Kiss the Blarney Stone

The last time when I visited Blarney in County Cork I said I have to come back to this place again and it did not take me long to fulfil my promise. I had to see more of Blarney Castle and the park with its surroundings.

Als ich das letzte Mal Blarney im County Cork besuchte, sagte ich, dass ich bald an diesen Ort zurückkehren möchte und ich musste nicht lange darauf warten, mein Versprechen zu erfüllen. Ich wollte unbedingt mehr vom Blarney Schloss und dem Park mit seiner Umgebung sehen.

When you look at the top of the tower, you will see a hole, that is the place where people lie down and kiss the Blarney Stone. It is said, when you kiss that stone, you get the gift of the gab, which means that you learn how to speak eloquently and fluently. Sir Winston Churchill kissed the Blarney Stone and became one of the greatest orators. Well, if it was the magic of the stone or a natural gift, we won't be able to find out!

Wenn Du auf den oberen Teil des Turmes schaust, wirst Du ein Loch entdecken. Das ist der Platz, an dem sich Leute niederlegen und den Blarney Stein küssen. Es wird gesagt, dass man, wenn man den Stein küsst, die Redegabe bekommt, was bedeutet, dass man erlernt, eloquent und fliessend zu sprechen. Sir Winston Churchill hat den Blarney Stein geküsst und wurde zu einem der grössten Redner seiner Zeit. Ob es nun an der Magie des Steines oder eine natürliche Begabung war, werden wir nicht herausfinden.

When you walk around  the lovely park, you will find Blarney house nearby,, which looks like a castle , but it is a manor. It was built in 1874 and overlooks the Blarney lake. I love this picture so much that I put it on my computer desktop, it looks really nice!

Wenn Du im herrlichen Park herummarschierst, wirst Du Blarneyhaus in der Nähe finden, welches zwar wie ein Schloss aussieht, aber nur ein Herrenhaus war. Es wurde 1874 erbaut, mit Blick auf den Blarney See. Ich mag dieses Bild so gerne, dass ich es als Desktopfoto auf meinem Computer verwendet habe.

There is also a Celtic Dolmen near this arch way, but I did not take a photo of it, because it is only a small one and not very spectacular.

Es gibt auch ein keltisches Hühnengrab nahe dieses Arkadenwegs , aber ich habe kein Foto davon gemacht, weil es nur klein und nicht sehr spektakulär ist.

We did not have enough time to view the lake, which is in a 45 minutes walk from the entrance, but maybe we will catch up next time in Blarney.

Wir hatten nicht genug Zeit, um uns den See anzusehen, da wir etwa weitere 45 Minuten gebraucht hättten, um zu ihm zu gelangen, aber vielleicht holen wir das bei unserem nächsten Besuch in Blarney nach.

Fotos by Margit Anna Binder

Tramore beach on a windy day

Though it was very grey and windy  today, we decided to go to Tramore beach, which is not far from us, to watch the sea, when it is a bit wilder. I love the sound of the billions tons of water when it is rolling in big waves into the land and end up in big fountains when hitting the wall of the promenade.

Trotzdem es heute sehr grau und windig war, entschieden wir uns nach Tramore zu fahren, da der Strand nicht weit von uns enfernt ist, um uns das Meer anzusehen, wenn es aufgewühlter ist. Ich liebe das Tosen von Milliarden Tonnen von Wasser, wenn es in Wellen ins Land rollt und sich in hohen Fontänen auftürmt, sobald es auf die Mauer der Promenade trifft.

The Amusement Park was still open, but I suppose it will be closed down soon for this year. I was surprised that there were still so many people out on a day like that, but as we had no summer at all, they probably take whatever they can get.

Der Freizeitpark war noch offen, aber ich vermute, dass er bald geschlossen wird, für dieses Jahr. Ich war überrascht, dass noch immer so viele Leute an einem Tag, wie diesen, draussen unterwegs waren, aber nachdem wir heuer keinen Sommer hatten, nehmen die Iren es wahrscheinlich halt so, wie es eben kommt.

