Hello friends!
Well, I made it back to the castle in one piece, more or less, after an entire day spent en route. The weekend in Ireland was awesome! We were pleasantly surprised by such nice weather after looking at a forecast of rain for most of the weekend. It misted here and there, but was sunny quite a bit of the time. The travel time to Ireland was just as intense as getting back, but all the time spent in between went by like a blur. One day in Cork and then two spent in Killarney. Killarney is probably my new favorite city! (More on this later!)
We wasted no time from the minute we landed in Cork! We went straight to the hostel... well almost...we missed a turn somewhere along the way, but were guided back to the right back by a helpful woman. Most people we encountered were very genuine and so friendly, willing to help at the drop of a hat. Quite a bit different from home and here in Germany. Our hostel was nice for the cheap price we paid, co-ed dorms (surprise there! No one snored so all was well and good), weird, but neat maze-like hallways to navigate, friendly and knowledgeable desk workers, etc.
From the hostel, we went onto Midleton, home of the original Jameson Irish Whiskey Factory. Again, there is probably no surprise here considering we were four college students :) Anyhow, we went on a tour of the factory and were shown all the ins and outs of it, how whiskey is made, right from the grain down to the distillery process. After, we were given complimentary glasses of whiskey. There was a tasting of three different whiskeys: Jameson, Jack Daniels and Scotch (can't remember which though). All that's really important here is that we are now certified whiskey taste testers and that Jameson truly is the smoothest :)
We took a detour after the Jameson factory to Cobh (pronounced like Cove) which is situated right in the harbor out to the ocean. It was interesting to find out that Cobh was the last place the Titanic docked before heading out the open sea. One of the original dock landings is still in the water! We had a supper of fish and chips on the water along with mashed peas. Mashed peas don't sound all that great, but surprising they were pretty tasty, as was the fish :)
After Cork, we went onto Killarney, which is further west than Cork. As I said before, Killarney is probably my favorite new place. Killarney Town as it's called is a really neat place, all the shops, pubs, restaurants, monuments. It's a fun place to walk the streets after dark and just listen to all the music coming out of every open door. Of course you can guess we went to a pub or two every night, because it wouldn't be a trip to Ireland, without experiencing a night or two out at a pub with a pint :) It was funny that music sessions always began around 9.30 pm and then went to pub close at 11.30 pm. It was a little different. Everything literally shut down after midnight at the latest! The music was great to listen to: lots of traditional music, sad and happy alike. I loved it!!
I should insert here that I'm not a huge fan of those big bus tours that lots of people take. Actually I really dislike them, and guess what I did? I added myself to list that set out from our hostel bright and early yesterday morning! And I had an awesome time! It was what I imagine to go on an older person's tour to say, Branson, MO The Dingle Peninsula was really scenic and beautiful. Funny name to it, but it was an awesome tour. So green, and the ocean was so blue! I couldn't believe how blue it was!! Our guide had quite a bit of humorous side to him as well, which makes a tour like that more fun. It helped too that we were a smaller group.
All in all, it was a great trip! I only wish there was more time to explore it. Guess I'll to come back here too. Sorry for the short-ish update. Other internet people are breathing down my neck for the cable! Three more days and we're off to Iceland!!
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