The wonderful Island of Oz

We're off to the emerald island! It has been a long time since Sabrina and I traveled together and we're looking forward to sharing our next adventure in beautiful Ireland. Läs mer

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11 april 2022
The wonderful Island of Oz Resenär
Welcome to Dublin
11 april 2022, Irland ⋅ 🌧 9 °C
The first thing I saw when the airplane started it's decent towards Dublin Airport were deep green fields lined with hedges. I had fallen asleep during the 2h flight from Nuremberg and thought Irland truly deserves it's nickname "emerald island". As the ground rushed closer I could confirm that the houses in residential areas looked all the same (reminding ne of the opening scene of one of the movies of a certain famous English wizard) and that the cars were indeed driving on the wrong side of the road.

Sofar, everything as expected. Admittedly, it was a bit unusual for us to see a truck seemingly almost crash into our bus head on as it turned the corner, but the two behemoths managed to wiggle past each other safely.

When we arrived at out hostel (literally 10 steps from where the Dublin Express dropped us off) I first had to handle a work emergency, which guzzled pretty much all of my phone's battery - meaning I don't have that many pictures to share of this first day (sorry friends).

We spent the remainder of the afternoon and evening exploring the immediate surroundings of our hostel, Temple Bar, admired some of it's colorful murals and, of course, had our first Irish beer. Or rather two, because as the Irish say: You can't go to a pub and have only one beer. :)Läs mer
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Next stop: Cork!
12 april 2022, Irland ⋅ 🌧 8 °C
A rainy day (surprise!) seems perfect for train travel. Sit back, relax, catch up on some sleep. We found the Irish to be very helpful and willing to engage in a friendly chat. From the bus driver, the guy at the train ticket booth or just random people noticing puzzled looks on your face - they won't just help you out with your immediate question and go on with their day but also give some friendly advice or take a minute or two for small talk (provided they are not in a hurry of course).

It's a three hour train ride from Dublin to Cork - I'll keep you posted!Läs mer
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The Underestimated City
12 april 2022, Irland ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C
If there's something we learned about Cork, it's that a) most of the attractions are *not* within walking distance and b) one afternoon is far too little time. We couldn't get affordable and easily accessible accommodation in Cork, which is why we tried to make a (half) day trip out of it - but in the end only managed to see the few highlights that are in the city center (and one of them, Shandon Tower, where you can supposedly ring the tower bells yourself) was already closed by the time we got there. Nevertheless - there's always street art!

We also learned that Cork sees itself as the true capital of Ireland and not only was the last port the Titanic docked at before it's failed crossing of the Altantic, but also was a major butter exporting port. Also, it seems to be the home town of quite a few celebrities, for example Jack Gleeson (a.k.a. Joffrey Baratheon) and Rory Gallagher.

We only explored central Cork, so if there ever is an opportunity to come back, we still have plenty to see!Läs mer
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The English Market
12 april 2022, Irland ⋅ 🌧 13 °C
The English Market is one of the highlights of Cork center - perfect place to get a snack, try some local smoked fish and get a souvenir. We also found that the Irish like to play it safe and power up their disinfectant with some divine help ;)Läs mer
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The Onion Sellers & Mutton Lane
12 april 2022, Irland ⋅ 🌧 12 °C
Walking around Cork, we noticed two identical statues of an old lady holding onions (later we found out there were more), which intrigued me. As it turns out, the 'Onion Sellers' are inspired by merchants who'd try to sell onions and the entrance of the English Market in the early 1900's. However, they kept being driven away by the police, so they'd run down Corn Street, the only place they were safe. In the 1911 census, apparently there were quite a few of these merchants who were only registered as 'onions'.

After having an early dinner at Amicus on Gallagher Place (I recommend trying the fish cakes), we went to find Mutton Lane, a very narrow side alley with a colorful mural along most of it's length and, as it turned out, a lively pub.

But no time for a local beer. By then, it was time to hurry back, get our luggage and catch our train to our next destination.Läs mer
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Ring of Kerry
13 april 2022, Irland ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
The Ring of Kerry is an approximately 180 km long scenic car route that takes you past varied landscapes on winding (and sometimes bumpy) mountain and seaside roads around the Iveragh peninsula. While doing this with a rental or campervan definitely would be the more flexible option when it comes to how many stops you make and detours you take, booking a bus tour is an option if you don't want to (or can't) drive yourself.

The first leg took us past lush pastures for dairy cows and sheep before our bus driver pulled up for a photo stop where the land transitioned to the bog. People used to cut out and dry peat (or turf) for heating. We also stopped at a small museum village where we could see how people lived in 1800's. There they also kept Irish Wolfhounds we could feed treats to and pet (which I obviously did) and turf ponies, which were considerably shorter than the hounds.

