Ireland, day 6

We started out with high ambitions on our first day in Belfast. Armed with an informational brochure on Colin Glen Forest Park, we planned to spend a few hours exploring the area and then head back to the city in the afternoon. It seemed easy enough to get to Colin Glen: walk to City Centre, hop on bus 10F, and hop off again at the park. When we double checked with the bus driver to make sure it was the right one, he gave us a curt nod.

As it turned out however, apparently something got lost in translation between American English and Irish English. We rode the bus clear out of town, and never saw the park. I knew we were in the right area, but something didn't quite match up.  When we asked the driver where we should get off, he gave us a dull look and said it was "a few stops back."

We got off, and as he drove away in an apathetical cloud of dust, we found ourselves stranded in the rural/suburban hills on the far outskirts of town. Great! We trudged uphill, tracing the bus route back along the deserted road. There were a few buildings, but they were old grubby looking apartments surrounded by walls. Finally we reached the area that we were pretty sure the bus driver had been referring to: an apartment complex called "Glen Colin." 

I thought the irony of the mix-up was hilarious, but no one else seemed to think so. We waited for another eon by the bus stop until another 10F came by, and this time showed the bus driver our brochure, and asked very clearly if he could take us there. "Oh yes!" he said, "I'll give you a shout when we're there!"

Thank goodness, too; we rode the bus back down passed the place where we got off the first time, and finally arrived at a stop clearly named "Colin Glen Forest Park." (Really, how hard was that?)

The park itself was a welcome relief from buses and roads and cities. There was a little nature center with a cafe where we bought sandwiches for lunch, and a wide variety of hiking trails to choose from throughout the narrow strip of preserve land.

The park followed the route of a small river, and had narrow pedestrian bridges crossing over it at various points.

There were also tons of birds at the park, including Wood Pigeons, a Grey Wagtail (first bird picture), Chaffinches (2nd bird), Song thrushes (3rd bird), Hooded Crows, and Great Tits.

Everything about the park was just gorgeous. Although it was surrounded by some slightly sketchy-looking residential buildings, it was a wonderful little oasis of greenery in the brown landscape.

From my research, I found that Belfast used to be the world center for linen manufacturing, of all things. The river that runs through Colin Glen was once used for the linen mills, and evidence of the mills can still be seen at the dam that runs under the Weir Bridge, above. Apparently there had also been a lot of logging on the land, but efforts in the 1990s were made to restore the habitat. I would say they've done a fine job!

It took us a good 3 hours to get through the park, but I really enjoyed the peacefulness of it, the beautiful environment, and the great scenery.

Ireland, day 5

Our fifth day in Ireland was purely a travel day. We spent the morning packing and after a last lunch with the other Eckerd girls, my little group and I made our way back to the train station.

We were a little nervous about getting our tickets -- due to a problem with Irish Rail's website, we'd had to book over the phone, and all we had as proof was a reservation number. When we got there however and gave them the number, they produced a ticket for each of us without a problem. Whew!

Above is our last look at Dublin as we left the city.

As we chugged slowly through the outskirts of town, we passed some interesting places. Here you can see a cathedral in the background and an old graveyard on the left.

Once we got out of town, the train picked up speed and we powered through the gorgeous countryside. Although everything was still pretty brown and wintry looking, it was still all very "Irish." little farms and rock walls and big fields and sheep and horses dotted the landscape.

The ride was supposed to be about 2 hours, but it ended up being almost 3 for some reason. I didn't mind. It was absolutely wonderful! So relaxing and quiet, and a much smoother ride than I'd expected. Not long before we got into Belfast, we passed some really beautiful snow covered mountains.

Once in Belfast, we eventually found our accomodation (after getting lost in the city for a while), the Belfast International Youth Hostel. I had assumed that because it was part of a large chain company it would be at least as nice (if not nicer) than the little hostel we stayed at in Dublin, but I actually didn't like it as much. We didn't get free breakfast and the bathrooms were nasty, but hey, for £10 a night, it was a decent place to sleep at night.

And that's just what we did when we got in. After a cheap dinner of Chinese food (which tastes waaaay different in the UK) we crashed for the night, ready for a full day of hiking to follow.

Ireland, day 4

For our last day in Dublin, we took a day trip to the town of Howth, a small fishing village about 10 miles east of the city centre. We got their early in the morning, not long after the sun had risen; it was a gorgeous day, too, with clear blue skies.

The town was known for its quaint harbor and lighthouse, beautiful views of the Irish coastline, and best of all the cliffs of Howth.

