Kingdom of Kerry

Kerry is actually a county, but the locals say it is the second kingdom. They also say a day outside of Kerry is a day wasted-now I know why.  I spent three days on a tour around the county and had the privilege of seeing mountains, lakes, beaches, waterfalls, donkeys, dogs, and so much more!

We began our weekend with a bike tour through Killarney National Park, and it was surreal. The path led us through the town, into a forest, past a couple of lakes and finally to a ‘house’ (what I would refer to as a mansion) overlooking a lake. We got to the house just in time to watch the sunset over the lake-and the view was breathtaking. This place was so perfect that some people went so far as to plan their future fantasy weddings there.

After Killarney National Park I thought I had seen the most beautiful sights Kerry had to offer, but I am glad to tell you I was wrong. The next day we partook in a bus tour around the Ring of Kerry; it was complete with hilarious, informative commentary, and a lesson in Gaelic from our Irish bus driver. We stopped at countless photo stops, each more beautiful than the last!

The highlight of the Ring of Kerry tour for me was the sheep dog demonstration. We all gathered behind a small barn type thing to watch a local Shepard heard his sheep with the aid of three exceptionally well-trained dogs. Sheep are instinctually wired to be afraid of dogs because they look and carry themselves like predators. The Shepard takes advantage of this and signals his dogs to essentially scare the sheep into obedience. Each dog has a separate set of commands so the Shepard can make them to work together to move the sheep. Watching the Shepard control all three dogs, and in turn the entire group of sheep, was truly remarkable.

As we stopped at a particularly windy pass to take pictures, our tour guide Sean shared a bit of knowledge that really adds to my newfound obsession with taking windy selfies. The Irish say that as the wind blows through your ears all your bad thoughts are blown away with it. As you might imagine, my head is now clear as can be of bad thoughts!

Next stop on the tour was the Derrynane Dunes. Now, when I choose to study abroad in Ireland I accepted the fact that I would be leaving behind warm beach days and sunshine. It turns out that was not necessary after all! The water at this beach was unbelievably clear, and the beach itself was clear of any other tourists. The sand and water was even warm enough for me to take off my shoes and enjoy a stroll though the dunes, into water, and up onto some remarkable sea rocks. On top of all this, the rocks were purple! Anyone who knows me knows how unbelievably perfect that makes it in my mind. Seriously, it could not get any better! This beach is truly a hidden Irish gem, and I am so glad I was fortunate enough to be able to explore it.

After that unbelievable pit stop, we stopped at a mountaintop overlooking Lough Lake where a random guy was chilling, just playing his bagpipes. Typical Ireland.

The next day we went to the town of Dingle, and as was our luck this weekend, there was a food festival taking place. We went to almost every stall and sampled SO MUCH delectable local food. I was so content-but I had to buy some Baileys and Caramel Honeycomb fudge.

After enjoying the food festival we went to another Irish beach, Inch Beach, which is famous for its movie appearances. Unfortunately, we used up all the good Irish weather and it was foggy and cold. After another gloomy beach we went on a drizzly walk along the cliffs of the Dingle Peninsula.

This weekend was jammed packed, but I loved every second of it. The beauty of Ireland never ceases to amaze me. This country continues to exceed my expectations and I cannot wait for that to happen again and again in the months to come!

Arthur’s Day, Hurling, and Mountaineering

This weekend was full of fun and games! Thursday was Arthur’s Day, an Irish holiday created in honor of Arthur Guinness, the inventor of Guinness Beer. In the true Irish spirit, the point of this holiday is to consume beer. At 18:00 (6 PM) sharp, hundreds of students meet on the stairs of city hall to cheers to Arthur! My Irish friend showed me videos of past Arthur’s Day toasts and I was excited to take part in this illegal and exciting tradition.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iCKTdqB1Y8

Unfortunately, the Garda (Irish Police) must have also seen these videos, as they were on the steps of City Hall to greet us. There were swarms of teenagers and students standing on the sidewalk with pints of Guinness to toast to Arthur, and the Garda were having a field day issuing fines. We had already opened our cans of Guinness and wanted to continue celebrating, so we snuck past the Garda and on into town. However, two of my American friends were stopped. After they explained that they were foreign, the Gaurdi did not issue them a fine. Apparently the Garda don’t know it’s also illegal to drink on the streets in America. We did not get to cheers to Arthur on the steps of City Hall, but we did avoid a fine! To Arthur!

Two days after that lovely, and somewhat anticlimactic, Irish holiday, there was the replay (rematch because the last game ended in a tie) of the national Hurling Championship Game. Hurling is one of the national sports of Ireland, and I wish I could explain the rules to you. Despite watching the game, looking up the rules, and even practicing it myself once, I have no idea how the game of Hurling works. It’s kind of like an unnecessarily violent blend of field hockey, football, and rugby. Anyway, we went to a local pub to watch the game and got along fine by cheering with the locals. I must have seen and heard “Up the Rebels!” at least 100 times that day. After a hard fought game, the Cork Rebels lost to Clare. Everyone was surprisingly civil despite the devastating loss. I was expecting some kind of riot, but it turns out Rebel fans are better behaved than fans of the Dodgers or the Kings, Americans should take a hint from the Irish-drink more, fight less!

