Nach ausgiebiger gemeinsamer Recherche und Planung im Angebot „The Green Isle“ hat sich eine 13-köpfige Reisegruppe unserer Schule im Februar auf nach Irland gemacht, um Dublin, die Landschaft, die Cliffs of Moher, Galway und Glendalough in den Wicklow Mountains zu erkunden. Bewertet mit 5 von 5 Sternen, war dieser Trip ein voller Erfolg und lässt einige wunderschöne und bleibende Eindrücke bei allen zurück. Damit auch ihr einen Einblick bekommt, gibt es hier die Tagesberichte, Unterschiede zwischen Irland und Deutschland und natürlich einige Fotos.
Sunday, Getting to Dublin:
The first day of our Ireland trip started on Sunday. Before our trip, I was really nervous because it was the first time to fly alone without my parents. At the airport we met the others. From that point, I was so excited for the trip. We checked-in and dropped off the suitcases. I drank a coffee and we chilled a little bit. With the group we went to the security check and there I discovered this new security scanner, where you do not need to put your liquids and electronic devices out of your bag. They would just scan the whole bag. It was very nice and so easy to handle. In the place before the ticket entrance, we waited for about 30 minutes and then got to the plane. Before the flight, Nina told me that I would need to sit between two strangers, which was kind off weird because I have never done it before and I do not like it. But it was not as bad because both of them had headphones on, so it was really nice. The only thing that was annoying, was that I did not sit on the window and I also sat on the wrong side, so I did not see the sun. For me it was also new to fly with a Ryanair, because before the flight everybody that I have known told me it was terrible. I think from my experience with Ryanair, it was not as bad as everybody used to tell me. For a short flight it is definitely a good alternative to the more expensive airlines like Lufthansa or Finnair.
As we arrived the weather was really good. We went to the luggage conveyor belt and picked up the suitcases. After that, we searched for the bus to the city center. There we searched for our hostel. When we arrived, it looked very nice. There was a cool entrance and, on the right, they had an area to eat. We went to our room and had 20 minutes to prepare everything for the next hours. We met at the waiting area and then went to “Eddie Rocket´s”. There, we ate burgers at fries. After dinner, we went for a little walk and discovered Dublin at night. On our way back to the hostel we saw a Tesco. This store brought a lot of memories from England up. In England we used to buy Gatorade which is an American sports drink. But unfortunately, they did not have it. At our hostel we went again to the second floor which was this time filled with Spanish students. After that we wanted to sleep but it was very hard at the beginning because the Spanish people were so loud. That was our first day.
Monday, Exploring Dublin:
We started the day with breakfast at our hostel. Our plan for the day was to take a hop-on-hop-off bus and explore the city. We also got the challenge to film a vlog, which was a new experience for us. On our way to the bus, we visited a popular monument in Ireland called the Spire or the Monument of Light. It was built in 2003, is 121.2 meters tall and cost around 4 million euros.
We went on the hop-on-hop-off bus tour, which gave us a lot of interesting information about the city. After the tour, we decided to explore the shopping streets of Dublin. We visited many shops, like Lego, Disney, a second-hand shop, two H&M stores and Murphy’s Ice Cream. At Murphy’s Ice Cream, we tried some of their unique flavored ice creams like Irish Brown Bread and Dingle Sea Salt, which were very delicious. Later, we watched a street magician, and in the middle of the show, some police bikes drove through the shopping street followed by a big demonstration against immigrants.
In the late afternoon we walked to the Trinity College, which is one of the oldest universities in Europe, founded in 1592. At the end of the day, we went to a pizza restaurant and enjoyed some delicious pizza.
Tuesday, Day Tour to the Cliffs of Moher and Galway:
Finally, the day of our tour to the Cliffs of Moher began. We prepared and packed our stuff for the tour and then went down to collect our breakfast bags. We met outside and then walked to the bus station. The ride to the Cliffs was very beautiful because of the sunrise. After we drove two hours, we made our first stop at the Obama Plaza. It is a Plaza in a small town which got visited by former president of the United States of America, Barack Obama. On our drive to the Cliffs, the commentator made a lot of jokes which were really not that funny but in the same time very funny. For example, there was a Cliff right in the middle of the land and he named that Cliff the Cliffs of Less and not the Cliffs of Moher (More) which was at the moment very funny. Or he showed us an Irish instrument which I have never seen before. It was a drum with a smaller drumstick but the drumstick was same at both sides and you would swing it to make a sound. As a percussionist I needed to try it and it was an experience that was very funny. Because it was so different compared to other percussion or drum instruments. At some point on our drive the weather changed a lot. For almost the whole drive we had sunshine and a blue wonderful looking sky. But 20 minutes away from the Cliffs it was rainy and cloudy. So, at the start you saw the Cliffs of Moher in a foggier situation. But it was still so impressive and wonderful. And then we walked to the left side of the Cliffs. Unfortunately, because the weather was not so good, the path next to the Cliffs was very wet and dirty. But it was still really nice. As we continued our trip the weather was changing from foggy to a clear view which was really nice. When we got back we climbed at the top of the tower and got ourselves a nice little view of the Cliffs. The right side was as beautiful as the left side. It had a bigger beach and the cliffs were not so steep upwards. Because we did not have so much time left we walked down to the center and went to the bathroom. After that we met again with the group and the bus driver was really happy to see that we were all on time. We had another one-and-a-half-hour drive to Galway city, our last stop. For the drive to Galway city, we drove near the Atlantic coast and trough the Burren, which is a place that was in the early stages under water. It was very beautiful. As we arrived in Galway city, we went to an old fish and chips restaurant, there I ate salmon and chips which was really good. After our lunch, we went to an ice cream store. After Galway we drove back to Dublin and we arrived in Dublin at about 8-o-clock. In Dublin we ate pizza at a restaurant near us. There we had two fails because first two of the group did not wait outside, they sprinted in the restaurant which was really funny. From that point the waiter was already annoyed. But then later someone came unannounced to us and the waiter complained that we did not tell her. After the pizza we went straight into bed.
