Ireland // Day 5 // From Killarney to Kilkenny via Kinsale, Cobh, and Rock of Cashel

FAREWELL TO THE PANCAKES
I savored my pancakes extra this morning because I knew I wouldn't be able to get such good ones for a long time. Mmmmh! After breakfast, I chatted with Betty for a bit, about her grandchild, for example, who would be visiting from 12 o'clock. And before I left, she gave me a really nice compliment. She said that it's clear that I'm a happy person. She also always runs around with a smile on her face and gets excited about little things like pancakes, but not enough people do that. So she told me to keep doing it, she would do the same! That really made me happy.

STAGE DESTINATION 1: KINSALE
Back in the car - my Audi had become my second home by now - I drove towards Kinsale first. According to the travel guide, it's Ireland's gourmet capital. I deliberately had less planned for this day. This way, I could leisurely walk through the small town. I actually wanted to do a fun speedboat ride that takes you to see dolphins, but the season hadn't started yet and there was no speedboat in sight.
Kinsale is full of colorful houses, they were really nice to look at! And, as in other towns that I've visited so far, cleanliness was very important. There were signs everywhere warning that you would get hefty fines for any kind of littering (dog poop, chewing gum wrappers, etc.). It's all part of the fight to become one of the winners of the 'Ireland's tidy towns' competition. They take it seriously here!

STAGE DESTINATION 2: COBH
Once again, I didn't read the travel guide properly. Because I was quite surprised when the navigation system suddenly directed me to a car ferry on the way to Cobh. It was a bit like the ones we have on the Rhine, not too big and with a crossing time of max. 2 minutes. You could almost swim it ;-).
Cobh, the 'city of shipwrecks', is located on a small island in the natural harbor of Cork. And it was the last stop of the Titanic before it collided with the iceberg and sank into the sea 3 days later.
Cobh is probably usually a beautiful town, but I was unlucky because almost all the streets in the area were being renovated on the day of my visit. Construction vehicles and excavators were making noise everywhere. But I still stopped and found a delicious ice cream on the way up to St. Colman's Cathedral. The cathedral stands out prominently in the cityscape because it is located high up on the hill and it's simply huge. And, similar to Kinsale: many colorful houses around it.

STAGE DESTINATION 3: ROCK OF CASHEL
I took the ferry back to the mainland and, as it was practically on the way to the B&B, I made a stop at the Rock of Cashel, a hill with a long Irish history. Here too, I encountered a problem: The last admission was at 4:45 pm. I arrived at the castle gate, which sits right in the middle of the hill, at 4:50 pm. No chance, I had to stay outside!
Instead, I walked along the Medieval Way for a bit. It connects various important cultural sites. But I only walked to the next monastery ruin because I wanted to head to the B&B soon. However, the short walk was already really exciting. I had to climb over walls all the time, squeeze through small wooden gates, and avoid a lot of cow dung in the meadows ;-)!

B&B No. 4 // THE 'CRADOG FARMHOUSE' NEAR KILKENNY
From the Rock of Cashel, it was only a few kilometers to my next accommodation, the Cradog Farmhouse. And it truly was a farm: meadows all around, bumpy roads, and mooing cows! And a beautiful sunset!
Liz, the host, was very nice and made me a cup of tea to welcome me. There were - once again - Americans there, a mother and son who wanted to explore Europe together.
Like the two of them, I also drove into Kilkenny again, 20 kilometers on small country roads. Since it was late, strolling through the town was very relaxed, not much traffic on the streets! Kilkenny Castle was already closed, so I just walked through the castle park and looked around a bit before heading back to 'My little farm'.

And tomorrow: Where did the time go? The round trip is over, it's back to Dublin!

WHAT ELSE COULD BE MENTIONED
*** Never trust the weather forecast: In Germany, it showed a week full of rain and cold temperatures. And now I was sweating here at 25 degrees and definitely didn't have enough shirts in my luggage. And a nasty sunburn on top of that! *** Opening hours: Always remember that sights often close early - and don't be disappointed, like me, when you find yourself in front of locked doors several times ;-). ***