Last weekend was the last crazy weekend before a much-needed break from travel, and the destination was...Ireland! A friend Mike and I met in Australia, Keith, was my excellent host for the weekend. He picked me up from the airport and then we drove to Mullingar to meet another friend of ours, Clive, who lives in a house there with several other guys. Right from the get-go, I was greeted with Irish fun-loving friendliness and sense of humour, and immediately got along with all the guys in the house. One friend of theirs was a boxer, and they were joking around, impersonating the gypsy boxer Brad Pitt plays in Snatch..I found that amusing (excellent impersonation!) and interesting to discover that Brad Pitt actually spent several months living with the gypsies in Ireland to learn that accent. Just thought I'd share that tidbit.
That night was Clive's brother's birthday, and apparently friends' birthdays in Ireland are very serious occasions, and they party very hard. “Can only handle one birthday a month, otherwise you need to combine them.” And a good party it was. We went out to a club, where I was slightly disappointed to find out that although smoking is banned in most of the club, there's a big smoking room that has tables and seats and is basically just like a bar...so due to the fact that all my friends there smoke, we got to spend the entire evening in there :S. Boo. Also, the other part of the club was quite empty!! Regardless, it was a really great time. And thanks to the vodka Red Bulls and excellent musical talent of all the guys (they all play in bands), we were up to 7am hanging out and singing/playing music in the house after the club. At 1 pm when we woke up the next day, almost everyone was still asleep!
Then Keith and I made our way west to the town he lives in with his parents, Roscommon. On the way I saw a lot of beautiful green Irish countryside, with rolling hills and deciduous trees covered in ivy, farmland with sheep and cows, and a few lakes and rivers. The amount of ivy that coated the trees and forest floors made the whole place seem magical, although I felt sorry for the trees. We stopped at a few places on the way, including Carrick-On-Shannon (a town on the Shannon River), which was a very cute town with lots of little shops and a pretty riverside. There I saw the smallest church in Ireland, which was just a bit larger than a shed and built of old stone, and surrounded by buildings which towered over it. Inside were a couple of very old tombs. We went for a walk along the boardwalk at the riverfront and saw some interesting pillars which rose out of the water, and had strange string formations on the top. We wondered what they were, until we heard some eerie harmonies coming from them when the wind blew – very cool!
Next stop was Forest Park, which was a large section of forest beside a lake which had a lot of outdoor activities, including zip lining, hiking trails, and docks for boating. In the middle of the lake was a cool little castle – unfortunately, you needed a boat to get there. There were actually a few interesting old stone buildings/building remnants scattered about the area, including the remains of an old church and a tower which rose out of the water at the edge of the lake. I really felt like a was immersed in a once-medieval landscape, and tried to imagine what it was like hundreds of years ago. I went for a walk along a path through the forest by the lake and found a cool little hobbit-like hole. Inside were old stone steps that lead to a gate, which looked onto darkness and a deep pit. I'm not sure what it was. We also stopped to see “the man on the horse”, a statue of a man on a horse at the top of a lookout beside the highway, where you could see all the gorgeous countryside surrounding. I also saw an old stone abbey, which was being rebuilt/fixed up, so unfortunately I couldn't actually go inside.
In Ireland I really felt like I could imagine the history of the place, as old building remains which looked to be from medieval times were scattered throughout the countryside, and many family farms which were passed down through tons of generations still remained. I was really excited to find out that my friend lived with his parents on one of these farms!!! We had to drive part of the way on a dirt road to a little house surrounded by green grassy land and bogs, and upon exiting the car I was greeted by a VERY CUTE one year old puppy, Ellie, who I made friends with instantly. Keith's family raises cattle, although it is more of a hobby farm which they keep for tradition. Even though you can sell a cow for 2000 EUR, the cost of raising it is actually more. Keith's parents were super nice and welcoming. His dad's accent was very strong, however, and I often didn't understand him!
That night was my first real Irish pub experience, and it was almost complete with a fresh pint of Guiness, although missing the traditional Irish live music :(. Keith, his friend Dec, and I went to the tiny local pub in Roscommon called “Into the West”, although all the locals call it the Sheep Walk. It was quite small inside, with a cozy fire and little booths. I thought I wouldn't like Guiness, but it was actually quite good. It was very different from normal beer – filling and almost creamy. Apparently the pouring of the beer can really affect the taste, and Keith said this particular pub does an excellent job. The glass was filled about ¾, and then left to sit, and then filled again, with careful attention to the foam on the top. Then it had to sit for about 5 minutes longer before being brought over to the table, where you let it sit again before drinking!!
The next morning, Keith's mom made us a traditional Irish breakfast – consisting of eggs on pancakes, Irish bacon, sausages, beans and (duh duh duuuuhhh) black pudding. I was absolutely dreading trying black pudding from the moment Keith told me about it and showed me in its original form in the fridge – a black sausage formation, coated in plastic. I was also really not looking forward to find out what it was made of. However, I did try it, and I actually didn't mind it. It just tasted like the juice from meat, and barley (which gave it a crunch). It was served in little round slabs, which were cooked until they were a bit crunchy on the outside. I found out later that it was made of pig's blood mixed with bread crumbs, barley, etc. Yuck. I actually expected even worse though, so I didn't regret trying it. We also had Irish tea with milk and sugar, which was very delicious. Keith's mom gave me some tea bags to take home with me.
The remainder of the day was spent driving back across the country to Dublin so I could catch my plane. I think I really had (besides the lack of live Irish music in the pub) the perfect Irish experience.
Of course, it's never easy for me on the way home from these trips...although my flight went smoothly and I was on the platform with 8 minutes to spare, the last train I was supposed to catch back to Juelich was delayed by 90 minutes due to a “signal box malfunction”, so I missed my connection and had to spend the night with my friend Des in Dueren :(. I am forever losing faith in German engineering and trains.
Monday I went straight to work from Dueren, and then after work straight to Dusseldorf to see a Deichkind concert. It's a funny German band with hilarious lyrics that Christian showed me several years ago. Unfortunately I can't understand the words, but I really like the songs anyway, and I convinced the American at work, Michael, and Des to go with me. This time I got a ride with someone from work so that I didn't have to deal with the trains, and I arrived an hour earlier than the other friends from work I was meeting there were arriving, so I got to do some exploring. I walked along the Rheine River to the modern part of town – MedienHafen (media harbour) – which had VERY COOL modern architecture/buildings that overlooked the harbour. Too bad I didn't have my camera with me. I then walked towards the old part of town, which had maze-like cobble stone streets, old buildings, cute little stores, restaurants and breweries. I met Michael for dinner (he was late because his train didn't show up – I'm starting to see a trend here...) and we had Spanish tapas which were absolutely delicious. Of course, we took our time being used to Canadian/American concerts and arrived an hour late for the show...to find that Deichkind was already performing for a while!!!! :( :( The rest of the show was AMAZING but only lasted for an hour and a half. There wasn't even an opener!!!
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