So on Saturday 28th, I did the classic substitution of guests at Dublin Airport, trading Becca for the Rents. While it was a tough trade, it worked out for everyone's running game in the end...
Fortunately all while playing host for these two weeks, Ireland had its best weather all year. Summer last about 2-3 weeks in March, and then its back to the rainy season. It was a similar game plan with the Rents to not try and see everything, but spend a good amount of time in Galway and visit the South. We rented a car, and with me driving the entire time, we were able to get a lot in...
Once again, eating out Galway was tremendous, finding lots of cool cafes and notable restaurants and pubs. Our trip down South to Kenmare had even better food establishments. We spent a night in Doolin - the epicenter for Trad music in Ireland's West - and attempted to see the Cliffs of Mohr on a foggy day. From there we headed down to the town of Kenmare, which is in between the Ring of Kerry and Ring of Beara. Dad and I had the opportunity to play Golf at the Ring of Kerry Golf Course - the best views in all of the Irish Courses - while Mom hit the Town all day. That eve we conquered the treachorous Ring of Beara, and then enjoyed the Ireland-Italy Cup qualifying soccer match.
On our way back to Dublin, we were able to catch up with Grandma Dietrich's good friend in County Tipperary, and then head to Newgrange just North of Dublin - The historical and spiritual ruins region of Ireland.
Mom and Dad had a great time in Ireland, breaking Mom's 30+ year hiatus from Ireland, and Dad's streak of wearing a Tie at least once every week since he was 3 and half...
Here are the pictures that I have, primarily from the Golf outing, otherwise Mom will have more.
Good job Fam!
MD
Hosting Part 2 - The Rents
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Hosting Part 1: Becca
After heading to Stockholm and recovering from St. Patty's week, I started playing host for the next two weeks. My first visitor was Becca on her Spring Break. Right away Becca learned from an old Irishman that Becca was neither Irish or American, but in fact she was French...
Of course when coming to Ireland for only a week, it is impossible to see everything, so we spent a good amount of time visiting in Galway and Salt Hill just up the cost, and then taking a trip down South to the Ring of Kerry. It was an awesome week, and very refreshing to see someone from back home. For the first time, I ate out a lot in Galway, and the entire time we had awesome meals and soups, and saw more of Galway than I ever had before.
The county Kerry Trip was stellar. Although it was somewhat of a nuisance without a vehicle, everything worked out very well. We got down to Killarney, in time to spend the rest of the day biking around the National Park and seeing the town. The next day we did the ring of Kerry on a Traditional Irish Coach Tour Bus... w/o a car, it is the only way. However, the tour was excellent and we were able to see a lot of beautiful Southern Ireland.
Here are the Pictures from the Week.
Cheers!
MD
Hosting Part 1
Of course when coming to Ireland for only a week, it is impossible to see everything, so we spent a good amount of time visiting in Galway and Salt Hill just up the cost, and then taking a trip down South to the Ring of Kerry. It was an awesome week, and very refreshing to see someone from back home. For the first time, I ate out a lot in Galway, and the entire time we had awesome meals and soups, and saw more of Galway than I ever had before.
The county Kerry Trip was stellar. Although it was somewhat of a nuisance without a vehicle, everything worked out very well. We got down to Killarney, in time to spend the rest of the day biking around the National Park and seeing the town. The next day we did the ring of Kerry on a Traditional Irish Coach Tour Bus... w/o a car, it is the only way. However, the tour was excellent and we were able to see a lot of beautiful Southern Ireland.
Here are the Pictures from the Week.
Cheers!
MD
Hosting Part 1
Searching for the Swedish Chef...
Two posts in one day can only mean that I'm suppose to be writing right now...
On March 11th Adam, Colin and I headed North to Stockholm - probably the farthest North we will get here in Europe. It was a comforting trip, because it was just like heading back to Wisconsin and Minnesota, the only difference being how old the buildings were, the numerous islands in the city, they have a princess, castles, huge ocean ports, a metro system, a great train system, great healthcare, snus, Swedish Krona's currency... okay well the snow and weather and welcoming atmosphere were similar.
Stockholm is a huge city with a lot more character than we expected. The old buildings and architecture alone make the city. The city is essentially several islands connected by bridges and tunnels, inland and near the East coast of Sweden. Our hostel and most of our time spent was at Old Town, a small island in the center of the City that has the old Royal Palace and town streets. We happened to stumble upon a ceremony for the Princess's birthday at the Palace Courtyard, where a Drum Corp paid tribute to the Princess and then she went around to meet the crowd. Of course we tried using our American charm to woo her, and of course the drum corp played ABBA's 'Dancing Queen' in her honor...
