Cork City - The Real Capital of Ireland - 6 Months in Ireland

Welcome to Cork, the unofficial capital of Ireland and my base in Ireland. Cork is located in the south of Ireland in County Cork. Unfortunately, due to Covid, the city which the River Lee flows through doesn't have much to offer as almost everything was closed.

During my time here, ALL shops except for grocery stores were closed. So, initially, I had to settle for lonely walks through the streets of Cork and along the River Lee. At first, I usually liked to visit the English Market with its culinary highlights, such as sun-dried tomato pesto or olives stuffed with peperoni.

My walks usually ended in the Shandon area, high above Cork with a view over the city. Unfortunately, the pubs were closed at this time, so I had to enjoy Irish beer in my own way and most varieties really didn't taste good. My absolute favorite is Smithwick's, a Red Ale from Kilkenny, which wasn't as strong as Guinness or Murphy's. Cork is divided into 2 parts, separated by the River Lee. The North Side and the South Side.

Since I also lived on the South Side, I spent most of my time there, especially since the North Side was considered a rather unsafe place. One of my favorite places in Cork is Patrick's Hill, with a beautiful view over Cork. On St. Patrick's Day, I had a magical sunset there with green-lit cathedrals and buildings.

At the former harbor area of the city, I spent many evening walks to the Blackrock Observatory, along the Cork GAA Stadium. On some days, you could even see salmon fish in the River Lee, and once I even spotted a confused dolphin, but more on that later...

Cork University towered over the River Lee, facing the former institution on the other side. The university shares similarities with Hogwarts from the Harry Potter movies.