Day 36: Queen's Day

Another day, another country, another time zone. Flying into the country, I knew it was Queen's Day in the Netherlands, but I didn't really know what it entailed. I figured it was something like Victoria day - you know, have a barbecue, watch some fireworks, that sort of thing. When I got here and tried to find a way to get to my hostel and learned that that all the streets were shut down, I quickily realized I underestimated the Dutch ability to bring the crazy.

Because I was too lazy to try to figure out the optimal way to get to my hostel I just started walking in the general direction with confidence I'd find my way there instinctually. Surprisingly, this time it actually kind of worked. Even getting there fairly directly it was a bit of a trek since I had to carry all my stuff something like 4km, and the streets were crowded enough to slow things down quite a bit, but eventually I found my way there, dropped my things off and went exploring. Since it was a nice day and there was so much going on outside I decided to leave the museums and other indoor places for later, and just enjoy the day out.

Although there was certainly a lot of energy in the city, there was also a lot of mess. I'm not sure if the nice weather brought out more people that expected or what, but the streets were covered with garbage and cans were overflowing from bins everywhere. The "entrepreneurial spirit" of the few shops that were open had them charging to use the washrooms, so people were urinating on busy streets and into the canals everywhere. I'm still debating if I want to go out again or not. It seemed like most of the city was drunk by 5:00 and I was just trying not to get beer spilt on me in the crowded stretches. I'm going to do a bit of research and see what's going on tonight and see if there's anything worth checking out, but without knowing anybody in the city to hang out with it makes it a bit harder. I'll probably stick to some more touristy things tomorrow, and I still need to reserve some tickets for my eurail pass, so I should get that figured out as well.

Day 34: Random Things

Not much going on today. The big "event" going on in town today was the Heineken Cup (rugby) semi-final between Ulster and Edinburgh. I didn't know about this in the morning, but there were people dressed up waving flags everywhere (mostly for Ulster) so it was obviously a pretty big deal. I even considered getting a ticket since the stadium isn't too far, but ultimately decided it wasn't a necessary expense since I only even have a vague notion of the rules.

Since I don't have too much to talk about, I figured it's a good chance to talk about some random observations and things I've learned on my trip so far. It's a bit of a checkpoint since it's both about the one-month mark and the point where I'm about to hit mainland Europe.

As most people know, Ireland has had its share of rough times in the past, between famines, British oppression, civil war, etc. Even with all that though, I was pretty astounded to learn that the combined population of Ireland and Northern Ireland now (about 6.4 million) is less than the 1841 population which was about 8 million. The fact that any country has a lower population now than in 1841 is a bit amazing to me.

As expected, the traditional "american" sports like baseball, basketball, football and hockey are almost completely invisible here. The only jersey I've seen for any of those was a Minnesota Kevin Garnett jersey in London. In London, because it was so gorgeous when I was there, there were a lot of people playing sports, but it was almost entirely soccer with the odd group practicing rugby or cricket. In Ireland I've seen a good handful of people walking around with hurling sticks, but I've never managed to find an actual hurling match. I think it would be fascinating to watch, but as far as I can tell people just carry around the sticks to look intimidating.

Even coming in aware of people driving on the opposite side of the street, it has still presented some interesting effects. Natural reactions to what I grew up with still kick in at complicated intersections so that I'm not quite sure which way to look, and usually end up expecting traffic from the wrong direction. Also, I found my natural tendency to walk on the right-hand side of the sidewalk or a staircase not always the best choice. I guess this makes sense, as people must adopt the driving principles for walking as well. The annoying part is that all the signs (when I see them) still say "stand/walk on the right", so I'm not sure there is a correct answer.

Three of the most common "traditional Irish" songs I've heard sung in pubs in Ireland are Dirty Old Town, Galway Girl and The Wild Rover. Of them, Dirty Old Town is English, Galway Girl was written by an American in like 2000 and The Wild Rover has contested origins between Scotland and USA. Oh well, at least Ireland has a ton amazing writers, but it's still a bit funny how a country so proud of its musical heritage doesn't seem to have much music of its own.

