I Suppose It's About Time For This

I suppose since it's been close to two weeks since my return from one of my best trips ever, I should probably write something about it. Like, I said, it is definitely up there in amazingness for trips for me. Heidi and I set out on a sunny Friday afternoon (Fri. the 13th actually) to catch a flight to Dublin, Ireland. The flight ended up being delayed because of bad weather somewhere else but once we got to Ireland, we had pretty good luck in that area. The first night we got to Dublin, we were pretty tired so we didn't do much besides grab some dinner and hang out at the hostel. We got a really good deal on this hostel because the computer didn't charge me the correct amount (less) and then we were booked in a different room than one that we had requested so the hostel worker only charged us I think 9 pounds for the night for both of us. We were only at this hostel for one night and then we had to go somewhere else the next day. It took us awhile to find our next hostel because the bus system is a little confusing in Dublin. I loved how the signs that listed the times for the bus to arrive at the stops said "arrives AROUND every 10 mins". One reason why I love Ireland is because people are more laid back as is shown by these signs. Also, we had a lot of people help us in Dublin. Heidi and I are not used to this living in Switzerland where people are so closed off and unapproachable. For example, we had a couple of bus drivers give us a lift to stops when we didn't know where we were going for free.... just to be nice!
So the next hostel was also pretty nice. We shared a room with five or six other girls. One Spanish girl had been living at this hostel for over a month I think and had been living in hostels for the last three months. Yikes!

Our second day in Dublin, we decided to check out the city. We went to the Guinness Store House which was pretty cool but not necessarily worth the 15 pounds one has to pay for a non guided "tour" and a free pint of Guinness at the end. But I suppose you can't go to Dublin without stopping at Guinness (the pic at the top is of me in front of the Guinness Waterfall - not actually a fall of the beer but the water they use for making the beer). After Guinness, Heidi and I tried to find the Kilmainham Gaol without any luck. We ended up just walking around for a few hours in a weird part of town instead. However, I did get this picture from the adventure so it was worth it.... this is for you Mom:



Our third day in Ireland, we decided to go on a guided bus tour. We booked it last minute and I'm so glad we did. We had to get up early to get to the bus but it was so worth it. The tour guide was great. He was funny and professional and knowledge about everything. Heidi and I got to see parts of Ireland that we would not have been able to if we hadn't done this tour. We went to a place called Avoca where there was a weaving mill. Unfortunately it was a Sunday so the weavers were not there but it was still neat to see how complicated and how much work goes into making things like blankets and scarves and sweaters. Heidi and I both got a scarf here. Here's a picture of some of the machinery:



I have to be sure to say that everyone thought we were silly for visiting the UK in February but we were in Ireland for four days and it did not rain once while we were there. Same with Scotland, where we stayed for four days as well. We actually experienced great weather. I should also add that before the weaving mill in Avoca, our group stopped at Dun Laoghaire which many of you may remember from the movie "P.S. I Love You". It really is a beautiful place and the weather was really great that day as you can see in the picture:



Our fabulous tour guide then took us to a place called Glendalough Valley. It was a monastic village or something like that way back when. It's basically an old old old graveyard with lots of super old tombstones and ruins of churches. There was an old stone there with a cross carved into it that used to be a place of sanctuary. Anyone who touched this stone was considered "safe" in Glendalough. See me touching the stone below and a picture of some of the tombstones:






After Glendalough we went to another great spot. Supposedly it "never snows in Ireland", as our guide told us over and over, but there had apparently been tons of snow all over the week before we were there. I'm glad we chose the week we did. There was still a little bit of snow but we were able to drive. Anyways, we went to a huge waterfall up in the hills, where there were lots and lots of sheep. It was a beautiful view.:



Our guide also mentioned a bar called "The Brazen Head" where the vikings sat and drank beer in in 1198. It is the oldest pub in Europe. Heidi and I were intrigued so we decided to check it out that night. It was really fun. There was a great live Irish band and we had fun dancing and singing along to the Irish songs. We met some other Americans there and the walls had bills (as in money) plastered all over it. Most of the bills were American one dollar bills but there was quite an assortment of other currency from all around the world:



