Travel to Ireland - Travel blogs, travel reports and tips

Dublin, IR

Jake Pollack — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 12:25:00 GMT

Guinness factory

March 16-18

Very basic, but I visited Dublin for St. Patrick's day along with the thousands of other Canadian and American tourists. I was excited to visit Ireland for the first time, but I was more excited to see all of my friends as we were staying in a hostel all together. After many Guinnesses and Jameson shots, I can say I had a pretty fun time in Dublin.

As a Guinness connoisseur, I was definitely geeked out during the Guinness factory tour. The tour was great and there was a bar on the top floor to enjoy some nice views while sipping on some pints. Also the entire weekend was actual Ivey reunion, I swear I saw everybody there, but it was so fun to see everyone and drink with them again. I specifically remember belching Oh Canada with a group of 15 dudes outside of the bar, Nationalism at its finest.

Maybe it was just because it was St. Patty's, but Dublin definitely had a bit of a gritty energy to it. Our hostel was a bit of a shitter, but the city definitely felt a little bit grey and bland compared to other places in European. I think part of the problem was that I was basically drunk the entire two days I was here, so I didn't really get a proper feel for the city's history and sights.

Next time I'm in Ireland I want to proper explore the country and nature, there is so much natural beauty, and the locals are truly hilarious. Also the urban legend is true, the Guinness really is that much better in the homeland. I'll be back Ireland!

Guinness factory

Dublin

Guinness

Split G

Temple Bar

Ennistymon Community School

worldlearning — Sat, 25 Oct 2025 16:51:00 GMT

I have been attending Ennistymon Community School for quite some time now; it is a comprehensive school with 700 students. On the first day, I received all my books and a uniform, and my timetable shows which floor and which room number my classroom is. I came into class with two kids from my basketball team, but now I know the others as well. When I arrive at school, there is free tea and toast with butter and jam available. Then I have 2 hours of lessons, followed by a 15-minute break during which we can (also for free) get rolls with chicken and scones with jam and butter. Then there are another 2 hours of lessons, and the lunch break lasts 30 minutes. You can buy lunch in the cafeteria for €2.50. Some people also go to Aldi. After the long break, school continues until 4:00 PM, when it ends.

My favorite subjects were physical education and German.

Irish Days

worldlearning — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 15:39:00 GMT

On Saturday, we went to Ennis because I played for the Ennistymon Cascaders for the first time. The game took place in the gymnasium of a nearly 200-year-old college. It was great to play against another team, but unfortunately, we lost 42 to 45.

On Sunday, we completed a task for Michael. On the way, we passed by a hast you Gesche Graf from the U the time and saw a petroglyph from the Berlin region in the Country Club.

Training in Ennistymon

worldlearning — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 16:00:00 GMT

I have been attending basketball training in Ennistymon for a week now. I've been there twice and I'm allowed to participate in my first game next week against Ennis, the neighboring town.

It wasn't easy to find a team, but after a lot of searching, we found a contact whom we reached out to and I was allowed to come for a trial training. When I was there for the first time, they explained the exercises to me again, but I already knew most of them from TSVE.

Bunratty Castle

worldlearning — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 16:24:00 GMT

Castle

Since last week, we have been attending an Irish school. Today, we took a field trip to a castle called Bunratty Castle.

Bunratty Castle is an hour away from Ennistymon. It is a medieval castle from the 15th century. At the entrance, a man played traditional Irish songs on the violin.

Behind the castle, there is an open-air museum. You walk through a village of houses from the early 1900s. For example, we visited a blacksmith who was forging a pair of tongs. We also went into an old school building. A guard from the 19th century was also walking around.

After looking around the village, we went into the castle. The spiral staircase that led up to the towers was very narrow and steep, but we all managed to make it back down.

Bunratty Castle

Blacksmith

Bunratty Castle

Happy Birthday

worldlearning — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 17:35:00 GMT

On my birthday, I received an Irish birthday card from our host family. We had breakfast and went to the sea. It was low tide, and we walked over the algae and stones that were there to the sea. For my birthday, I received a surfing lesson and got to choose whether to do it here or in Portugal; I chose Portugal because it looked quite cold here and the surf school that was currently in the water was mostly just splashing around. In the evening, we ate outside and released glowing lanterns into the sky late at night.

Apple juice

worldlearning — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 15:34:00 GMT

Zarah and Michael took us to Tom, an old Irish man who lives in the countryside with animals and a large apple orchard. We spent the entire day picking apples along with other friends to make apple juice. We first cut the apples coarsely, then into finer pieces, then mashed them, and finally pressed them. In the end, we had over 100 liters of apple juice. The best part was eating pizza to celebrate at the end.

Ennistymon

worldlearning — Mon, 15 Sep 2025 14:02:00 GMT

Last night, the wind and rain made quite a lot of noise; due to the heavy rain, it was almost impossible to see through the windows, and I often woke up during the night. The wind was blowing at 100 km/h. The next morning, you could still see the effects of the storm. And the wind is still blowing very strongly. But sometimes it stopped briefly, and then you could see the sunset.

We spend a lot of time in the greenhouse, which is like a living room, where we often are with the Irish family. Zarah showed us an Irish tin flute yesterday; she played for us and then Milo also played along with her.

Ennistymon

worldlearning — Sun, 14 Sep 2025 11:01:00 GMT

Ennistymon is near the Cliffs of Moher, where we were yesterday (Harry Potter 6 was filmed there). We went there spontaneously yesterday because the weather was nice, which isn't often the case in Ireland.

World learning

worldlearning — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 15:49:00 GMT

Michal, whom we live with, works on the coast at Seaweed Baths preparing seaweed baths there. We also received a seaweed bath today. Water from the ocean is pumped into old whiskey barrels, which is heated beforehand. Michal fills a bucket full of seaweed. It was very pleasant because it was cold outside, and you sit by the rough sea while you are warm yourself. You can always refill with hot ocean water. The seaweed is supposed to be healthy.

