the pros and cons of Killarney

I can say that generally, I like Ireland. But I hadn't yet found that place that would call me back after I've left for the States. Then I visited Killarney National Park. Wow! We stayed in Killarney, just a 5 minute walk from the park. It's really easy to rent a bike to explore the park and most places will have a basic map that you can bring, so we made two bike trips through the park. The first day, we visited Ross Castle and the (overrated) Mining Trail. We also got to see some Irish deer (I knew they were hiding here somewhere!). The mountians and lakes provided breathtaking views--I was simultaneously thinking of Wisconsin, Yellowstone, and Minnesota. We had a great afternoon! The next day was a different story. It started out beautifully; the weather was perfect for a good bike ride; the goal was to ride through the park, heading back to Killarney through the Gap of Dunloe. The first site was Muckross Abbey; I just love old churches and graveyards! Then we saw Torc Waterfall; it wasn't necessarily the tallest waterfall I've ever seen, but I loved it all the same. The Meeting of the Waters was also an excellent place for a break, very peaceful. And you always had those mountians in view, which never got old! Then we decided to tackle getting to the Gap of Dunloe. We got directions and headed off, with the warning that it wasn't going to be easy. We'd already had some rough roads that day, so we laughed it off once we were on our own. We were mistaken. At first, it started out nice, but then the road began to steadily ascend at a not-so-comfortable rate. After miles of up-hill biking, we took a break near a castle. After discovering that sheep do not like taking pictures with tourists, we went on and reached the Lady's View, an absolutely glorious view of Lough Leane (Lower Lake). We also found out that we first had to get past Moll's Gap before we reached the Gap of Dunloe. That couldn't be too far away, right? Oh, yes it could. After more uphill biking, we finally hit Moll's Gap (yay!!) and proceeded on to the Gap of Dunloe, which turned out to be a lot farther away than expected, but there was some absolutely fantastic downhill coasting before that. Followed by more hills. I began to enviously look at people driving past us, some with passengers who relaxing and eating or reading, completely ignorant of our struggle with this horrible beast of a hill. Then, our moment of triumph, we made it up and through the Gap of Dunloe!! More coasting downhill, enjoying the lack of effort. and, hey, we'll make it back just in time for that last bus back to Limerick! Huzzah! Alas, our efforts were thwarted by an unfortunate flat tire. We ended up walking to Kate Kearney's Cottage and calling a van/cab to bring us back to Killarney, but they wouldn't get us back in time to get back to Limerick. So, we were stuck, but thank God (and I'm not using that phrase lightly), our hostel had space for us and we had a free night anyway. So, here's a shout-out to Paddy's Palace. If you every stay in Killarney, the Aussie twins who run this were very friendly and extremely helpful; I would definitely recommend staying there. And you do automatically get a free night when you make a reservation there. After an epic fail of a day, Rachel and I decided to treat ourselves by going out and buying Chinese and some diet Coke. And that's the story of the Killarney bike ride.

I miss Italy

My resolution was an epic fail apparantly. It has been over a month since my trip to Italy and I have still not even sent out my postcards!! Rather than try to explain the epicness that was Italy, I would trip to post pictures, but unfortunately, this trip was also educational in that I learned that "format your memory card?" means "erase all traces of the best spring break you will ever have?" So the credit for most of the pictures I may or may not post must go to my very dear friend, Rachel. Thank you, friend! Also, there is just way too much; I am not talented enough to put Italy into words. It is a country entirely beyond my verbal or written skills. And since it's the Friday after my ecology final, my brain does not want to function properly, so we'll try something new. Here's a haiku summary of my vacation in Italy:

Ah, Brussels airport
No chocolate, no waffles;
Soduku and sleep

Long hike on the coast
Lemons, oranges, the sea
Steep ascents, sharp drops

Florence! we are lost.
Art, Madonnas, and David
good pasta and wine

Rome, brilliant, awesome
the Forum, Colosseum,
we're leaving so soon?

