Part XII: "Why not...Connemara?", or Road Trip headin' South did in the second week of the Easter holidays I met Ireland's beautiful Connemara intensive. Seven days "on the (crappy!) roads" Southern Ireland, together with Gaetan, Claire Morgan and Mirco. Big time!
anticipation: Claire and Gaetan were competent Planning Commission, which selected our route, stations and hotels for our trip to Connemara have. Mirco, an Italian from Enniskillen, was not originally scheduled, but he has joined us the day before departure - we have simply rented a larger car. Ah yes, the car or the driver: I was (apart from Mirco, but who was not at the time of the tenancy in Omagh) is the only over 25, only I was eligible to drive the cart. There is a bright red Ford Mondeo, of course, a UK car in which I was sitting right next to the gear shift was had by me. Ouch, that was what first! On the first day I felt transported back in time in the driving school. I 've no experience with big cars and the course I did with my left hand and do not always get in - all a bit "shaky". And to put it politely, Gaetan was as a passenger a good GPS, but could have been a little less Rumgemecker I dreamed of! If I were not a patient of the variety, our friendship might be after this driver / passenger experience have been released for sale.
Well, to make it short: We are all well tolerated, the car has gotten no scratches and I'm getting better day by day - not only that the car was getting used to the roads in the south are simply BAD: narrow, with curves and potholes! Average speed so: no more than 50 mph!
So, we come to the chronology:
Sat, 3rd April 2010: Long journey
Omagh> Galway, via Enniskillen and Sligo, about 4 hours with a break! Weather was rather bad, very windy and cold. We have gotten even hail. Where to stay in the hostel and a visit to the pub.
*** pictures below: On the road from Galway to Ballyvaughan: Dunguaire Castle in Kinvara, County Clare ***
Sun, 4th April:
From the city of Galway in the village of Ballyvaughan, in the region, which is called "The Burren: a rocky area where you can walk well, what we did. On the same day we drove to the coast to the famous Cliffs of Moher. Weather was still bad, to put it politely. In a village called Doolin, where I have the coziest and nicest hostel ever seen. The fire was after all the rain really necessary, the kitchen very large and the owner very friendly. The downside: we had no reserved seats because we had eingepplant at least two nights camping. A tent for 4 persons (eng!!) We had borrowed from the Omagh Academy, another smaller one from a friend. Well, of course it was still stormy and rainy and the night it stormed so much that we thought the tent is swept away - but was all right. Since it was so loud, however, have We hardly slept. And as a sleeping pad, despite some point a back hurts, and - if you have then located on the side for a change - then the page that ye may think that the driver (ie me) at the nÄ next day is not quite so fresh. But ran!
Monday, 5th April:
relatively long drive to Limerick, but this was a change of plan. Actually we had not put you in the ferry from Doolin to refer to the Aran Islands. Because of stormy seas drove but no.
Yes, Easter Monday in Limerick because of the quilted bear and celebrates the duck .... NOOOOOT! Limerick looked to me like every Irish town: river, bridge, modern shopping street (not so nice), but still a big castle in the middle. We have then, together with the excellent Museum visited it. On the way, we have two 12-year-old (!) Asked for a lighter for their butts. Marc, a friend from Omagh, said to me: Limerick in Ireland was known as "Stab City" because of gang violence and stabbings. He said: "Yeah, people think of Ireland: There are just funny little men who drink beer (??), but there are also problems. Exactly, for example, aggressive big strong men who drink too much beer, I thought only pretending.
We are witnesses of an attempted rescue operation has become: a man has fallen into the river (which we have not seen) and police, fire and a massive rescue helicopters showed up. From what I heard later from an eyewitness, the man could unfortunately not be saved.
we had to sleep in a hotel because there is no Youth Hostel in Limerick! After a long day with too little sleep before we started from the hotel where the party is no more limericks.
Tuesday, 6th April
Back to Galway, where we finally had a sunny weather. We visited the City Museum and went to the pub (surprise). Funny story: You know that everything is expensive in the Republic and is not just breathing and walking taxed. That is, we have found in this second visit, no free parking near our hostel. So we just parked at the Town Hall, which yes prohibited. We had a blessing in disguise: The next day, wr the car still there, but how: Three-Din A-4 stickers on the windows on the side of us said in red letters, that we should be aware of parking regulations .... Okay ...
*** Image above: In Musume were posters from the 1st WK - including this, which shows the sinking of the Lusitania before Ireland's south coast (who is my journal of Cork still has in mind - in the town of Cobh is a monument to the victims and helpers of the German U-boat attack). *** ***
image below: On the road to Connemara. ***
Wednesday, 7th April:
trip to the (! Loud self-promotion) 'busy fishing village "Round Stone, but where nothing more is going on. The following night was to be our second and final night camping. Near Roundstone is a beautiful bay (lucky with the weather !!!!) called Dogs Bay and next to the beach was our campsite. That night was really relaxed, though chilly. The shower experience the next day: instead of 1.50 euros for the shower at the very strange and pay taciturn owner, I'm in the shower room with a plastic bowl with hot water poured over me. And believe it or not, it was totally sufficient and I would not at first believed that the water last. Gaetan and I have found after this experiment that we developed Ländler somehow every day unnecessarily wasting gallons of water in the shower - "as if you do not know," you're thinking, but the experience to make it another way, was already interesting.
Ah yes, here I will explain to you once the linguistic characteristics of the trip. Each group, the longer sits together and developed together, so after a time their own "language" Like that: in-jokes that are outside of the group are not funny because out of context. We had only two phrases that every day were threshed over and over again, which says a lot about the decision processes of the group and our sense of humor: There once was a decisive caretaker "Why not "made to almost any proposal. Moreover, it was often a question of the whereabouts of any object x in any Größey (from the key to the tent) is simply "Dare ton cue" ("In your A. ... & rdquo ; responded) - and this quite easily and naturally.
Thursday, 8th April
in the heart of Connemara, in the village of Clifden, accessible through incredibly bad roads. We looked at the area are at low tide to the island xy walked - almost like Mr. Jesus 2,000 years ago - and have the sun, later enjoyed a pint of Guinness and Irish music in the pub. Half the pub was full of tourists by the way, the same applies to Galway, where you can hear on the streets more French than English!
Friday, 9th Last April
day. Killymore Abbey (beautiful as on postcards) and Connemara National Park: Guys, it was sunny and the National Park was really excellent: We have gone up a several hundred meter high mountain, and have enjoyed the view. It was bloody windy and not quite harmless, would I say, although there was a path and stairs. Downhill walk to "sucks" enormous! Then we
have begun the long road back - at half past nine in the evening we arrived in Enniskillen, where we were entertained by our friends. At night we went to Omagh, because I had the car to bring back Saturday morning.
After seven days, "Ireland intensively" with beautiful scenery, hills, Bogs and immediately border cities I have honestly seen enough and I am finally glad to live NOT in the desert or in a "busy fishing village" =)
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