World learning

worldlearning — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 16:46:00 GMT

We are currently staying with a family on the west coast.

We are allowed to live with them in exchange for helping them with tasks such as harvesting vegetables, cooking, etc. The father prepares seaweed baths, and then we collect the seaweed from the beach.

We do not drink tap water, but fetch it from a nearby water source.

The family also has three children with whom Milo and Pola play together.

World Learning

worldlearning — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 18:20:00 GMT

We are starting our journey. Our first stop is Ireland. The ferry will take us from Cherbourg, France, to Dublin in 20 hours. Here we will stay in the Clontarf district in a house of a Dublin family who is away for the weekend.

End (Gaelic): the End

Anja und Peter's Rad-ab-Abenteuer — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 12:59:00 GMT

The Opel has won. The two wheels have only traveled on the back seat until Monday evening, and now they are waiting neatly packed in a bicycle box in the storage room of the Cork International Hotel. The hotel stored the boxes for three weeks along with our backpacks. Probably, those items were often in the way, judging by how it looked in the storage room. We already received an email hinting that we would get a room upgrade, ohhh la la, but to what? A huge suite with 3 rooms. Probably as a thank you for finally clearing out the boxes. After the bikes were packed (what a hassle, padding everything, disassembling, securing and packing well), we had dinner on our hotel terrace - sitting on the floor. There probably weren't enough chairs, or with the constant rain, it wasn't necessary anyway. We talked about Ireland over the last three weeks, whether there would have been an alternative to the Opel - no, there wouldn't have been! All options didn’t work out. The feeling of having given up somehow fights against oneself internally. We didn't give up, we just stopped for the sake of our health. During the 3 weeks, we found ourselves in difficult situations multiple times and had to hold our breath because it was very tight on the road. Many Irish people in our accommodations told us that they would never bike in their lives due to the aggressive driving of their fellow humans. We also saw relatively few, if any, cyclists. Now we understand the reason. The Irish, not all, drive cars as if they are constantly being chased. After we were almost shoved into a hedge by a bus last Thursday, that was probably what prompted us to trade the bike for the car. The driving style of the Irish was not different and for us (Anja was driving), also not really relaxing with the narrow roads, but at least it was dry. So the last three days involved beach hikes, swimming in 15-degree water temperature (which requires some overcoming), lots of food, charming little towns with much traffic, and not much rain, and of course exciting, fast car rides ;) to beaches with one-lane roads having oncoming traffic and blackberry hedges. But we survived that, and so did the car. From Limerick, we drove to the East Coast, Arklow, where we slept in a forest cottage and ate in the evening at the harbor. We then headed south to Tramore, a seemingly nice small town at first, but at the harbor, it turned into a mini Las Vegas with gambling halls and not-so-appealing atmosphere. Our last imagined Irish evening with a nice pub and Irish music fell victim to a pasta salad with falafel and beetroot salad from the supermarket on a bench between noisy cars, music from the bumper cars. At least it didn't rain, and we had a view of the sea. The B&B was very nice and Irish, and the two retirees who ran it talked with us for a long time.
On Monday, we drove along the Copper Road towards Cork. Copper Road, because this area experienced a kind of copper rush in the mid-18th century. The coast reconciled us a little with Ireland as a farewell, green hills, cliffs, beautiful little beaches. We jumped into the cool ocean once more before it got hot again on the way to Cork.
Now we are waiting to check-in at Cork Airport, and to receive our bikes back in one piece in Zurich... we just saw them, they drove in front of the EDELWEISS flight.... No Peter, don’t look at how they handle the boxes.... By the way, the sun is shining from an almost blue sky...
We will all see each other again in Zurich, Bern, wherever on this big, beautiful, colorful world.... Take care!!!

Some more facts about our bike tour:
Total kilometers: 1,229
Elevation: 14,712
Breakdowns: luckily none, except for a few scrapes from falling

OPEL vs. ROSE

Anja und Peter's Rad-ab-Abenteuer — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 22:40:00 GMT

Yes, we have given up... not necessarily given up, but we have surrendered.
In the morning, we set off from Ballyvaughan in drizzling rain towards Burren National Park. It's actually an interesting area, full of limestone that is mostly arranged in kilometers-long stone walls. In rain and fog, it all presents a rather dreary picture. The Eurovelo route takes us through strange paths once again. We end up in the middle of nowhere and are chased by barking dogs. We head towards Ennis via the busy N85. It's anything but fun to ride a bike on such roads. It takes extreme physical and mental effort and drains you to stay intensely focused while riding. Peter suggests we stop by the train station in Ennis and check if we can catch a train to Cork that takes bicycles. Under the current conditions, with the
road circumstances, we all agree that we won’t make it to Cork alive if we try to cycle 200 kilometers. Ennis station - like everywhere, no ticket counters, only two machines, no one to ask. The same goes for the bus station next door. Ticket machine: OUT OF SERVICE. The bus drivers, although not out of service, announce, NO BIKES ON BUSES. In the last few days, we have tried to book tickets online to Cork, and except for a lot of lost time, we have gained nothing. No spots for bicycles, or the entire train is SOLD OUT. We are also slowly running out of options, it is getting colder and foggier. What do we do now? It does not feel good. Anja would rather lay down in front of the station and cry. We are simply not getting anywhere, and certainly not to Cork by Monday. Anja had the idea that we could rent a car and drive to Cork, so we can relax a bit in the last 3 days and let the bikes take a vacation too. Shannon Airport is 25 kilometers from our current location. We can manage that well and reserve a mid-sized car with Dollar Car Rental for 6 PM, hoping that the bikes will fit inside. The drop-off point is Cork Airport. Everything goes quite smoothly. We get an Opel Crossland, and the bikes, without the wheels, fit inside. A hotel in Limerick is also quickly found. It's 20 kilometers away, and Anja bravely drives a left-hand manual car with the steering wheel on the right somehow towards the highway and Limerick, navigating a two-lane roundabout counterclockwise amidst a lot of fast-driving crazy Irish. The loss of sweat is similar to cycling 30 kilometers.
Finally, at the hotel in Limerick, all the frustration, fear, and anger fall away from us. We drink a cider, toss the day into the Shannon, and look forward to another 3 days in Ireland with the car and bicycles in the back seat.
After breakfast tomorrow, we will check how, when, and where our journey will take us. Tonight, we are too exhausted and tired to think.
Route: Ballyvaughan - Shannon Airport
Kilometers: 70 by bicycle
Elevation: 600 meters