Wednesday, Hiking in the Wicklow Mountains:
This morning we went to breakfast 5 minutes too late. Because of this, we had to wait a long time till we got our breakfast. After we finished our meal, we had some free time. Some of us walked around in the city, others stayed in the hostel.
Because Nina wasn’t going with us on the hiking trip, we should do another vlog. We had to be at the bus stop at 11:20, because the bus drove at 11:30. The group from the city came back to the hostel to get their bags, but unfortunately the group came a bit late, so we had to hurry. The group who was in the city and I needed something to eat. So, after a short trip into the Tesco Express supermarket, Steffen navigated us to the bus stop. Because we were late, we really hurried and walked fast. In the end we got the bus and some of us had a funny experience. So, on the bus we drove to Glendalough to go hiking. After a 1:30 hour bus drive, we were in Glendalough. First some of us went to the toilet, we got a plan of our hiking tour and we ate something. As we walked a short distance, we found an old stone house and a graveyard. There some of us looked at the graveyard and everything. Three left the group and walked their own way. As the big group went on, we first walked a bit, tried to jump as far as possible, tried 360s and so on. Then we found a waterfall some of us climbed on it, I was going further. But then, I climbed on the other side up, Flo helped me to climb one „floor“ up, by grabbing a tree and pulling myself up. After I was beside the waterfall as well, we climbed even higher and had a beautiful view of everything. We walked to the upper lake, before we were on the lower lake as well. On the upper lake, we again tried to see who could throw a stone over the lake the best. Luca definitely was the king of it, not even Flo could beat him. After this we walked a bit further, through a spruce forest road. After a short walk on this beautiful forest road, we decided to go back. We walked back on another way, but we were too early anyways. After some time, the other smaller group came, of course on time, and shortly after them the bus came as well. After the conversation with Flo, I slept for a couple of minutes. As I woke up, we almost were in Dublin again. Flo showed me that we were only around 8 to 15 km away from Dublin but needed ca. 30 minutes for this distance. When we arrived in Dublin, we first met Nina, she was on the other side of the street. Then we walked through the city and searched for a good place to eat, because we were all very hungry. We ate at a gourmet burger restaurant. I ate a normal veggie burger with fries. By the way, it was my fourth burger in Dublin, so more than I ever ate in my life before. After this dinner, we walked back to the hostel and got the end of another nice day.
Thursday, Returning Home:
We got up very early this morning because we wanted to fly back to Germany. At first, I packed my clothes in the suitcase and the backpack. After that was done, we left the room as tidy as possible and after the last breakfast we went to our bus. When we arrived at the airport, we checked-in, dropped off the suitcases and did things like going to the bathroom. After the security check, some of us had a bite to eat. Afterwards, we walked to our departure place. We then stood there for some time until our flight home started. When we went to our plane it was a very nice feeling to know to be home again soon. On the plane, I sat next to an Italian man and his wife who ordered a lot of food and drinks during the flight. After only 1 hour and 50 minutes, we landed and were able to return home.
Differences between Ireland and Germany:
Statistics:
|
|
Ireland |
Germany |
|
Area: |
70,280 km 22
|
357,580 km 22
|
|
Population: |
5,033,000 |
83,196 |
|
Average age: |
37,8 years |
47,8 years |
|
Unemployment rate |
6.6 % |
3.5 % |
|
Average income: |
71,39 euro |
48,46 euro |
|
Climate: |
2/100 (very bad) |
22/100 (bad) |
|
Roadway: |
99,830 km |
625,000 |
|
Railways: |
4,301 km |
33,422 km |
|
Energy consumption: |
25.68 bn kWh |
536.50 bn kWh |
There are a lot of differences between Ireland and Germany. For example, Ireland is an island Germany not. In Ireland everything is more expensive. Some say that the Irish people are more friendly, too. But important for almost everyone in Ireland: the traffic is switched, in Ireland the cars drive on the left and in Germany, as well as most other European countries, the cars drive on the right. For everyone good who wants to go shopping in Germany but it’s Sunday: In Ireland most shops are open on Sunday as well. And unfortunately for everyone who is under 18 or even 21: Pubs and clubs in Ireland aren’t allowed for people under 18, but you can’t even get in some of them under 21.
