Weekend trip to Killarney: National Park and Ring of Kerry 🏞️
La daabacay: 30.04.2019
Ku biir Wargeysyada
Last weekend, I went on a short trip to the west coast of Ireland with Deborah, Paula, and Luisa (three other au pairs). The tour was offered by the agency for the other au pairs, and luckily, I was able to join for a small extra fee. We were picked up early in Dublin, and then the 4-hour bus ride to the west of Ireland began: with 55 au pairs in one bus. Four hours of travel might sound long, but when you consider that I can drive from one coast of Ireland to the other within that time, this idea quickly becomes relative in my opinion. Because that's exactly what I love about it here. Due to the small size of Ireland, I have been able to travel to every part of the country in a short amount of time. This gives me the chance to truly get to know the diversity of Ireland and get a sense of the entire country in terms of people, nature, accents, etc. I also always enjoy the drives through the countryside. I live in a suburb of Dublin and experience Ireland in a completely different way than I would if I lived in a small village or even in the countryside. I will definitely always remember these bus rides, the beautiful landscapes you see, small towns with colorful houses (which all look very similar because of that) and many sheep. So our bus actually had to briefly stop on a country road to let some sheep cross the road.
The first major stop on our tour was at a rest stop, which also had an Obama exhibition on the upper floor. I didn't realize before that Barack Obama has Irish roots: the father of his great-great-grandmother was apparently Irish. Obama's words during his visit to Ireland in 2011: 'This little country, that inspires the biggest things - your best days are still ahead. Our greatest triumphs - in America and Ireland alike - are still to come... Remember that whatever hardships the winter may bring, springtime is always just around the corner.' By the way, the White House was also designed by an Irish architect.
The next stop was Killarney National Park, which I've been looking forward to since last year. The park covers an area of over 100 km² and includes three lakes. Because the park is located in the southwest of Ireland, it is particularly influenced by the Gulf Stream, and the climate offers optimal growth conditions for the plants. One of our highlights was definitely the rhododendron bushes, which are in full bloom at this time of year. The view over the lake was also beautiful. I would have liked to spend more time there and explore on my own, but that wasn't possible within the given time.
Since the national park is only about 10 minutes away from Killarney, we quickly arrived at our hostel. We were lucky because it seemed that all 54 au pairs had split between two hostels, and fortunately, there were only four other girls from our tour group in our hostel. This allowed us to avoid the stress of check-in and check-out at the other hostel. We were satisfied with the hostel itself: we had a room to ourselves and a private bathroom. The only problem there were the sticking doors - our first room couldn't be locked (we were able to switch rooms) and when we returned at night, we couldn't unlock the front door (fortunately, someone heard us and opened the door). Killarney is quite well-known as a tourist town, and the impression that will probably remain with us is restaurants, pubs, and hotels - all with an Irish flair - exactly what tourists want.
For dinner, we had tapas at a small charming Mexican restaurant, and then we went in search of a suitable pub where we had to make the same compromises as in any other city in Ireland: either a crowded pub filled with people drinking beer or cider, with dimmed light, stuffy air, but great atmosphere and good live music - but don't expect to be able to move or have personal space. Or a less crowded pub, which is usually more of a restaurant with seating available, but where the music is less lively.
Option 1:
Option 2:
The next day started with a nice breakfast at the hostel: classic toast with a selection of jam, peanut butter, Nutella, and honey :D. The bus driver picked us up on time to drive the 'Ring of Kerry'. This is a circuit that offers a great insight into the scenic beauty Ireland has to offer! We drove along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean for a while, only to see mountains upon mountains, beautiful unspoiled nature, lakes, green and even more green in the next moment!
After an eventful weekend, we arrived back in Dublin in the evening. I have to say that we were incredibly lucky with the weather. Rain was forecasted, and on Friday, a storm warning was announced for the weekend, which led to the closure of the Cliffs of Moher (also in the west). My host father told me about that, and the irony of the whole situation was that the storm was named 'Hanna'. So while I was sitting on the bus heading to the west of Ireland, the storm moved from there to the east, so we completely missed each other.
You might notice that I keep mentioning the weather, but it's really an important topic in Ireland. When my family was here over Easter, they also met my host family, and my host father asked if the weather is also such a important topic of conversation in Germany (we had just talked about it). At first, I thought it was ironic. We then explained to him that it mostly comes up during small talk at home. But here, people talk about it daily, if not more than once a day, or with strangers you meet during a walk: 'It's a lovely sunny day, isn't it?'. Especially in the care home, the topic comes up very often - occasionally every 5 minutes, because people forget what they were just talking about. I just came back from tennis earlier, and the first topic there was also the current weather situation :D.
But back to the meeting of my two families: my expectations were completely exceeded, and it was one of the most beautiful days of my Easter holiday with my family. My host parents picked us up for a walk on Killiney Hill on Easter Sunday, and then we drove to the house so that my family could get a glimpse of where I actually live. My host mother had just set up the garden seating area over the weekend, so we could all sit together in the sunshine with cake. I especially enjoyed seeing my host children play with Layla - they all played with her using a ball, and Layla was so happy that she actually cried when we had to leave again. The time with my family did me a lot of good, also that I was accommodated with them in an Airbnb - a change of scenery for a few days is also very nice. I showed them my favorite places, cafes, parks, walks, etc. in Dublin and the surrounding area, and my mom was so impressed that she would have liked to extend the vacation. The farewell was a bit sad again, but with the prospect that my stay will be over in a few weeks (aaaaaaah...) and we will see each other again for our next vacation together. The time spent together gave me strength, and I'm looking forward to the upcoming experiences, but also slowly to coming home again :).
Best wishes, Hanna ❣
Ku biir Wargeysyada
Jawaab