Believe it or not, there is more to Waterford than crystal.
Waterford is the oldest city in Ireland, originally settled by the Vikings. They showed up in the 9th century, and established a valuable seaport in Southeast Ireland. Before that, the Irish in this area were predominantly nomads and shepherds and had no permanent housing.
The Anglo-Normans invaded in the 12th century. In 1171, English King Henry II showed up to make sure the people there would follow his lead. Prince John (later King John) showed up in 1205 and gave the city its first charter, setting up the city government.
I can’t quite remember the story of Strongbow, and how he showed up and laid claim to things that were not there to be “claimed,” but my stomach was growling and I wasn’t too focused on what our guide was saying, although I was very impressed by the fact that he’s been on the History Channel numerous times.
We’d had only a half hour’s rest before setting off on “The Viking Mile,” a walking tour of the area right around our hotel in the waterfront. (We stayed at The Tower, if you want to google it.)
Fortunately, we didn’t have to walk a whole mile before settling in at the Munster Bar, named after King Munster, for tonight’s special dinner. But we did have to pay tribute to Holly and Glenn, representing Strongbow and his wife, before we got to go eat!