Duck Party at Djergarden National Park
We also spent a lot of time in a few of the National Parks that are in the city, as well as the various Modern Art Museums and the Vasa - a giant 17th Century Swedish Warship that sunk 20mins into its first voyage - the Swedes have improved their architecture and design skills since then.
Perhaps the biggest blunder of the trip came when we took the advice of some German visitors from our hostel, to go see Stockholm's Absolut Ice Bar. Lets just say its not like the Ice hotel in Norway... 1 room, 1 bar, 1 table, 1 bench, 1 Ice chair, and 1 frooty vodka drink per customer, all for the low low price of 150 Swedish Kronas - (Roughly 15 Euro). It did however make for a hilarious experience and decent funny story in the end...
Absolut Ice Bar
After Stockholm we headed to Uppsala for a night and day to see Jose Gonzalez in concert - a tremendous folk artist who is actually from Sweden, thus the concert being primarily in Swedish... Uppsala was a great small town with a fantastic cathedral, Castle, University, and student atmosphere. Plus the train to and from was the best mode of transportation we have experienced yet!
We left on Wed came back the following Sunday, without any missed trains, buses, or flights, hence a truly successful trip North. Here are the pictures from Stockholm, Uppsala, and the Jose Gonzalez concert.
-MD
Photos from Sweden
On March 11th Adam, Colin and I headed North to Stockholm - probably the farthest North we will get here in Europe. It was a comforting trip, because it was just like heading back to Wisconsin and Minnesota, the only difference being how old the buildings were, the numerous islands in the city, they have a princess, castles, huge ocean ports, a metro system, a great train system, great healthcare, snus, Swedish Krona's currency... okay well the snow and weather and welcoming atmosphere were similar.
Stockholm is a huge city with a lot more character than we expected. The old buildings and architecture alone make the city. The city is essentially several islands connected by bridges and tunnels, inland and near the East coast of Sweden. Our hostel and most of our time spent was at Old Town, a small island in the center of the City that has the old Royal Palace and town streets. We happened to stumble upon a ceremony for the Princess's birthday at the Palace Courtyard, where a Drum Corp paid tribute to the Princess and then she went around to meet the crowd. Of course we tried using our American charm to woo her, and of course the drum corp played ABBA's 'Dancing Queen' in her honor...
Duck Party at Djergarden National Park
We also spent a lot of time in a few of the National Parks that are in the city, as well as the various Modern Art Museums and the Vasa - a giant 17th Century Swedish Warship that sunk 20mins into its first voyage - the Swedes have improved their architecture and design skills since then.
Perhaps the biggest blunder of the trip came when we took the advice of some German visitors from our hostel, to go see Stockholm's Absolut Ice Bar. Lets just say its not like the Ice hotel in Norway... 1 room, 1 bar, 1 table, 1 bench, 1 Ice chair, and 1 frooty vodka drink per customer, all for the low low price of 150 Swedish Kronas - (Roughly 15 Euro). It did however make for a hilarious experience and decent funny story in the end...
Absolut Ice Bar
After Stockholm we headed to Uppsala for a night and day to see Jose Gonzalez in concert - a tremendous folk artist who is actually from Sweden, thus the concert being primarily in Swedish... Uppsala was a great small town with a fantastic cathedral, Castle, University, and student atmosphere. Plus the train to and from was the best mode of transportation we have experienced yet!
We left on Wed came back the following Sunday, without any missed trains, buses, or flights, hence a truly successful trip North. Here are the pictures from Stockholm, Uppsala, and the Jose Gonzalez concert.
-MD
Photos from Sweden
Aran Isle Rally (back from the dead...)
Hey everyone,
All apologies for the month long hiatus - life has been very busy here with finishing up classes, soccer, travel, and two weeks of hosting family and friends. All start where I left off back in early March.
The 7th was our last trip provided by MU, heading to the Aran Islands for the day. In spite of the so-so weather, as well as numerous rally bike malfunctions, the day was great craic. Our group leader Paul is an Outdoor Adventure and Education expert, so we definitely took advantage of his skills, seeing forts, castle lighthouses, passage ways, cliff-side forts, a persistant pony, and arguably the best soup I have ever had in my life from a local Aran shop.
Toward the end of the day, we stopped by an old abandoned church, as well as a beach where we were able to spot some seals playing off in the distance. All in all, a great day and relaxing weekend in prep for the busy month of March.
