Hello everyone,
Happy Spring! I hope this finds you well, though I hear
Minnesota just got another strange snowfall…will it ever end? This is a prequel to my overdue Spring post (stay tuned next week) with a quick write up of my most recent
adventure, a three day driving trip through Ireland.
It came and went in the blink of an eye, but as always, the memories will last
forever.
Up until March, I had no plans whatsoever to go to Ireland. Here’s
what happened:
Me, sending a message one morning before work: “Chelsea, have a great time
in London this weekend!”
Chelsea: “Thanks, do you have any recommendations?”
Me: “Blah blah blah London! Have fun!”
Chelsea: “Thanks! Have you been to Ireland? We could use
some tips for our trip there too!”
Me: “No, I’ve never been! When are you going to Ireland?”
Chelsea: “Next month! Want to come?”
Me: “…Yes!”
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| Welcome to Ireland. |
Boom, we set up a trip in Ireland. Three weeks later I headed to the airport
after teaching my classes on Friday night and flew out early Saturday morning.
Thanks to a four hour time difference and a layover in Amsterdam, I landed
mid-morning in Dublin on Saturday and was expertly picked up by Ben, Chelsea,
and Baby James – the same crew from my Germany trip in January. I say expertly
because this was no ordinary ride – this was a pick up in a car that had the
steering wheel on the right side of the car, then was maneuvered on the…left
side of the road. Two kinds of backwards, but Chelsea managed it like a pro.
They had arrived in Ireland the day before and had a wonderful adventure at
Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland before returning to Dublin to
pick me up and head south.
Ireland, the beautiful green land of fields, cliffs, and
castles, was a place that I knew I’d go to someday, I just didn’t think it
would be during my stint in Russia. However, between the relatively cheap
ticket prices, the novelty of sharing a car and hotel room with my friends, and
the opportunity to go before heading back to the States this summer (therefore
an investment, as I wouldn’t have to pay for a trans-Atlantic flight in
addition to Ireland costs, right?), I figured it would be worth it. The other
novelty I was blessed with was Ben and Chelsea’s flexibility and generosity to
allow me to have some input and help plan the trip. After the initial
excitement over booking the trip, it turned out that I not only had some tips
for our portion of the trip, but I also had a mapped out itinerary in my mind
which I had developed when I was about fifteen years old. They were ready and
willing to work around what I wanted to see while combining it with their
wishes. Put simply, I got lucky in all aspects.
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| Irish Countryside |
Also, as I learned during our time in Germany, Ben and Chelsea,
(and Baby deserves an honorable mention for this as well) are pretty fierce
travelers. They aren’t scared away by driving time, the occasional straying
from directions, or the inevitable getting lost here and there. With a rough
plan in mind, we made it work and got the most out of our days. Luckily,
Ireland is so beautiful that even during car time we were able to ‘see things’
and enjoy the countryside as much as visiting sites.
So, what did we see?
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| At Blarney Castle |
Blarney Castle – Though blantantly marked ‘for
tourists' these days, we braved the stigma and made it our first stop on the way to the
southwestern coast. The castle, dating back to the 15th century, is
actually in ruins now, but it has remained a permanent fixture due to the famed
“Blarney Stone,” the origins of which are unknown, and legendary at best. What is
known is that this small-ish slab of limestone was permanently built into the castle walls around 1446, and most
likely due to the ‘sweet talking’ of the Irish Lord of Blarney, who was able to
hold off Queen Elizabeth and her troops from crossing to Ireland and taking his
lands during the period of British rule, the term ‘blarney’ became a common
synonym for ‘beguiling flattery.’
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| Reunited with the Wunderlichs on top of Blarney Castle. |
As a
result, and perhaps as a credit to Ireland’s tourism bureau, today millions of
people from all over the world think that if they come, pay money, lay down backwards,
and kiss the Blarney Stone upside down, they will be gifted with the ‘gift of
gab’ and be able to sweet talk their way out of anything. Silly? Yes. Did we
still do it? Absolutely. It was just as much fun, however, to wander the
beautiful castle grounds, see the former rooms of the castle, explore the surrounding caves, and take a peek in the ‘poison garden’ in the back
yard. Highlighted plants included cannabis, opium, and wolfsbane. Why someone
wants these in a garden I’m really not sure, but it was interesting to see them
in plant formation.
Dingle Peninsula
After Blarney and staying the night in
Killarney, we unfortunately had to bypass Killarney National Park and the Ring
of Kerry, though we were right at the entrance to both. Next time. Instead, we
headed northwest to an equally beautiful national treasure, the Dingle
Peninsula. When I
walked out of the hotel that morning to put my bag in the car, Ben and Chelsea
informed me that they had decided I should try driving a little that day, just
to practice my opposites. I am now proud to report my new title of experienced
ambidextrous driver. Admittedly, it took a little while to get the hang of
hugging the middle lane instead of the shoulder, and I tensed up pretty much
every time there was an oncoming car, but hey, practice makes perfect.
