Christmas Eve and Christmas in Dublin
Do you know what's open in Dublin on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? Almost literally nothing! But I knew that going in, so that was completely okay...and it was perfect to take a walk past some of Dublin's literary landmarks. For instance, the house where Bram Stoker lived! (His birthplace is nearby too, but we didn't walk by that.) I didn't know Stoker was Irish, and I was sad not to go to the super-touristy Bram Stoker castle that is also in Dublin. Unfortunately, it's closed through mid-2020, so that's a goal for another trip. We briefly paused the literary walk to go to the National Museum of Ireland to see the bog bodies. Admission was free, which was a nice bonus. A bog body is someone who has been mummified in peat, and they can retain their skin, organs, and even hair. One of the bog bodies, the Cashel man, dates back to 2000 BC. Since the bog bodies are usually naked and died in a violent way, scientists think they were human sacrifices. Me...