Dublin to Kilmore Quay, and Kinsale

Tom Jones once sang 'The Green green grass of home ' about Wales, but it could have been about Ireland in its entirety. Not only the grass, but the fabulous alleys of trees lining the narrow country lanes,  which so often seem to lean towards each other to touch and form a natural tunnel of lush green foliage. It would be extremely restful if it weren't for the many lunatic locals who evidently feel they know the roads so well they can use them as racetracks! 

 

The trip to tiny Kilmore Quay led us through the rolling hills and the pleasant valleys of the Wicklow Mountains. Lovely! First stop a magnificent park, Glendalough, a tranquil monastic site and beautiful ancient churchyard with extensive, mystical views of 'the Valley of the two lakes'. I just love browsing round churchyards  and reading the gravestones. So many parents lost so many of their children. Heartbreaking. 

 

The Avoca Valley was gorgeous. Here a plaque at the meeting of the two rivers. There was a lot of poetry around. I really enjoy this aspect of Ireland too.

 The poet does seem a bit obsessed with the 'bosom' 😀

Somehow, just at the end of the day we seem to hit the tiniest of country lanes, meet tractors on blind corners and despite a GPS we always seem to have problems finding our accommodation!

Our first night on the road and we had a beautiful B and B in a modernised farm house. Huge living room and an incredibly well cared- for garden. Immaculate actually, as are most of the gardens we have passed. Perhaps it is the cooler , damper weather which gives the feeling of every garden being beautiful!

The reason for stopping at Kilmore Quay was that it is well known for its many thatched houses. It certainly had a lot of them, and many looked as if they had just received a new haircut! Note the number of NZ cabbage trees in the picture. Poor people, they do not realise perhaps how difficult they are to get rid of, and how much they shed their leaves, which do not decompose.  They look great in their prime but later look scrappy.

 

After a massive Irish cooked breakfast with delicious Irish bacon and eggs and soda bread, we set off towards Kinsale, the starting point of the Wild Atlantic Way, a 2500 km route around the magnificent coastline. Apparently, according to a local I chatted to, it has been in existence for a long time, but the Irish tourist offices now sell Ireland by using spectacular photos of this incredible route and like New Zealand, Ireland is now overrun by tourists!

Our first stop was Tintern Abbey, and what an introduction to Irish abbeys that was. It was founded in c. 1200 and was used as an abbey for centuries until it became a family home and was used as such until the 1950s. Amazing as you look at it to think people were still living there so recently.

 

So here we are at the first beach along the Atlantic Way. Fantastic sandy beach , but rather chilly water.

 Our lovely bed and breakfast was up on the hill, with fabulous views over the bay and The Old Head peninsula.

 

Our BMW was thankfully still in one piece after the first day! I have to admit that I was extremely anxious on many occasions and still struggle with the width of this car, and the cost of repair! On the positive side, it is very comfortable and pretty easy to drive - if only they would widen the lanes!

We drove across to the peninsula where we had the first of what was to be many delicious fish meals. You can be guaranteed the freshest fish everywhere you go. Prices and service are also great. The Speckled Door, this colourful, not to be missed and cannot be missed restaurant, was brilliant!

 

Theview at the back of the restaurant was amazing too!

 

Yet another cabbage tree! Still in its prime!

We had a great morning in Kinsale, which dates back about 8 centuries.  What a gloriously colourful place it is, just as all the guide books told me it was.

 

Though sometimes a little over the top! 

 

We were really lucky to be there on their market day. There were only a handful of stalls but they were selling absolutely fantastic homemade produce. Who says the Brits can't cook?

 

The whole place was simply delightful. I can certainly imagine spending some more time there one day.

 

The signs everywhere were very special and added to the overall ambience of this quaint little seaside town

 

I learnt my first, probably most important Gaelic word today, although I am not sure how it is pronounced.

 

A fantastic start to what I know is going to be a fabulous trip with Trudi through Ireland.

