After 2,500km - Farewell to the Emerald Isle

06/26/22

The view from the window shows that it's a good day to leave. It's 13 degrees, the wind is still blowing hard, and it starts raining as we roll out of the parking lot around 10:15am.

We make one last stop for gas at a cost of €2.16 per liter, which is considered a cheap price here, and we arrive at the Sixt car return at around 11am. The shuttle takes us further and our paths separate in the bus after 2,505 kilometers in 18 days.

Although it may seem like we spent a lot of time in the car, our route always included multiple points of interest along the way.

We never really got up early, usually not leaving before 10am or 10:30am. The advantage of the season is that the days are long.

In Terminal 2 at the airport, there is AerLingus, and I am able to print out my baggage tag at 11:30am and send my bag on its way at the bag drop. I hope to see you again this evening in Berlin 😉.

Since I now have almost 7 hours of free time and don't want to sit in the crowded airport wearing a mask, I look for a bench outside and find one at the bus station. It's not exactly beautiful, but it's loud and quite chilly. The wind is so nasty that I retreat indoors and walk around with a mask, even though I belong to a minority doing so.

When the waiting time at security changes from 55 minutes to 15 minutes at around 1:30pm, I head towards the departure area. I thoroughly explore every shop, grab a sandwich, and still have 3 hours until my flight.

The departure won't be on time, but it will be typically Irish - with rain.

As interesting as Ireland was, we saw and learned a lot - the weather doesn't make it easy for me to say that Ireland completely blew me away and that I am now an eternal Ireland fan.

But I fulfilled my long-standing dream of driving a good part of the Wild Atlantic Way.