Before attempting the cliffs, which were at least a couple miles uphill, we explored the rocks down on the shore and took a leisurely stroll along the seawall that led out to Howth Head lighthouse. Perhaps not too surprisingly, the area reminded me a lot of Maine, what with the rocky coast, cool climate, and adorable little town long the one main road.

Above, the large rock formation across the water on the lefthand side is called the Eye of Ireland, and was once a monk monastery of some sort. Interestingly enough, apparently the only way to get to the island nowadays is to bribe a local fisherman to ferry you over there.  Not much in the mood for bribery though, we instead decided to journey up to the cliffs of Howth on our own side of the water.

To get to the cliffs, we had to follow a tiny, narrow road up along the rocky coast. I felt extremely out of place, like some sort of vagabond with my backpack in tow, and trudgin my way up past peoples' private homes. As we progressed though, it was clear that other hikers (many of them also foreign) were headed in the same direction.

About halfway up, there was a "Road Closed" sign, so we turned and climbed a narrow staircase decorated with all sorts of graffiti. To our great surprise, this led us to none other than a suburban neighborhood much like the kind you might find along the outskirts of Orlando, back in the states. This slightly tainted my impression of Howth, but we turned around and instead proceeded passed the "Road Closed" sign, as it seemed pedestrians were allowed to go through.

This turned out to be the correct choice, because we found ourselves about 15 minutes later at a trailhead that wound steeply up into the cliffs.

Feeling rather proud of ourselves for making it that far, we took a group picture at the top. There was still further to go however, each peak and rocky outcropping providing yet another jaw-dropping, breathtaking, awe-inspiring view of the majestic coastline.

One of my favorite parts about the cliffs were the nesting seabirds. I was super ecstatic about the Guillemots, a bird I haven't seen since my last trip to Maine, in fact. Taking this picture was a little exciting too -- I had a great time lying on my belly over the cliffs and trying not to think about the 300 foot drop below. I must say, it was a great adrenaline rush though.

And here I am on the cliffs!

The views from every direction were simply beyond description. It was like being in a postcard, only even more beautiful, with the sound of crashing wave below, the roar of the seabreeze, and the call of the seabirds getting tossed around in the wind.

As we were walking along this path, we actually got a glimpse of a dolphin, way down below. Also, although we didn't see any, apparently whales are occassionally sighted from the cliffs.

Had I been on my own or with just one or two of the other girls, I would have spent the entire day wandering the cliffs, but some people were very uncomfortable with the whole idea of hiking, so we had to compromise and head back around lunchtime.

It was one of my favorite days we'd had in Ireland yet. We ate lunch in a local cafe before riding the bus back to Dublin. If you ever find yourself out that way, I would highly suggest visiting Howth -- and I definitely will if I return to Ireland someday.

It was simply indescribable, one of those things you really have to experience for yourself.. Even the one member of our group who didn't care for trekking stopped at one point, marveling at the realization that it was completely silent in the cliffs. Something about Howth really touched everyone in a different way. I know it touched me, and will remain one of the best memories I have of Ireland.

Ireland, day 3

Central Park in NYC is 843 acres. Phoenix Park in Dublin is 1,752 acres, almost twice as large and currently stands as one of the largest city parks in all of Europe. This made it an ideal case to study for my research project.

Several other girls from my class also happened to be in Dublin, so we met up with them there and spent the morning explorin the extensive park.

The monument pictured above (and upon the steps we were sitting) is the Wellington Testimonial, built in1861 and currently the tallest obelisk in Europe. Apparently it was built as a testimonial to Arthur of Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, and has plaques on the side depicting scenes from the Battle of Waterloo.

The park itself has every sort of recreation you can imagine. From running tracks, to rugby and cricket fields, to polo fields, there really is something for everyone. While we were sitting on the steps of the obelisk, three people walked by with ponies following them. This one kid (above) randomly jumped on his pony and galloped off across the green (must be nice!).

The park was so large we wanted to find the visitor's center so we could find information on its history and possibly talk to some curators about it. We walked for a good 30-40 minutes, but never found anything that remotely resembled a visitor's center. Finally we stopped and asked a friendly looking couple who were very amused by our question, but told us they didn't even know the park had such a facility.

So much for that! We headed back and checked at the zoo (yes, the park had a full-sized zoo!) but to no avail. Not to be deterred, we contented ourselves with walking through the gorgeous park and enjoying the rolling greens, distant snow-covered mountains, and amusing dog-walkers.

Once we got back into Dublin via bus, I took a short trip in the afternoon to the Archaeology exhibit in the National Museum. It didn't have much to do with my research project, but I love archaeology and it was free.

