The nature in Ireland is quite varying for such a small island and especially the Atlantic coast in the west is a perfect dream. Ireland is also rightly called "the green island" and it is really amazing how many different kinds of greens there actually can be.
Just as rough and varying as the nature are also the Irish people and it took me a few days to get accustomed to the mentality there. And with some Irish traits of character I probably will never get used to. This is especially the distinctive obstinacy of the people there and this is also very perceivable in the road traffic. Apart from having to drive on the left the streets in Ireland are an adventure of a special kind. Multi-track highways are virtually non-existent and the normal streets there are not much wider than the size of a car. So every time thereīs oncoming traffic you break out in a cold sweat
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And for an additional thrill all streets are lined with stone walls or hedges so that you canīt avoid an obstruction without driving
the side mirrors off. This together with the Irish driving style make sure that youīre ready for the nuthouse at the end of the day 
.The expensive prices on the green island also provide for a faster heart rate. For one meal you pay 25-30 and also apart from that the Irish people are world champions in ripping their visitors off. They especially take advantage of Irelands rich history regarding the Celts etc. For every ever so small heap of stones you have to pay 3-5 admission and with 70% of all "Celtic" relics youīre not quite sure whether it was not a clever farmer who build up those "historical" attractions to get some subsidiary earnings. In the end we joked that you can recognize all real Celtic relics by not having to pay for visiting them.
But now I will start from the beginning:
After our arrival at the quite chaotic Dublin airport we got our rental car, plunged in the evening rush hour of Dublin, and for the first time learned about the joys of driving on the left. Surprisingly we got used to it quite fast and my horror visions of an impending pile-up of cars didnīt prove to be true. So we soon arrived at our first B&B and were received very cordially by Eileen, who was a very nice old lady. So we had a very nice time at her house.
Our first encounter with a "Guinness"
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My Mom, Eileen and me at the breakfast table
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During the first day we visited the Powerscourt Waterfall and Gardens South of Dublin. And we also first learned about the vicissitude of Irish weather: rain takes turn with bright sunshine while big clouds are floating across the sky and rainbows are showing up from time to time. Because of the wet climate thereīs a proud vegetation and sometimes you rather have the feeling of being in a rainforest and not on an island in the North.
Powerscourt Waterfall and surrounding
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The next destination was Glendalough, one of the most famous ancient monasteries of Ireland. It was founded in the 6th century by the hermit priest St. Kevin and is located in a very beautiful valley in the Wicklow Mountains.
Round tower, build in 1066 during the Viking invasions to protect religious relics and books
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St. Kevinīs Kitchen
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We spent the night in a B&B in Waterford where we had the pleasure with a special kind of shrew. With short, military-like instructions we got our rooms and after that she disappeared in her chamber again and slammed the door in our face. Anyway, she unbent a little bit the next morning and even brought off a half smile.
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The second day brought us first to the medieval town Kilkenny and later to the Rock of Cashel. The latter one was built in the 4th century and later was extended to a bishopīs seat by St. Patrik, Irelandīs patron saint.
Rock of Cashel
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Cork finally had a surprise for me I could have lived without very well. After straying through the city for almost an hour because of the fantastic road signs I was welcomed at the B&B with the declaration that she doesnīt have a room for me any more because one of her guests got sick and couldnīt leave. So I was placed in a kind of hovel next to the washhouse in the "room" of her adult son who just happened not to be there at the moment. The "room", however, resembled more a broom closet, the bed smelled penetratingly after the aforementioned son, and after a look in the bathroom that revealed black hairs in the washbasin and athleteīs foot ointment on the shelf I knew that I would need 8-10 Guinness to survive this night. I consoled myself with a nice dinner and left it at one Guinness. And the night also went by somehow in the end, even though I wasnīt in the best mood the next morning.
My quite suspect sleeping accommodation
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The next day brought us to the first prehistoric highlight of our journey: the Drombeg stonecircle. Drombeg is located on top of a hill and you have a fantastic view over the surroundings there. In immediate vicinity to the stone circle is also a well-preserved ancient cooking place.