We had to be careful not to cross the street though, as, to quote our bus driver: 'this is a main road after all, we're in Ireland, and people here are lunatics'.Läs mer
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The Birth House of Daniel O'Connell
13 april 2022, Irland ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
Daniel O'Connell, also known as the 'Liberator' is a historical hero to many Irish. Under the English rule during the early 1900's, the Irish Catholics were not allowed to live their own culture, were forbidden to speak their language and were oppressed. O'Connell's political work changed this and he also advocated for the union of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

While there is a monument church dedicated to him in a town further along the road, his birthplace is in ruins and there the government is not willing to invest in preserving or rebuilding the place.

Instead, the villagers took it into their own hands to maintain the property and keep it from crumbling apart even further. But who knows, perhaps it only looks like ruins to muggles like us...Läs mer
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Charlie Chaplin
13 april 2022, Irland ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
According to our bus driver, who chatted away with interesting stories about the Ring of Kerry, infused with some good ol' Irish humor, Waterville was Charlie Chaplin's preferred holiday escape. As the people of the town started having televisions, they didn't fail to notice that their repeat guest was indeed a celebrity and the hotel started to overcharge him. Nevertheless, Mr. Chaplin liked this stretch of coast so much, that he simply built a house of his own. To this day, the Chaplin family still takes up residence here to spend their vacations and Waterville now holds an annual film festival.

It is in this town that we stopped for lunch. Instead of getting something at the restaurant recommended by the tour operator, we decided to get something from the deli counter in the nearby supermarket and opted for a seaside picknick.Läs mer
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Resenär 😎😎😎
2022-04-14Svara
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Short stop
13 april 2022, Irland ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
In Sneem, we made a short stop so people could get an ice cream, use the bathroom or, in my case, recover from the onset of motion sickness as the road had been a bit too bumpy and curvy... 🤢🤢

Good thing I always pack medicinal chewing gum ☺️Läs mer
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Coming 'round the south...
13 april 2022, Irland ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
... the landscape is in stark contrast to the rich, green pastures on the other side of the mountain range. The hills are covered in dry, yellow grass strewn with boulders and rocks of varying sizes.
We crossed the Black Valley and reentered the national park, where deep blue lakes complemented the rather sun struck palette beautifully.Läs mer
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Torc Waterfall
13 april 2022, Irland ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
In the park itself, green started to dominate the scene again as we approached Torc Waterfall following a narrow mountain road with numerous, very tight curves - where the speed limit was set to suicidal 100km/h.

Killarney park, home to the highest mountain of Ireland Carrauntoohil (1039m), is an outdoor lover's paradise: plenty of lakes to paddle on, hiking trails (for example across the Gap of Dunloe), cycling routes, mountain climbing, etc. But apparently you can also enjoy it from a horse carriage, as I was surprised to learn as such a vehicle rushed past me when I was trying to get a closer look at one of the yellow-blooming bushes I had noticed during the entire tour.

After making our last stop at the waterfall, which was a short walk from the main road, we closed the circle and returned to Killarney.Läs mer
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A word about Killarney town
13 april 2022, Irland ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
We didn't take that many pictures of the town of Killarney itself, but it is well worth losing a few words about it.

Killarney is a polished small town, tidy and well-kept in contrast to the urban grittiness we had seen both in Dublin and in Cork. One of the first things I noticed was the many four and five star hotels. It seems that it is the base camp not only of backpackers and young adventurers but also a popular vacation destination of the wealthy. Nevertheless, restaurants and pubs were not horribly expensive but very down-to-earth (price of a pint: €4.50 vs €7 in Dublin). It is here that we noticed the first defibrillator booth - something we had never seen before and photographed in touristy wonder.

We stayed at the Black Sheep Hostel and it is one of the best I've seen. The entire place is pleasantly designed, the vibe was good and they are eco-friendly. We spent the first night in a dorm and the second in the apartment - which only cost us €10 more per person and turned out to be an entire cottage in the organic garden! Apart from the video clip of the shared bathroom in the dorm area, I didn't find the time to take some pictures, so I'm sharing some of the website...Läs mer
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The phantom bus
14 april 2022, Irland ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C
Ok - so when we plan how to get from A to B we usually resort to Google Maps, Rome2Rio and the local bus companies. This time, however, the information we got seemed to have been faulty.

We had planned to get on the 7.30 bus to Limerick and from there continue straight on to Galway, where we'd arrive at about eleven-ish, giving us enough time to check into our next hostel, grab a quick lunch and go to Kylemore Abbey.

We checked the bus stop and schedule on the bus company's website and made an untypically disciplined effort to be there on time. Only that there was no bus stop and there was no bus. We tried a different bus stop we found on the website but again, no luck.