A day like the flag of Clare - blue-yellow

Anja und Peter's Rad-ab-Abenteuer — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 21:23:00 GMT

Weather as usual, curtains open in the morning...ohhhh what's that, blue sky? Eyes closed and open again - still there. Pure joy and at the same time fear that it might not last. Quick breakfast, packing up, and off we go along the EuroVelo route towards the north. It just feels wonderful when the sun is shining. First stop in Doolin. The village is the starting point for the ferries to the 3 Aran Islands. At first, we also wanted to go there, but in summer, no bicycles are transported, and the rest of the year, the crew decides whether they can come along or not. Well, when we see the huge parking lots filled with cars and buses in the small village, we decide to just sit here on the stones and look at the Atlantic - once again in the sunshine. Heading north, the EuroVelo route suddenly veers right and doesn't go along the coastal road. But surely not! We take the coastal road and are rewarded with great views. Lunch break by the sea at 'Burren' mountain with cheese and Doolin bread, which tasted a bit special. It couldn't decide whether it wanted to be a cake or a bread, but also somehow tasted like fish. Regardless, we eat it.
The whole area consists of limestone formations shaped and eroded by wind and water. A few kilometers further in the small village of Fanore, we treat ourselves to an ice cream from the village shop. Here we find everything, between fishing equipment lie potatoes and chocolate. Our ice cream in the sunshine is simply delicious. Yes, the sun is still there - although there are more clouds and wind, but it is still there. Anja jumps once more into the cold Atlantic, perhaps for the last time. Ballyvaughan is today’s final stop at a great B&B with a huge room. The sun has disappeared; we cook ourselves dinner at the picnic area by the sea, noodles, cheese, cheese focaccia. A delight, along with some tea. Here in Ballyvaughn we have to decide how we want to continue. Next Monday we need to be in Cork in the south. It’s 200 kilometers to Cork through the interior of the country. At first, we considered going to Galway and then to Cork by train. Unfortunately, most trains are already booked up, bicycle spots and only a few individual seats, with multiple transfers. Somehow, we have a right trauma from Norway and bicycles on trains, and it’s a weekend and everything is not so simple. We spend several hours in the evening weighing options and searching for trains. Buses don’t take bikes. At least we have tea and homemade cookies from the owner. Frustration sets in, and it nearly overwhelms the thoughts of the beautiful sunny day, but luckily only nearly. Tomorrow we’ll look further, or we just continue through the mountains to Cork....
Route: Cliffs of Moher - Doolin - Ballyvaughan
Kilometers: 48
Elevation: 475

By Ways and Detours

Anja und Peter's Rad-ab-Abenteuer — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 22:48:00 GMT

According to the weather forecast, today is supposed to be the most beautiful day of the week, sunny and rain-free. We no longer believe in the Irish weather app. We just trust what our eyes can see. This morning, four eyes see pretty much nothing - thick fog hangs outside the window. We have specifically set the alarm for seven. If it's going to be the most beautiful day, we certainly don't want to miss it. But we are reluctant to believe it fully. We leave around 9 AM. Our destination is the Cliffs of Moher. Most beautiful day - most beautiful sight, logically. The wind blows cold from the fog, but it's not raining.
The EuroVelo route is nice for riding, but somewhere near the village of QUILTY (what a name), we miss a road and drift quite a bit off our route. But turning back is not an option. Somehow we will find our way back, and that is indeed what happens. Near Milltown, we are back on the right path to the Atlantic. The fog has lifted to higher regions but is still present. As we descend towards Lahinch, a couple of drops of rain do fall on us on the most beautiful day of the week. Peter starts to pedal faster. We actually escape the rain clouds and arrive at Lahinch Beach, a major surf hotspot. With a warm coffee, we watch countless surfers waiting tirelessly for the perfect wave in 15-degree water temperature. Anja has been waiting for the perfect rhubarb crumble, which finally arrives in the form of an apple pie at a deli shop. You can't always have everything in Ireland, at least not when the cravings are strongest. The pie is wonderful, and the cappuccino is too; the sun is also visible, so everything is rhubarb-good. During the break, Peter discovers a path along the Atlantic with a viewpoint. We've already made detours today, so it doesn't matter much anymore. However, the detour turns out to be a calm, flowery, and small road leading us to the Clahane Shore Area, a great spot with cliffs, rocks, and some locals swimming. We watch people jumping into the sea from the rocks, from ages 7 to 70, simply everyone, and they all have huge joy. After half an hour, we also stand on the rocks. 1. Dive Anja, 2. Dive Peter. 15 degrees, but so cool! Let's do it again! The air temperature is around 18 degrees, but it's windy. We take a warm shower at the accommodation and drive the 2 kilometers to the Cliffs of Moher, arguably the most famous and most photographed cliffs in Ireland. The entrance fee is 8 euros per person. They plunge steeply into the Atlantic at over 200 meters. Very impressive, and sadly, the sun has mostly disappeared again, and it is slightly misty. However, we stay there for almost 2 hours, hiking along the cliffs. The visitor center has various exhibits on geology and especially on the birds nesting in the cliffs. The sun sets at 9:45 PM, but the gates close at 9 PM. So we drive back to the bed and breakfast 'The Atlantic View,' get tea and plenty of chocolate bars, chat with the house lady, enjoy the misty Atlantic view, and reflect on the paths and detours of our day and in life....