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We spent the rest of the first week in Killarny, where we visited the "three fingers" of Ireland: the peninsulas Baera, Iveragh and Dingle. And I have to say that the green island shows its best site there. The landscape is absolutely fantastic in this area. The picturesque villages and breathtaking views over the coastline are a perfect dream. Nature is almost untouched there and I was delighted with all the blackberry hedges. Appropriately enough the berries were also ripe at the moment
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And if thereīs an ocean the seagulls arenīt far away, either. So I also found some victims to satisfy my feeding addiction. However, in contrast to the Finnish birds that behaved in a quite civilized way, professional jealousy is very common among the Irish poultry that attacked each other pecking and shrieking:
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Dingle with its colourful storefronts is a very enchanting little town. Besides, I had a really excellent "shark - kebab" in a seafood restaurant there that looked quite unimpressive at first sight. So if any of you should come to Dingle one time you really should stop by the "Out of the Blue".
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A very famous attraction of Ireland are the cliffs of Moher that are 200 m high. The sight is indeed breathtaking. But what I didnīt like at all is the commercial exploitation they do with this natural wonder. Thereīre thousands of tourists and a huge contruction site preparing for even more parking lots. Only if you leave the hiking trails and climb on the cliffs (which actually is prohibited) you can enjoy the surroundings.
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Another eye-catcher are the cemeteries with their numerous celtic high crosses. Some of them are very old already and Dracula would really be delighted.
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Muiredach Cross, Monasterboice:
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Driving further up the west coast you reach the northern part of the island and the counties Mayo and Donegal. These are the poorest regions of the country. Because of the vast marsh areas there was a huge peat-cutting tradition in former times. Today the people mostly live on sheep and cattle farming. But they still use peat for heating and this stuff really smells to high heaven. There was a penetrating burnt smell in every town and village and sometimes I would have been grateful for a gas mask
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In the county Donegal it also became obvious who are the real lords of the green island and I was very pleased to meet so many of my relatives there...
sheep....
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...and donkeys
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But I was especially keen on the sheep, because except for the human variant you donīt see these animals very often in Southern Germany. In Ireland, however, they come in crowds and you often have to give them way on the streets. Anyway, I was really delighted with these cute balls of wool. The sheep, however, saw things differently and every time I tried to approach them they took flight. But that didnīt keep me off chasing them with my camera. This appeared quite odd to the sheep that werenīt used to so much attention
And one cheeky ram showed me what he thought about all this and tapped his forehead on me:
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And I have to say that the ram wasnīt so wrong about that, because after two weeks in Ireland the local mentality started to rub off on us as you can see on the following picture
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Of course, this shocking change in character also could be due to the excessive consumption of "engine oil" (rish Coffee)as you can see on the following "before and after" pics
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We also made a quick side-trip to Northern Ireland and visited the Giantīs Causeway - one of the largest scenic attractions of the green island. It is an area of 40,000 interlocking basalt columns resulting from a volcanic eruption over 60 million years ago. However, legend has it that the Irish giant Fionn McCumhail, leader of the Fianna, built the causeway to get to Scotland to fight with his enemy, the Scotish giant Benandonner. The causeway is said to be the remnants of this way to Scotland. If anybody is interested in this legend you can read about it HERE.
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My personal highlight of the journey was Newgrange. It is the most famous passage tomb of the Brú na Bóinne complex that was built 3200 B.C. by the Tuatha de Danan, a mystic people that lived in Ireland before the Celts arrived. So Newgrange is about 1000 years older than Stonehenge and over 500 years older than the Gizeh pyramids. Even though it is called a tomb it is believed that it rather was a sacred site where people performed rituals to honour the Mother Goddess. Newgrange is also aligned to the winter solstice and in the morning of December 21 at sunrise the sun shines through the passage and brightens the chamber for 17 minutes. In front of the entrance thereīs also one of the most important relics of megalithic art that shows the triple spiral, which is a symbol for the eternal circle of birth, life and death/rebirth.
The chamber is still completely preserved and it is a fascinating feeling to be in a room that is more than 5000 years old and hasnīt changed at all during that time. You still can feel the energy of this place and this made a lasting impression on me.
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All in all it was a really nice journey escpecially concerning the nature in Ireland. To spend the night in B&Bīs was a quite new experience for us and I have to say that I donīt feel the need for a repetition. Even though we were quite lucky with a few, I rather wonīt discuss about the rest. Iīm not necessarily a person who needs luxury hotels and golden water taps, but thereīs one thing I canīt do without and this is cleanliness. Unfortunately, that wasnīt easily given everywhere and I vividly remember the last night where I didnīt even slip under the covers of the bed but camped on top of the coverlet in my jogging suit. I really can go without another experience of that kind and after two weeks of trying to reduce the contact to pillow and covers to a minimum I was more than happy to be able to snuggle up in my own bed again at home.
.Being "happy" about the last B&B:
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But despite some troubles we really enjoyed our holidays and getting to know another part of the world.
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