And now for some random pictures:

The Molly Malone statue in Dublin (another American song)

A few tastes of home

Random animals (the first one is tadpoles) from around Newgrange

Day 33: The Boyne Valley

One of the fairly famous landmarks in Ireland that wasn't covered by my tour was visiting the neolithic passage tomb at Newgrange. It predates the pyramids of Egypt and Stonehenge, and is one of the oldest constructed buildings still standing. I signed up for a day tour of the Boyne Valley that went to Newgrange, but before going there it stopped by the Hill of Tara. The Hill of Tara is the ancient seat of the High King of Ireland and is thought to have been the political center of Ireland up until the 12th century and was where 142 kings were crowned. These days it's just a series of grassy slopes and hills around an old church, but the views on all sides are excellent, and its said on clear days you can see half the counties of Ireland from the top.

One point of interest on the slope of the hill is a fairy tree. It's an old hawthorn tree that is rumored to be inhabited by fairies, and visitors tie pieces of fabric, bright yarn, bells, and other random bits to the branches in order to win favour from the fae.

Next it was onto Newgrange. Because Newgrange is so old nobody knows for sure exactly what it was used for. It is built so that on the winter solstice the entrance will be aligned with the rising sun, so that for that one brief period a shaft of sunlight will creep along the tunnel all the way to the central chamber. There were also some human remains found in the chambers, but whether the mound was used for funerals, or as a connection between the sun and the spirits of the dead, or was simply a central site for their pagan solstice celebrations is unknown.

Day 31: Return to Dublin

It's finally the end of my 10-day through Ireland and Northern Ireland. After leaving Cork we went to Kilkenny for lunch and to hang out for a few hours. The wetness has been persistent and it was raining off and on again, so none of us were too keen on exploring too far. The castle looked pretty fancy, but there was an admission cost to get in and I didn't care enough to pay it.

There was also a nice cathedral and another lovely round tower in the city, and enough shops to spend some time browsing around.

Then it was back to Dublin for our final stop - the Guinness Storehouse. It was more of a museum, wandering through displays of equipment, information, art and other things that chronicle the history of Guinness, but you don't get to see any of actual processes going on. At the end they have a "Guinness Academy" that teaches you how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness, so that's how we ended our trip.

You may notice I'm looking extra-Irish in my green woolen cap. I wanted at least one momento from Ireland, and the cap rolls up nicely, so I bought it in Blarney. After drinking my perfect pint we headed to our hostels and said our farewells as the trip came to an end. It's still very wet out, and I'm debating whether to go out or just take it easy for tonight. I still have a lot of time in Dublin, so I'm probably just going to kick back for much of this week.

Day 30: County Cork

Yesterday we toured around County Cork, visiting Blarney, Kinsale and spending the night in the village of Cork. The highlight of Blarney is obviously the famous Blarney Castle. It is a pretty funky castle, and probably my favourite of our trip. The entire thing is open to visitors, and even with it being in a ruined state it still has a lot more personality than many of the ones we've visited.

Of course I had to climb to the very top for the obligatory kiss of the Blarney Stone. The surrounding castle grounds and gardens were really nice too. They were a bit tacky in places, as there were signs out trying to create myths around things that they probably built recently, but they did create some very nice views even with that.

Next was the coastal town of Kinsale. We didn't spend very long here, but I liked it a lot. It was a very artsy town with lots of small galleries and bookshops. The rain kept coming and going all day, and there were some interesting views of sunny mixed with dark clouds over the bay.

We spent the night in Cork. The hostel was located in a pretty hidden alley a moderate distance from the city center. We went out for dinner then headed to a pub to watch the Chelsea - Barcelona game (wild, wild game). I was having a bit of a coughing fit so decided to head out for some fresh air. Unfortunately I got pretty lost and couldn't find either the others or the hostel we were staying at. Eventually after wandering around for almost two hours I finally found the hostel and by this point was happy just to go to bed for the night.

Day 29: The Ring of Kerry

We were with a different driver today to do the Ring of Kerry which is a 180-km tourist cycle through scenic parts of County Kerry. The driver today was quite a bit more knowledgeable than our normal driver, so we picked up quite a bit of information. I can't really think what would be interesting to include here, but I will put some pictures up with a few comments.

