Ireland: On the edge of Europe

I continued to spend July and August in Ireland. This time, I went to Kerry on the west coast of Ireland, three hours on a rattling bus from Cork to Killarney. My workplace for the last two months was in Ballinskelligs, about 10km from Cahersiveen on the Iveragh Peninsula. Once again, I ended up in a bed & breakfast (what the farmer can do...) and work here with two other workawayers, Noémie from France and Rocio from Spain. We only met here, but after spending almost two months together 24/7, we have become close friends. Consequently, my next vacations are in France and Spain. Our hosts, Dominick and Lilian, run a B&B with seven rooms, which means making many beds, cleaning, and serving breakfast. We have a lot of contact with the guests because Dominick and Lilian place a lot of emphasis on entertaining the guests. That's why we sing and watch Dominick perform magic, get distracted from work by conversations with guests, and sing 'Frère Jacques' in a three-part canon (funny, especially when you're the only one who speaks German...). In addition, there are many German, French, and Spanish guests who are served in their native language. And since we start work at 7.30, it's sometimes quite pleasant not to have to speak English. The girls and I share the morning tasks of making beds, ironing, and kitchen duty (serving breakfast, cleaning the kitchen) and take turns so that no one thinks only one of us can iron. By now, the five of us make a good team, and the work is always fun and runs smoothly most of the time. One of the highlights was a wedding that took place at the B&B, for which we decorated the table and served lunch.

Dominick and Lilian often take us to Cahersiveen; we go to the pub together or to Irish dancing (which we now naturally master). Dominick also often takes us to his charity shop, which he runs in town. The Outreach Project is an organization founded by him, which collects donations to help suicidal and depressed people in Cahersiveen and the surrounding area. The shop is a meeting place for breakfast, tea, and conversation, and a real treasure trove for clothing. I love working at the Outreach; you always meet people and can try on the best clothes first. So far, we've visited a poetry slam, gone to Killarney in a caravan, and every week we go to the Moveable Feast, a jam session with a changing location. There we have met a group of teachers and group leaders from the local language school, with whom we regularly go to the pub or are invited to their house parties (which also happen very regularly. I would do the same if I had a closed pub on the ground floor...). At the Festival of Music and the Arts in Cahersiveen, we went together to see the concerts of the headliners, but we didn't see much of the country music because the numerous pubs around the main stage were more tempting. However, the reggae concert by Natty the Wailer, who apparently toured with Bob Marley for years, was of a magnitude that I wouldn't have expected in Cahersiveen. In addition to the evenings with Lilian and Dominick, the girls and I also go out together. Almost every Saturday, we meet either with the people from the language school or go to the pub or dancing (not always just Irish). In addition to working at the B&B and at the Outreach, we spend most of our free time at the beach. At least one of us three is at the beach every day, sometimes by bike, sometimes on foot, sometimes along the cliffs past the deserted hotel, sometimes on the sand towards Waterville. The beach in Ballinskelligs is our secret favorite, with a small castle ruin on the beach and the monastery ruin with a cemetery. The former Augustinian monastery became the new workplace for the monks of Skellig Michael in the 12th century. I have spent many hours on the beach, reading, looking, lounging, and walking.

So far, I have used my days off to visit Killarney, Waterville, and Valentia Island. Sometimes by bike, sometimes by caravan. Whatever you need. A few weeks ago, Dominick and Lilian took us to Killarney, and because the car was in the workshop, we had to resort to the motorhome. With it, we drove along the picturesque Wild Atlantic Way on the coast to the picturesque town, which I was able to visit eight years ago. Most of the time, the girls and I spent in the national park with our bikes (because if you're already driving around in a huge car, you might as well make use of the space and take three bikes with you). We rode to Muckross House and took a guided tour of the venerable rooms. The tour was very detailed, and I learned more about furniture than at Ikea. But it was interesting to know that the British architect liked to install false doors (by the way, for reasons of symmetry...). And like every stately home I have visited in Ireland so far, this one also had a piece of Meissen porcelain. In this case, two large, bulging, ugly vases. With our bikes, we then rode to Torc Waterfall. While most visitors climbed around on the waterfall (which held little water that day), the German tourists stood on the marked paths and conducted risk analyses. I did too, because German traits must also be cultivated abroad. And the child almost slipped as well. As beautiful as Killarney was, I enjoyed the drive the most, because with enough photo stops and an hour-long drive, we could enjoy the beautiful landscape of Kerry.

Waterville is only about ten kilometers from the B&B and is known for hosting even the great Charlie Chaplin. The village tries to squeeze every last bit of tourism out of this fact and has dedicated a statue and a festival to the good man. I cycled to Waterville to see the village and the nearby lake. The weather was very unpleasant, but it only rained twice (that's right, on the way there and on the way back, soaking wet). We looked at the statue, dried our shoes, and visited the lake.

I also explored Valentia Island by bike. I visited Knightstown by ferry from Cahersiveen. Knightstown has manageable tourism opportunities, but a lovingly designed local museum in the old school building, a red café, and a second-hand bookstore where I could have spent hours. In addition, Valentia Island is known as the starting point of the first transatlantic telegraph cable, has a very beautiful lighthouse, an ice cream factory, a candle maker, and of course breathtaking views. I particularly liked Bray Head, the western tip of the island and therefore the westernmost point of Europe. When you climb to the very tip of the cliffs, you're practically on the edge of Europe, and that was a cool experience. On a later visit, Dominick taught me that sheep droppings come back like a boomerang when you throw them in the air. Lifelong learning.

My absolute highlight in my time here in Ballinskelligs were the last two days off, which I could spend in Kerry with my parents and dear friends. We visited Dingle together, including a very educational and alcohol-rich tour of the Dingle Whiskey Distillery. We were able to taste gin, vodka, and whiskey, and strangely enough, I only understood half of the explanations from the good man afterwards. But he also had a strong Irish accent, what can you do. After that, we drove the Slea Head Drive and enjoyed some of the most beautiful views I have ever seen. And not just because I saw a mountain in the shape of a sleeping giant, which I thought was pretty cool. Elke, the tame seagull from parking bay 5, was also very entertaining. Dingle is also home to one of the probably most famous dolphins in the world, Funghi. Funghi has been living in the bay in front of Dingle since the 1980s and can be observed from boats or from the shore of the bay. Normally, he surfaces quite quickly when the boats with the tourists arrive, but we stood on the shore for at least half an hour waiting for the dolphin. On the second day, we went for a hike in Derrynane, which I also enjoyed very much.

In the same week, Rocio and Noémie left for their respective home countries, and I spent the last week in Ireland alone with Dominick and Lillian.