The next day I woke up early to hike Boughil Mountain with the UCC Mountaineering Club. Boughil is in county Kerry and the summit is about 650 meters high. And yes, we hiked all the way to the top! When I joined the Mountaineering Club I thought I knew what I was getting myself into, but it turns out my definition of hiking was way off. After this 5.5 hour trek up to the summit and back down the other side, I can finally say I have been on a real hike. I now know that Victory Trail, Malibu Creek, and Escondido Falls, some of my favorite ‘hikes’ at home are actually light strolls. The climb to the top of Mt. Boughil was brutal. During the hike I found myself questioning why I signed up for this, and even wanted to quit a couple times, not that quitting was an option because I was in a group of 20 people halfway up a mountain. For the first time in my life I was freezing cold and dripping sweat at the same time-I had to choose whether to remove a layer and cool down or keep it to prevent freezing my ears and arms off. Halfway up the mountain we entered a blanket of fog and were trapped in a layer of mist for the next couple hours. When we reached the summit, we could see about 20 feet in front of us, and the rest was a white haze. Despite the unexpected difficulty and awful weather, I am glad I went on the hike and will be doing more in the future. Now that I know what a real hike is, I will be prepared and hopefully the next mountain will be less foggy so I can get good pictures of the view from summit.

Last Port of Call

 Cobh (pronounced Cove) is a small Oceanside town about 20 minutes away from Cork. It was the last port of call for the doomed Titanic. With this being it’s claim to fame, there were three Titanic exhibits in the tiny town, so I obviously went for the true ‘Titanic Experience.’

I bought my ticket and was told my name was Lillian Minahan. I was 37 years old and travelling in first class with my husband and daughter back home to Wisconsin.  This ticket would have cost 870 pounds ($69,600 today) if I were indeed traveling on the Titanic.

As we waited to walk out to the dock, a virtual Titanic employee explained how marvelous and modern the Titanic was. He welcomed us aboard her maiden voyage as he bragged about all the Titanic had to offer. He assured us that the ship was unsinkable (the entire exhibit was swimming in irony). We proceeded to the original dock where the actual travelers boarded the Titanic, and learned all about the ship and its doomed journey into the Atlantic.

Did you know: The Titanic is about as long as the Eifel Tower is high. The Titanic was the first ship to have a heated swimming pool on deck. Third class on the Titanic was almost the equivalent of first class on other ships of that time. There is no picture of the iceberg that the Titanic collided with. Several rich people scheduled their vacations in accordance with the ship captain’s voyages because he was thought to be one of the best. This same captain ignored reports of icebergs ahead and maintained the ships speed into its fatal crash.

After experiencing the journey I was happy to discover that I, Lillian Minahan, survived the sinking of the Titanic. Unfortunately my husband did not make it; Wisconsin will never be the same without him.

Cobh was bursting with everything Titanic, but after ‘The Experience’ we hiked up a steep hill to a visit a striking cathedral that overlooked the town, the port, and the ocean. The sky was hazy, but the views were remarkable nonetheless.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t that windy in Cobh so I couldn't take a windy selfie, sorry!

A Bunch of Blarney

Castles in Ireland are like Starbucks in New York, there is one on every corner. Ok, maybe not that many, but I have seen my fair share of castles since my arrival. They are all beautiful and grand; set against the lush, green Irish landscape they have been amazing to just look at and take pictures of. This past week I finally had the chance to go inside and explore one of the more famous castles in Ireland, the Blarney Castle.

The Blarney Castle is one of the most popular attractions near Cork, and it only took a 20-minute bus ride to get there. When we arrived the sky was overcast and it was raining, but as we ascended the thousands of stairs toward the infamous stone at the top of the castle, the sun came out and the clouds rolled away. This provided some truly remarkable pictures of a view I could never imagine having from my rooftop! By the time we got to the bottom of the stairs it was raining again. The weather in Ireland is just as polite and generous as the people.

The castle itself is set in a larger complex that consists of several gardens and courtyards, a lake, a wildflower field, a house, a farm, and so much more astounding nature. As we approached the castle, we crossed a series of small bridges and first came to the Dungeon. I was excited to explore the dark, dingy, descending cave where prisoners and trespassers were once kept, but I think I was the only one who didn’t regret it. I led the way through the quickly shrinking passageway with the other girls begrudgingly trailing behind. After literally crawling in a dark, wet, poorly lit passageway we came to a dead end and had to squirm back the we came from. These conditions were definitely worse than what the inmates whine about on MSNBC’s Lockup, I’d like to see an episode about this cell. Given the claustrophobic, creepy, paranormal activity vibe, we all decided that five minutes in the Dungeon was more than enough, and that we are glad to not be prisoners of that time.