Statue of King Puck - Our main driver once told us that there are over 7000 annual festivals in Ireland due to the fact that Irish will look for any excuse to drink. The Puck Fair is a strange one, but is one of the oldest in Ireland and apparently one of the oldest non-religious festivals in the world. It happens August 10,11 and 12 every year in a village called Killorglin, no matter when those days fall. Locals will capture a wild goat from the mountain side, put a crown on its head and then stick it in a pen on top of a 30-foot tower in the town center. They then sing, dance and generally party for 3 days before before releasing the probably terrified goat back onto the mountain. They clip the goat's horn at the end to ensure they don't capture the same goat in a future year, so at least it only needs to get through the fair once.

Baby Sika Deer - at one of the mountain vistas there was a farmer hunched down with some lambs and this 2-week old deer. He basically would ask for a few coins and let tourists take pictures holding the animals. I just wanted a clear shot of the deer, but it was far more interested in chewing on the scarf and boots of one of my fellow traveller.

Famine House - There were a few of these stone buildings along the way. They are houses of farmers abandoned during the great famine as they tried to get to Cork to ship out to North America or Australia. Farmers in Ireland are quite superstitious, so they leave the house ruins as they are out of fear of bringing bad luck to their farm. This one made a particularly good photo target with the cow standing at the door.

Torc Waterfall

Day 28: Dingle Peninsula and Killarney

Lots of beautiful scenery yesterday as we drove along the coast and through the mountains along the peninsula. For me this is sort of stereotypical Ireland with the sea on one side and green hills dotted with stone walls and sheep on the other side.

We made a quick visit to the Gallarus Oratory which is thought to be an early Christian church thought to have been built between the 6th and 9th century. For something so early and so rural it has pretty amazing craftsmanship, with each block fitted perfectly to the surrounding ones.

We stopped for lunch at the town of Dingle, which seems to be most famous for a lone bottle-nosed dolphin that came into the area in 1984 as part of a pod, but stuck behind when the others left. The dolphin (Fungi) is extremely friendly to humans and goes out to greet boats as they leave the bay. Eventually we got to Killarney which is going to be our base for the next couple days.

I've had another annoying obstacle in that I had forgotten to book my plane ticket out of Ireland, and since I didn't want to pay a ridiculous amount I'm going to have another 4 or 5 days in Dublin after the tour before I leave. I've learned of a few more things to do in Dublin since I was there first at least, and if nothing else it should give me some days of R&R to get over any lingering sickness.

Day 27: West Coast and Cliffs of Moher

Catching up on a few days, but I figure the Cliffs of Moher deserve a post mostly to themselves so I'll go day-by-day. Up until the cliffs the day was much like the last few, where we would stop for 15-20 minutes every hour or two for some beach or abbey or castle. One stop that stands out a bit was at Dunguaire Castle. The castle itself was built in 1520, but it is most memorable for the legends and superstitions surrounding it. The two our driver told us about were: if you stand at the entrance gates and ask a question you'll have the answer by the end of the day; and if you walk around the outside of the castle walls anti-clockwise you'll regain your virginity. Not quite sure how that works.

The highlight of the day was obviously the Cliffs of Moher. Any cliffs that drop more than 700 feet down into the sea are going to be impressive, but the photographs I took that I like the most aren't even of the cliffs. First though, since it's a bit obligatory, here are the famous cliffs:

The ones I like so much are a bit tricky since I can't do photo editing very easily on the tablet. Hopefully the blog doesn't lower resolution.

Now that probably looks like a somewhat interesting rock, but if you zoom in on it closer:

Even that might be a bit hard to see, but the entire rock is covered with row upon row of puffins and gulls. Part of why I'm a bit proud of this is that nobody else in our group even seemed to notice it. The rock was tucked out of the way so you had to be in one particular corner to even see it, and then those that did must have just taken it for one more rock and never noticed all the tiny dots along it.

Like many of the places of natural beauty in Ireland (and the rest of the world) the Cliffs are becoming pretty commercialized now. One thing that I found a bit interesting is that at the Cliffs they have gone to great lengths to incorporate all the gift shops and restaurants into the surrounding hills so that they blend in instead of overpowering the natural landscape.

Day 26: Kylemore Abbey and Galway

Came down to the kitchen to write about yesterday but forgot my camera in my room, so I'll have to add pictures for this post later. As suggested by the title the two big stops yesterday were Kylemore Abbey and the city of Galway.  Kylemore has an interesting history of love, prosperity, gambling, and nuns (not all at once) that I won't go into detail on.  Unfortunately we had to pay to go in, and most of the abbey is blocked off so it was a bit of a disappointment.  We took the shuttle bus to the walled gardens nearby, but it wasn't very exciting either - probably largely due to the time of year.  We walked through the woods back, and that was probably the most interesting part of the site.  At least the scenery was nice.

