Glorious Howth

A sunny weekend in Dublin/ Howth - I know the picture looks gloomy, but really it was sunny and beautiful!

I fed the sea lions, I climbed a hill (well a very small hill), I took millions of pictures (well 15) and I had my first real nice fish'n chips. Oh and I almost forgot; a seagull crapped all over me. Not the best experience, but an experience nonetheless.

I enjoyed a much needed rest this weekend; I got to re-charge my batteries to get ready for another busy week.

Waves, Lava Fields & Volcanoes no longer on fire

I went for a quick escape from the Irish winter to Lanzarote. The island proofed to be the exact opposite to Ireland in most ways. Lanzarote is mainly black, red and dry where Ireland is green and soft.
I loved the National Park of Timanfaya, first you see nothing but black lava fields. Then if you look a little closer you can see a lot of different shapes, colours and small crystals embedded in the rocks of lava. The volcanoes rise as red mountains behind the black lava fields. A stunning sight!
I got to climb two volcanoes (you can see one if them in this picture), saw two caves (it was really only one cave as both caves are part of the same lava tube: Jameos de Agua & Cueva de los Verdes) and amazing waves in Famara. A great trip to recharge the batteries!
The main resort where I stayed was a bit strange though; I think it hosted more Irish pubs per square mile than Temple bar ;)

Update: More photos

Missing Snow

This week we had gorgeous weather: it was all sunny with a subtle hint of frost in the air. One could almost imagine that it would start to snow all of a sudden. I was really looking forward to the weekend; already picturing myself in Howth walking along the cliffs and enjoying the sun and maybe a little bit of white frosty topping on the cliffs.
Along came Saturday and with it rain, more rain and rough winds. I feel like I am almost blowing away inside my apartment (which is largely due to the fact that the flat has a fireplace without any kind of hatch to close the hole to the chimney).
This is the third winter for me without snow and I am starting to miss the more noticeable change of seasons, walks on the ice and the sun reflecting from the snow. Rain can be nice and even inspiring at times, but it does not replace the beauty of a sunny day in the snow.

German Christmas Markets ...

This year was the year of Christmas markets for me. I went to Germany way too late last year to be in time for the celebration of handy crafts, kitsch and the most important ingredients: loads of food and Glühwein.

This year I already discovered delicious Glühwein and even Schmalzkuchen at the Dublin Christmas market at the IFSC. It instantly made me feel better after a rather hectic December.

Finally in Germany I immediately headed for the nearest Schmalzkuchen booth at the local Christmas market. I bought a portion for 2.50€ thinking that it would probably just satisfy my initial appetite, but then I was almost overwhelmed with the enormous amount of the delicious pastry I got. Sadly I have to report that I failed to eat it all despite the support of my youngest sister (we really need to put in more effort next time).

Instead of Glühwein I had to make do with Finnish Glögi as we went to a Finnish Christmas market (I have never really seen a Christmas market in Finland, but if you are looking for a Finnish Christmas market it seems the place to find it is Hanover). They also had lovely pirakka and salmiakki filled fazer chocolate.

I hope all enjoyed Christmas and I wish you a happy New Year!

November Blues …as if!

It’s cold, it’s windy and let’s face it; it rains a lot (and by a lot I actually mean a lot more). Anyway that does not stop people from smiling. It’s this time of the year when I am really happy to be in Ireland.
Don’t get me wrong; I often miss lots of things about Finland and Germany, but during the dark months Germans as well as Finns tend to get quite upset and are seldom spotted with a smile on their face.
To be fair now winters are a lot darker in Finland with precious few hours of greyish light and as for Germans, they are not expected to look happy; I am still often met with a puzzled expression from my Australian co-worker when I make a joke (I don't know if my jokes are so bad or if she really is just surprised that Germans are of course utterly hilarious – not always completely voluntary I might add).
What I really wanted to say with this entry is that I am amazed about Irish people. Despite constant nagging about the weather, the recession and house prices they always seem really cheerful and open-minded.

Dingle, Kerry & stormy weather

Its seems that I find less and less time to blog here and just more lame excuses why that would be the case. That's got to stop. I promise to try a bit harder now.