Fotos by Margit Anna Binder

Copper Coast, Co. Waterford

Though I published a post about the Copper Coast in County Waterford some time ago, I had to take a few more shots with my camera, because that is such an exiciting area and I love to be there.

Some people might get bored and think "oh, it's just the sea and stones", but I like the combination of powerful water, mighty rocks in different shapes and variations and the sky which can change the view from a  natural lovely peaceful  landscape to a kind of threatening place so quickly, depending on the weather condition.

Fotos by Margit Anna Binder

A weekend in County Louth and Dublin

As we had bad weather for weeks now, I was really yearning for a weekend out. This time I went to  Carlingford in County Louth the north east coast of the Irish Republic, right up to the border of Northern Ireland. The weather was still not wonderful, but at least it did not rain.

It got late and I was looking out for a hotel for the night, but each hotel or bed and breakfast I contacted by phone, was booked out. I was very surprised as the hotel industry is always complaining that their business is getting bad. It can't be so bad, when they are booked out, though the weather is dreadful here. So I moved back towards Skerries in County Dublin, but I could not get accommodation there neither.

I ended up in the Holiday Inn, my  preferred hotel, where I stay most times when I am in Dublin. Their prices are reasonable and the rooms are clean and that is all  I need.

I love the sea and I can't get enough of it, so I drove along the coast through Dun Laoire, where a French festival took place. I actually did not see many french things. I got a nice necklace from an Irish stand, I had Curry Chicken from a Chinese stand and  had Pizza from an Italian, but never mind, it was a nice afternoon.

Though you are in the capitol city of Ireland, you have the opportunity to go swimming or walk on a beach as Dublin is next to the sea

The weather got even better than I thought and I could enjoy a few sunrays and warmth for a change.

Fotos by Margit Anna Binder

Weather forecasts in modern days

We are living in the the 21st Century and we should think that our modern high technologies should be able to make more accurate predictions. We have satellites and lots of other modern facilities to watch the weather, but as it seems, we only can say the weather for today, the day when it happens. That means, that I look out of the window and see, if it is sunny or grey, if it might rain or not..... it is like in ancient times.

The meteorologists predicted the hottest summer on record. We waited and waited and waited and up to now the hot summer still did not arrive. After we all realised we will get a wet and unfriendly July, the weather  men told us that the weather will become bad, "but we will get tropical weather soon", they promised. So, the "sun hungry" Irish  were then longingly waiting for the tropical weather to arrive,  but no sign of a sun ray. Now, as July is over and we see no changes, the clever meteorologists came to the conclusion that we won't have a proper summer this year, it is actually the coldest since decades. It is as if last years winter is continuing until the next one marches into the land. People who are yearning for a bit of sunshine and warmth have to go to Spain or Greece or other Southern countries, if they can afford it.

Photo by Margit Anna Binder

Blarney Castle, Co. Cork

Denis had to go to Blarney and I decided to join him to get out for a while. The day was not too bad and while he visited a company, I was strolling around and as I thought Denis meeting would take longer, I went into the Blarney garden. Pity, that I could not stay long, as I liked the place very much!

I did not see the castle and garden properly, so I promise to be back soon to have a closer look.

Fotos by Margit Anna Binder

GRAIGUENAMANAGH in County Kilkenny

As the promised hottest summer of the century did not arrive yet, we had to use the opportunity to get out yesterday. It was dull, but at least it did not rain and it was relatively warm, about 18 degrees.
I remember when I came to Ireland first, I found the summers here freezing cold, I was used to 30 degrees and more,but you have to take what you get, though I have to admit that I still miss the sunny hot days.

