Bye bye Dublin

The day started with a clear blue sky so I took a long walk along the Liffey heading east and passing through the Docklands. Some nice modern architecture but that's about it.

Dublin Docklands

Strolled along the "other" shopping area on and around O'Donnell Street with no intention to buy anything. Still I ended up packing some Indian sauces happily in my backpack at M & S, hehe.
Walked around Grafton Street again and then around Trinity College. Didn't go inside since it was the day all the fresh students checked in and it was packed. Otherwise I would've ended up buying a College hoodie after all so I saved some money, hehe.
Went to Christchurch Cathedral which was now open. It's very much the same architecture as St Patrick's still I enjoyed sitting down looking at the coloured windows and the high ceiling.

Had my first curry chips at famous Burdock's and sat down under a tree in the churchyard to devour a portion that would've been good for two people.

So sitting in the hotel lobby now and leaving for the airport next. The whole Ireland trip has been as great as I anticipated.
The hiking week was simply fantastic with great walks and climbs, a superb group, amazing accommodation... it was so relaxing that I forgot what day it was pretty soon.
Hiking in Ireland is fun. It's as simple as that. Although the Scottish scenery is more stunning with the mountains and lochs, walking Ireland can be great as well. I'm really looking forward to walking the Kerry Way next year.
Dublin is an amazing spot as well. It's full of tourists for a reason. There is a lot to see and to do. You have music and good food all around you and the best pubs in the world with live music every night. I could easily imagine myself living here and I will most definitely come back!

Sunday stroll

Day two in Dublin. After Saturday night's masses at the Temple Bar streets and pubs we were quite happy with the empty streets before noon. Headed over to St. Patrick's Cathedral which just opened up as we arrived. Quite plain but still impressive.

St Patrick's Cathedral

St Patrick's Cathedral

Tried to get into the Georges Street Arcade market, the National Museum of Archaeology and Christchurch Cathedral all without success since they we're not open yet, arg. So we just walked along the Liffey, bought some gifts and I said goodbye to my friends since they had to leave.

Christchurch Cathedral

I went to the now open market afterwards and found a nice shop with all those rockabilly clothes. Apart from that there's nothing special actually.
Headed over to the National Museum of Archaeology which had opened up in the meantime and marvelled at the intricate ancient jewelry they have on display. I love all the old stuff from up to the Middle Ages and that museum was heaven for me!!!

Took  the advice of a friend and had dinner at the Bruxelles pub and met with a friend later on in Temple Bar for a few pints. If you're not going to party Sunday is the day that you should go there. There's still live music everywhere and there are quite some people around but it's just the perfect amount to make it very cosy.

in Temple Bar

Today is my last day in Dublin. Have to leave for the airport at 3pm, so I still have some time to spend. Wanna go north and walk around a bit and then check out the Docklands as well before I sadly have to leave. I love the city and I'm very glad I stayed as long as I did. But more of that later.

The capital of pub

Got up in the middle of the night just when dawn broke to have a quick breakfast and then get going. A few of the group left us at Cork airport, said goodbye to the rest several hours later at Dublin airport. It's been a great week and the group was the funniest I had so far. Great people and laughing so much all week that I will definitely remember.
Hiking Cork was great as well. A lot of moss and green and mud. More hills than you would expect and quite cosy coastal towns. I'm really looking forward to returning to Ireland next year to hike the Kerry Way.

After parting (which is always hard) at Dublin airport I left with
two of the group for Dublin city centre since we wanted to stay for a night (or two in my case).
Dropped our bags off at the hotel and went for a guided tour around Trinity College including  the famous Long Room and the Book of Kells. Both very impressive I have to say. The intricate illustrations done by the monks with so many details is just wow!
The Long Room is a library with the world's longest wooden ceiling and a quite a few treasures on display.

Went along Grafton Street and then to Merion Square via St Stephen' Green. Found a nice pub for some great food and a nice chat with the waiter talking about his last holiday in Berlin, haha.

St Stephen's Geen

Went for some pints and live music to Temple Bar - the party area. It's actually hard to find a pub that has no live music. I love it! Seen some really good musicians but after the quiet hiking week the crowded streets where a little too much for us.

Temple Bar

As time went on the pubs soon got packed with people so we just went back to the hotel.
Still I like the area. Maybe wouldn't go there on a Friday and Saturday, but you have good  music in every pub and even on the streets that I could listen to for hours if it wasn't for the masses walking around and streaming into the bars and pubs.

