Ireland

september 2016 - juli 2017
En 302-dags äventyr från youonlylivetwice Läs mer
  • 202fotavtryck
  • 22länder
  • 302dagar
  • 947foton
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  • 35,8kkilometer
  • 26,6kkilometer
  • Dag 58

    Beautiful fall day in Slovakia

    31 oktober 2016, Slovakien ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    Rise and shine time change- up at 615 today. Brisk morning 5 minute walk to the grocery store to get my staples for the next two days-3.5 euros. Bought some flowers and a candle and made my way to the cemetery to visit my grandmothers and uncles grave. It was packed because off all saints day tomorrow. The city has put the police on alert and patrol for 3 cemeteries to watch for vandalism. I went today because I didn't want to run into family tomorrow. Came back to town and found a place across from my hostel to get a pedicure-it was great and 10 euros (unlike the $40 at home). I can actually feel my feet. They were aching from so much walking. At my new hostel for the next three nights and its in a great area just around the corner from the castle. Went to take some photos this afternoon while the sun was out and went down to the Danube and the centre. The ballet Giselle starts on the 25. I have always wanted to catch a ballet at the National theatre. We'll see what happens.Läs mer

  • Dag 59

    Day trip to Pezinok

    1 november 2016, Slovakien ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    Today was wine region day. I took the morning train just 20 minutes out of the city in search of well known wines. Again it was a holiday (All Saints day) so lots of places were closed. I toured around this beautiful little town and had beautiful weather again. I found the wine of Matysak which is well known for a lot of award winning wines. My waiter Kristian was amazing. I told him I was in the wine business and asked to sample three wines off the list. He ended up giving me four award winning wines that were only available by the bottle but the owner had opened them for a private event the night before. I tried an Irsai Oliver early harvest 2016 which was bottled in early October- a hybrid grape bred in 1930 and tasted like a light Muscat. Then it was the Riesling 2015, the Cab Sav rose-2015-which was phenomenal followed by the 2015 Cab Franc (which was very soft on tannins). I had a duck leg with red cabbage and dumplings to go along with it. I ended with a private reserve white called "Rampage" which was not filtered yet and was so fruity and delicious. What a great experience. I came home about 4 and was surprised by a local on my walk back home. See photos. It was a perfect way to spend the day. Tomorrow I am heading to the art gallery to check out that propaganda exhibit from 1939.Läs mer

  • Dag 60

    National gallery

    2 november 2016, Slovakien ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    What an interesting and fascinating exhibit. I only got a 1/3 if the way through the exhibits which were 3 floors. I had a lunch meeting at noon with my cousin so I will have to finish the other 2/3's another day. 1939 the country was run by a catholic priest who had fathered several children with several wives. The signs say have children for a stronger nation. There is a fear among the people from the Bolsheviks and the Jews. The president sides with the Nazis and welcomes Hitler and Joseph Goebbels. Young boys are taught how to handle weapons as young as the age of five. Young girls are taught fitness and cooking so that they are healthy for motherhood and procreation. 1944-1945 end of WW11 and the Slovak propaganda now shows the Soviets in the picture not the Germans. Check out the photos. This is part one if my visit stay tuned for part two with more photos. Incredibly interesting and one of the best exhibits I've been to so far.Läs mer

  • Dag 64

    Family time

    6 november 2016, Slovakien ⋅ 🌧 8 °C

    Yesterday was the big party for my aunts 70 birthday. Martina my cousins partner spent two days making her a grand cake. It was gorgeous. The night before we had caught the bus downtown and went to a bar that my second cousin Miso runs. My cousin Zdenko was buying rounds of 20 year old Cuban rum. Didn't feel so good yesterday. We went to the restaurant in the early afternoon and I disappeared for half an hour. By the time I walked back to the restaurant everyone was already there and my cousin was panicking that I had gotten lost. I walked in and everyone sat there with opened mouths and were shocked to see me, especially my two aunts. My cousin kept a good secret about me being here. The party was great and I even had a chance to FaceTime with Julien and Kayleigh . They got to say hello to everyone at the party and vice versa. I'm waiting for my cousin Jozef to send me some pictures because being a social butterfly yesterday I didn't take photos. Stay tuned. Today is Sunday dinner day and it's raining. I'm going to get some fresh air to clear the cob webs. Tomorrow I am going back to the gallery to finish the exhibits.Läs mer

  • Dag 66

    Art day!

