IRISH WEATHER

When I visited Ireland in July 2003 for my very first time, I was told to bring warm clothes, because it was said the Irish summer was not predictable. Well, it turned out to be the hottest summer in records and my daughter and I had to buy tshirts, because we brought only warm pullovers in our suitcases. We had no problem with the heat as we were used to it, but the Irish people suffered terribly, they never experienced so many days with temperatures over 30 degrees before. Luckily it was a one off and the next years were back to normal, which means lots of nice days in May and June with average temperatures ranging appr. from 20 to 25 degrees.

I remember, when I moved to Ireland permanently in April 2008, I was complaining about the last winter in Austria and that we had no snow at all. I love snow, especially around Christmas time! The next morning, I looked out of the window and was shocked to see everything covered under a thick white blanket of snow. That was like a nice welcome present and I was so happy to get my winter for one day. The snow melted away during the afternoon and all what was left was a nice memory. Usually there is not much snow in Irish winters and if it snows, then only a little bit, but that is enough to stop the whole country and children get time off from school.

In the last few years, there was neither a winter, nor a summer. The weather seems to be the same throughout the whole year. I was often wondering, when people on the street greeted with a friendly "hello! Isn't it a nice day?", on days where dark clouds were hanging heavy from the sky and not a single sun ray could pass through. I learnt that people here are happy enough with any weather, as long as it is not raining. This year's summer was a disaster, it was practically not existing and I heard people jokingly saying: "Didn't we have a nice summer last Thursday?"

I must admit, I love Ireland, but I hate the Irish weather, especially from the past 2 years. I need sun! I need warmth! I need seasons! But where can I go to complain?

Stradbally, Copper Coast

Stradbally Strand  is a lovely small beach, with lots of little caves. As the entrance to the beach is on a hidden place, it is not overcrowded, that makes it even nicer.

As I stated in other posts before, I love the Copper Coast and it is always a visit worth. In Tankardstown you will find these buildings which belonged to the old Copper Mines.

Photos by Margit Anna Doyle

INIS OIRR County Clare

Inis Oirr (means South Island) is the smallest of the Aran Islands. We went by boat  from Doolin in County Clare, near to the Cliffs of Moher. It takes about 40 Minutes to arrive on the island.

Click on photos to enlarge

The journey was a bit bumpy, but not too bad, even the little dog enjoyed the trip.

After months of wet, windy and grey days, we finally had a lovely weekend with high summer temperatures of 22 degrees. On the right you see Inis Oirr Light House.










You can hire a horse carriage or rent a bicycle to explore the island, but if you want to stay for a whole weekend, you would not need any transport for a sightseeing tour on the island.

Photos by Margit Anna Doyle








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Schlosshof in Lower Austria

Another nice trip with my son Alexander, his fiancee Tanja and my beautiful grandson Adrian. We spent a lovely memorable day in Schlosshof, which was rennovated recently and presented to  the public in a new style. You can walk through romantic gardens, view the castle inside and out, the children are allowed to visit the animal park and see the goats, chickens and Albino donkeys.

Ein anderer schöner Ausflug mit meinem Sohn Alexander, seiner Verlobten Tanja und meinem wunderhübschen Enkelsohn Adrian. Gemeinsam verbrachten wir einen netten erinnerungswürdigen Tag in Schlosshof in Niederösterreich, welches kürzlich renoviert und wiedereröffnet wurde und sich seither in einem neuen Stil präsentiert. Man kann durch romantische Gärten spazieren, das Schloss aussen und innen besichtigen, die Kinder dürfen den Tierpark besuchen und die Ziegen, Hühner und Albinoesel bestaunen.

A  Roman fountain which makes grumbling noises ( ein murmelnder römischer Brunnen)

A beautiful view ( eine schöne Aussicht

Photos by Margit Anna Binder

RIEGERS BURG

The Riegers Burg is a lovely castle on the top of a hill. It is located near to Zotters Chocolate Factory in Styria and you can either walk up by foot or take the lazy way and use a lift.

