Басылган: 08.05.2023
On 01.05. there was the final starting signal for me. The Prime Minister announced today that travel throughout Ireland is allowed. For all of us, it was like a liberation, because now we could finally visit the most beautiful places on this island.
I asked my friends, we booked a car, prepared our food and set off. With a mixed group on today's trip. I left with Laura, Krystina and Maria and we picked up Lucia halfway. Lucia went to Galway for 4 weeks after her time in Cork to work there for a while. Lucia was definitely a person I missed. She already knew Ireland very well, told a lot about Bavarian culture, and often argued with me about it. For example, about the right beer and carnival. With her red hair, Lucia fit perfectly into the stereotype that people have of the Irish. Which in my opinion is not true at all, most people had blonde hair and a big problem with self-tanning lotion.
So we set off from Ennis to the world-famous Cliffs of Moher, which, for example, served as a film motif in Harry Potter and is the most visited tourist attraction in Ireland with several million people a year. We thought that since we were coming amidst the corona, it wouldn't be that crowded.
We had received a tip beforehand that we should let people get out before the parking lot, as the parking lot is charged per person. Said and done, we kicked people out and drove to the parking lot. Arrived and confident as I am, I thought I only had to pay €7, but no chance. I actually had to shell out €35, what a bummer!
The Cliffs of Moher are simply unbelievable. 180-meter-high cliffs, a path right on the edge of the cliff, and the roaring sea crashing against the cliffs, while an estimated 100,000 seagulls go about their daily lives here.
From here, you can see the Aran Islands in the distance, a small group of islands where barely any green grows, but there is a lot of gray basalt stone. After a long walk along the cliffs, we made our second stop, the Burren National Park!
The Burren is one of the oldest national parks in Ireland. The Burren is world-famous because it is not like the rest of Ireland. While Ireland is known as an evergreen place, here you encounter the complete opposite: a gray, endless rocky desert.
Only a few wildflowers could find their way through the rocks here. The most beautiful thing about this place was that we were almost completely alone here and there were no tourists. We had peace here and could watch the restless sea at close range.
The turquoise waves crashed against the rocks at a fast pace, the sea spray surrounded me, and I was just happy. Happy that I took this trip, defied all odds, and made it this far.
We spent most of our day here and recharged our energy in the middle of nowhere. At some point, we realized that Lucia still had to catch her bus back to Galway from Ennis.
What comes next is not recommended and should definitely not be imitated, but I had to at least try it. With a travel time of 90 minutes, we had to make up about 30 minutes. So, I drove, I kid you not, like a race car driver through the deserted streets of the Burren. The girls in the back were completely shaken, and I even heard a little prayer in Ukrainian once. But it was worth it! Completely exhausted but punctually, Lucia caught her bus. We had to take a break first because this race had also pushed me to my limits...