Route: Doonbeg/White Strand Beach - Cliffs of Moher
Kilometers: 55 ....with detours
Elevation: 580 ....with detours

Lovely Petie

Anja und Peter's Rad-ab-Abenteuer — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 22:20:00 GMT

We sneak home for breakfast hoping the house lady has already left for work. Lucky us, it's only the man who brings us coffee. Yes, the house lady Suzanne has given us something to think about; she asked us at least 10 times the night before when we wanted breakfast. Each time we said 8 o'clock. She made us tea and chocolate, which was nice, but then she sat down with us and talked completely nonsensically, giggling the whole time, found 'Petie' very lovely, and asked when he was going to shower and if she should paint her nails.... totally bizarre.... we drank our tea, not knowing whether to laugh, flee, or join in. In any case, we locked the room door. Better safe than sorry!
Our ferry from Tarbert Pier leaves at 11 AM. It takes 20 minutes across the Shannon to Killimer. It's stormy and rainy.... once again. But during the crossing, it actually gets a bit brighter, and there are scattered blue patches in the sky. Cautious optimism leads Peter to take off his rain gear. Of course, a fatal mistake! Lunch break, quickly grab a bite at the harbor in Kilrush and off we go. Within seconds, we are drenched. So we continue towards the western end of the peninsula. We meet the Eurovelo route again and ride through flower-filled streets along the Shannon River, which ends west of the island in the Atlantic. The blue patches in the sky are back, and we are only fighting against the headwind now. In Carrigaholt, we make a short stop, primarily for coffee. CLOSED is the sign at the coffee place. Okay, well, then we push on a bit further. The weather is significantly better than in the past days. We are satisfied; it isn’t raining for once, and we breathe in the Atlantic air (fish, seaweed, and salt.... heavenly). The road is narrow and passes by cliffs, meadows, and a few houses - beautiful. This is how one imagines Ireland. Unfortunately, beauty for the eyes isn’t enough; something for the stomach would also be nice. There isn't much along the way. Keating's Restaurant is prominently displayed. Great, we'll take that! Not necessarily a culinary temple, but hunger and no rain lead us to burgers and cider. Just 2 more kilometers and we will reach our accommodation. The stomach is full, overfull, the clouds are dark and gray. The Bed & Breakfast is bright and spacious with a view of the cow pasture and village street, the landlord's name is not Suzanne, and she doesn't go crazy, here we can sleep in peace.... right Petie... ;)
Route: Glin - Ferry Tarbert/Killimer - Kilbaha
Kilometers: 66
Elevation: 550

Road Stories

Anja und Peter's Rad-ab-Abenteuer — Sun, 20 Jul 2025 22:01:00 GMT

The night above us was a bit restless. The two men from upstairs returned quite loudly from the pub after midnight, and one of them apparently didn't handle the food too well. He was so vocally engaged with the toilet that we could hear him. Overall, he probably just drank too much - no sympathy from us!!!
We started the morning leisurely with porridge, fresh Irish blackberries, and coffee. Looking outside, we know that we don't have to hurry. Rain gear on and off we go through the rain heading north along the Wild Atlantic Way. The Eurovelo route does not follow the coast but goes inland towards Limerick. However, we want to take the ferry towards Galway and therefore do not follow the Eurovelo. The roads are relatively quiet, not very spectacular, rather boring - flower or stone hedges, forests, farms, cows, sheep, oh yes and rain not to forget.
Today's goal is the town of Glin, not Gin ;)
When there is nothing to see while driving and your head is pulled in because of the rain, you start to look at what lies by the roadside. In the case of Ireland's roads, quite a lot of litter. Anja tried to count all the cans for a day, specifically the can deposit. After some time, it was already several Euros. One starts to wonder about all the things seen, asking what goes on in the minds of people. Just throwing everything out of the car window without thinking about what it might do to the cows standing behind in the pasture. Today, there was even a pregnancy test lying by the roadside in the rain. The drive is monotonous, and there's plenty of empty space in the head for daydreams and thinking. Who threw it away? Does the indicator show one or two lines? Did it end up by the roadside because of one line or two? For us, there will be no answers. We hope - if there were two indicator lines - that there will be an answer for the mother....
In Ballylongford, a small coffeehouse saves us from the rain and in Tarbert a pub with a late lunch. The pub was once again a surprise in itself. It had a bar and a restaurant area. In front of the bar stood a few young men smoking, and an older couple went into the restaurant. Do we go or not? A heavy downpour took the decision from us. Inside, we were welcomed by a kind of huge living room with a large blue floral wallpaper, the time had stood still, and the guests all seemed to come from that time that was frozen. We felt the age difference significantly; everyone knew each other, but no one minded us. There was hearty Irish food: lamb roast, mashed potatoes with lots of gravy, kale, and carrots. Sometimes it takes a bit of courage to open the door and not know what’s behind it, but those are the very experiences you later tell about, maybe in the small pub 'The Swanky' in Tarbert....
The rain comes and goes, and we reach our B&B (one of the few here in the area) in the evening. It is a large manor house with a rather eccentric 'housekeeper' and serves as our stopover for the ferry tomorrow to Killimer (County Clare).
There aren't many photos from today, neither of the pregnancy test, nor of the housekeeper, or the pub. Hopefully, it will be a bit bluer in the sky tomorrow.
Route: Ballyheigue - Tarbert
Kilometers: 55
Elevation: 490

