Road trip in wind and weather 🌧️🌈

Hey there :)

From Friday to Sunday, I traveled through Ireland with Antje (my aunt) and one of her friends. We started our journey in Dublin and drove to Galway on the west coast of Ireland, which took about 3 hours. Since Ireland is not particularly big in terms of area, you can easily reach all places. Galway is one of the most famous cities in Ireland and is known for its culture, young people, music, pubs, and parties. When we arrived there, we first dropped off our things at the BnB (Bed and Breakfast) and then walked to the city center to visit the famous Christmas market. However, we quickly agreed that this market can never be compared to a German Christmas market. It was beautifully decorated with lots of lights and some stalls, but it was missing that certain something... the Christmas atmosphere didn't really come up, and unfortunately, there were no gingerbread hearts for sale. Nevertheless, there was mulled wine, punch, hot cider, and gin. It seems that baked sausages with fries are also very popular here ;). So Irish Christmas markets don't differ much from the ones I've seen before (I'm curious how it will be in Dublin next weekend).

Since it was already late, we didn't see much of the city anymore and just sat down in a restaurant to end the evening comfortably. Besides the beautiful street lights and inviting pubs, I noticed something that wasn't so positive. There were homeless people lying on the roadside every 15 to 20 meters, covered with thick blankets and begging... I haven't noticed this so clearly in Dublin before. In Galway, we walked through one of the main shopping passages, and in retrospect, the contrast between the festive Christmas lights, street musicians, and many young people moving from one pub to another, and the obvious poverty of the people sleeping in the cold couldn't have been greater.

I wrote a few lines at the end, under the photos, about homelessness because I find the topic very interesting.

After breakfast the next day, we decided, based on the recommendation of our BnB owner, to drive to Doolin (a small fishing village in County Clare on the Atlantic coast) and stay there overnight. On the way there, we had to stop again and again, get out of the car, and look at castles, churches, or just the beautiful landscape. And there we truly noticed that the grass here is greener than in Germany - it's true! The weather on this day was supposed to be pretty bad, buuuut because of the fog and the many low-lying clouds, a particularly beautiful scenery was created, which almost looked mystical! (even if that sounds very cheesy, the photos prove it! :D).                                                                                            When we arrived in Doolin, it took us a while to find our next BnB for the night, as most of them were either fully booked, overly expensive, or simply 'dark'. However... In the end, we finally got a cute room at the Harvest Moon BnB, with a view of the beautiful landscape :). In the evening, we went to one of the three pubs in the village. And I felt obliged to try a traditional dish: Irish stew - which is basically nothing more than goulash with mashed potatoes, but very tasty! Doolin is also known for being a place of traditional Irish music, so we were able to listen to live music from 9 pm onwards. I particularly like that stories or ballads are sung during the music sessions and people of all ages sit together and listen. We also had a conversation with the bartender after he asked where we were from. But the funniest thing that happened that evening was that in this pub, in a little village at the other end of Ireland, I met another girl about the same age as me who also lives in Shankill - which hasn't happened to me here so far. The bartender kindly conveyed this to us, as he also had a conversation with her and her mother, who were also traveling in Ireland. But it actually gets even better..

The next day, after breakfast and a very nice conversation with the lady who hosted us in Doolin, we set off to visit the Cliffs of Moher. The weather forecast couldn't have been better: rain and strong wind. Before we really started, we drove to the pier in Doolin, and watched the impressive play of waves at the harbor and cliffs, and got pretty wet in the process (but we didn't care at that moment - now I'm sick 👍).

 On the way to the cliffs, we saw what Antje called 'hardcore golfers'... and I could never have imagined that: older men dressed in rain gear from head to toe were playing golf in the worst rain and wind, following the motto: there is no bad weather, only bad clothing. And that really corresponds so much to the truth... Vanity is really out of place here, and I think if the three of us had had the right gear (mud pants and rubber boots), we would have been very welcome and very prepared to play along. 

When we arrived at the actual cliffs after about 1 1/2 hours, it luckily stopped raining for the duration of our stay, and the wind was so strong that our pants were dry again in no time. But those are actually unimportant details... The cliffs were truly impressive and are among the best experiences I have had so far here! I don't have much else to say about it, I think the photos show it. And as luck would have it, we met the girl from Shankill and her mother again at the cliffs :D.

We arrived back in Dublin around 7 pm - the weekend passed by way too quickly, so we ended the evening with a Guinness and dinner at 'Ciao Bella Roma'.

Warm regards, and looking forward to seeing (almost) all of you again soon

Hanna 💗

Here you can already see a few impressions. Once the photos are downloaded from the camera, I will post a few more in the next few days.

About homelessness in Ireland:

Currently, there are more homeless people in Ireland than ever before (almost 10,000). I just talked about this issue with my family during dinner. The main reason seems to lie in structural economic factors, and the general problem is that very few houses are available or can be purchased. This is particularly a problem for families, as in the long run, it is much more expensive to rent a house or an apartment. As a result of the lack of housing options, rental prices are particularly high and continue to rise. In addition, people who rent housing do not really have the security of being able to live there long term. Unlike in Germany or France, for example, most rental apartments or houses are privately owned, and leases are not ongoing but are renewed annually. - This also makes it easier for landlords to terminate leases. Furthermore, many landlords choose to take their apartments off the rental market, either by selling them or using them for their own needs. So far, the government has failed to provide enough affordable housing for needy families or individuals.

However, emergency shelters are available, so theoretically, people don't have to sleep on the streets. But the question is whether there are enough capacities for so many people. Additionally, many people don't want to stay in these shelters out of shame or fear of being assaulted. And since it's also a fact that many affected individuals suffer from addiction or mental illness, these people would need to be accommodated differently, which is often not the case.

The government is working to find a better solution, and I also hear multiple calls for help daily on the radio. Homeless people are also financially supported, and families with children receive an extra allowance. There are also homeless kitchens where free meals are distributed.