Bray to Greystones coastal hike

"Normal" life?

I noticed just know that I haven’t written a blog story for about ten days already. Too busy to do so? I wouldn’t say; even though I regard my leisure time well-spent I couldn’t say I am terribly occupied. A more likely explanation to me is that Dublin life starts feeling really normal; I still enjoy tremendously but the novelty is gone – which I regard as a good thing all in all, as it means I’m integrating well and I truly have found a new home. Scanning the evenings since my last blog post confirms this; drinks & Italian / English classes with Sara & her Italian friends, watching champions league in warm twilight that almost felt like a Mediterranean summer night one day, watching it inside a pub because of the pouring rain the next day (Dublin’s capricious weather), Friday night drinks with my colleagues, practising my golf skills on the driving range with Pieter, having Johan and Joeri over for the weekend (loved to have them over – didn’t do much else than drink and catch up though), …. . Awesome stuff, but not the kind of things I’ll keep on writing about, cause it’s basically what’s become my ‘normal’ life here. A bad thing? No, not at all. The feeling of becoming part of another culture, feeling at ease in a foreign capital’s streets, knowing the shortest route to your favourite pub down town, running into familiar faces on a random Saturday night; those are among the things that make you happy. Consciously happy, I would stress, because the things people tend to take for granted are not always there. You miss family and friends who are back home, but the times you do get to see them you enjoy their company more intensely now that you are away from them. And the thrill of a foreign city, a foreign country, a different culture, that excitement will linger for some time to come, as Dublin has so much more to offer that I haven’t even thought of, as every week I discover new places, people, lovely spots along the river and new restaurants with delicious food. The domestic and international journeys I plan to undertake the upcoming months will of course be colourfully depicted in words and graphics, but the detailed descriptions of day to day events will dwindle along with me feeling more and more at home. But hey, I never manage to stay long in one place, so prepare for some trips. The tickets have been booked, the cars rented, and all that remains to be done is to go out and enjoy.

Dundrum Shopping Centre...

... is huge. And although intentional to buy a pair of golf shoes, Gijs and I ended up with a whole lot of other stuff, in the end deciding that the shoes weren't worth their price tag. Buying loads of clothing, strolling through the newly built mall, and having a fantastic dinner at Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurant, this Tuesday night was a great one. And the day after tomorrow, when having our first golf lesson, well, we'll just be wearing all stars I presume.

Cut the commute and enjoy

I ***love*** living so close by work, in a city in which no time is wasted going from A to B, with the Wicklow Mountains in your back garden and the sea right in front of you! Yesterday proves to be an excellent example to illustrate this, please let me elaborate. As I live a mere 10 minutes’ walk away from the office I can sleep until seven am and be behind my desk around eight, which guarantees an early start of a usually productive morning. After lunch, which generally comprises of three courses, focus and attention are the lesser virtues, while later on in the afternoon I have recovered well enough to finish the day in style, often spurred by a coffee prepared by the pretty Lithuanian lady from the coffee place around the corner. Leaving before half five (i.e. 17:30), as I did yesterday, left me plenty of time to squeeze a full day’s programme into my evening. As soon as I got home I pulled James out of his refuge, and took to the Dublin roads, which were already being sprayed by a gentle drizzle. In less than an hour and a half I completed the tour I explored last Saturday, climbing the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains and rocketing downhill on the way back home. Long hot shower, a light meal, some chilling out, and off I went, by Luas (I had had my fair share of cycling for that day), downtown to meet Sara for a Spritz and a whiskey. A lovely night out, and I was sound asleep by midnight. There are quick wins, low hanging fruits, and free lunches, and I’m trying to do it all. Cut the commute and enjoy. Dublin makes it work. 

Land of Fog and Gloom

It took quite some determinism and self control to leave my glass of Carlsberg on the table, say goodbye to the lads, and go home yesterday evening. I knew that finishing the beer before going home would lead to someone giving me a new pint (as that’s what had happened with the previous two), oblivious to arguments in the sense of ‘I’m going cycling tomorrow hence I don’t want to feel like a rag’. It was a nice night out, with a bunch of colleagues in a bar just down Camden Street. But enough was enough and I caught my eight hours of sleep before pushing James out of the shed this morning.

Well over an hour later I found myself in the hills building up to the Wicklow Mountains, just south of Dublin. And James, you’re a champ, but as soon as we’re ascending you’re more like a brick I’m dragging up in comparison to my Giant racing bike back home. The roads are pretty good up there and the setting is just perfect for climbing. But without your feet attached to the pedals, with tyres three times the size of a racing bike’s, and without the requisite clothing it’s a different ball game altogether. Yet I did enjoy tremendously, climbing the narrow roads making their way up the hills, with trees and grasslands bordering the hedges and stone walls and a great view of Dublin behind me. And although I had been climbing non-stop since leaving town, I was still shivering.

The wind. Merciless. My three layers of clothing were little protection against the razor sharp streaks of wind cutting through the cloth. I reached onto a plain where snow was still covering bits and pieces of the landscape, while clouds were gathering ominously above my head. Although in terms of altitude the Wicklow Mountains are really just big hills; once you’re up there it does feel like you’re in a ragged moon landscape. I had counted myself lucky with sunny spells up till then, but having the weather forecast in mind (rain – naturally) the throng of dark grey clouds bode ill omens of venturing farther south and farther up. The description of Ireland by Homer in the ninth century BC crossed my mind briefly, as he called it ‘a Land of Fog and Gloom’. Doubt, hesitation; pushing further or cutting short? I decided to be sensible for a change and went back to the fork in the road I had passed a mile or so back, taking the left turn rather than the right one that had led me up there, and cut my route short by a notable degree. Once the weather is more forthcoming towards poorly equipped amateur cyclists, I’ll be back.