The only option we had was to take a local bus, which would take much longer (5-6h vs 3-4) and did not leave until two hours later. Disappointed and tired, we sat down in the nearest cafe to at least have some breakfast. The scones and warm Irish tea definitely lifted my spirits a bit before we hopped onto the 'Expressway' bus. Quite a deceiving name...Läs mer
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Youthful, vibrant Galway
14 april 2022, Irland ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C
By the time we got settled into our hostel room and took off to get lunch/dinner, the rain stopped and we had a pleasant walk across Galway's Latin Quarter and West End to our restaurant. Galway is a small university town with just under 80k inhabitants (so it's about the size of Bamberg) with many good places to eat and go out. It is also crisscrossed by the Corrib river, giving it a very maritime feel even if you're not directly at the coastline. I immediately took a liking to it.

We had fish & chips and a Hooker IPA at 'Hooked'. The beer was named not after a certain profession, but after a type of fishing boat. After dinner, a mini-pub crawl gave us a small taste of Galway nightlife. We didn't have a drink at every pub, mostly we just looked around. But the ones I liked best were:

The King's Head - pub and bistro with a medieval castle atmosphere (we also spotted a guy who could have easily been cast for Vikings).

Tigh Neachtrain - Quirky pub with lots of books and paintings on the wall as well as spying bunny up on the corner

The Crane Bar - A traditional style pub that is popular among Irish musicians and has traditional live music on the second floor.Läs mer
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A foggy day
15 april 2022, Irland ⋅ 🌧 10 °C
Today we went on the day tour we had most been looking forward to: the Cliffs of Moher UNESCO world heritage site. But as we boarded the bus in the morning, the weather wasn't looking good at all. Our bus driver, Gerard, was optimistic that it would clear up by the time we reached the visitor center.

The route took us through the Burren lowlands past ruins of castles, tower houses and stone cottages. The ocean had receded leaving long stretches of muddy seabed behind. We passed Kilcolgan, known for it's world-class oysters and Lisdoonvarna, where they hold a full-month matchmaking festival in September. We were told if you are single, this is the place to be. "Once you've found your match", our bus driver advised, "you should go back to Kilcolgan for some oysters and champagne. But beware: this combination could leave you feeling rather amorous."

Driving up corkscrew hill, the fog got thicker and thicker. Gerard now sounded less sure, especially as we couldn't enjoy the view of Galway Bay once we had reached the top, but was still optimistic it would clear up by the time we reached our destination. We were hopeful, too.Läs mer
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Cliffs of Moher
15 april 2022, Irland ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C
When we arrived at the Cliffs of Moher, things were looking bad. The fog was so thick we only had a few meters of visibility. Gerard, now much less optimistic, still thought we might get lucky and proposed we cancel the lunch stop, have something to eat at the visitor center instead and stay an extra hour to increase our chances of the day clearing up.

Everyone agreed to the idea, got off the bus and we found our way to the visitor center to have an early lunch before venturing out to the cliffs themselves.

The grass abruptly ended in a white wall of fog so thick you could've almost cut it with a knife. It is easy to imagine how someone could just walk straight off the edge to their deaths 140-200m further down on such a day if it wasn't for the barrier that kept people back.

In the distance, we could barely make out the shape of O'Brien's tower near the midpoint of the cliffs, so we directed our steps there, photographing the little we could see.Läs mer
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The fog lifted!
15 april 2022, Irland ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C
As we stared out to the white void, the wind turned and... was that a silhouette we started to make out? Yes it was! We started taking pictures as we had no way of knowing if that would be the only glimpse we'd get. As we continued walking, leaving the visitor center and continuing on the cliff path, the fog eventually dissipated completely giving way to spectacular views of the cliffs. Gerard's optimism and flexible itinerary had paid out!Läs mer
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The Burren
15 april 2022, Irland ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
We returned to the bus with our phones' and cameras' storage space significantly reduced and started our drive back to Galway, via the village of Doolin. As we crossed the Burren, we stopped to briefly explore the lunar-like landscape of cracked stone and isolated patches of green. It is here that you can find over 70% of Ireland's flora, with Arctic, Alpine and Mediterranean plants growing alongside each other.

Plant life mostly populates the cracks of the limestone ground. Cows and sheep can not only survive for months at a time in the barren-looking landscape but truly thrive.

As we meandered along the coast back to Galway Bay, we made another, last stop at Dunguaire Castle, now mostly surrounded by water as the tide had come in.Läs mer
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Trinity College Library
16 april 2022, Irland ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
After our day tour, we had a light dinner in the Jungle Cafe and took a direct bus back to Dublin. We sleept in on Saturday morning, and headed to our last highlight of the trip that very afternoon: The Trinity College library with the Book of Kells, considered the pinnacle of manuscript illumination and western calligraphy, as well as the Long Room.

Even though the Long Room was full of people, it enraptured me as soon as I stepped foot in it, with it's long rows of bookshelves, busts of poets, philosophers and literary heroes and that smell of old books. Also, at the end, I was surprised to find the Brian Boru harp on display. This is one of three surviving medieval harps of the region and is featured in the coat of arms of Ireland.Läs mer
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Resans slut
17 april 2022