Da der heisseste Jahrhundertsommer noch nicht eingetroffen ist, mussten wir die Gelegenheit gestern nutzen, um ein bisschen rauszugehen. Es war trüb, aber zumindest regnete es nicht und es war relativ warm, ca. 18 Grad C. Ich erinnere mich, als ich das erste Mal nach Irland kam, da empfand ich die Sommer hier fröstelnd kalt. Ich war an Temperaturen um die 30 Grad und mehr gewöhnt, aber man muss es so nehmen, wie es kommt, obwohl ich zugeben muss, dass mir die sonnigen, heissen Tage noch immer sehr fehlen.

We walked along the Canal in Graiguenamanagh, the village where Denis' father comes from, which is situated in the Barrow Valley in Co. Kilkenny, . It is a nice, peaceful place with a long walking path, where you can enjoy nature, without being bothered by loud tourist crowds.

Wir marschierten den Kanal in Graignuenamanagh entlang, dem Dorf, wo Denis Vater geboren wurde und welches im Barrow Tal in County Kilkenny liegt. Dies ist ein netter, friedlicher Ort mit langen Wanderwegen, wo man die Natur geniessen kann, ohne von lauten Touristenschwärmen umgeben zu sein.

We passed some march land with lots of wild flowers and I asked Denis if you could get stuck in the mud. He said he would not think so. Then he called me further down, as he spotted a sheep. "That is a strange one," he said, "it has two colours, brown in the back." We took a closer look with the camera and noticed it was injured in the back. There was a big baldy patch, covered in blood with lots of flys attacking the wound.

Wir kamen an einem Marchland mit vielen wilden Blumen vorbei und ich fragte Denis, ob man darin stecken bleiben könnte. Denis verneinte, doch kurz darauf rief er mich zu sich, weil er ein Schaf gesichtet hatte. "Das sieht eigenartig aus," meinte er, "es hat zwei Farben, braun am Hinterteil." Wir schauten uns das Tier mit der Kamera näher an und bemerkten, dass es am Rücken eine Verletzung hatte. Da war eine grosse haarlose Stelle zu sehen, die mit Blut bedeckt war und etliche Fliegen attackierten die Wunde.

"Poor creature," said Denis, "it must have been stuck in the mud." We felt so sorry for the sheep and felt even worse when it starred at us with a desperate look, as if it wanted to say: "Please help !"

"Arme Kreatur," sagte Denis, "es muss im Schlamm steckengeblieben sein," Das Schaf tat uns unendlich leid und wir fühlten uns sogar noch schlechter, als es uns mit einem verzweifelten Blick anstarrte, als wollte es sagen: "Bitte helft mir!"

We went back as fast as we could and drove to the police station. There we showed the pictures of the poor animal and told the officer the location where it was to find. He promised to send a veterinary to the place and to look for the owner of the sheep. We did what we could and hope the sheep will recover!

Wir machten uns eiligst auf den Rückweg und fuhren zur Polizeistation. Wir zeigten dem Wachmann die Bilder, die wir von dem armen Tier gemacht hatten und beschrieben die Stelle, wo es zu finden war. Er versprach uns einen Tierarzt dorthin zu entsenden und nach dem Schaf zu sehen und den Besitzer ausfindig zu machen. Wir haben getan, was wir tun konnten und hoffen, dass das Schaf das übersteht!

Fotos by Margit Anna Binder

The Tall Ship Race 2011 in Waterford

I was at the Tall Ship Festival on Friday 1. July and I was rather disappointed. There were not as many tall ships as I expected, I  saw maybe ten or twelve and a few small ones, but I did not come to see the small ones. There are lots of food stalls, but most of them offer only food and I find it very uncomfortable to eat and having nothing to drink with it. A stall's owner told me that they are not allowed to sell drink, which I found does not make sense. It was hard to walk through the crowds of people and lots of barrieres made it even harder to get through.

I had a few snacks, looked around and after 3 hours I had enough and went home.

What I really would love to see is when the ships leave together and when they are in full sail, but I will have to get up early to see that and I have to look for a good spot somewhere outside of Waterford City.

Fotos by Margit Anna Binder