If it does'nt slurp it's not a proper Irish piece of scenery

Geee, as I write this I'm properly drunk.But first things first. Actually we wanted to climb Hungry Hill but since it's been a windy and cloudy day we headed for Knocknagreen the neighbouring hill.
To tell a long story short: we climbed it and went back down again. I was ahead of the group 15 minutes and just laid down on a bench at the church where the car was parked while I was waiting. Nice trip since the sun came out when we started our decend.

It's been so muddy that we quite got used to the slurping sound that our boots made all the time,

On the way back we took a pitstop the Glengarriff pub of choice and I stayed with the guys of the group as the rest went home early. Had quite a few pints and kept on drinking all night so writing this is  a real ordeal. Geeee...I have to correct every second word!

The most southerly of the two southern tips of the Irish mainland

There are actually two southern tips. One where someone bought the land and now charges people who want to see it. Then there is the real one. The geographic one which goes by the name of Brow Head. That's where we went today.
Walked up to the ruin of a military tower and then over grassland to the quite steep cliffs. Beautiful view of the sea and the cliffs themselves. I stood on the very rim with the raging waves way down below. Very impressive! As the strong wind was pushing me this side and that side I just sat down and let my feet dangle in the air.

We went back past more ruins to the white sands of Barley Cove. You'd never expect such picturesque beaches on Irelands coast. Took a long walk and just enjoyed the wind mussing my hair as the waves came rushing in.

On our way home we stopped at the small village of Schull for an hour of shopping and a pint.

Water from below.... not above

Headed off to Barley Lake today which is a Loch up in the mountains. Very scenic walk along a river but unfortunately very muddy. We got quite used to the slurping sound our boots made when lifting 'em out of a muddy spot. Still as the sun was breaking through light clouds time and again our spirits were high and our mood good.
At Barley Lake we climbed one of the surrounding hills to have a better view of the valley next to it. The ground turned out to be even more boggy but the view from the top was worth every laboured step.

I just lay down at the ridge as my gaze went down into the valley with a happy grin on my face. Could've stayed there for at least an hour.
But we went down again, climbed another muddy slope and some grey rocks before a downwards winding road brought us back to the bus.
Part two of today's plan was a visit to Garinish Island which has a pretty nice garden and seals hanging out on rocks out on the water. They look like the happiest animals on earth apart from cats. Lying lazily on their sides and scratching their bellies from time to time.

view from the tower at Garinish Island

Had two pints afterwards at the village proper in too short a time. Glengarriff that is. Feeling slightly lightheaded and I'm not the only one, haha. Just waiting for dinner to be served and having a good time.

Walking on the Kerry Way

As the forecast promised no rain yesterday we set off to walk a part of the famous Kerry Way. Sorry to talk so much about the weather, but this can be a real issue when you're about to walk all day in difficult terrain and the Irish weather is no less versatile than the Scottish is.
Anyway. We drove an hour to Galway bridge and entered the Kerry Way heading towards Killarney. I was taking in every bit of the way as I intend to walk the whole of it next year anyway. First we walked through a beautiful forest with moss covered oak trees. Lots of green again but you just cannot get enough of it.

Later the trees vanished and the broad path wound its way though an almost tree-less plain with views of the surrounding hills as well as the McGillycuddy Reeks. We took a break at a waterfall and climbed Torc Mountain later on. It's not very high but nevertheless you have a stunning view of Muckross Lake, Killarney, Lough Leane and more peaks on the horizon.

The way up was not very long and steep so going down was rather easy going. Infact I ran down the last third of the path hopping over stones and having a blast. I never knew how much fun this could be! Once you feel surefooted enough to hop from stone to stone it's pure joy. Now I know why trailrunning is getting more and more popular.
After the Torc mountain intermezzo we continued along the Kerry Way, passed another very scenic oak-tree-forest and an impressive waterfall. The closer we got to Muckross House the more people we met. Seems to be a very popular place. Even in the middle of the week.
Muckross House is not as impressive as all the present tourists may imply. Still it's a nice old manor house. Took some pictures, had a stroll through the very well-kempt park and went home to have dinner and afterwards a whiskey with the fire blazing in the chimney.

