The US and the Czech Republic in just one day!

IWAS up early this week to get to America but was back at my desk 15 minutes later while I spent the early evening in the Czech Republic but slept in my own bed in Co. Wicklow.

I was, of course, embassyhopping (I never tire of playing this game on people nor the feeling of walking off a Dublin street straight into another country).

The American flag flies proudly just up the road from my work in Ballsbridge, south Dublin, and I had a bounce in my step as I popped into US sovereign territory to apply for my visa for a trip to Washington DC and New York.

Surrounded by images of the States as I lined up for my interview I couldn’t help but think of the desperate, the dispossessed and the dreamers, my uncles among them, who left this island to pursue the American Dream.

This weekend Irish everywhere have been toasting our patron saint but nowhere, outside our own island, is St Paddy’s Day celebrated more than in the US.

The feeling is reciprocal and this week Aer Lingus announced record numbers of visitors from North America to Ireland for this time of the year with a spike of a third on last year. Aer Lingus operates 13 routes between Ireland and North America. New York is from €209 each way as part of a return trip while DC is from €269 each way as part of a return trip.

Norwegian which has garnered attention for its offers chose the lead-up to Paddy’s Day to spring a flash sale open until 11pm tomorrow. Among its offers is Dublin to New York-Newburgh-Stewart from €110 (you’ll ll have to find your own way into NY).

I’m glad, of course, that my US interview was prior to going to the Czech Embassy where I availed of their famous hospitality, Moravian wine and Pilsner beer while hearing about Baroque architecture and being serenaded by a Czech three-piece family orchestra.

Weekend Travel will go out there this month and tell you more. In the meantime both Aer Lingus and Ryanair fly to Prague.