Here are the pictures on Snapfish.
Cheers!
Aran Island Photos
All apologies for the month long hiatus - life has been very busy here with finishing up classes, soccer, travel, and two weeks of hosting family and friends. All start where I left off back in early March.
The 7th was our last trip provided by MU, heading to the Aran Islands for the day. In spite of the so-so weather, as well as numerous rally bike malfunctions, the day was great craic. Our group leader Paul is an Outdoor Adventure and Education expert, so we definitely took advantage of his skills, seeing forts, castle lighthouses, passage ways, cliff-side forts, a persistant pony, and arguably the best soup I have ever had in my life from a local Aran shop.
Toward the end of the day, we stopped by an old abandoned church, as well as a beach where we were able to spot some seals playing off in the distance. All in all, a great day and relaxing weekend in prep for the busy month of March.
Here are the pictures on Snapfish.
Cheers!
Aran Island Photos
Monday, March 2, 2009
To the Barca!
Last week on Wednesday I had the great opportunity to visit the wonderful city of Barcelona. My friends Adam, Colin, and I headed out at 330am on a bus Wednesday morning to take us to the Shannon airport to catch a flight to Girona airport, and from there take an 1 hour bus ride down to Barcelona. The city was amazing! It is humongous, but still has the small town/small population feel. We never felt overwhelmed by the people whatsoever. Our hostel was right at the city centre, and roughly 100 meters from the famous Picasso museum. We walked everywhere, seeing the harbor, the beach, the Picasso Museum, the famous market la Boucateria, and of course as many Gaudi structures as possible, like the cathedral La Sangria Familia, his numerous houses, as well as the famed Gaudi Park. Overall Barcelona was a great GREAT town with much to see, and very nice people. The Main strip of Las Ramblas was most certainly interesting during the daytim, with a plethora of street performers, vendors and great cafes and such. We did a pretty good job sampling Spanish Catelonyan Culture, having tapas - small portion meals of various exotic foods - as well as ciesta - a long break of nap and food/wine in the afternoon. We spent a lot of time at the beach, relaxing and enjoying the Mediterranean sea and gorgeous warm weather!
The only tiny little problem with the trip, was that we narrowly missed our bus back to Girona on Friday morning, due to alarm time confusion... therefore we missed our flight back to Shannon. Unfortunate and stressful to say the least, along with a 75 euro 'stupid tax' to pay for our mistake to get back to Ireland. However, that meant we got to spend the rest of the day relaxing and seeing the city of Girona, which was a great time! We spent the day relaxing and recovering from our stressful morning (and late night out...). All in all, we made it back to Galway after spending the night in Dublin airport to catch a 630 bus back home - a long journey home, but a great experience overall, making this one of the top places we have ever visited.
Here are the photos from the trip.
Enjoy!
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=275459351/a=76959740_76959740/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish
The only tiny little problem with the trip, was that we narrowly missed our bus back to Girona on Friday morning, due to alarm time confusion... therefore we missed our flight back to Shannon. Unfortunate and stressful to say the least, along with a 75 euro 'stupid tax' to pay for our mistake to get back to Ireland. However, that meant we got to spend the rest of the day relaxing and seeing the city of Girona, which was a great time! We spent the day relaxing and recovering from our stressful morning (and late night out...). All in all, we made it back to Galway after spending the night in Dublin airport to catch a 630 bus back home - a long journey home, but a great experience overall, making this one of the top places we have ever visited.
Here are the photos from the trip.
Enjoy!
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=275459351/a=76959740_76959740/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish
On the Other Side of the Mountain...
...was the Gladiators reggae tune I had on repeat while trekking through the various peaks of Glenveigh National Park in Northwest Ireland's County Donegal. This was the destination of my solo trip North to see the Town of Letterkenny and explore the park and its castle.
It was an interesting trip to say the least! It was a 4 hour bus drive North from Galway, but that alone was almost worth the trip. The route's half-way point was Sligo, where the sight of the Atlantic traded back and forth with huge Mountain peninsulas and islands, and surfers riding the waves in the bays. Heading North of Sligo, I passed through drumcliffe and the famous poet "Yeats Country," where the drive was similar to the Rocky Mountains (but much more grass). It was an amazing drive, and I started to get real excited for trekking through similar mountains at Glenveigh.