 

How very true. Let's go!

Wales

It was a rather bumpy start to my trip home to Wales and my family there in Llantwit Major. Stormy skies, strong, gusty winds and rain made take off and landing a bit unpleasant, but the pilots did an amazing job of steadying the swaying plane for perfect landings. 

Welcome to Wales!

 

It didn't seem any time at all since we said our goodbyes in October last year. We just took up where we left off apart from seeing everyone, especially the kids, 6 months older and certainly in the case of Ben and Daisy, more mature. I am so thrilled to be able to keep in touch so well. There was a major change to Ceri's household, the introduction of one of the cutest wee puppies imagineable, Meek the spoodle, Bethan's dog. 

 She is an absolute lunatic, springing around like a tiny gazelle, leaping over any obstacles in her way, be it legs, dogs, chairs or coffee tables. 

Molly, the docile Jack Russell, tolerates her well considering that her years of being top dog have now been brought to an abrupt halt! We all make a fuss of Molly, but it is clear who attracts all the attention when we are out. 

  They do seem to enjoy watching tele together at times, interspersed  with hilarious hide and seek games with Ben, when they dash through the house looking behind sofas, in bathrooms and behind curtains until they can find him. Entertainment for all!

We had some gorgeous walks whilst I was in Wales, enjoying the cool but generally dry days. Sadly, I didn't have my phone or Ipad with me so have no photos. Porthcawl was particularly lovely with its colourful stones and long beaches.

So , after another pretty turbulent landing, i am now in Ireland and Trudi and I enjoyed an evening and few  hours this morning  in Dublin.

I love the signs here in Ireland, both serious poetry

 

And not so serious pub advertising

 

Not to mention  the magnificently colourful hanging baskets which adorn the pub walls and brighten up the dullest days

 

 And of course endless empty beer barrels! I have never seen so many pubs in one area. 

 

Dublin was nice despite masses of roadworks and building. The River Tilley has a calming influence amidst all the hustle and bustle of this busy international city

 

These were the only two ladies I saw sitting and chatting!

 

Time to set off on our road trip round Ireland. Our upgrade to automatic is incredible - a super smooth immaculate BMW , capable of 260 kph! ( in the right hands and in Germany).

 A terrifying responsibility I have to say. More in next blog! 

The beautiful river Danube

Luckily, I had seen some brochures for the little riverside town of Kriems and it looked very pretty. It was definitely worth the short visit we paid it, even though, being Sunday,  it was rather dead apart from the many American passengers of a visiting cruise ship. We found our way to the older part of town with its fantastically attractive mix of architecture. I just loved this particular corner with its rectangles and curves. It all looked so clean and well cared for compared to Sankt Poelten.

 

This building below, built into the old city wall was particularly stunning. On the other side of the outer wall was a totally modern arcade. Very beautiful.

 

 

From Kriems we headed along the banks of the River Danube towards Linz. What a lovely drive it was through the Wachau wine district of Upper Austria with all its colourful and picturesque villages set amongst the vineyards. 

We wanted a tea and coffee and found a really inviting garden with an orchard of cherry trees, heavily laden with fruit. It had a massive restaurant area, but I was surprised to learn that restaurants offering wine tastings needed a special licence for coffee, so we had to go elsewhere. Very strange rules!

 

The Danube is far from 'blue' but nevertheless is still impressive. It is incredibly wide and even now, after very little rain, very full.  I liked this little car ferry taking cars and many bikes across to the other side.

 

 

I have never seen so many cyclists. It is, of course, perfect terrain for cycling as it is very flat and there is a special cyclist track running alongside the road. You can hire bikes in one village and drop off at the next. Great idea!

We really had a fantastic drive to Linz, dropped off the car at the airport ( the quietest airport both of us have ever seen) and then headed into Linz. It is apparently Austria's second biggest city and it was rapidly obvious that it was a young people's city, with many different universities. The main square is absolutelymassive and to me a little ostentatious. On the other hand, it was beautifully clean and tidy.

