for their afternoon break at 3:00pm when we finally felt ready for lunch.
Luckily we found a warm spot in the neighborhood of Smithfield that was still serving lunch as the early sunset approached. We then stopped at a bar connected to the Jameson distillery for a warm whiskey cocktail before making our way to Temple Bar to enjoy some traditional Irish music [alongside VERY expensive beers, at least by our Bilbao standards].
On our final full day in Ireland we wandered through the campus of Trinity University on our way to the light rail station. We then took a day trip to Howth for a chilly hike along the cliffs. We’d again lingered over a hearty breakfast and the trip from Dublin took about half an hour. The sun felt low in the sky as we started along the trail shortly after 1:00pm. Despite being very chilly, even at the bar where we stopped for a mid-hike Guinness and fries, the views were pretty.
Second Stop: DC
Once we’d had our fill of Guinness, we left Dublin and flew to Dulles.
The visit to DC included spending time with friends and family, making stops at some of our favorite spots [with the primary objective of eating lots of 🌮s], and acquiring documents required for our residency renewal application.
There was lots of Scrabble played and we also got to watch Nebraska Volleyball clinch a share of the B1G Championship with their win at Maryland!
Almost Home: Munich [and a day trip to Nuremberg]
I’m a big fan of mulled wine and being able to wander around a festive square with your mug as you drink it. Obviously, this meant that I needed to finally make a trip to Germany to visit some of their famous Christmas markets.
After a long and expensive taxi trip from the airport, we laid low that afternoon before making the trip to Marienplatz, home of Munich’s primary Christmas market. Despite its reputation for being consistently on-schedule, we found the transit network incredibly difficult to navigate. Fortunately, after a bit of a struggle, we eventually succeeded in visiting the Christmas market to enjoy our inaugural glühwein while appreciating the historic architecture.
The next evening we stopped in one famous beer hall on our way to another famous beer hall, where we enjoyed a dinner of schweinshaxe (pork knuckle). We also stumbled upon a park with a more modern Christmas market that seemed more popular with the local crowd, where we again enjoyed mugs of gluhwein.
I made it my goal to drink a mug of mulled wine in every unique market that we found during our trip. I take great pride in achieving this objective!
On our last full day in Germany, we took the high-speed train about an hour away to Nuremberg. We again found the train system, especially the ticket kiosks, difficult to navigate [and the tickets shockingly expensive, especially by the standards of Euskadi]. While this made the trip more stressful than we’d have liked, the Christkindlesmarkt was large and lively and definitely worth the hassle. In addition to glühwein, we partook in currywurst and delicious truffles, and again enjoyed the views of the historic architecture, despite the chilly drizzle that fell.
Before leaving Munich we went to Hofbräuhaus for lunch (🥨! 🌭! 🍺!) and stopped for what we thought would be our last glühwein. We then took the train to the airport. (Despite the system’s confusing elements, we found this much more appealing than another expensive taxi ride.)
As luck would have it, the airport had a Christmas market of its own! So, we enjoyed one final toasty beverage before boarding our flight back to Bilbao.
Closing
On this trip we enjoyed exploring different cities (and partaking in their respective beverages), but we were also very happy to return to Euskadi. Bilbao has very quickly become our home and we have applied to renew our residency. [My delay in writing this post was partially caused by all of the running around we’ve needed to do over the last month to acquire all of the necessary documents.]
Any trips we take in the coming weeks will be influenced by any news that we may receive regarding our applications [including requests for additional documents]. Regardless of where this may take us, I’ll do my best to write about those adventures in a more timely fashion.
¡Hasta pronto!
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