And now that I’m cosily in my large armchair, writing my blog, after just having enjoyed a nice warm bath (first time I use it here!), I look outside the window and see the drizzle slowly descending from the grey sky, and decide my decision maybe was for the best. The rough beauty of the Wicklow Mountains is still on the back of my mind though, and having had a tiny taste of it, I can’t wait to go back. 

Quotes

(Teun finding a sock on his bed belonging to the Irish with whom a dorm room was shared)

Teun: 'is this yours?'

Bo: 'no ulgh'

Bo: 'they also forgot to take their towel'

Teun: 'I thought that was yours??'

Bo: 'no it’s not'

Teun: 'I just wiped my mouth with it'

Kilkenny baby!

This weekend has been yet another excellent mix of the best of what Ireland has to offer. It’s not all been glamour and bliss though, as last night didn’t grant us much sleep beyond an hour or two, despite going to bed at around 11 pm and neither for reasons you may already start to think of. No, as we travel pretty much budget –quite the essential when you venture off every weekend- we generally stay in hostels and the like. And this particular one in Kilkenny didn’t have any doubles left, hence our choice to spend the night in a dorm bedroom. Well, perhaps we’ll spend a few Euros more next time, as we found ourselves being woken up in the middle of the night by what seemed like a huddle of Irish gnomes, drinking and giggling and chewing on their English and blurting out phrases, sounds and burps aka making it quite a challenge to sleep for us. Ah well, quite remarkable on the other hand how quickly one gets used to a certain standard, as last September I was still sleeping seven days in a row on the hard floor of some particularly filthy apartment in Reykjavik. Expectation management, I would say!

But well, the trip down south to Kilkenny was a successful one, as we sauntered at ease through the medieval town, cherishing all that the renovated castle had to offer, drinking coffee in the bright sunlight (it’s sunny here, really), savouring wines with our Guinness pie, sipping freshly made orange juice… I think you get the gist. Castles and abbeys and cathedrals and what not makes Kilkenny a pretty destination for a day or two, though it’s really not too big and good weather is pretty much essential. Luckily Ireland has plenty of that! I’ll let the pictures do the talking for that part.

Thursday we visited a play at Olympia theatre, one of Dublin’s historic treasures. The play features a glance into the Irish war of independence against the British, and I must admit, although being regarded as heroes for much of the past 100 years by us Western Europeans, those English guys didn’t behave all too well here in Ireland. A whole new dimension to Europe’s relatively recent history, really interesting to say the least! For those who plan on visiting – it’s worth a stopover this theatre; I add a picture which gives some sort of an impression of what the interior looks like.

Let’s finish with an impression of the local ‘DJ’ in one of Kilkenny’s restaurants / bars / saloons. I didn’t dare take a picture but I’m sure a vivid description will suffice ;) The restaurant looked pretty alright when we entered – a hint of an American décor with these chequered soft benches on the walls, adjacent tables and chairs, large coffee machine behind the bar – you know. The big screen featuring a golf match didn’t quite enhance the otherwise fairly cosy atmosphere, and it only got worse when around 10-ish a bloke set up a CD player and a spotlight depicting red, blue, and yellow disco lights on the ceiling. The guy must have been in his forties; belly, neck wringing from his polo t-shirt, moustache, glasses, and a stack of copied CDs carried with him. The ramshackle table he had put his equipment on was too low and he didn’t even wobble on the rhythm of the music he was playing. Although he was only tuning in a new song when the previous one had ended – a bit like a radio would – he wore huge white headphones and admittedly had a professional sounding radio voice that he used to declare ‘60s 70s 80s music’ was being played every ten minutes. Nothing more. Nonetheless we enjoyed the ‘show’; watching the restaurant slowly transform into the ’25-plus’ bar it was advertised at, with us (Bo in particular of course) dragging down the average age significantly, exemplified by the two elderly ladies alongside use who were not having any trouble at all choking their glasses of sherry. Good evening though!

Two countries, two homes

Though an Irish blog my ‘foreign’ travels cannot be left out; save the many inland voyages on the rise I intend to make as much use of living in Ryan Air’s capital as possible. Hence the first of many trips back Home (i.e. my parents’ house which will always be a home to me) for Easter and my mother’s birthday. Flying on Saturday and taking the return flight on Monday allowed me to enjoy a full Sunday at home, eating and drinking from late morning to late at night; brunch & coffees with cake & dinner & wines & what not. The early morning run (I had two hours of night nibbled from me) with Anne couldn’t make up for the excessive feasting during the day, a day in the presence of my family which I enjoyed tremendously. Coming back to Dublin on Monday already felt a bit like coming home as well, even though it’s only been a month since I’ve lived here. And every week the house gains another distinguishing feature; now it's the Chinese scroll that has been kept safe in a closet for over four years. It has been cherished for a reason as its very dear to me; a unique masterpiece by one of my former Chinese students in Sanmenxia with a text that can freely be translated as ‘good teacher, good friend’. Now I finally have a house that matches the awesomeness of this scroll I have given it a worthy spot to shine bright, and I must say it almost seems as if it’s meant to be hanging here.

This four-day working week (I almost get used to it) features plenty of awesomeness as well, with a theatre visit scheduled this Thursday and watching CL football in a pub with Gijs today and tomorrow. Oh and before I forget; sunny weather has allowed us to throw our first frisbee of the season in the park right in front of our house! Dublin, I love it!