10 am to 10 pm

Anja und Peter's Rad-ab-Abenteuer — Sat, 19 Jul 2025 22:45:00 GMT

At breakfast, it's time to indulge in calories again. Today's goal is the Connor Pass, the highest pass in Ireland at 456 meters. Well, for Swiss people, it’s not that high, but let’s not underestimate it too soon. After all, everything starts at 0 meters above sea level. Fortunately, the road is closed to cars over 2 tons. The weather is cloudy, and we dare to ride in shorts. That was perhaps a bit too optimistic. Just before reaching the summit, suddenly dark clouds appear, and exactly what they forecasted happens. Before we can even put on our rain gear, we are already soaked. The pass was easily passable, climbing at an average gradient of 7 percent. Upon reaching the top, we can hardly see anything apart from a few hefty sheep sitting comfortably in the rain and fog beside the road. We now put on our rain gear and escape as quickly as possible. On the other side of the pass lies the Maharees Peninsula; that is our destination for today. Here we have reserved a room, and the plan is to circle the peninsula and stop where it is nice. By nice, we obviously mean the landscape and not the weather. Although, precisely that has decided to offer us both. The beaches are simply huge (Brandon Beach is 20 kilometers long), sandy, and almost deserted; only where there is a trailer park or a campsite do bathers crowd into the water at a chilly 15 degrees in both water and air temperature as though it were 30 degrees. The people here are tough and enjoy the summer. We first take off our rain gear, feeling a bit like aliens on a distant icy planet. The sun does indeed come out from behind the clouds, and the day promises to be ‘probably sunny and hot’ according to the forecast with 'number of bathing Irish: quite’. In our eyes, it is simply beautiful with many dark clouds, which we keep a close eye on. We have a pleasant day cycling, relatively easily navigating around the island, stopping occasionally at a beach to enjoy the view towards America, watching the birds and the waves, which ceaselessly wash over the Irish coast from America. We make coffee on the beach, and Anja had three!!! Cadbury bars hidden in her bag; one had to be sacrificed....mmmhhh so delicious. It is slowly getting evening, and we should check in as well. It is low tide, the sand is very hard, and we can ride along the sea to the B&B. This is wonderfully located on a hill with a view of Brandon Beach. Mary and Michael are an older, super friendly host couple. We sit together in front of the house, eat, look at the sea, and they tell us about their passion - their Bed & Breakfast, which they have been running for 35 years. The two radiate a palpable joy for life, their mutual love, all spiced with a touch of humor - indescribably refreshing are the two of them. With a satisfied smile and gazing at the calm Atlantic, we fall asleep, or better said, fade away. Michael mentioned that according to the forecast, it should rain tomorrow from 10 am to 10 pm....
Route: Dingle - Maharees Peninsula - Castlegregory
Distance: 54
Elevation: 614

July 29

Unfortunately, the 10 am to 10 pm forecast was right.

We cycled through the rain all day. In Tralee, Peter even crashed over a curb (he has a few bruises, and so does his bike - but luckily everything seems okay)
It is still raining, the shower is warm, the bed is cozy, and the bikes are sleeping in the room next door... there’s nothing more to say or show about this day ;) ....Tomorrow is a new day.
Oh yes, one last thing related to this day: The key to the bike lock seems to have stayed in Ireland on holiday, as we haven’t found it anywhere.
Route: Castlegregory-Tralee-Ballyheigue
Distance: 56
Elevation: 421

Rain Jacket Sky Blue

Anja und Peter's Rad-ab-Abenteuer — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 23:01:00 GMT

Today's outfit: GORETEX style... once again... from head to toe... We planned to drive the Slea Head Drive today, a path about 50 km along the coast to the end of the Dingle Peninsula and back to Dingle. At first, it's just light rain coming from the fog, but it increases, and soon everything is dripping down us. We simply continue down the road stubbornly. To make matters worse, there's construction with a lead vehicle guiding us over torn-up roads. Definitely not fun. The coastal road would surely be very beautiful, but there's no chance to see anything. Water from mountain streams is also flowing over the road. We take a tea break at Stonehouse Dun Beag. No one says a word; we sip our tea and stare at the stone walls. Next to us sits a German family, doing the same. They are hiking the Dingle Way and came in soaking wet. After half an hour of mutual sympathy, it suddenly gets brighter outside. That was the sign of signs, departure. It's still raining, but the clouds aren't hanging so low anymore. To the west, we can actually see blue sky. But immediately, we floor it to the west. Dunmore Head is the westernmost point of the island. As if by magic, the sky is suddenly blue, the sun is shining, and it's like a paint bucket has been spilled over the landscape. It's simply a dream; we can hardly believe it. Just this morning, deep black Gore-Tex confusion, and by noon, short-sleeved rainbow bliss. We unpack our fresh walnut soda bread, paired with Irish cheddar, listen to the sound of the waves, and feel grateful for how colorfully our day has been rescued. The road runs along the cliffs, a sort of high plateau. This is exactly how one imagines Ireland. It's a rugged area, no trees, a constant wind blowing from the sea. There are only meadows with heather and wind-resistant plants. By the way, we need to be resistant as well; there's a strong crosswind blowing. But it's very fascinating when you think about where you are. Heading west, in 5000 kilometers, New York is eventually out there; the landscape is barren and lonely, and everything is reduced to the minimum. It feels very liberating, everything unnecessary has been blown away, and all that is superfluous disappears on its own. Such thoughts are refreshing, and we try to pack that feeling into our bike bags and our heads like a holiday souvenir. In the late afternoon, we're back in Dingle. Of course, the sky has closed over again. We quickly check in at the B&B. The town has beautiful colorful houses and countless pubs. Our evening itinerary: Fish 'n Chips at the harbor, Dingle ice cream (with crazy flavors like Irish Brown Bread or Dingle Gin), and finishing it off with a cider at McCarthy's Pub, complete with Irish live music. The day started with rain, ends with rain, but in between, we had several hours full of nice weather moments. Now we hope that not just the beautiful images stay in our minds, but also the many treats in our bellies.