The museum was mostly full of the usual artifacts I've seen in the British Museum -- lots of hoards, pieces of jewelry, some iron age tools, etc. I took lots of pictures, but later found out that photographing was prohibited in the museum. So, I'm not going to post any of the pictures on here (just to be safe!) but I'll be sure to show everyone at home my pictures when I return. ;-)

One of the most interesting exhibits was the Bog Bodies, a phenomenon I've mentioned before of the strange occurence of mummified bodies found in the peat bogs of Ireland. I had seen one such specimen in London, but I was really interested to see them in Ireland right from where they came.

Although rather gruesome, I found it freakishly fascinating. The bodies were housed in small dark chambers in the exhibit room, so as to protect them from deterioration. Although not all the bodies were complete, it was amazing to see the actual hair, skin textures, and even clothing and jewelry they were wearing at the time of their death.

Also at the Archaeology Museum was an interesting section on the vikings and medieval Ireland, both of which were full of incredible artifacts that were in surprisingly good condition for their age.

It was definitely a full and enlightening day on many levels. They next day we would be taking a trip to the fishing village of Howth, which I would soon find to offer new experiences and stunning vistas of the Irish coast. Stay tuned!

Ireland, day 2

My research project was to study the parks of Ireland to learn their history, influences, and compare them to parks in the US and even in London. So on the second day of my trip, I visited 3 different city parks.

The first one was St. Stephen's Green, a 22 acre Victorian era park in the middle of the busy streets of Dublin.

It was a typical layout for a city park, albeit very beautiful. A lake and a couple ponds were interspersed throughout the paved walkways, and flowerbeds and benches were set up along rolling lawns.

There were many statues and memorials in the park, including this large one to commemorate the poet W.B. Yeats. I really liked this one, as it was very peaceful to walk through and sort of had a zen garden feel to it.

This was one side of the lake at St. Stephens, above.

After visiting St. Stephens, we headed over to the Chester Beatty Library where we hoped we could find some public documents on the parks to use for our research project. As it turned out however, the library was actually a museum of religious artwork (who knew?). Fortunately, the greeters at the front desk were very kind, and one gentleman actually knew a lot about the parks.

He told us that most of the parks in Dublin had been private gardens until the last century or so when they were opened to the public. He circled several parks on the map, which we proceeded to go find after a quick look at the museum.

Archbishop Ryan Park is named for the Catholic Archbishop who used to own it. Although somewhat smaller that St. Stephens, it had a huge variety of bird species and seemed popular with the locals.

One particularly friendly bird was this Robin that posed very nicely for a long time. I take it that since it appeared to live in the park and had several bands on its legs, it was pretty used to humans and actually followed us around for a bit.

One of the newest and most striking features of the park is this pyramid memorial to the members of the Defense Forces killed in action. I thought it was pretty; a live flame was in the center, while the Irish flag flew overhead.

Our last park for the day was Iveagh Gardens, also known as the "secret garden" of Dublin. Indeed, it did feel like entering the Secret Garden from the book, as it was but a tiny sliver of land on the side of the road into which you had to descend from a series of stone steps.

One of the smallest parks in Dublin, Iveagh Gardens was similar to the others we had visited. It had 2 large fountains, various statues and sculptures, ivy-covered walls, rolling lawns, and plenty of walkways where people strolled along with their pet dogs or just enjoying quiet solitude.

In the evening we met up with a few other Eckerd students who were also in Dublin, and found a fantastic little pub called the Purty Kitchen. It was pretty well off the beaten path, full of locals, and had a group playing live traditional Irish music in the front, making for a great atmosphere. It was definitely the most expensive meal I have bought since coming to Europe (close to 10 Euro), but the food was delicious.

And thus ended day 2 in Dublin. So far, even with minor mishaps, everything was going fairly well and I was really beginning to love Ireland.

Ireland, day 1

Well, I'm back "home" in London, with over 500 pictures and too many stories to recall from my week in Ireland. I have a ton of work to catch up on this week, so I'll try to post a little every day rather than trying to get all this down at once.

The first day was an adventure in itself. My 3 travel buddies and I got up at 12am to catch a night bus to the coach station, but as luck would have it, we waited at the wrong bus station and missed our connection. Already running late, we were fortunate enough to be able to hail a cab, which took us to Victoria Station and we split the cost between the 4 of us.

From there, we took an hour long coach ride to Luton Airport and arrived by 3am. After breezing through security, we crashed in the terminal for a couple hours before our flight was called. It was very different from any airport experience I've ever had; rather than waiting at the gate, we had to wait in the terminal until a gate was assigned to the flight, and then everyone races through halls to get in line for the gate once it is called. From there, we boarded from the tarmac and hopped over to the Republic of Ireland in less than an hour.

