Ireland // Day 6 // Kilkenny to Dublin via Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains

SCARE AT MIDNIGHT
At some point shortly after midnight, I woke up. At first, I thought it was the 'moo' of the cows that was to blame. They were still full of energy and mooing around - there was probably a party with the pigs and chickens in the cowshed. But no! Someone was messing with my doorknob. That gave me a little scare! But then I realized that it was probably one of the two Americans who got lost in the room during the night hike. And being a 'city kid', I always lock the door and that's why I was totally safe ;-).
What I found out the next morning: It wasn't one of the Americans, but my landlady Liz! She didn't see my car (I had parked it out of sight when I returned from Kilkenny), so she was really worried. And she wanted to check if I was in my room, to see if I got home safely. If I had known, I would have said hello to her when I got back, but I didn't want to disturb her and her husband Frank. Poor thing, she felt really embarrassed, but I thought it was nice - people here take care of each other ;-)!
After another very delicious breakfast, this time with smoked salmon, I stood in Liz's kitchen for a while. She told me about the trip to Berlin that her and her husband's son had given them and that they did last year. And how excited they were that everyone in Germany speaks English and therefore they had no problems getting around the city. I advised her to come to Cologne as well. Not every person in the Rhineland might be fluent in English, but Liz and Frank would definitely find it entertaining! And Cologne is not as big as Berlin, so they would manage fine.

STAGE 1: GLENDALOUGH
Glendalough is a valley in the Wicklow Mountains that I would pass on my way back to Dublin.
The drive there was already very entertaining. I had to stop twice because free-roaming sheep were galloping wildly around. And of course, they had absolutely no interest in taking into account any drivers. So I just turned off the engine and waited - until the sheep had passed by.
Oh, and also very nice: A place I drove through with my Audi was actually called 'Hollywood'. However, there was no glamour here at all, it stank like cow dung ;-).
After a road that was once again very curvy and some ups and downs, I arrived at the famous monastic settlement of Glendalough. Surprise: For once, you didn't have to pay anything here. Neither for parking nor for visiting the area. The old monastery is located very picturesquely in the mountains and is nestled between two lakes, the 'Lower' and the 'Upper Lake'. I met a lot of hikers here, but I was too lazy for that. I just looked at the site and then walked along the two lakes, which were at most 5 kilometers long!
And it could have been so beautiful in the middle of nature... if it hadn't been for a horde of American college kids loudly parading around. It was probably some kind of study trip, 'Find your roots in Ireland' or something like that, but everyone around shook their heads about them. The group was incredibly loud and rushed around taking photos, one person even pointed the camera everywhere. And always saying 'lovely' here and 'it's so beautiful' there - even though they hadn't even taken the time to look around properly because they were more busy looking good in their selfies. 'Me with a tree trunk. Me with a stone in the river. Me with a green leaf. Me with the lake on the left in the background. Me with the lake on the right in the background. Oh, my hair looks crooked. Let's do it again...'.
For a future trip to Ireland, the area around Glendalough would definitely be a great place to stay, I really liked it here!

THE MILITARY ROAD
From Glendalough to Dublin, there is a 'normal' country road. And then there is the Military Road. This narrow mountain pass leads you right through the Wicklow Mountains. And you have truly breathtaking views of the mountains! Even though it was stated everywhere that the road is dangerous because it's narrow, I still drove there. After all, much larger cars than mine were coming towards me in the first few kilometers - and if they can do it, then so can I!
It was totally worth it - amazing scenery! - and much easier to drive than expected. The Ring of Beara on Day 4 was worse! Okay, when a caravan came towards me, I had to pay a bit more attention ;-).
Another advantage was that there were plenty of opportunities for photo stops. At my first stop, I walked around a bit - it's very vast and original here, so you feel like you're alone in the world - until I suddenly stood in front of a photographer's equipment. A photographer from Dublin was here with a wedding couple for a photo shoot. So much for being alone in the world! Then you realize again how close these mountains actually are to the city.

STAGE 2: POWERSCOURT ESTATE & GARDENS
I came across this by chance in the travel guide: The Powerscourt Estate & Gardens is a very spacious, very luxurious property just outside of Dublin. You can enter for 10 euros. If you're rich, you can also book a room at one of Ireland's best hotels - it's also located on the premises, as well as a golf course and a large garden. It wasn't as wild and beautiful as Garinish Island, but rather high-class-the-lawn-is-exactly-5-millimeters-high-beautiful to look at ;-).
Since I eventually got hungry despite the abundant breakfast, I had a late lunch break in the nice café overlooking the gardens. They had delicious spinach quiche and a huge piece of carrot cake with rich lemon cream, it was mmmh! I sat at the table with travelers from Belgium who had just arrived and were very envious that I had such great weather in Ireland all the time. You could see it well from my bright red sunburn! And in turn, I was envious because they would stay for a whole 3 weeks to explore everything at a relaxed pace. Less sightseeing in a rush than me ;-).

HOTEL NO. 1 // 'MALDRON TALLAGHT' IN DUBLIN
Back in Dublin, the first hotel of the trip was waiting for me. I quickly realized: That was a mistake! The hotel was modern and good, but nothing compared to my cozy and homely B&Bs from before. What was I thinking, I felt like I was on a business trip.
Tallaght is a large suburb of Dublin. But not like Portmarnock - pretty and green with sea and beach - but rather like La Défense in Paris - big, gray, with huge intersections and lots of business people. But what was positive: There were free parking spaces in the underground garage, so my Audi would be fine for the next 2 days here!
It takes about 45 minutes to get into Dublin by tram (the 'Journey Planner' app reliably showed all connections again), but I was too lazy to go back to the city. Instead, I went to 'The Square', a large shopping center in Tallaght. Yes, it was big, but there were no really good shops. At least there was a Vero Moda, where I bought a much-needed t-shirt. Otherwise, I would have had to wear a sweater in 25 degrees tomorrow! I still had plenty of those unused in my suitcase... the shopping tour was quickly over!

And tomorrow: Cliff hiking in Howth and one last look around in Dublin.

OTHER THINGS THAT COULD BE MENTIONED
*** Safety vests: Very funny - along the country roads, there are often no sidewalks. But so that the walking Irish person can still get from A to B safely, they wear fashionable warning vests in bright yellow! Even in broad daylight ;-). *** Eternal red phases: I noticed it here in Tallaght - if you want to cross an intersection as a pedestrian, you should bring a lot of patience. It feels like it takes forever for the traffic lights to turn green! ***