Route: Dingle - Slea Head Drive - Dingle

Kilometers: 48

Elevation: 542

Key Experiences

Anja und Peter's Rad-ab-Abenteuer — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 21:35:00 GMT

'your room for tonight is unfortunately overbooked' ...that's what the friendly voice on Peter's answering machine sounds like. Exactly what you want to hear on a rainy morning. No more rooms, relentless rain including a forecast for the whole day and about 50 kilometers to drive to Dingle on Dingle Peninsula. We had specifically pre-booked a B&B because almost everything, including hostels, was fully booked, and we didn't want to spend more time searching on such a rainy day. Alright, then we will start searching from scratch again. Oh yes, speaking of searching.....Peter's key for the super mega security lock has mysteriously vanished and alongside the new room for tonight, we are now also looking for the lock key.
The room near Dingle is quickly found with the help of booking.com. They offered one, and they will cover the difference to the higher price. That's already not bad. Then they should also be able to stop the rain and find the lock, and the day will be saved. But as always in life, that's three things at once - that really can't work!
At least the delicious breakfast buffet at the pub made our day start a little brighter. There are many different homemade jams, various Irish cheeses, and everything else the heart desires.
But we need every single calorie for the upcoming journey to Dingle.
The first 25 kilometers are a monotonous rain tunnel ride...just keep pedaling straight ahead. Water runs down the front of the helmet....it's 16 degrees, there is no wind, and there are no photos.
Somewhere by a parking lot stands a coffee truck, of which there are many here. Chai latte and latte macchiato warm our souls. Regarding the weather, the lady briefly says: welcome to Ireland. Then we bend to our Irish fate and continue along the Wild Atlantic Way towards Dingle. Suddenly a few brighter clouds appear, and the rain lessens. We make a brief stop at the beautiful Inch Beach. Here, during low tide, you can even drive onto the beach. Large glowing signs indicate when it's time to head back. Does that always work?
In any case, we drive along the beautiful coastal road and later follow the Eurovelo, which leads to a small road and, who would have thought, extremely steeply up, only to go just as steeply back down. The landscape is green/white. Lush meadows and sheep. Despite the effort and the low-hanging clouds, it's a calming sight. Sheep somehow always seem calming to us. Baaa.
Slowly, the accommodation should be coming, the hill is steep again and the day is weighing on our legs.
3 kilometers before Dingle, we have made it, Short Strand B&B. No beach, but a great accommodation with floral wallpaper and everything color-coordinated.
We actually wanted to go to Dingle, but 3 kilometers there and back with rain setting in. No, we would rather stretch our legs and eat homemade porridge with fruits and nuts.
Outside, the fog drifts by like in our autumn and Peter, what is he doing? Yes, he is still searching or again or yet again for the key to the bike lock.... To be continued ...
Route: Killorglin - Dingle
Kilometers: 56
Elevation: 1065

Rain Pie

Anja und Peter's Rad-ab-Abenteuer — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 22:47:00 GMT

No nightly ghosts in the grand villa, just the grumpy landlord in the morning with black and white pudding. Our breakfast table is right in front of the large window with a view of the ancient giant beech tree and the bay. Unfortunately, there’s not much more to see, as the fog hangs thick over the bay and it’s drizzling incessantly.
We really find it hard to motivate ourselves to head out. The beds are mega comfortable and cozy, and the house ghosts seem to want to keep us trapped in them.
We don’t know yet how far we can get today. The goal is to get off the island of Valentia first. For that, we’ll take the ferry to Renard Point. Before that, we discover a small village shop in Knightstown, and we absolutely need a rain comfort band-aid, which we find in a freshly baked apple pie. We stuff it in Anja’s frame bag. Well, it won’t stay there long anyway...
The ferry usually costs 3 euros per person for bicycles and pedestrians. We get the pity bonus: free ferry for the-two-in-rain-gear-and-also-with-the-bike-out-in-the-storm bonus.
Since the start of our tour, we have rarely encountered cyclists (the ...ers are for Peter... two ladies with long red nails and chain grease on their legs, including huge uncomfortable backpacks. They were probably only out for nice weather Instagram shots and not as bikepackers).
Also, the Irish are hardly cycling, but there are at least two cars in front of every house. The thought of a warm car in the drizzle is quite tempting.
Now it’s time for the apple pie, or else we might start looking online for a rental car.
We are on Eurovelo 1, heading towards Caherciveen. It runs beside the main N70 through quiet villages and huge pastures for cows and sheep. We take a cue from them and bravely ride through the wind and the sporadic rain. However, we don’t want any grass; instead, (finally in Anja’s thoughts) the apple pie comes out of the bag. Actually, we wanted to make coffee with the stove, but no chance in this storm. Juicy apple pie in the parking lot of the N70 - what could be better... well, quite a lot actually, but the pie comes at just the right time, is juicy and mega delicious, and fulfills exactly what it needs to in our brain: sweet satisfaction. The coffee will come later in Glenbeigh at a small bakery. There we will decide how to proceed. The wind hasn’t eased, but at least it’s not raining anymore. We want to look for a place to stay in Killorglin. There are still about 20 kilometers to go. The Eurovelo runs close to the coast, and the view would be beautiful. We discover the Cromane Peninsula - beautiful coastline, where the sea crashes against it and sandy beaches. Maybe we will find somewhere to sleep there. Other than chic houses and Maseratis, nothing to be found. On the return ride in the worst sea headwind with cross gusts, the question arises. Why did we even come here to the island? Anja! You simply liked the roaring sea. Well, now she has to make it back herself. We manage well into the town of Killorglin and find accommodation above Kingston's Pub, which also rents rooms. It’s warm and cozy. We get pasta salads and cheese, along with cider from the supermarket, eat in bed, and are completely satisfied; everything is just as it is.
Route: Valentia Island - Killorglin
Distance: 62 km
Elevation: 630

Arrived

roadtrip-usa-2025 — Sat, 28 Jun 2025 09:12:00 GMT

After a long, long journey, we have finally arrived very tired. The hotel reminds us of movies - a two-story building with an outside staircase and a veranda in front of the entrances. Otherwise, LA feels huge to us and we are going to bed.