So,
with my expert driving skills I took us across the peninsula through the
adorable little coastal town of Dingle. Perhaps less famous than its big brother the Ring of Kerry, the charming Dingle Peninsula has a driving loop that circles around the coast lined edge of the peninsula, and is filled with spectacular views of the coastline. It’s not very big, but due to narrow and windy roads it took more time than we thought it would. We headed straight towards the coast, and as the road rose and fell we had the luxury of deciding whether to stop by cliffs or the beach. We did both. Though cloudy at first, we soon had sunny skies, which added to the brilliant blue of the water, something I hadn't expected. My previous image of the Atlantic coast had been only dark and grey, but parts of Dingle were so blue they reminded me of the Caribbean. After a few hours of driving, numerous photo stops, and some walking, we realized time was getting away from us and we had to press on. Though our time there was short and sweet, Dingle was everything and more than I had imagined it to be all those years ago when I planned my trip. I hope I will be back someday to give it more time and do it justice. |
| The Dingle Peninsula |
Cliffs of Moher
This was by far my favorite
stop, and it both figuratively and literally almost blew me away (it was really
windy). I wasn’t prepared for how stunning the cliffs would be. If you’ve ever
seen Harry Potter and the Half Blood
Prince or The Princess Bride,
you’ve already seen parts of them on your TV screen, but this in no way
compares to actually being there. We hit the Cliffs after an already full day of
driving, a quick ferry crossing (it was actually so quick that none of us realized we
were actually moving across the water by the time we had parked and gotten out
of the car), and in anticipation of yet another drive to the hotel that night after our
stop. I’m sure you can imagine our state of being at that point in time.
Luckily, it turned out the cliffs were just what we needed. We reached them
late in the afternoon, with the sun hanging low in the clear skies. It was
fiercely windy but tolerable, and after learning a little about the geology of
the area in the nicely designed visitor’s center, we headed out for our walk
along the cliffs. The first thing we saw on our left was a series of tall,
dramatic sheer cliff faces that dropped off about 220 meters into the water
below.
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| The Cliffs of Moher |
After trying to take it all in and working the camera angles, we took a nice walk along the cliff-side to reveal even more jaw dropping views and bright green pastures on the other side of the ridge. While rotating turns playing with Baby on the safe side, we all managed (key word, keeping in mind the wind) to skirt along the edge to admire and gaze. It was completely open and barely roped off, which added to the thrill and untainted beauty. There's not much more to say about the Cliffs, as words simply can't do it justice. Just know that I tried to appreciate it and imprint it in my memory as much as possible.
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Galway
Galway, our last stop before returning to Dublin. We had reached our hotel in Galway the previous night after the Cliffs, and spent the next morning walking and exploring some of the city center. This southwestern city on the sea has been the subject of many a poem, short story, and novel from some of Ireland's great literary contributors. I didn't know much about the area except that it was home to the former fishing village of Claddagh, thanks to a ring my former roommate used to wear. The Claddagh symbol, now an international symbol of Ireland, looks like two hands joining together to hold a heart in the center, representing love, friendship, and loyalty. After walking the main central street of Galway, we came to the river, crossed the bridge, and then took a lovely walk along the former location of the fishing village.  |
| View of Galway and part of the Bay from Claddagh Park |
I learned that although the fishing village of Claddagh has existed where Galway Bay meets the Corrib River (above) since at least the 5th century, the city of Galway actually grew up next to it, originating in the 12th century after the King of Connacht constructed a fort at the base of the river. Now it is the island's sixth most populous city, and considered the "most Irish" in terms of culture and festivals. We had a lovely walk through the historical downtown, now a lively pedestrian street and square with many shops, restaurants, cafes, and of course, pubs. Galway has a lot to offer, especially with its vibrant art and music festivals, as well as a gateway to the famed Aran Islands just off its western coast. But as always, we had to move on, so after some walking time in the bright sunny morning, we said goodbye to Galway and traveled back to Dublin to catch our flights later that evening.
Dublin
This is a joke. We barely saw Dublin,
except for when we were trying to find parking in the middle of the
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| One lovely shot of a building in downtown Dublin. |
I’ve never considered renting a car while traveling, as I
love public transport so much, but for Ireland especially it was a wonderful
option. Though the GPS and I didn’t always get along, it did manage to direct
us on some quiet, random back country roads (or in a case or two, someone’s
driveway), which we otherwise would have never seen. Driving on these quiet
roads, combined with the luxury of being able to stop to take pictures or pull
over whenever needed, made for an ideal way to get around Ireland. One of my
favorite parts of the trip was to constantly look out of the window to see the views
of lush, green rolling hills dotted with farms and country houses. Chelsea was
especially enchanted with the quaint little low rock walls that lined the
roads, as well as divided some of the fields. Once we reached the coast we were
amazed at the beauty and bright blue of the water, especially in the sunlight.
It must also be noted that we were extremely lucky with weather, and that
despite one afternoon of rain we had mostly sunny skies for the next two days.
Though it was much too quick of a trip to do the country
justice, we had a wonderful time and all plan on returning in the future. On
the last day during drive back to Dublin, we each chose a word that we would
use to describe Ireland. Aside from the obvious “green,” “sheep,” and “Guinness,”
we came up with “pastoral,” “ancient,” and (forgive me if I misquote you, Ben
and Chels) “rustic.” If you combine all of these words together, you get a
picture of a very very old land that doesn’t seem to have changed much over the
centuries. Beginning as the mysterious land of the Celtic pagan tribes, then becoming a land converted to Christianity by St. Patrick, which then survived a series of Viking
invasions, was ruled by the British for longer than some wish to recall, and is now a fixed member of the modern world, Ireland has truly withstood the sands of
time while retaining its simple beauty and charm.
But aside from its spectacular
scenery, I must mention the fact that there was something else about Ireland, hidden in its hills, which gave us an inexplicable feeling during our time there. Whether we experienced good luck, divine intervention, or just happened to stumble upon a great weekend, we'll never know. But there may have been one more factor, for which we found ourselves blaming our minor misfortunes on leprechauns, keeping an eye out for
shamrocks, and searching for rainbows in the cloudy skies.
One final word to describe Ireland?
"Magical.”
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