After some more driving we got to the city of Galway on the west coast. Galway is a pretty lively music scene apparently, and a higher number of gaelic speakers, so a lot of history and tradition in the city.  We met up with another tour group who we'll be joining with for the next 2 days along the coast, and after a few hours checking out the many shopping areas in the city we met up at an irish pub for dinner.  Like most of the pubs around they have live music all evening, and the group of us that have been around Ireland a bit now were pleased to discover we now knew a good number of the traditional songs that were played and could sing along.  I only stayed out until maybe 12:30 even though the others kept bar hopping because I'm still trying to take things easy until I can get over this unfortunate cold.

Day 25: Small Town Ireland

It's getting harder and harder to keep up these daily posts, but I'm still feeling a bit sick and decided to stay in tonight so I should be able to write a decent amount tonight at least. Today we were covering a lot of ground in our van, and didn't have any major stops. Instead we stopped for 20-40 minute breaks and different places of interest, most of which were small villages or beaches along the coast.

Our first stop was at a graveyard that is the resting place of W.B. Yeats. Like many of the rural graveyards in Ireland it also had some old high crosses and the ruins of a round tower. Round towers were a way for monastaries and churches to protect their valuables from viking raids. When an attack was imminent they'd climb up a rope ladder to the only entrance high up in the tower and hide all the valuables up there until the attackers gave up or were beaten back.

We stopped for lunch in the seaside village of Strandhill near Slimo. It is apparently quite famous for surfing later in the season, but it's still quite chilly out now so the place was pretty quiet. I went for a walk along the coast but the wind off the water was quite cold, so eventually I just found a nice place sheltered from the wind in the tall grass and just relaxed and listened to music. Just lying there in the sun with the smell of the sea, the view of the mountains and The Decemberists - Sons & Daughters playing on my ipod is incredibly peacefully.

Next was a quick stop in Knock, Ireland. Knock is famous for and alleged holy vision of Mary by a group of townspeople in 1879. I personally didn't find too much of interest here. The shrine and church were interesting, but the entire thing is incredibly commercialized with shop after shop selling religious gifts.

Our final stop for the day is in another small town named Cong, which is known for its 5-star hotel Ashford Castle and for being the filming location of the 1952 John Wayne movie The Quiet Man. You'd think 60 years later it wouldn't be that important, but there's a museum for the movie in the very small town, as well as at least one hotel and one pub named after it. When the others headed off to the pub for drinks and later food I prefered to just wander the town since it is very quiet and picturesque, and we won't have any time to check it out tomorrow. It has the ruins of an old Abbey and in behind the ruins I found a series of nature trails through the woods. Ireland is just so incredibly green - with moss and ivy covering everything, that a walk in the woods is like entering a fairytale.

It also seemed like a bit of a hotspot for fishing, as I counted probably 10 people fishing along the water as I looked around. There is even some old stone ruins of a monk's fishing hut built over the water that dates back 600 years.

I'll end things with an anecdote regarding the movie. Back when they were filming the movie in the Cong country side there were three main cottages they were using. Two of the cottages were white, but one was blue. Since technicolor was just becoming a big thing, the crew really wanted the visuals to look their best, so they went to the owner of the blue cottage and told him: "We'd really appreciate it if you'd paint your cottage white to match the others. We'll pay you for all the expenses and give you some extra money for your troubles". "Oh, no problem, no problem. Just come back in a few days and it will be painted." So the crew leaves for a few days and comes back. The man's cottage is painted white, but now the other two cottages are painted blue. True story (I'm told).

Day 24: Glenveagh

Going to be quick since my van takes off soon. Our group split up yesterday morning as those on shorter tours continued on and those of us doing the longer tour got a new guide and vehicle. Because there are only 6 of us left we're now going by van. The only thing of real note was visiting Glenveagh National Park and castle. The castle is surrounded by some beautiful gardens which are even more impressive considering the surroundings are pretty barren.

Keyboard just died so this is about it for now. In Derry again last night, not yet sure where we are going today.