That's a quick summary. The Cinque Terre was gorgeous; it was hard to believe we were actually there! We stayed at the mar-mar, which was probably the best hostel we stayed at all vacation. The town had a few streets and they all had severe increases in elevation--you could not live there with bad knees. One thing I especially loved, though, was the three grocery stores right outside our house. The town shut down around 8pm, though, but we were usually so tired from hiking or travelling that that didn't really matter. Florence was nice; you definitely have to get up early to visit the Uffizi or the Accademia. One thing that's very disappointing about visiting Rome and Florence is the amount of Catholicism that's visible in their art. I have seen enough Madonnas and saints to last a lifetime. We went to St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and while it was beautiful for the initial 10 minutes, the hypocrisy became very apparant. This is religion that pretends to venerate God and Jesus, but everything I have seen was made to honor and glorify man. Sure, there were a few paintings and pictures of Christ. But very often, there were saints or artists' patrons also being presented. I was able to visit a catacomb site, though, and after all the gilded angels and images of popes and saints, assumptions of Mary, and annunciations, the image I would rather carry is that of a fish carved into the wall of the catacombs. Christian worship services had been held there when it was still illegal to be a Christian. I'm not sure how much false doctrine had crept into Christianity at that time, but for now, I choose to think that it was still in line with the Bible. It's still very hard to see how much people exploit the name of God to make money or to push doctrine passing as true and saving. It made me realize how, too, how valuable fellowship with everyone back home at Messiah is.

The day the world is Irish

Ah, St. Patrick's Day. The day everyone celebrates the patron saint of Ireland by drinking and partying, thinking how great it is to be Irish (or wishing they knew how great it is). It's never been too big of a deal for me, but being smack in the middle of Ireland, this year I decided to celebrate in style in Dublin. Well, OK, "in style" was a lie, but I was in Dublin. The city is on the opposite side of the country, but it's only about a 3 hour bus ride away from Limerick. It seems to me like Ireland is a lot of farmland spotted by a few larger cities and Dublin appears to be a classier one. I didn't get to see much of the city besides O'Connell street, which is where the parade is held, but I'd like to go back and see more. Almost everyone was dressed in green, a lot of people had crazy hats as well, including viking helmets and Native American headdresses. We arrived at 10am, in time to stake out some prime spots to watch the parade. It was a long two and a half hours waiting for it to start but it was well worth it. The parade lasted for an hour and a half. Coming from Eau Claire, most parades I've seen are a few marching bands and a few floats, but this was beyond that. There were marching bands, a high school one from Louisiana and a college band from North Carolina State, as well as other bands from Ireland and Austria. Military members. Dogs. Horses. Then some awesome costumes--some people were dressed up to represent different cultures, others were horses, giraffles, or even eggs. The best ones in my opinion were the giant bugs brought by a group from Spain. After the parade, we went to visit the Guinness factory in Dublin. It was pretty good; there was a tour you could take on your own that went through how they make Guinness, the history of the company, you know, typical museum-type stuff. I found out that Arthur Guinness signed a 9000 year lease for the land (no, that's not a typo), why some of the ads have a toucan (and that the toucan replaced a pelican), and tried some samples of Guinness and Guinness bread. It's awesome--I am going to try to find a recipe for that as soon as I get back to the States. While I don't despise it, I think I'll need to drink more dark beer before I can actually say that I like Guinness, but it makes good bread.