8 across: liquid pouring out of clouds, 4 letters

Rain was our constant companion again for most of the day. We went to the beautiful valley of Gougane Barra where the Irish planted an artificial forest in the 60s full of Sitka spruce. Although the setting looked made up with its winding gravel paths it was nevertheless a very scenic walk. Like walking through a forest out of a fairy tale: You know it's not real but still it's very enjoyable. Lots of moss and a small river and even more green than yesterday.

When we were properly soaked we set off to a small chapel just a couple of minutes away. That's when the weather god tried something new and threw sun rays at us. Yay, good job man! We cherished each one of them as we strolled around the chapel grounds.

Almost dry we drove to the seaside town/village of Bantry. Beautiful spot with colourful houses and some nice shops. Got myself some postcards and had a pint at a local pub.

Must be an organ donor I guess?

Just sitting at the huge windows of our house right now watching the sun go down and listening to Joni Mitchell chiming out of our cook's stereo. Could life be any better?

Even sheep get wet feet

The day started with heavy showers and low hanging clouds. Still we set off for a nice walk in the woods hoping that the rain would subside. And it did for a while. So we strolled through a nature reserve near Glengariff  with moss-covered old trees and a river winding its way through the thick vegetation.

Just as our guide (Hello Martin!) took us the ten minutes to the next walk one of the heavy showers set in so we had to have our picnic in the bus. Still we were determined to do the trip to Loch Dereenadoradia. We put that raingear of ours to good use and headed off. The Irish Weathergod plagued us with wind and water but still we prevailed and fought our way through thick rhododendron, mud and slippery stones until we finally reached our destination. Yeah! Bring it on!

Just when we turned to go back to the bus the rain stopped. Try again irish weather, hahaha.

There is an abandoned little settlement just in the thicket hidden from prying eyes. Beautiful place!

After a great gig at the city festival in Bad Freienwalde I set off for Ireland very very early Saturday morning. Arrived quite on time at Heathrow airport and though I had to wait for my luggage for an hour I still had plenty of time to spend. Checked in with Air Lingus and found a nice comfy seat within the shopping zone after securtiy check. Never realized that almost all personel at Heathrow is Indian/Parkistani, haha.

As I settled in I had to have a Cadburys chocolate bar and some crisps (I found a flavour I never had before: Roasted lamb with mint)! I don't really like British food but for the sweets and crisps, yum! Only a cinnamon bun would've made it a perfect breakfast for me, hehe.

Time went by pretty fast with doing some shopping and reading my Lonely Planet on Dublin. Caught myself time and again with a faint grin on my face and just being so relaxed and happy. After the strenous last weeks I just went straight to holiday mode and enjoyed every bit from the start. Never before did I marvel at the monstrous planes that go oversees when looking out of my small window on the next plane waiting to take off. I guess nothing would've been able to get me out of my Budhist-like I-just-cannot-be-bothered state of mind.

Met a few of our group and we soon got picked up by our guide on Cork airport meeting the rest of the group who got on our bus in Dublin already. Another 1.5 hrs later we finally arrived at our location for the next 7 days: Silver Birch House, Glengariff.

WOW! There is really no other word describing this fantastic place. It's by far the best accomodation I ever had! By far!!! Nicely hidden in the woods with only a few meters to the water of the Atlantic Sea its interior is modern but still very very comfy with wooden furniture and just a very tasteful decoration. I've got my room just under the roof on the first floor and I even got my own bathroom including shower and bathtub! Just look at the pictures and see for yourself.
Dinner was great as always and the group kept on chatting to almost midnight. Again it's a great bunch of people and we've been laughing a lot already so I guess the week will be full of fun.

Who needs sleep when you've got rock 'n roll?

Alright. Seems like music and traveling are not only my two great passions I also tend to put them together in a way.
Since I had a gig in Sheffield in June and then went up to hike Scotland it's very similar now with my Ireland trip. Have a gig with Luzid tonight way out of Berlin at Bad Freienwalde. That means I probably won't be home before 2am. Getting up at 4:30am to catch my flight will be a hard one.
Speaking of which.... I just checked in online and pray to the Gods of Rock 'n Roll that my flight won't be canceled. The cabin crews of my airline are on strike all day today which may have repercussions on tomorrow's schedule. Still I hope it'll all go just well.

I'm going to Cork via London to meet the group and get picked up by our guide. Then it's a short drive to our accomodation for the week: the beautiful Silver Birch House near Glengariff.

 

 

Don't know if I'm going to have an internet connection there to post on a daily basis. If not I'll upload some pictures as soon as I get to Dublin at the end of the week.

 

Cheers,

Katja