The Blarney Castle was built on a hill to create the illusion of it being taller than it truly is. This trick intimidated enemies back in the day, causing them to second guess an attempted ascent. It now has the same effect on tourists. Still, we did not fear! We climbed the narrow spiral staircase all the way to the top, and there we all kissed the Blarney Stone. Kissing the stone is no easy feat; you must lie on your back and suspend your upper body off the side of the castle to reach. Luckily, metal holding bars have been installed so people no longer have to be dangled by their ankles. This whole ordeal is worth it though, because whoever kisses this stone is said to be bestowed with elegance and charm. I’m not so sure it worked, you can decide for yourselves when I get back!

After kissing the stone we explored the gorgeous grounds around the castle. We followed a path to a farm, through a forest, to a lake, and into a field of wildflowers. I felt like I was scrolling though options for a new screensaver. Amongst all this natural beauty was the Blarney House, one of the most picturesque homes I have ever seen. On the path from the house back to the castle we crossed through the Poison Garden. This was full of plants that could not be touched, smelled, or tasted, but at least that left two senses to explore with. I accidentally brushed against an overgrown waxy brown leaf, but don’t worry, I’m fine. I must have been saved by my newfound charm.

Oh, yeah I almost forgot- here's another windy selfie!

Orientation in Dublin

Dublin Orientation:

Upon my arrival back to Dublin I was looking forward to two days of orientation. I met 19 other UC students, 8 who will also be studying at UCC with me, and 11 attending Trinity College. Aside from informative meetings, orientation consisted of authentic Irish food, a bus tour of Dublin, and a couple nights out with new friends.

Ireland is not celebrated for its cuisine, but there are some dishes you must try if you are in the country. One is Steak and Guinness Pie. This is essentially thick beef stew topped with mashed potatoes and crunchy pastry, nothing special, but delicious nonetheless. On the more adventurous side there is black pudding, which is just one component of the loaded ‘traditional Irish breakfast.’ Black pudding is a mixture of meat, oatmeal, and blood, among other things. It has a dry, gritty consistency and is surprisingly bland. Given the ingredients of the dish, it tasted much better than expected. 

(The black pudding is the circle of black spotted stuff on the bottom right)

After getting a taste of the country through food we-got a feel for the city through a hop-on-hop-off bus tour. A bright green double decker bus drove to several main attractions of Dublin, the most memorable of which were: the Guinness Brewing Factory, Stephen’s Green Park, and Kilmainham Goal.

Kilmainham Goal is an old jail that holds the history of the Irish Revolution in its walls. It was originally built to house regular prisoners-but eventually held debtors, thieves, beggars, and even children occupied the cells.  During the potato famine, times were so rough that people deliberately got caught undertaking petty crime in order to be put in jail and receive bread and water twice a day. When this started occurring prisoner rations were cut in half, but that did nothing to stop the overcrowding in Kilmainham Goal. Kilmainham was home to famous Irish Revolutionary leaders, and we were shown the cells where they spent their final hours, and then the yard in which they spent their final seconds. The building itself grew with the population as extra hallways and cells were added in the same style. Years later, in yet another renovation, another wing was added to the prison that utilized the theory of the panopticon-an all seeing eye. This is similar to prisons today where individual cells line the sides of a circular room with a guard station in the middle.

Nonstop Northern Ireland

This past week has been exhilarating. Since I landed in Dublin I have been in a different city almost every night. We stayed in hostels, sharing a room with anywhere from 1 to about 18 other people. This presented an opportunity to meet, and travel with, several people. I made friends with 2 older men who had traveled all across the US and were now making their way through Europe, a 20 something year old archeologist from Australia, a couple of Belgian students just to name a few.

Dublin: 

After I landed and put my luggage at the hostel it was off to University College Dublin to meet some friends for drinks at the new campus bar. I'm back in Dublin now, enjoying the night life and anxiously awaiting orientation.

Belfast:

After a 2.5 hour bus ride and crossing the boarder to Northern Ireland I was in Belfast. We Explored the city and culture by going to a local museum. Here, I read all about Irish history from the time of the dinosaurs to the Struggles. The city was pretty with a lot of character and history.

Bushmills:

Being the home of ancient castles, the best homemade whiskey ice cream you will ever taste,  the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, and the Giant's Causeway, Bushmills had great attractions to offer and was also the first town I stayed in for 2 nights in a row. Carrick-a-Rede bridge was built several hundred years ago by local fisherman. Since then it has been reinforced and can now safely withstand wind up to 40m/h and the weight of 8 tourists at a time. Crossing the bridge was not nearly as scary as it looks. It is now so far from its original state that I effectively bounded across it...to the dismay of the elderly women ahead of me.

Giant's Causeway is an enormous group of stones that mysteriously fit together like a puzzle. There are several myths and attempted explanations for this phenomenon, but the true nature of its creation remains unknown. The causeway connects Northern Ireland to Scotland, but the only person that can cross it is the giant himself!