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).

KT Tunstall - No Smell of Sausages

If this headline does not make any sense to you, you will need to check out this post.

This time KT played in the Olympia theatre (which is nowhere near the Ambassador as I had to learn the hard way;)). I loved the concert. People were standing this time and the room was darker. The crowd formed one big dancing, singing and cheering mass (there were also quite a few marriage proposals addressed at KT; all turned down in the most charming way).

KT and the band were in great form and she performed mainly songs from "Eye to the Telescope" and "Drastic Fantastic" as well as "Ashes". Its hard to say which song the crowd liked best; my guess would be either "Hopeless", "Other Side of the World" or the extra long deluxe version of "Suddenly I See".
My favourites today were "Funnyman" and something that really suited the day "Under the Weather".

Another really enjoyable concert!

The Lesbian Treaty - Gay Pride Parade in Dublin

Another rainy weekend in Dublin. It seems the summer is over for the moment.

It was a big surprise for me to stumble across this colourful Gay Pride parade on Dame Street today. The atmosphere and costumes were really great. Unfortunately I only got some shots of the action with my mobile phone.
It was really good to see all kinds of people stopping to watch the parade and the discussions amongst the spectators were all very positive.

"Howya horse?" - Lessons to be learnt

I learnt an important lesson today.
The correct answer to the question "Howya horse?" is not:

a) I am not a horse
b) I don't keep horses
c) What the hell are you talking about, I am still tired

... or d) I don't even like horses...

You will have to find out for yourselves how to answer this question in Dublin. Enjoy the completely unrelated photo of suburban Dublin.

P. S. Dear Sir; this blog entry is dedicated to you ;)

Blue Impressions from the Green Island

After writing the last post the weekend turned into a long lazy stretch of beautiful sunny days. It was the perfect weekend for endless walks by the sea and ice cream in the sun.

The green island can sparkle in the most beautiful shades of blue at times!

Irish Summer II - A Slight Chance of Rain

It has been a crazy week. To come back to the favourite subject in Ireland - no not sports or mortgages, but the weather - this week started off sunny and almost hot (you have to remember that the highest temperature ever measured in this area of the world is 32 °C), then changed to a very rainy autumn and it ended on a high note when this beautiful rainbow greeted me this evening.

A great way to kick off the weekend!