Die Riegers Burg ist eine hübsche Burg auf einem Hügel. Sie befindet sich nahe der Zotter Schokoladenfabrik in der Steiermark. Man kann entweder zu Fuss raufmarschieren oder den faulen Weg per Lift nehmen.

Photos by Margit Anna Doyle

Willy Wonka or Sepp Zotter? Austrian Chocolate

Photos by Sabine Binder

This post is not about Ireland, it is about Austria instead. We were on holidays in the country where I was born. My daughter Sabine and her partner Michael invited us to the Austrian province of Styria, where we went to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. Well, the owner is not really Willy Wonka, but Sepp (Josef) Zotter, who created his factory with lots of  love for his product and a good sense of humour. All of his 150 different types of chocolate are produced, under very high standard, are completely biological and absolute Fairtrade.

Dieser Artikel ist nicht über Irland, stattdessen dieses Mal über Österreich. Wir waren in dem Land, in dem ich geboren wurde, auf Urlaub. Meine Tochter Sabine und ihr Lebenspartner Michael haben uns in das Bundesland Steiermark eingeladen, wo wir zu Willy Wonkoas Schokoladenfabrik fuhren. Nun gut, eigentlich  ist der Besitzer nicht wirklich Willy Wonka, sondern Sepp (Josef) Zotter, welcher seine Fabrik mit viel Liebe zu seinem Produkt und einem guten Sinn für Humor kreiert hat. Alle seiner 150 verschiedenen Schokoladesorten werden mit einem hohen Standard produziert, sind komplett biologisch und absolut Fairtrade.

You can sample every chocolate, but you should take small amounts only, because you will get sick otherwise, when you eat yourself through all the different variations. In this part of the factory the chocolate is presented like a Running Sushi and you can even find some crazy flavours like fish, cheese and tomato. Amazingly enough the tastes are not dreadful, as one might think.

Man kann jede Schokolade probieren, aber man sollte sich nur kleine Portionen zu Gemüte führen, da einem sonst schnell übel werden könnte, wenn man sich durch die ganze Vielfalt durchisst. In diesem Teil der Fabrik wird die Schokolade, wie auf einem Running Sushi präsentiert, man kann sogar verrückte Varianten mit Fisch, Käse oder Tomaten finden. Überraschenderweise schmecken sie aber nicht abscheulich, wie man vielleicht annehmen würde.

There is a shop where you can buy all sorts of chocolates and surprise your family at home with a different taste of sweets. Maybe Chili Chocolate or one with mushrooms?
In another department are mini lifts, which transport all kind of chocolate bars and you can choose one to mix  with hot milk, supplied free by the factory. The result is a chocolate drink to your own taste.

Es gibt ein Geschäft vorort, wo Du alle Schokoladesorten kaufen und Deine Familie daheim mit einer anderen Art von Süssigkeit überraschen kannst. Vielleicht eine Chili Schokolade oder eine mit Pilzen?
In einer anderen Abteilung gibt es Minilifts, welche alle Arten von Schokoladen transportieren. Man kann eine davon wählen und sie in eine heisse Milch einrühren, welche kostenfrei ausgeschenkt wird. Das Resultat ist ein Schokoladedrink nach Deinem eigenen Geschmack.

Behind the Chocolate Factory is a huge park, where you can see  cows, sheep, peacocks, lamas etc. and you can relax on a hammock or play farmers golf, which is a light hearted family game where participants throw Wellingtons to land on various objects. On the way back to the exit you will find a cemetry for all the types of  chocolate, which are no longer produced. R.I.P.

Hinter der Schokoladefabrik ist ein riesiger Park, wo man Kühe, Schafe, Pfaue, Lamas usw. sehen kann und Du kannst auf einer Hängematte ausruhen oder Bauerngolf spielen, wo man mit Gummistiefeln versucht verschiedene Objekte zu treffen. Auf dem Weg zum Ausgang findest Du einen Friedhof für alle Schokoladesorten, die nicht mehr produziert werden. Diese ruhen nun in Frieden!

Photos by Margit Anna Doyle