Surf in Sligo

I know I said I would starting blogging right after things happened, but this will be about last weekend. Oops, there goes that resolution. Just want to say first that the weather over here is getting nicer and nicer. I can actually wear a t-shirt outside when I run! Also, the Great Limerick Run appears to be impenetrable to people trying to sneak in. Not that I would want run it officially either--$70 for a t-shirt and a "specially commissioned memento". Whatever that is. I'm guessing a bumper sticker or a cheap quality hat. But back to last weekend. While the other girls in the house were off in Belfast, I went with the UL Kayaking Club to a town outside of Sligo, northern part of Ireland, but not so far as to actually be in Northern Ireland. I was expecting early 7am mornings followed by hard half-day trips on the coast. What actually happened was slightly different. We were supposed to leave the boathouse at 6pm, but after packing a van full of kayaks and equipment, we ended up pulling out closer to 7pm. The stop for food turned into a stop for liquor. I ended up buying my first bottle of alcohol, some wine cooler that I figured would last for a good week. How wrong I was. That was empty by Sunday. It was delicious though, and don't worry parents, I didn't get buzzed or anywhere close to drunk. Most everyone else did, though. We stayed in some summer cottages that had a great view of the ocean, but not enough beds for everyone. Some of us had to make do with couch cushions on the floor. Surf kayaking turned out to be a lot harder than I expected. After you put a deck on, you really don't want to have to get out and pull your kayak further into the waves. So, you have to wait until they come to you, then alternately scoot and paddle as hard as you can until you finally reach water deep enough to float in. Then, you fight the waves to get out far enough, look for a decent one, and try your best to ride it in without capsizing. If you do capsize (which I did several times), you are punished for your failure by having to drag the kayak back into shore far enough so you can dump the water out of it without the sea pushing any more back in. Then, carry it closer to the waves, and get to ready to scoot/paddle out there to do it all over again. Having said all that, surf kayaking is awesome; I would definitely recommend doing it at least once. The first time you go under is a little scary (and if the weather was warmer, it would've definitely been a plus), but it's still pretty fun. At least with the club, there were always people on shore to help if you needed it or give some advice on how to improve. We would only go for about an hour or so at a time, too, and the second beach we went to was one that you could just sit and relax on if you needed a break. The nights were fairly memorable, except the bar we went to was inhabited by people mostly over 60, so I don't think they appreciated the crowd of college kids who'd just finished a few games of cups and beer pong (note: I wasn't involved in the drinking games, just a spectator). The Saturday lunch was wonderful. They gave us a cardboard box filled with potatos, carrots, frozen peas, two chickens and some ham. Possibly the best chicken I've had since coming to Ireland. Some guys turned on the TV to watch the Ireland v. Wales rugy match and all of a sudden it felt like a Sunday lunch in Wisconsin with a football game on. Great, great craic.

Procrastination, part II

I'm really trying to avoid posting things weeks after I've done them, so this time, I'm getting starting right away. One thing I haven't mentioned yet is the Ballyhoura Forest, about 45 minutes away from Limerick. It's a hilly area with some great trails through the woods and you'll be rewarded with an amazing view once you reach the top, or even just halfway up. I didn't have my camera with me; it was my first mountain biking experience and I was afraid to bring anything fragile and expensive, but that's another spot I would recommend visiting if you get the chance. I saw my first rugby game in Thomond Stadium this week, which is a great substitute for football. I also hailed my first taxi, after the bus that was supposed to bring us back to the university failed to show up.... Back to this weekend, yesterday I went on a day tour organized by the UL. We stopped first at Bunratty Castle, but that was mainly a quick picture opportunity. Then we drove to the Cliffs of Moher (Mow-hair), which are also the Cliffs of Insanity for fans of the Princess Bride. It was amazing!!! We were only able to see a little bit of everything there, and I definitely want to go see the rest. They drop 214 meters into the ocean, so it's a very awe-inspiring sight. There's also a Visitor Center built into the hill with a exhibit about the environment along the cliffs, and O'Brian's Tower, built in 1835 by a landlord to entertain his guests. You can pay 2 euro to climb to the top; I just walked on the trail. There's also a sign halfway along warning visitors to not go past it, naturally it's ignored by everyone. Then we visited the Burren, also along the coast. Where we were, it was mostly rock, with a few grasses and other plants growing where they could. Picturesque, but it seems like hiking country to me--you aren't too tempted to spend a lot of time in the same spot. After the Burren, we went to the Ailwee Caves, discovered in 1940 by a farmer who was following his dog that had chased a rabbit down into the caves. They think it was used by bears to hibernate back in the day; they've found a few bear bones and a pawprint. It's really pretty, too; it's limestone and there are a few underground streams and a waterfall, which I always enjoy seeing. The last stop we made was a quick one to see the Poulnabrone Portal Tomb, which was a must-see for me. It was supposedly built before Stonehenge in England; 22-28 people were found buried underneath it. I had originally thought we wouldn't have enough time at each place, but I think I saw enough to know what places were worth more than one visit (Cliffs of Moher!).

