A quick FYI: This post is going to be loooooooooong.
It is about February midterm break, that was packed until the last minute ;) It is absolutely incredible how much you can do in so little time.
Here's a quick overview for you:
Wednesday to Thursday: Kathi and Alina, with a parent/student information night on Thursday
Friday to Sunday: Amsterdam with Paul, Kevin, Barry and their cousin Brendan
Monday to Wednesday: Kilkenny with Paul
Wednesday to Saturday: Dublin, including various day tours, with Lena, Sophie and Timo
Saturday: Girl's night with Lena in Tralee
Sunday: Home
As you can see, this is a lot! And in good German manner, most of it was planned and booked before it even started, which made the midterm itself even more enjoyable :)
Wednesday
Wednesday afternoon, Paul and I picked up Alina and Kathi. We had a great chat on the way down and didn't really stop chatting until we dropped them off in Killarney Thursday night.
Wednesday we had a nice quiet evening. We went out for dinner and then returned to the house to chat another bit. The next day, Kathleen allowed me to take the day off and so we started our day with pancakes and went for a spin around Cahersiveen. Paul brought us to the castle, the stone forts and the White Strand. We went to school with him, I showed them our German room and some collegues and then we went back home (still chatting away).
In the evening, I was in charge of presenting German to the new first year students and their parents. It was an information night and Kathleen couldn't make it. But with Kathi and Alina I had great helpers and the evening went by very quickly. Afterwards, we drove up to Killarney, from where Paul and I were going to Cork for the next adventure. They were going to stay in Killarney for another bit and we made sure they had plenty of things to see.
We dropped the girls off and although I only got to see them for such a short time, it was great to catch up and show them my life here!
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| Yummy breakfast for a good start in the day |
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| Our handsome tourguide :) |
Friday
After we stayed at Kevin and Barry's cousin in Cork on Thursday night, he brought us to the airport early in the morning and we flew to Amsterdam. It was a great time and we did a lot! Wandering the streets of Amsterdam, visiting the Heineken brewery, going for a long cycle, dining in the Hard Rock Café, going to the Amsterdam Dungeon, visiting museums and lots more, it was never boring!
And of course we went out too. But in good Irish manner, we included an Irish pub ... twice ;) There, we met another cousin of the boys who invited us for breakfast the next morning. I feel like I know the secret to getting around and getting to know places like locals now. Just be Irish! You have relatives in the whole wide world. Kevin and Barry have around 35 first cousins!!! The only thing about travelling with four men is that they occasionally know everything better. Meaning instead of going straight to the Dungeon (I pointed out where we had to turn) we went past it twice, basically walking in a circle around it. But I am sure that was intentional ;)
It was an absolutely fabulous trip and I hope that we will travel together in the future! It was just so uncomplicated and exciting and, although filled with stuff to do, not stressful at all!
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| The gang :) |
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| Amsterdam's amazing architecture! |
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| Heineken experience!!! |
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| The streets of Amsterdam |
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| Our cycle ;) |
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| Das Reichsmuseum |
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| Probably the most photographed motive in Amsterdam |
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| The expensive shopping street with a Chanel store made entirely out of glass bricks |
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The good ol' Irish pub.
- "Oh really?"
- "No, O'Reilly" |
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Wynand Fockink (or wine and fucking) is the best place
for trying your way through all sorts of fancy booze |
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| "Wok 2 go" dish. Inspired Paul and me to cook one of our now favourite dishes: Prawn lime noodles <3 |
Monday
After arriving back in Cork, we drove to Paul's cousin where we stayed the night. Monday morning Paul and I took off to Kilkenny. We strolled around, went for lunch and found a really cozy pub. They had Ludo (which is basically Mensch Ärger Dich Nicht) and I couldn't believe Paul never played it. He liked it so much that we played a few rounds and even came back the next day for another match :)
The next day, we explored Kilkenny and visited the castle, many old houses, churches, museums and the Smithwick's brewery. Our hotel was just opposite the castle, so we had a lovely view on it! Of course, we also went to a few pubs and even caught live music.
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| Our hotel <3 |
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| Beautiful wall tapestry to be finished and hung up soon |
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| One of the many churches from the inside |
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| Kilkenny castle! |
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| Inside the castle :) |
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| One of many stouts I tried. Tasted lovely! A bit like a dessert ;) |
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I managed to drink the perfect pint of Guinness!!!
Apparently the rings are a sign that you drink it right ;) |
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View from our room <3
What more do yo want? |
Wednesday
Wednesday, we started the day with a quick walk to the old round tower, from where we looked over Kilkenny. It was so nice to spend some quality time together and I can recommend everyone to go to this fantastic medieval city!
