For those of us who did not grow up in cities, urban living tends to require a readjustment of what is considered “walking distance.” Early in my first year at NEU, having succumbed to a disgusting, but inevitable, freshman plague, I was astounded to find myself forced to walk to the nearest drugstore, a CVS fifteen minutes away to pick up my own cough medicine. Ah, the joys of adulthood. However, in short order a twenty-minute trip out to Copley Square, down to Brigham Circle, or across the Fens came to seem quite reasonable. Nonetheless, despite Cork being a smaller city, or maybe because of it, I am finding my tolerance for walking increasing yet again.
Unlike in the US, I do not live on University College Cork’s lovely campus, or even particularly close to it. From my building, campus is thirty-minute walk. Though my apartment is conveniently close to the bus station, public transport does not actually shave much time off the commute, but it certainly bites a hole in my budget. Coca-Cola Bikes, Cork’s answer to Hubway, may be a compromise, but I have not yet conquered my fear of biking on the other side of the road! With no other choice, after a few days this hike came to feel more like a casual jaunt. Luckily classes tend to start a bit later here (nothing before 9 am!) and there is a scenic quality to the stroll along the river and through the city center. I would hazard that I have been walking an average of five miles every day just running errands, getting to class, and going out with friends. More notably last weekend I undertook a city-wide scavenger hunt entirely on foot!
Our quest was to locate twenty of the city’s notable attractions, proving we had visited by taking selfies in front of each site. The first to submit a complete set of pictures would receive a tantalizing, undisclosed prize. That sure is one way for the international students’ office to encourage people to explore the city! Though admittedly corny, I was game because of a shockingly fun past scavenger hunt experience. (Shout out to Professor Hua Dong for organizing a series of wild, and occasionally delicious, challenges for our 2014 Dialogue of Civilizations in Nanjing.)
Naturally, many of our destinations were in entirely unfamiliar parts of the city. To make things more complicated (speaking as a millennial), this adventure required using Google Maps the old-fashioned way (i.e. like a map, rather than a GPS), due to a lack of reliable Internet connection. Luckily, I was not alone in my quest. My partner in crime was a fellow international student, originally from Hawaii, attending school in Oregon. We were equally motivated by competitive streaks and a desire to see the world beyond our apartment building. Our brief instructions, or at the existence of only one prize, seemed to imply this was to be an independent event, but this did not deter us!
Though farther from campus, there are definite benefits to living near downtown. We started off easily, ticking off the sites we passed daily. From there, it quickly became an actual hunt. I can only quantify our exertions through the following: at least seven hours spread over three days, around twelve miles of walking, one enormous hill, crossing at least thirty of Cork’s fifty-something bridges, and two emergency cups of tea. Through this we finally produced the twenty-two selfies (including one mistake) needed to satisfy the requirements.
It was not all sweat and groans though. Looking back, I have a few favorite sites, some of which I am eager to revisit:
- Firkin Crane, a venue for many “eclectic” dance performances. This funky Victorian rotunda is also a stone’s throw away from the Cork Butter Museum, which as been on my bucket list since before I even arrived.
- St. Fin Barre’s Cathedral, an awe-inspiring stone church said to hve built by the city’s patron saint about 1,000 years ago. It also turns out to be another handy navigational marker.
- Fitzgerald Park, a lovely green space just north of campus. The charming café nestled in the center offers a great respite from rain and the park itself brings back fond memories of the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain.
- The Crawford Art Gallery, for which admission is equally free as the MFA. Even better, it is just across from a mighty tempting doughnut shop.
We still have our fingers crossed waiting to hear the winners’ announced, but even if we do not win, there is a plethora of reasons I am still glad to have completed the scavenger hunt. If I may use a trite phrase, the real prize was the friends we made along the way. More seriously, the hunt was unquestionably a boon to my sense of direction. Honestly it mostly comes down to following the River Lee as it cuts through all of Cork, which is almost as easy as picking out the Pru on the Boston skyline. This was also a pleasantly painless form of exercise. Admittedly the weather was not ideal, but it is already evident that indifference to rain is necessary to survive in Cork (or maybe Ireland generally).
Though our destinations were predetermined, the unplanned elements of the hunt made even more memorable and fun. Regarding the aforementioned steep hill, it was entirely unnecessary to climb. I admit this was my fault for misreading the map. Nonetheless that side trip stands out as a highlight, as we accidentally discovered a stunning view of the city. As I think about how to spend my time well, and spend less money, learning about free attractions around the city was no small bonus.
Finally, we absorbed several interesting factoids about the city – the namesake of the term “boolean” and the campus library, the origin behind the UCC Sports skull and crossbones logo, and the location of the tallest building in the Republic of Ireland – which hopefully come in handy for a future trivia night!