Cobh (Cork)/Ireland

Ultimate World Cruise 2023/24 — Sun, 21 Jul 2024 19:21:00 GMT

21.7.2024 Cobh

Cobh is a small seafaring town with a remarkable history. The Titanic took the last passengers on board there for its fateful voyage. And in an old cemetery outside the town, around 170 victims of the sinking of the Louisitania, which was sunk by a German submarine, are buried.

It's no wonder that Cobh is taking advantage of the fascination that the "Titanic" has for its own ends. The former office building of the "White Star Line", which all passengers had to pass through on their way to the "Titanic", is now home to the "Titanic Experience" museum, which, although it doesn't have any original exhibits, does have a lot of information and replicas of a 3rd and 1st class cabin.

I bought a ticket for the 10:30 a.m. tour, which I still had some time to spare. The ticket was a replica of an original Titanic ticket, printed with the random name of one of the passengers who had boarded here. So I was now Dr. Minahan, a first class passenger.

I explored the city a bit more before returning on time for the tour. After an introduction, we were allowed "on board". As a first class passenger, I had priority. After we had met some of the passengers and inspected the third and first class cabins, the sinking came up. The "Titanic" was originally supposed to be equipped with 60 lifeboats, but this was reduced to 20 at short notice so as not to block the view for the first class passengers. "So it's your fault," said the museum guide, turning to me. I took the blame with a grin.

After the museum, I visited the "Titanic Memorial Garden", which was about a quarter of an hour away from the museum. On the way back, I bought some flavored sparkling water with the lovely name "Liquid Death"

I wanted to take the opportunity to eat Irish food and chose the Titanic restaurant in the museum building, but had to wait until 12.30pm for it to open. There I ate an excellent "Atlantic Seafood Chowder" and "Titanic Loaded Fries" and enjoyed a dark Murphy beer.

Then I went back to the ship and took a break until the next tour started at 3 p.m. Royal Caribbean had sponsored it for us. The tour took us to Cork-Midleton to the Jameson Distillery. There we were given a guided tour and tasting. I had six whiskeys. I declined the snacks, I was too full (in two ways after the whiskeys) and lay down for a bit after returning to the ship.

Not for long, though. I watched the show "Cobh's Celtic Tales" with music and tap dancing.

Roundabout

(Ste)Irishe Erfahrungen — Sat, 18 May 2024 18:11:00 GMT

And just like that, we’re back in Rosslare!

It went quickly!

Today the grumpy Schreibermeier thought to himself: "Oida, today you're really smart and you're throwing your fat ass into the mountains of Ireland."

It also says Wicklow Mountains!

The -low at the end is to be taken very seriously, because the highest of all orgiastic summit feelings does not exceed 925m.

There are heaps of hikers, cyclists and even more bleating woolly animals, but the area itself unfortunately didn't really captivate the unworthy traveler, because it was "just" green hills and sheep that wanted to crowd in front of the cell phone lens.

The unnecessarily present person has had more than enough of this kind of stuff in front of his red-faced, always tired onlookers lately.

The road we drove on today had more and bigger bumps than the ugly fairy tale witch and the dishonourable Gaijin is finding it relatively difficult to say a word this evening without stuttering (when he was eating soup he often had the empty spoon in his nose because he was shaking so much and the noodles are still hanging in his hair)

So the crooked ways of the smelly fetid today were not the best choice.

Finally, the dishonorable Gaijin ended up where we're all going to die anyway: in a beautiful cemetery!

But this lucky find was certainly worth it, because there are some really nice images there, says the grumpy Schreibermeier.

Tomorrow we're going back on the ferry and off to Wales, let's see what else we can do there.

The lucky Irish are rid of the unnecessary people, the island has not sunk, all the hookers still have their shapely wooden legs and the leprechauns can continue to piss in their potties, because the end of the rainbow was unfortunately never in sight.

Yes, if only a decent headline would come to mind today! But that stuff has to do the job...

(Ste)Irishe Erfahrungen — Fri, 17 May 2024 22:50:00 GMT

It's so quick and we're already through Northern Ireland!

Well, the unworthy traveler must also admit that he almost felt the driving today a bit like torture, because the beautiful deserted stuff was over on the busier East Coast.

A little north of Belfast it started:

City after city after city after city...

One slowpoke followed the next, it was just terrible, boring, and dragging on like a dishonorable Gaijin who has some unpleasant task to accomplish.

Then nothing goes on and under the word 'procrastinate' a beautiful picture with the noble, pleasing face ham of the irritable writer sticks.

Actually the unnecessary presence wanted to explore Belfast and Dublin a bit, but what the highly esteemed hotel industry charges for sleeping here, the unpleasant scribbler wants to place a nice and extremely precisely placed pile on it!

150 British pounds they want for the cheapest place in Belfast and 82 Irish euros one would pay for a bed in a dormitory in Dublin.

At least that's what it says on Booking on May 17, 2024

Well, they should just stick together, the city folks, and the foul-smelling Fötide prefers to make a nice, dashing detour around such silly towns.

The useless Gaijin would like to note that from Northern Ireland he had the impression that everywhere looked a little more run-down, a little more sickly, and a bit more messed up, at least from Belfast onwards, and if you google a bit, you will quickly find articles about poverty seemingly thriving here.

A toast to Brexit!

That dirty Farage and the idiotic Boris should just be hammered on their bare asses with a wet cloth until...(please insert your imagination here).

...oh and today a damn ferry has gotten me again, just the last one, just before the destination...

...and just before the final destination is also the dishonorable Gaijin, as the Emerald Isle is soon to be circumnavigated!

Am Strand

(Ste)Irishe Erfahrungen — Thu, 16 May 2024 18:54:00 GMT

There are sooo many endless sandy beaches here in Donegal that not even all the blade-eating dog waste distributors in the world could shit on them, the unworthy traveller is almost certain of that!

What sand is lying around here!

So the dishonorable Gaijin couldn't get past it anymore and today he pulled himself together, left poor Berta alone in the parking lot and strolled around a bit on one of those piles of sand that are so popular with swimmers, surfers and other such riffraff.

