King for a day
While travelling abroad on a university exchange program, American Matt Dysart explores the north-western coast of Europe and shares how found he himself along the way.
It wasn’t until halfway through my abroad experience in Europe that I realised this particular year would be the first Spring Break experience away from the tropical coastlines of the US. Being that I was in Maastricht, Netherlands, the usual scenery of beaches and babes was now replaced with the unusual costumes of Carnival.
For most students from my fraternity in Texas, this would be somewhat of a tragedy. But for me it was a dream come true, because I knew exactly where I wanted to go. Ever since I learned my family is partly descended from Scottish origin – and that my last name is the name of a small town on the Fife Coast – Scotland has always been a place at the forefront of my heart’s greatest anticipations.
I already knew that the entire UK brought with it feelings of comfortable reflection. With low lighting in the local pubs and endless days of rain, it’s no wonder the English understanding of relaxation far exceeds that of the city life in the States. Scientifically speaking, rainclouds lower barometric pressure and often affect a person’s mood; bringing down from a high to a low. Knowing this, I sometimes think Americans could use a little more rain.
After landing in Dublin, I couldn’t walk two blocks without hearing some traditional Irish music – it really is incredible. Even the ugliest of Irishmen could muse a Galway girl with his Gaelic tones. My personal weakness is anything accompanied by the tin whistle or the bagpipes, sort of makes heaven seem just a bit closer.
I passed on the chance to see the Cliffs of Moher and took a ten-minute tram with a friend to Howth, a lesser-known orchestrator of serenity. Missing Moher was indeed a regret short lived, for in Howth one can go exploring without any fear of falling off the edge of a cliff. I simply prefer the bay at eye level.
Our bags of fried fish and chips kept our hands warm for the most part, but I couldn’t resist the urge to remove my gloves and play my own Irish tin whistle on the mossy outcrop – “Concerning Hobbits” was the tune of choice.
Much like the Uilleann and Great Highland bagpipes, Ireland and Scotland offer many different interpretations of beauty, but beauty nonetheless. I found my own version of it just north of Edinburgh.
My last name, Dysart, partly comes from a town that’s about a twenty-minute walk up the street from Kirkcaldy. I planned my day alone while my friends made their way to Glasgow. I was told very politely by the visitor’s office not to walk along the shore to the town, but I took it as more of an invitation than a warning.
Climbing over ten feet of wet rocks is much more epic when you’re humming the Lord of the Rings soundtrack, but isn’t everything? There really isn’t a feeling comparable to that of seeing your own name stamped all over a town in a different country. The boats in the harbour, the local inn, the medieval church, they were all mine it seemed.
City officials treated me like royalty and gave me whatever I needed. The one-room museum told me everything about my little town; how it was second to Amsterdam in terms of European ports, and how the size of the harbour couldn’t keep up with the growth of industry ships.
The town is usually overlooked these days, but I imagine I’ll return someday, become the harbourmaster and ring the bells over the safe waters each night.
I learned three things while on that massive island: the British still don’t like hearing about the Revolution, Guinness tastes far better in Dublin than anywhere else, and that it’s absolutely imperative you take a day to yourself while abroad. If you want to go left, you can, but if you then choose to go right, no one will stop you.
Matt Dysart is a recent graduate of Baylor University, Waco Texas. He has a Bachelor’s degree in English. Matt’s love for genuine literature and poetry lead him to the position of Staff Editor for an on-campus literary magazine and he continues to seek opportunities around the world to develop his writing.
Want to read more of Matt’s adventures – Check out An American in Europe and Coasting through Southern Europe.
davidlambee8100
November 2, 2013 at 7:45 am
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