Montag, 19. Dezember 2016

Germany, Cologne and Christmas Markets!!!

Good morning every one!

My parents left Monday, 21st November but there was not much time to be sad about it because the next huge thing was already awaiting!

Nineteen 2nd and 3rd Years were going on a class trip to GERMANY accompanied by Kathleen and Paul (who went last year already) and ... me :) At first it wasn't sure whether I could come along or not. In the end I had to pay for the flight myself but I didn't mind because it was definitely worth it! The itinerary was full of good fun!

Unfortunately, the flights in and out of Kerry leave in the afternoon, so we arrived at our hotel Friday evening at eight and had to leave Monday before noon. After the arrival on Friday we had a very good dinner at the hotel and headed downtown to the christmas market in Koblenz. It is nice and fairly spread out.


Saturday was a busy but very nice day! We took a boat tour on the Rhine and headed to the cathedral in Cologne. There, we walked up the stairs to the bell tower and got a great view on the city as well as good exercise for the legs ;) After that, we got a guided tour through the chocolate factory close by which was very interesting. I was there before but that was sooo long ago :D Finally over, I couldn't wait to meet four of my friends at the christmas market. Unfortunately, I only had an hour with the boys but it was great to see them and make plans for next year!!! By the way, I think the christmas market behind the cathedral in Cologne is really nice and has a lovely, festive atmosphere. Back at the hotel we got a good dinner and Steffen came over for the evening. All together, we made our way down to the christmas market in Koblenz again and were chatting away. It was nice to catch up with everyone in person!


On Sunday we drove to Phantasialand, which is close to Cologne. I have honestly never been there in wintertime and I have to say it is great! If you're lucky with the weather you can have a nice day there with all the usual attractions and the Christmas atmosphere on top. In the Berlin area is an ice rink, a Christmas tree and and many cute little German food and drink stalls. The whole park is decorated and there are little fire places. I can definitely recommend a day there in wintertime! And the best thing was that we didn't have to stick to the students all the time and actually got to go on many rides ourselves! And I got in for free!!! :)


Monday morning we took off and headed to "Das deutsche Eck". It's a lovely spot where the Rhein and the Mosel meet. There was a lot of fog all over the place which gave it a very mystical atmosphere. Afterwards, we headed back to the airport and flew back to Kerry. We even saw the band from Tralee again that we met on the way over. If possible I have to go and see them one day in Ireland! On the way home, we stopped at the Old Glenbeigh Hotel (where we were with my parents before) and had a delicious dinner!


All in all, I felt like a tourist, an (almost) local and a mediator between Irish and German at the same time. You could call it "Vacation at home" and it was just a great trip! I will put everything in motion to meet the group that goes there next year!
That's the collage we hung up next to the room to remember the great trip!!!

Cheers for now!

Mittwoch, 14. Dezember 2016

Elternbesuch

Leute Leute, how time just flies ...

My parents were here three weeks ago and after that everything was just super busy! Here's the "news" now.

I had the pleasure to welcome my parents Friday to Monday. We went out for lunch with Kathleen and had a great chat!
In the evening was a disco for 1st to 3rd years in town and many of the teachers were around which is why my parents got to know a whole lot of them. Then we had dinner in our (usual) Friday night venue, Frank's and then moved on towards the other (usual) standard pub for the weekend, Mike Murts.

On Saturday we drove around the Skellig Ring! It got voted one of the top ten places to visit in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD! (here's the link: http://www.independent.ie/life/travel/ireland/lonely-planet-names-skellig-ring-one-of-worlds-top-10-travel-regions-35156123.html) It is truly breathtaking! Afterwards we did the Ring of Kerry. We neither stopped in every town nor at every sight on the way but it was really nice! I can definitely recommend it! I really liked Kenmare and Sneem, they are lovely little towns :)
In the evening we had tickets for the "Keltic Steps" and it was an absolutely great show! It was around eight people, who played Irish music, sang and danced a lot! Especially the three different kinds of dancing were impressive. I've never heard or seen feet move that fast!!! We were all just gazing at the 17-year-old young man whose feet were so quick that we could hardly see them.
Back to Murts afterwards for a few pints of Guiness ;)

On Sunday we explored the environment close by. We saw the Ballycarbery Castle ruin, the old stone forts and White Strand. After that we drove over to Valentia Island, where we drove around, got good Irish coffee and walked up Geokaun mountain to see great cliffs and get an amazing 360° look onto Cahersiveen and all around it!
In the evening we got tasty dinner at Frank's again and had a lovely evening!

Monday morning I was allowed to have breakfast with my parents in their B&B. We chatted away and just before they had to make their way to the airport I showed them around school quickly and introduced them to more teachers.

Every day was just amazing and we were more than lucky with the weather!

So, here's a few selected pictures:

Valentia Island








Meine Mami :) 




Mein Papi! :)
White Strand






Snow!
Kerry Cliffs

Sneem :)



View from the top of Geokaun Mountain


Cliffs at Geokaun Mountain
Pizzeria in an old church! It looks incredible. It's right in town and the pizza is very tasty!