 

Some of the old city was especially attractive , helped by the unbelievably blue , cloudless sky! We were so lucky with the weather. It was perfect. We went back to this area for our mini pub crawl later that night.

 

As the sun set, the hills and Danube lit up. It was gorgeous. We took a funny little tram up to the top of the hill for a brilliant view over the city.

 

As night fell, the lights of the city sprang to life 

 

And the Ars Electronica Centre  looked spectacular with its ever changing colours.

 

 

We thoroughly enjoyed the city at night, spending quite some hours in the old city at a couple of the local bars. We met some really great young people from Hungary and had a fabulous night out.

I am not sure what this poster was all about! Perhaps people confuse Austria and Australia?

 

All good things come to an end. Time to head back through The Vorarlberg area where David had worked for a winter season

  

And back  to Russikon. Wow, so hot in the Zurich area!

Thanks Dennis for a really fun five days!

 

Bad Ischl

I cannot understand that I have not visited Austria more in the past. It seems to be a fantastic destination! Lakes, mountains and spectacular mountain passes, friendly people and reasonable room rates and meals. 

 

Our first stop was the Hallstaedtersee. It was so beautiful, as was the weather, and the water could really not have been cleaner or clearer. A brilliant start to the shortish tour Dennis had prepared for us. I had no idea exactly where we were heading, but it was all really special and extremely varied. 

We arrived at Bad Ischl, an attractive small town on the banks of the gently flowing River Traun.

 

 The town is extremely clean and tidy and we were lucky enough to arrive on the evening of a wine festival. It was a super atmosphere with music and of course lots of local wine. Believe it or not , I only had one glass ( actually I am not so keen on the Austrian wines) and we were heading to the thermal pools afterwards. The pools were okay but the jets a bit too hard for me! I need to toughen up a bit I think.

Our accommodation was amazing, in an old villa just outside town. We had an appartment there with a balcony, on the first floor . It was very special. We sat outside after our swim enjoying the peace, the wonderfully clear skies and pleasant temperatures. 

 

Our trip to Sankt Poelten was fantastically varied, with breathtaking scenery almost the entire way, much of the journey being in the Gesauesel national park. From agricultural areas with huge farms reminiscent of New Zealand,

 

 

 

To Staggeringly impressive, sheer rock faces rising up dramatically from the narrow valley floors to tower above us. 

 

The altitude was strangely deceptive. We often had the feeling we were climbing significantly, only to find we were only a few hundred metres above sea level, yet often with dramatic views

 

Here we are at the top of one pass, with our extremely comfortable and plush Audi. A little more style than my little Mazda in New Zealand!

The roads reminded me of New Zealand in many ways- virtually empty and often in need of repair, but actually perfectly okay to get us from A to B!

 

We stopped for a drink at a fabulous place, the Enntal golf course

 

As we turned off the main road and followed a narrow winding road for several kilometres to the golf club, we wondered what we would find. It was great!. 

 What a wonderfully restful, calm place this was to take a break. The course looked incredible , with its stunning scenery - actually in the heart of a World Heritage nature park.

 

More dramatic scenery and empty roads!

 

Finally, after quite a climb and an extremely curvy road we reached the highest point of the day, only   a few metres short of 1000m above sea level. What a gorgeous view in such perfect weather.

 

It appears that we were unbelievably lucky because apparently it had been extremely cold and rainy in the last weeks.

Our day finished in St Poelten, a smallish town which compared to the other places we had visited, seemed in need of a little TLC. It had a large open square surrounded by cafes but apart from this there was not much to see on a Sunday evening. It didn't matter at all. The day had been so full of amazing places and we had a brilliant evening at a pizzeria, sharing stories and often laughing uncontrollably. So lovely to enjoy these balmy spring evenings with Dennis in new places.