The U2 experience on the Dublin Luas

This weekend the city of Dublin truly belonged to U2. The big event was possibly only overshadowed by the long awaited opening of the ikea store on Monday. Apart from that the city belonged to U2.
I went to see U2 on Friday for their opening gig. Just to put things into perspective: I am not really a fan. I do like the music, but I had to get the new CD just before the gig to prepare myself for the big event.
When I rushed from the office on Friday it was rainy and cold and I was wondering a bit what the evening will bring. Once I sat in my seat (situated roughly 5 km above the stage in the nosebleed section) I gazed down at the gigantic spider looking construction (not entirely sure what to think about it yet) and the sun came out turning everything into a golden light.
U2 was very good! They played a great mix of songs, really engaged with the crowd and kept the preaching to a bare minimum though it was noticeable that the crowd really started to join in once U2 had played through the first set of songs from the new record. Standing ovations started in my section after "Elevation".
After the gig it was all happy faces and despite the big crowd everyone walked peacefully home while humming a U2 song.

Now even after the concert there is just no escaping U2. For the entire weekend every pub has played exclusively U2 and every time I step onto the Luas they are already there; people wearing their iPods humming away to yet more U2 songs. I am still enjoying the after concert happiness and hum along when I hear the music, but sometimes I wonder where this will all end?

Summer in Ireland

I know what you think...you think this will be a rant about the oh so cold summers in Ireland with days and days of rain and if you get lucky maybe a half day where you are able to wear your sandals. Well think again! Summer has arrived in all it's glory and it looks like surprisingly enough it's here to stay.

When you walk down Grafton street these days you will see smiling people in beautiful (and less beautiful) airy summer outfits. People will stop for a coffee (or a pint) after work on some terrace or they will just sit in a park and enjoy endless picnics.

Last weekend saw the gay pride parade in glorious sunshine; great costumes, interesting characters and lots of happy faces (and funnily enough dogs).

The previous weekend I went to the street performance championship in Dublin. The weather was almost great and the acts from all around the world were rather good. You can find a lot of funny pictures on this photo blog.

Sunny Northern Ireland

For the bank holiday I explored Northern Ireland and I have to say it was rather beautiful and full of sheep (loads of different kinds of sheep;)






We started off to Newry and then headed towards the coast. Lunch in a beautiful village called Newcastle and after that we visited Dundrum castle (rather interesting ruins with a stunning view to the sea). It was very misty by the sea on the day, which gave the castle and it's surroundings an almost supernatural look.


After that a quick evening in Belfast, which showed that even Belfast actually does not look too bad on a super sunny evening full of happy people and a night in Larne (which looks bad even when it's sunny).





The next day was spent exploring the shore: walking to Torr's head, Fair head (stunning views to the sea and beautiful cliffs), crossing of the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge (surprisingly short and less scary than its reputation) and then a visit to the Giant's Causeway (very nice, but also somewhat surprisingly small). I liked Portstewart, a small town by the shore, but it only had two pubs that were both hijacked by hen partying people.

On the final day we explored Donegal and Glenveagh National park. Donegal looks completely different to any other place I have seen in Ireland. I loved the sandy beaches and the seaside, but I found the national park a bit dry looking after all that green (and yes that might be because I almost died of a sun stroke).



This weekend it rains like crazy. I am not complaining...at least I finally have time to write up something about last weekend;).

stocking up on peanut butter filled goodies ...

I love peanut butter and think that there simply cannot be enough sweets in the world that are filled with peanut butter. So when I entered an American supermarket last week I felt really great. I thought there would only be M&Ms filled with peanut butter (which I have to report were sold out on the day of my visit), but I discovered so much more: Hershey kisses, Hershey peanut butter filled chocolate, Chips Ahoy with peanut butter and Reeses fills chocolate in any shape or colour with peanut butter.
I felt like a kid in a candy store (well I am a semi grown up person and I stood in the candy aisle of an American supermarket, which is just enormous and will turn just about anyone into a happy kid who just wants to explore for hours).
I got some surprised comments from the shop assistant when I paid for my purchase.
"You really like sweets?"
Me beaming: "We don't have all these peanut butter filled chocolates in Ireland."
"Really, that's strange."
"I know, but I noticed there were no peanut butter filled M&Ms. I am really disappointed."
Here the shop assistant really sensed my distress and ensured me that the M&Ms would be back very soon... sadly they weren't...

Busy Easter – Exploring Dublin Surroundings

I am in the middle of a busy Easter weekend. The task; to explore all the treasures around Dublin. So far so good.

On Friday we headed south and explored the beauty of the Powerscourt Gardens. I did not expect much and was surprised that the gardens are actually really nice, full of romantic little places to discover and with loads of interesting sculptures. The most interesting thing for most visitors seems to be the pet cemetery. The travel guide proposes a coffee break on the terrace of the Avoca restaurant overlooking the sugarloaf - and guess what – that’s exactly what we did and the view is really rather nice.

After that we headed for the beauty of Glendalough. It’s always worth a trip, but don’t expect too much in terms of ruins. However we did discover really cute lambs...unfortunately most people looked at them hungrily and started to refer to them as rack of lamb...

Yesterday then we headed for the Hills of Tara. The first problem was that there were actually two sites on the map. We decided to aim for the hills near the N2 and we are almost sure that we saw the real Hill of Tara. First I felt rather underwhelmed and thought we had stopped at the wrong site, but then I have to say I did enjoy running across the green bumpy hills.

To finish the day off we went to explore Knowth. The plan was to explore Newgrange, but all the tours had already sold out and Knowth is also a very enjoyable hill of grass covered dirt to visit :) I liked the site very much and you feel rather humble and respectful when you think about how old these sites are.

So that’s it; exploring the surroundings of Dublin is definitely worth a trip!

Sun sun sun ...yes in Ireland!

I went for a very long walk in Bray this weekend. It was wonderful! The sun was finally out and everyone was smiling again.

First I climbed up the hill to enjoy the view from the top – to be fair only the very last bit actually required real climbing. After that I walked across some hills and some obscure looking paths into Greystones. The usual cliff walk was closed due to an avalanche earlier in the week. There was no sign of it where I was walking, but I did come across a few interesting fences:)

Fish n'Chips in the park in Greystones to end a perfect day. I wish weekends could last a bit longer...

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!