Unfortunately, the town of Letterkenny was somewhat of a drag - literally. The town is known for having the longest main street in all of Ireland - which it does - but there is not too much to see on it, except for a large historical cathedral and steeple that overshadows the city. I also found out, that the National Park itself, is not very close to Glenveigh - roughly 30km's away! Furthermore, to make matters even more interesting, my hostel was a ghost town! The first night it was just me and two Norwegian girls, who were not to keen on talking to me or giving me a ride to Glenveigh, and then the next night, no one was there but me... ever hear of the horror movie "HOSTEL"? yeah...
All was well though. I awoke early Friday morning, walked to the edge of town and then hitch-hiked to Glenveigh by a guy named Pat, who was heading to his friends to pick him up and go look at a boat for purchase. Glenveigh was a gorgeous park! The thousands of acres of land revolve around a famous Irish Castle and Garden overlooking a very large pristine mountain lake. The scenery was amazing! The park has the largest population of native red deer, and the theme was greatly noted in the small lavish castle. In fact, the last and longest owner of the castle was a millionaire who gained his fortunes by inventing the Gas Meter in the US! He entertained numerous celebrities and international dignitaries, including the famous writer John Knowles, who actually wrote "A Separate Peace" at the castle! After seeing the gardens and castle tour, I headed out on my own to trek through the park with no compass and a very poor park map. . . not smart, I know. Again, all was well. The park was gorgeous, and I went a long while on this road/trail that went through a large valley and glen following a river, and then crossed over the river to the side of the Mount Dooish Peak, through the Poison Glen valley, to Mount Errigal - the highest peak in the park. I navigated using the Sun setting in the West, and my goal for the day was just to head North, to reach a road and get home! It all worked out great, as I met a young Romanian, Paul, who was kind enough to drop me off in Letterkenny on his way to Dublin.
Overall it was a great trip, and very peaceful. Here is the link to view pictures, and see for yourself how beautiful the National Parks are in Ireland! The album also includes some photos from a castle across the river from where I train in Dangan, and from the Reggae Dub concert I went to that weekend.
I apologize for my lack of posts - expect more on Soccer matches and our trip to Barcelona!
Cheers!
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=275418290/a=76959740_76959740/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish
It was an interesting trip to say the least! It was a 4 hour bus drive North from Galway, but that alone was almost worth the trip. The route's half-way point was Sligo, where the sight of the Atlantic traded back and forth with huge Mountain peninsulas and islands, and surfers riding the waves in the bays. Heading North of Sligo, I passed through drumcliffe and the famous poet "Yeats Country," where the drive was similar to the Rocky Mountains (but much more grass). It was an amazing drive, and I started to get real excited for trekking through similar mountains at Glenveigh.
Unfortunately, the town of Letterkenny was somewhat of a drag - literally. The town is known for having the longest main street in all of Ireland - which it does - but there is not too much to see on it, except for a large historical cathedral and steeple that overshadows the city. I also found out, that the National Park itself, is not very close to Glenveigh - roughly 30km's away! Furthermore, to make matters even more interesting, my hostel was a ghost town! The first night it was just me and two Norwegian girls, who were not to keen on talking to me or giving me a ride to Glenveigh, and then the next night, no one was there but me... ever hear of the horror movie "HOSTEL"? yeah...
All was well though. I awoke early Friday morning, walked to the edge of town and then hitch-hiked to Glenveigh by a guy named Pat, who was heading to his friends to pick him up and go look at a boat for purchase. Glenveigh was a gorgeous park! The thousands of acres of land revolve around a famous Irish Castle and Garden overlooking a very large pristine mountain lake. The scenery was amazing! The park has the largest population of native red deer, and the theme was greatly noted in the small lavish castle. In fact, the last and longest owner of the castle was a millionaire who gained his fortunes by inventing the Gas Meter in the US! He entertained numerous celebrities and international dignitaries, including the famous writer John Knowles, who actually wrote "A Separate Peace" at the castle! After seeing the gardens and castle tour, I headed out on my own to trek through the park with no compass and a very poor park map. . . not smart, I know. Again, all was well. The park was gorgeous, and I went a long while on this road/trail that went through a large valley and glen following a river, and then crossed over the river to the side of the Mount Dooish Peak, through the Poison Glen valley, to Mount Errigal - the highest peak in the park. I navigated using the Sun setting in the West, and my goal for the day was just to head North, to reach a road and get home! It all worked out great, as I met a young Romanian, Paul, who was kind enough to drop me off in Letterkenny on his way to Dublin.
