I hadn’t been to Ireland before, no idea why, so now was a time to correct that situation. Dublin was the easiest place to get to so I based myself there but took a day trip to Belfast on the train. I had no agenda for the visit although I had been told to go to the Guinness Storehouse so I was compelled to do that and sample some of the black stuff where it’s really made.

Only having a half day in Belfast, after I finally got there, made taking a tour seem sensible. Taking the tour reminded me why I don’t do tours. I like wandering around and looking at stuff that is “interesting” without taking much account for time. Going to uninteresting places, what is it with the Titanic?, and zooming though the interesting ones is just frustrating. Walking around is probably faster too, it certainly was in Dublin, as the traffic is nuts (I should have expected that based on Boston 🙂

Took the Swiss Business Jet from Newark to Zurich after experiencing the USA’s “high speed train “Acela” between Boston and Newark. Acela is a nice enough service, although it’s no Shinkansen, but having to run more frequently would be good as would finding a way to allow it to run faster. I guess the latter is difficult if it needs to share the lines with freight and commuter trains.

The business jet is a 737-800 fitted with 56 sleeper seats (all business class) operated by Privat Air (who also do a similar service for Lufthansa). Not a bad way to fly but a 737 can seem to be a little cramped on a long journey.