Procrastination, part I

Quick update: I wish I had more time to tell about the Cork weekend trip, but I will say two things: if you ever visit Ireland, Cork is definitely a place you should visit! Especially the English Market; it's pretty much a huge indoor farmers market. You can find the usual meat and vegetables, but you can also buy squid, rabbit, oh, and chocolate! I made sure to sample some of that (Valentine's weekend, what can I say?) and I highly recommend it! Second: you should also visit Blarney Castle. Yes, getting to kiss the famed Blarney Stone is cool, but in my opinion, the highlight of the visit was the castle itself and the walking around the castle grounds. There were a lot of posted signs inside the castle, so you get to learn about what daily life was like back in its heyday; I found out that I would not live in one--I thought it was really chilly and damp inside. The view from the top was beautiful; you could see for miles. But, back to outside of the castle, there is the Blarney House, which was built in the late 19th century. I wasn't able to visit it this time, but I want to go back and make up for that. There's also a cool dungeon built under the castle that you can crawl around in. The best part, though, is the Rock Close, a garden area that honestly feels like you are in Middle Earth. Unfortunately, my camera batteries died right as we were walking in, but I would go to this website to see awesome pics: http://www.blarneycastle.ie/attractions/view/13. They've got the obligatory cool names for sites, like the "wishing steps" and the "witch's kitchen", too. I imagine it's even prettier in spring when flowers start blooming. There's a waterfall leading into a river and paths you could wander for hours. There are also walking routes around the entire estate, but there wasn't enough time to try either of them.

Hiking in the Gaeltacht

Last weekend I went hiking in the Dingle Peninsula with the Outdoor Pursuits Club. It was great craic, but it was also really intense. I was expecting some light hiking for half of the day and I was very wrong. We started climbing up a good sized hill on farmland and I don't think we went downhill for a few hours. The ground actually became wetter, too, the farther up went! We jumped over or climbed under a few barbwire fences, as well, and spotted sheep everywhere. When we finally reached the top of a tall hill, I thought we'd made it, but then after a quick lunch break, we walked along the top of the ridge and proceeding to scale an even steeper, taller mountain. After a group picture, we carefully went down the other side of the mountain towards a boggy area. Now, we were finishing up the hike at a pub and as far as we could see at the top, there was no pub in sight. So, once we got to bottom, we set off through the bog towards a path between two large hills. There were a few smaller, beautiful waterfalls that flowed into a river and then into a lake. You could see old stone walls dividing the land (and sheep herds); I wonder how long they've been up there. I can't even imagine how long it took to carry the stones up there to build them! We did finally make it to the South Pole Inn, built by Tom Crean, who is a local hero for exploring the Antarctic. This was my first trip into the Irish countryside and it was amazing!!! I can't believe how pretty it is over here. On the drive there, we went along the coast and I wished I could just backpack through there for a weekend. The Dingle Peninsula is a Gaeltacht-an area where Irish is a primary language. One of our guides explained to us that you need to prove you're fluent in Irish to build a house there; it's part of a government effort to revive Irish culture. Also, people who live in that area get extra government funding to go to college....unfortunately, it doesn't apply to study abroad students who know Irish. Oh well, it's not like I know any Irish yet anyway!