Perhaps this visit to the beach will also make history in a few million years, because it could well be that the future ruling race of this planet (the smelly fetid strongly suspects that they will probably be furry, intelligent kitties with opposable thumbs who have learned to open their own cans, which will then make the annoying, misplaced feeder unnecessary and as a result we ALL have to die!) will at some point stand puzzled next to the stone footprints of the unnecessary presence and then discuss whether there was ever a giant, human sub-race, because they have never found such extremely deep footprints.

Hehe, it was only the small, stupid traveler who destroyed the hallway with his misshapen Krumpan stomper.

There was a small annoyance today, however, because Gockel and DummDumm insisted that there was a ferry from Rathmullan to Buncrana, which turned out to be a small, neat construction site, and there was a lot of activity there.

So as a result, the person who was unnecessarily present had to drive an extra 50 kilometers, but today it was just warm and sunny all day long!

Die faule Sau

(Ste)Irishe Erfahrungen — Wed, 15 May 2024 19:01:00 GMT

Well hello!

Today the unworthy traveller drove 70 km further than he had planned and the reason was Achill Island.

Ignorant as the idiot always is, he thought during yesterday's planning that he would just like to skip this useless, stupid piece of land so that he could lazily and sluggishly chew his beloved, fatty bacon somewhere, but no way!

He simply took a spontaneous turn in a different direction, and the grand mishap was caused, and the dishonorable Gaijin found himself in the middle of a landscape where he had to obediently bend his gouty snapping finger every few meters so that his beloved reading darlings, who were always hugged inside and given friendly, warm thoughts, could also get their wonderful eye balm for the day.

In this area, not even the clever fox and the ram-hare say goodnight to each other anymore, because there is so much space in the landscape that they simply never meet up to have a good drink together and then drunkenly shout Irish folk songs into the night.

But there are sheep there in abundance and everywhere.

A small, lazy pig was lying there in the middle of the road, licking its fur with relish when the smelly fetid Bertha arrived and didn't move an inch as the truck drove past.

The unnecessary attendee has to admit that he was actually very impressed by this chilled-out little lamb and he is now thinking very urgently about whether such a relaxed attitude at work would be approved by the boss, because to cash in the full wage without breaking a sweat for it, well, that would of course be a dream of the dishonorable Gaijin (to be honest, nothing will change, because the smelly fetid is and always has been a lazy pig and only moves when he has the Bertha under his ass).

If the boss is reading this now and has always wondered:

"Where was that idiot ever able to achieve anything?!"

Well, the surly Schreibermeier has to answer in a calm and composed manner:

"If I ever find out, I'll make a big deal out of it and tell everyone, but until then, just chill out, gee!"

The menu

(Ste)Irishe Erfahrungen — Tue, 14 May 2024 19:40:00 GMT

So after today, the unworthy traveler simply has no choice but to tell the Irish that they can at least drink their fruity whiskey in the second most beautiful country that the dishonorable Gaijin has ever visited on his noble, fiery horse.

At the very top is Norway, which the unnecessarily present person will unfortunately not visit again, unless he pays a rather hefty fine that awaits him...

What the green island had to offer the dull eyes of the unworthy traveler today was simply fantastic to gaze upon!

As an amuse-bouche, the Irish star chef served the Cliffs of Moher, which would have had a silky-sweet finish, but because people were brought in by busloads, this pleasure had to be foregone a little, but not entirely.

The smelly fetid had decided to take a look around the island of Inisheer because he had seen the film "Banshees of Inisherin" this year and the Aran Islands were one of the filming locations for this wonderful film.

But what happened to be a big greeting from the kitchen was that you could also see the Cliffs of Moher from there.

As a pièce de résistance, the gourmet gaijin then sniffed out the Burren National Park - my goodness, the stones lying around there!

It goes on for ages past stone walls, sheep and rocks and then everything changes and you see rocks, stone walls and sheep and then there was another sheep with a rock next to a stone wall and so on and so on...

Really beautiful to look at!

One fatal driving error there and you'll definitely end up with a pebble in your knee, that's for sure.

For a sweet dessert, we then had the Killary Fjord as a culinary delight and here everything was greener than green, except perhaps the sheep, because they were black and white.

These Irish star chefs are simply lavish and luxurious!

...oh and right at the end, there was also a oage shipwreck on the Kopfi, so that the dishonorable Gaijin doesn't forget that he's getting on the Irishman's nerves and should sneak off soon...

Drama Baby!

(Ste)Irishe Erfahrungen — Mon, 13 May 2024 20:05:00 GMT

The unworthy traveler's streak of luck seems to have run out a bit, because since today there has been a rather unpleasant, refreshing humidity here on the green island.

But what should he moan about, the slovenly scribbler, twelve days on the road on his noble horse and only on two measly days was waterproof rain gear really needed.

He really shouldn't moan and grumble.

What this dark, heavy cloud cover really brings with it, however, is some really brilliant, dramatic-looking landscape shots, because when the light falls just right and there is a light-dark wall of clouds along the sky, it creates wonderful, bold contrasts all by itself.

Beautiful, eye-balming Büda, at least that’s what the grumpy Schreibermeier thinks.

Drama drama baby!

At the moment, however, the dishonorable Gaijin is particularly concerned with one question:

Which of these countless whiskey distilleries should he head to so that he can bring home something decent to drink?!

No plan!

No idea!

I don't even like the stuff!

His usual approach will probably have to remedy this:

Just take the distillery that is furthest to the left of Ireland and whose name is unpronounceable for a Styrian.

The dishonorable gaijin also hopes that he will get hold of something that is not so easy to get at home and that will really flatter the olfactory bulbs and palates of his relatives, that their minds will be almost ecstatic and that they will muse with their fingers outstretched: "Eh! You can drink this stuff. Without stretching it."

Ok, we'll see...

If there is one of the wonderful and extremely intelligent readers who has any idea about this highly intellectual subject, then this best one is of course very welcome to help!