    8 november 2016, Slovakien ⋅ 🌙 0 °C

    Well I finally finished the exhibits at the National Gallery I started a few days ago. It was great. It must have been an art day today because every I looked I saw an amazing and interesting piece of art. Martina came with me and we walked the promenade by the Danube River and then headed for the shopping mall for lunch and browsing. Here an employee gets lunch tickets from their employer to eat. The employer covers up to 80% of their costs and guess what it's not a taxable benefit! You can put your meals on a debit card that restaurants honor and the maximum per month employers pay is 80 euros. That is amazing. I got a bus pass which covers the trams and some northern trains unlimited use for the next month for 30 euros. It's getting colder here and am contemplating changing the wardrobe a bit. Haven't been cold yet and have been watching the weather in Dublin because that is where I will most likely be flying back to Dec 3rd. Tomorrow I move over to my aunts. Have a few day trips planned over the next few days,Läs mer

  • Dag 68

    Day at the cottage

    10 november 2016, Tjeckien ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C

    Yesterday I moved over to my aunt Bobena's apartment. We went for a walk to get wine on tap and enjoy the sunshine. On the way we saw a man had crashed his car into a pole and was laid out on the pavement. By the time we got our wine and made our way back there were a lot of emergency vehicles around him and I said to my aunt that I didn't think he'd made it. Sure enough later that night in the news they announced he had had a heart attack and slammed into the pole-66 yrs old. Visited with Vlado later that evening. This morning I woke up to snow. Yikes! I've now got to get some winter clothes. We went to the cottage, trimmed roses, started a fire and had lunch.Läs mer

  • Dag 69

    Cerveny Kamen (Red Rock) Castle-Modra

    11 november 2016, Slovakien ⋅ 🌧 3 °C

    Today we took a day trip to Cerveny Kamen castle. I saw my first white peacock feeling the cold just like I was. We had a guided tour and I wanted to take photos but was told I couldn't because I didn't purchase a photography pass. Well that didn't stop me because I used my second cousin Juraj as a human shield do I could sneak pictures. The castle is built out of red Quartz and was owned by the Palffy family (yes the same one that Ziggy Palffy the Slovak hockey player that played in the NHL came from). It was built in the 11th century. A very impressive place. It was so cold and foggy today that it took me two cups of tea and three hours under the blanket before I started to warm up. Tomorrow is shopping day and movie day with Martina. Going to see Snowden in Slovak, should be interesting.Läs mer

  • Dag 72

    Sunshine finally!

    14 november 2016, Slovakien ⋅ ☀️ -1 °C

    It has been so foggy and rainy and yesterday we finally had a break in the weather-Sunshine-yippee. Saturday I went to the movies and saw the movie Snowden which was great. Sunday morning my cousin Zdenko turned on the stove in the morning and activated the drying process of the super chillies in the oven. We were all coughing and barely breathing with the amount of capsicum that was in the air. I now know what bear spray is all about. It was an awful feeling. All the windows were opened and the chillies were quickly wrapped up and throw into the trash. Zdenko dropped me off close to my aunts and I went for a nice long walk by myself in the beautiful sunshine. Haven't been walking as much as I should be. I had Sunday lunch at my aunts which consisted of duck, cabbage, dumplings and apple strudel. After lunch we went to a shopping mall which I would never have guessed because it certainly did not look like a shopping mall with my aunts friend Milka(yes just like the chocolate). She is going to check into tickets to see the ballet "Giselle" for me. I hope they are not too expensive because I really want to go. I booked my flight back to Dublin for the 6th of December and will be catching the bus from the airport to Galway. I plan on spending at least five days there and then heading south. My flight-35 euros from Bratislava to Dublin. So incredibly cheap to fly in Europe.Läs mer

  • Dag 74

    Making tracks

    16 november 2016, Slovakien ⋅ 🌫 0 °C

    We set out this morning (with my intention) to do some walking. Took the fast bus to Ikea and then to the Avion shopping mall. I wanted to compare the design styles in Europe and Canada. There was a but if difference but prices are higher here. We left the shopping centre after 3 hours and then headed home, making a stop at the cemetery. My aunt wanted to bus it home but I was adamant in walking because it was so beautiful. I wore here out because by the time we got home she said she wasn't going anywhere else for the rest of the day. Yesterday I took the bus to my aunt Anna's house who lives in a village outside of Bratislava. We walked to a local Italian restaurant had a desert and a glass of wine. We spent about six hours together talking and catching up.Läs mer

  • Dag 74

    Overdose on chocolate!

    16 november 2016, Tyskland ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    Ugh want an ugly day! All the better to drive to Hainburg and Kittsee, Austria. We went shopping with Milka and her daughter to Austria. On the way back we hit the chocolate factory which was bursting with people , huge lineups and chocolate tastings to your hearts content for free. I tried 8 different bonbons and felt sick to my stomach after. Low tolerance to sugar. Tonight we are going to a local brew house to try IPA beer and they serve "rezane"-half and half.Läs mer