The next day we had some time to kill before catching our flight to Ediburgh, Scotland. Heidi and I decided to pass on the Jameson Whiskey tour since it was still early in the morning and instead went in search of the Kilmainham Gaol again. This time we managed to find it and I'm glad we did. It was an enjoyable experience. It was a little depressing because the tour talked a lot about the troubles Ireland went through and the people who were treated so horribly in the jail. The conditions were unimaginable. I was cold enough with all my layers on just touring the place, I can't imagine what it would be like having to live in the tiny freezing cold cells with barly any food and no warmth or bedding. Here's a picture of the main holding area:



Later, we caught our flight to Ediburgh. I have to say that I can't really decide if I liked Ireland or Scotland better. Both were so great and the people were so friendly and helpful. It was more like home than any other place I've been to so far in Europe. We got in late to our hostel, which was about half an hour from the center of the city. Luckily there was a shuttle to and from the hostel every hour and we managed to make it just on time! This was another really great hostel. We shared a room with six other occupants for the first night. That first night we met some people from Liverpool, England who were roofers working in Edinburgh during the week and staying at the hostel and who returned home for the weekends. We also met an Australian guy who was a worker for the hostel and he ended up being really impressed with Heidi and I because we tried some Vegemite he had and we actually likd it! He was so impressed that he gave us a jar! (which is a really rare thing for an Aussie to do apparently). Here we are taking a bite out of our Vegemite toast:



We woke up really really early the next morning because we had another tour scheduled for Scotland, which was supposedly similar to the one we took and enjoyed in Ireland. We got ready but missed the shuttle that runs to and from the hostel and ended up calling a cab. Unfortunately, the cab driver didn't know where he was going. And we missed the tour. Since we could not get refunded and we had already paid, we decided to stay another few days in Edinburgh instead of leaving for Dusseldorf in the morning. So we rescheduled our flights and did the tour the next day. It was really great, too. We had another fabulous tour guide. Our group wasn't as large this time (only 9 people instead of the 15 or so we had in Ireland) but the trip was longer. We went all over Scotland. Up into the highlands and to many different lochs. Most importantly though, and honestly, probably the main reason we stayed the extra days to do the tour, we went to the Loch Ness - home of the Loch Ness Monster named Nessie. This has always been a life goal of mine and I am so proud that I was there. I didn't see Nessie, unfortunately, but I took some great pictures and had so much fun. The Loch Ness was a huge lake with really dark water. The boat wasn't running this time of year so we couldn't go out onto the water but it was still really great.
Heidi and I in the Highlands of Scotland:




Heidi trying to help me get away from the grasp of the Loch Ness monster that was dragging me in:



Since we ended up being in Scotland from Monday through Friday, we had a few days to explore the city of Edinburgh. It is probably one of the most visually pleasing cities I've been to. The architecture is great and the buildings look so old and majestic. There's a castle right in the middle of the city looming on a hill above. We ended up in another weaving mill and had an opportunity to get our picture taken wearing traditional Scottish outfits and holding swords... needless to say we took it. I took a picture of the picture because it's pretty funny. Heidi and I came up with the pose ourselves ... I'm not really sure why .... :



Also, we tried some of the traditional Scottish meal called Haggis.... which is actually sheep lungs, I believe. I'm not a picky eater but I really was not a fan.



Here's a picture of the castle overlooking the city. Also, in our ramblings around the city, we happened to run into the Elephant House - also known as the place where J.K. Rowling began writing the Harry Potter books. I should mention that we also saw the school, which looks like a mini castle, which was the inspiration for the Hogwarts school in the books.





One more story before I stop this massive post. One of the nights we were in Edinburgh, we got invited to attend one pound drink nights at a bar downtown. We went and ended up waiting in line for a good half hour before we actually got in. But while in line, we made friends with four or five Americans going to school there for the semester. We hit it off with them and had a lot of fun!

I will have to write about our trip to Dusseldorf and our Karnival experience later because this is long enough as it is!