This autumn was most eventful and full of unbelievable beauty. It would take a few years to bring you up to speed on all that happened so its probably best to summarize a fantastic weekend in Kerry & Dingle.

I live here now for 2.5 years and so far I have never made it to the most beautiful parts of this island. I loved what I saw of Dingle and also the parts that I could not really make out due to all the rain and wind;). The views are astonishing and the picture changes with every turn of the corner.
Kerry as well surprised me. I had heard horror stories of narrow roads, jam packed with German tourists, but at this time of the year it was most enjoyable and the few German tourists that ventured out in this weather were a most welcome distraction.

All in all a place that everyone should visit (and that looks surprisingly much like the New Zealand pictures my friend just took from her recent trip).

I am still alive ...and eating crisps!

Hello there,
yes it's me! Some of you have sent me worried emails wondering if I have disappeared. Let me assure you that I am still here; it's not that easy to get rid of me;).
It has been a very turbulent time for me: deeply depressing and also full of unexpected beauty.

So what is happening in Dublin? It's nowadays flooded at least once a week (because it sometimes rains for more than 2 hours and that is simply too much to take for the drains here).

We had the festival of World Culture 2 weeks ago, which was mainly loads of Salsa music and amazing food. I loved it and unbelievably enough after shivering in the rain during Saturday, Sunday was really sunny and almost felt like summer (Irish summer, don't get too excited ;)).

This weekend the fringefestival kicked off. I am really looking forward to some contemporary dance performances (still one more week until my class starts again).

Since I have neglected this blog shamelessly for a while I thought I honour this entry with a picture of a cheese & onion crisp (yuk...can you believe there are bars that do not sell vinegar crisps) and me. The picture was taken by my favourite photographer ( ...no I am so not biased ... it's a simple fact;)).

Irish Music - Kila - Diddly Dee

This will be short and sweet. For those of you who know who I am; I would rather get my eyeballs pierced than listen to Irish diddly dee music (and just for the record; I am terrified of piercings... at least on my own body).

So last week I went to a Kila gig as a wonderful friend of mine really loves the stuff and I simply had to try and understand why?

It was an entertaining evening and to be fair I think the band is really talented and amusing (if you are into this kind of music).

For me it was more like: is this really another song? why does it sound exactly like the one they just played? do they play any songs that are less than 25 minutes? 

She loved it though and wrote a completely different and probably more enjoyable review here. 

Needless to say; I enjoyed the evening very much, but for the next gig I am hoping for some good old fashioned heavy metal.

Art in Dublin?

...something I had for some reason completely neglected so far. It seems it always takes me a while to get my life organised in a new place. Only then do I venture out in search of new hobbies and entertainment (and I have to admit I still strongly connect art with Finland).
Yesterday I went to the Modern Art Museum in Dublin. I was lucky to have an expert with me, who was able to find the place even without consulting my map;).
I really liked the place and the exhibitions were surprisingly good. My favourite was a painting called "Moon Blossom" by Janaína Tschäpe. I love the different layers of colours and shapes in her paintings. They almost feel alive and let you discover more and more the longer you look at them.

I would definitely recommend the place to anyone on a rainy (or even a sunny) Saturday afternoon.

Childhood Memories - A Weekend in Germany

I spent a beautiful family weekend in Germany.

I remember how when I first left Germany I got offended whenever people joked that all German men have mustaches. Now eleven years after leaving Germany for good (not that I knew that back then, and who knows one day I might return...or then again maybe not :) ) I have to smile every time when I arrive at a German airport and compete with plenty of mustache wearing men for a spot at the baggage belt.

This time I discovered the truth behind another stereotype that I never thought true; German sitting rooms. In movies a German sitting room always has a certain look to it that I always thought to be way over top. This weekend though I looked a sitting room (I won't confess whose ;)) with fresh eyes and I was really surprised by the look of it (and I have to admit I also felt a little claustrophobic). That is not to say that Irish sitting rooms with fitted carpets and uncomfortable, floral patterned sofas are much better; they are just different (and strangely the thing I have gotten used to lately).