By 8am we were riding a bus into the city of Dublin.  It let us off somewhere in the middle of the city, but we eventually found our hostel using what few maps we could scrounge up.

The hostel was a lovely place. Sandwiched in between several dozen other hostels on the same road, this one had a cozy "mom n' pop" feel to it. Although we couldn't check in until 2pm, they invited us to have breakfast downstairs and settle in. Breakfast that morning (and every day after that) consisted of soft boiled eggs, canned fruit, and toast with Nutella. Believe me, when you're hungry and tired, that is the best food in the world!

Determined to stay awake for the rest of the day, a couple of us decided to go find a free walking tour of Dublin we had heard about. As it turned out, it was a great way to get to know the city. It was fairly informal, and the tour guides were incredibly engaging and personable, providing us with a brief history of the city before taking us through many of the lesser known landmarks of Dublin.

Dublin Castle, although it has a long history, blends into the city quite well. It looks nothing like a castle for the most part, mainly because it has been rebuilt so many times. The castle seems to be viewed rather skeptically by the locals, because of its history -- As pointed out by the tour guide, the statue of Lady Justice is not even traditionally blindfolded. Apparently it was also a big deal that she is facing inwards towards the castle courtyard, rather than outwards towards the Irish citizens.

Above is St. Christ's Cathedral.  We didn't go in it, as like many of Dublin's cathedrals, there was an admission cost, but the outside architecture was nonetheless quite striking.

This was one of the back streets of Dublin -- quite pretty, I thought. Somewhere along here is the studio where U2 got its start (little piece of trivia for you).

The Ha'penny (pronounced HAY-penny) Bridge, the oldest iron bridge in the world. Used to cost half a penny to cross, hence the name (ha'penny shortened from "half penny").

Looking down the main drag through Dublin. The large spike in the back on the right is some sort of millenium "sculpture," and stands as the tallest sculpture in the world. It was pointed out that it wasn't actually completed until 2003, ironically.

Dublin was apparently very excited about the millenium back then, and tried to put a light-up countdown clock in the river that runs through the city, but they didn't realize until they installed it that the water was so disgusting you couldn't even read the clock once it was submerged. I thought it was pretty funny.

The tour lasted 2 hours and took us all over the city. By the time we were done, we figured it was time to head back and check in to the hostel. We had booked a cheap 20 bed female dorm, but as it turned out they had some problems with the room and made up for it by giving us a 4 person private room (converted from a 2 person, but hey, it was a good deal either way)! Not exactly a luxury suite, but perfectly adequate for £10 a night.

The basement kitchen was set up for family style meals where we could store our own food in the fridge and do our own cooking. This made it greatly efficient for keeping meal costs down.

So that was pretty much the extent of my first day in Ireland (and a much longer post than I planned on writing!). I'll try to get Day 2 up tomorrow.

Of Wanderlust

"Wanderlust" is a term that has become fairly well-known in recent years and especially among the young adult generation to describe the desire to wander and travel the world. When one has a "case of wanderlust," they are itching to get out and explore and experience life. I can only assume that I must have developed a terminal case of this condition, because the more I travel, the more I want to keep traveling. I won't deny it -- homesickness has certainly crept in at times, but being abroad for over a month now has given me that jolt of feeling absolutely alive that I crave so much.

My wanderlust has come back none too soon: tomorrow night (technically, early Friday morning) I will be heading off to a new country -- Ireland! I will be spending a week in the Republic and Northern Ireland to do some backpacking and study the local parks and nature reserves for my research project.

Besides London, this is only the second trip I've planned all myself, and the logistics were tricky. Because I've given myself such a tight budget and we're so restricted as far as transportation goes, timing and costs become very critical. Buses, I have discovered, are both our best friend and our worst enemy.
Needless to say, I'm not exactly looking forward to the first day (I'll be running on about 3 hours of sleep) but I have no doubt that it's going to be the adventure of a lifetime once we get going.

Between now and tomorrow I just have to get through class, pack my bag (no more than 10kg, thanks to airline restrictions), get rid of this stupid cold that's hurting my throat, and manage to get a few hours of sleep before we leave tomorrow night. Ah, the rhythm of travel and the song of wanderlust beat on.

I will likely be out of contact for the next week (unless I manage to find an internet cafe somewhere), but I will be sure to come back with lots of stories and probably more pictures than any of us need.

If I don't post again before I leave, much love to the family and friends!