Overall it was a great trip, and very peaceful. Here is the link to view pictures, and see for yourself how beautiful the National Parks are in Ireland! The album also includes some photos from a castle across the river from where I train in Dangan, and from the Reggae Dub concert I went to that weekend.
I apologize for my lack of posts - expect more on Soccer matches and our trip to Barcelona!
Cheers!
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=275418290/a=76959740_76959740/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Still Alive...
Hey all,
I apologize for the lack of blog posts - I have been busy writing, typing, and more writing the 9 essays that I would like to complete before April. So far I have roughly the bulk of 4 completed, but now come the longer essays of 3,000 words...
Anyways,
I have been doing very well these past two weeks. I have not really traveled anywhere, as I've been working on my essays mostly, but I have been keeping busy. I've been trying to keep up with paddling in the NUIG Kayak club, but it has been hard going to sessions due to classes. My primary focus as of late has been playing for the NUIG Soccer team. I had my first game with the team 2 weeks ago, as a kind of tryout game for me. All in all, I made the team, and I played well in spite of our 2-0 loss. Both goals were point blank inside the "6" as I was covering the near side post close to the goaline. I had some big saves, although I was struggling to find my "range." There were times where I should have called for and attacked the ball, but othertimes where I did so, but really shouldn't have. The reason for this being is because there is minimal training of Goaltenders here - essentially, i train as a field player, and then when given the opportunity to play in net on a short-side game, I take it. This in a sense is a rough way to train for a goalie, because the field is shrunken, but you're still defending a regulation size net - challenging, but not game scenario. All in all, I've been having a lot of fun and most of my teammates are extremely friendly and supportive.
My plan for the upcoming weeks is to set things into high gear with the culmination of writing, travel, and playing soccer. This week I've been hitting the library early in the morning, and not coming back until 8 after kayaking and training (soccer practice). This weekend I'll be taking a solo trip to Letterkenny in Northwest Ireland. It's roughly a 4 and half hour bus ride straight North, and lies in between two mountain ranges - one of which being a National Park with huge gardens and a Castle. I'm very much looking forward to spending some time on my own in brand new places. I'm also looking forward to a great concert saturday night in Galway, "Rootical Sound Systems" - Ireland's premier REGGAE group! haha. Apparently 'Jah' vacations in Ireland... And then my 2nd soccer game on Sunday. I big weekend, and I'll be sure to share it with y'all.
Keep an eye out for more posts to come, as the games and travel begin to grow!
Cheers!
I apologize for the lack of blog posts - I have been busy writing, typing, and more writing the 9 essays that I would like to complete before April. So far I have roughly the bulk of 4 completed, but now come the longer essays of 3,000 words...
Anyways,
I have been doing very well these past two weeks. I have not really traveled anywhere, as I've been working on my essays mostly, but I have been keeping busy. I've been trying to keep up with paddling in the NUIG Kayak club, but it has been hard going to sessions due to classes. My primary focus as of late has been playing for the NUIG Soccer team. I had my first game with the team 2 weeks ago, as a kind of tryout game for me. All in all, I made the team, and I played well in spite of our 2-0 loss. Both goals were point blank inside the "6" as I was covering the near side post close to the goaline. I had some big saves, although I was struggling to find my "range." There were times where I should have called for and attacked the ball, but othertimes where I did so, but really shouldn't have. The reason for this being is because there is minimal training of Goaltenders here - essentially, i train as a field player, and then when given the opportunity to play in net on a short-side game, I take it. This in a sense is a rough way to train for a goalie, because the field is shrunken, but you're still defending a regulation size net - challenging, but not game scenario. All in all, I've been having a lot of fun and most of my teammates are extremely friendly and supportive.
My plan for the upcoming weeks is to set things into high gear with the culmination of writing, travel, and playing soccer. This week I've been hitting the library early in the morning, and not coming back until 8 after kayaking and training (soccer practice). This weekend I'll be taking a solo trip to Letterkenny in Northwest Ireland. It's roughly a 4 and half hour bus ride straight North, and lies in between two mountain ranges - one of which being a National Park with huge gardens and a Castle. I'm very much looking forward to spending some time on my own in brand new places. I'm also looking forward to a great concert saturday night in Galway, "Rootical Sound Systems" - Ireland's premier REGGAE group! haha. Apparently 'Jah' vacations in Ireland... And then my 2nd soccer game on Sunday. I big weekend, and I'll be sure to share it with y'all.
Keep an eye out for more posts to come, as the games and travel begin to grow!
Cheers!
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