Around noon, I took the train to Dublin to meet Lena, Sophie and Timo, Sophie's friend. We went to the Guiness brewery where we poured our own pint, even got a certificate. That was followed by a rather quiet evening because we were going on a bus tour the next morning.
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| Sláinte! |
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| Blurry Dublin at night time |
Thursday
We walked to the bus station early in the morning and went on a bus tour with the Wild Rover crowd to Glendalough, the Wicklow mountains and, guess what, Kilkenny ;) On the way to Glendalough, we were told some very interesting stories but, the great historian that I am, I unfortunately only remember bits and pieces ... I do remember though, that there is a place called Hollywood in Co. Wicklow that even has a sign like the "real" Hollywood in America.
Fun fact: Jamie Dornan is from Holywood, which is a place in Northern Ireland. So he made his way from Holywood to Hollywood ;)
Arriving in Glendalough it was "pissing rain" (as the Irish would say) and even that is an understatement. Luckily, that stopped soon. The old monastery was incredible! Such a lovely place in the middle of nowhere. There was a way that led to an Upper and Lower lake and even a little waterfall. It was beautiful! We wanted to take pictures at the bigger lake but all of a sudden the wind was so strong that we nearly flew away :D
There was also a few myths around the place that if you were able to do something you'd be granted wishes or eternal life or so. We were eager to try them of course, one involved sitting on a stone and touching the water without putting your feet on the ground which was harder than we expected. The second one was a big grave stone you had to put your arms around and if your fingers touch you're granted wishes or something. Timo actually managed to do it but we don't know if all his wishes came true ... ;)
By the time we were back at the bus it was completely dry and we made our way to the Wicklow gap. You basically drive through the Wicklow mountains and get off, have a stunning view on the mountains and get blown off the platform for free ;) I'm not lying, I don't think I ever experienced that much wind in my life but luckily, nothing happened because we went back on the bus very quickly!
A short while and a little nap later, we landed in Kilkenny, which I had been raving about for the last days. The best thing was that it presented itself in an even better light because in comparison to cloudy and grey skies the previous days, Kilkenny welcomed us with blue skies and sun! We got a walking tour around the main part and I even learned a few new bits and pieces about the city. When we were at the castle, the tour guide tried to explain the complicated history through a little role play and so I ended up being married to Timo :D Then we strolled around for ourselves a bit and had a delicious lunch. Back in Dublin, we went back to the pub with the buzzer and had a lovely evening :)
The best story of that evening was: We went to get a crêpe and from there we wanted to go to the pub with the buzzer, but since I wasn't completely sure where it was I looked it up. And here's the result. I could not stop laughing!
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| :D |
Friday
Our main plan that day was to go to Wexford but we didn't leave until later during the day so we decided to tour through Dublin a bit more. We took a tour through Dublin Castle which was very interesting, I especially liked the underground part, where can see the old outside walls, and the huge ball room! Afterwards we payed good ol' Molly Malone a visit. Apparently it brings you good luck when you touch her right breast ... Can't hurt no one, right? ;)
Then we took the train to Wexford. It is a nice city by the sea with medieval paths through it. So, when we arrived, we made our way to the Blue Door BnB. Guess what, it had a blue entrance door ;) Our room was really cute and cozy and even made us stay there in the evening with a few drinks instead of going out ;) We even were set back in time a tiny bit, playing personality quizzes, "Who Am I?" and singing songs, poor Timo ... ;) For lunch we went to this amazing western restaurant, where the waiters wore cowboy hats and boots and where statues of cowboys and native americans were sitting next to you. The best thing is that the food was brilliant on top of it! After strolling through Wexford we went back to the BnB.
Saturday
Unfortunately we woke up to rain :( But we made the best of it and strolled along the water and the medieval paths. I even discovered a copy of our "Krönchen" (my hometown's landmark).
After our discovery tour, we took the bus back to Cork/Tralee and since I couldn't get back to Cahersiveen that evening, Lena offered me to stay with her again (if you read this, thank you again so much!). On the way down we were thinking about what to do for the evening and we decided on "cheesy girl's night". So we got sweets and tea, lit the fire and watched a Nicholas Sparks movie *sigh*.
The next morning I took the first bus back and after flooding the floor and a few other better-not-mentioned "difficulties" I was definitely ready for a nice relaxing evening with a movie and ice cream :D
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| This is made of pebble stones! |
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| The "Bullring" |
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| Uhhhh, pancake Tuesday is coming up!!! YAY :) |
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| :) |
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| On the road home. Seeing this, you know you're home soon :) |
As you can see, it was a great time and looking back on it now, it seems so far away and still like yesterday. Ireland is just amazing and has been nothing but good to me! And there are many more adventures yet to come <3
