Welcome to Austria!

Today I flew from Ireland to Austria, it was a sad but also an exciting day. First I had to say goodbye to all my friends at home.

But the excitement started when we were on our way to the airport. It was so cool because I had never flown before. The take off was the greatest. First I got a little stomach ache but then it went away. I sat near the window because I wanted to get a great view during the flight and  Helene told me some cool facts about flying. I really liked it and I’m looking forward to the next flight. We landed in Linz-Hörsching, but I don’t really like this airport because it’s not really big, not as big as the airport in Limerick. But the city is much better, because when we came home and  unpacked our clothes Helene showed me Linz, and it was really cool. There is the Mariendom, the Landstraße, the Ars Electronica Center, the Lentos and the Pöstlingberg. After our first walk through the town we found a little restaurant where Helene had Gulasch and a beer and I had a little Wiener Schnitzel with a coke. When we came home again I instantly fell asleep.

Ring of Kerry and Dingle

Hi, it's me again.Today I visited the Dingle Peninsula and the Ring of Kerry!

The Ring of Kerry is a scenic coastal road! It is so beautiful there! We toured restored stone forts. Forts are nothing else but defences that were built in former days. I found the Staigue Fort especially impressive!

Then we visited the Dingle Peninsula.

It is only 50km long and 9 km wide! There we saw many monuments, ruins, beehive huts and monasteries. It does not sound as exciting as it is! Imagine this beehive huts were more than ... Years old and sre still so well preserved!Today was really exciting and I'm really looking forward to the next days and to Austria!

Yours

Scaffy

Hi guys!

Today it was a very exciting day. First we went fishing. We went out on the sea with a small fishing boat and there we were fished. We had a sonar and so we knew if there were any fish under our boat. So we threw out the fishing rod and we had some fish in a few seconds.

After this we went hiking Croagh Patrick. It’s a mountain, which St. Patrick climbed and there he built a church. Every year on reek Sunday, it’s the last Sunday in the month July about 25.000 people walk up the mountain – and so did I!Croagh Patrick is only about 764m high but you can only walk up the mountain if it’s sunny because there are so many people who fall down the mountain.

On the beach

In August I was on the beach for the first time. I saw the sea and I really loved it! I met a nice girl called Kate. Together we played beach volleyball but I have to practise. After that she invited me to come with her on the motor boat of her parents. The boat was very big and I enjoyed the time on it when we were riding out to the open sea. Some people were surfing and they were wearing wetsuits because the water is so cold in Ireland. Children were building fantastic sandcastles. Other people were reading books or the newspaper, went swimming or were sleeping. I was lying in the sand with my sunglasses. I think I look very cool with them!

On the Aran Islands

Today I was on the Aran islands.The Aran Islands are a group of islands on the west coast of Ireland. Cars are not allowed on the island, but it is quite small, so we used a bicycle to get around. 

On the second picture I am on the cliffs and in front of me is the big big sea. The cliffs are very high and there are a lot of big rocks. I really enjoyed the open air and just relaxed for a few minutes. When we had to go I looked at the big sea for a last time.

In the third picture you can see me next to small fields. The small fields are very typical for the Aran islands. They are surround from small stone walls. On the ground is a lot of sand and seeweaed. The stone wall should protect the field from the strong wind and the rain.

I think the island looks very funny, because there are a lot of stone walls. I think it was definitly very exhausting work to build the walls, but it looks fantastic.

Can you spot me on the photograph?

The valley of the two lakes

Today I went to Glendalough with Miss Payreder. Glendalough is a valley near Dublin. It's known for its monastic settlements.

On this picture you can see me with the great round tower. In the background you can see St. Kevin's Cross. It's a big cross in front of the round tower and I like these two sights in Glendalough. The woman with the funny blue jacket in the background is a good friend of mine. I met her in Dublin last week.

You can see the little church. This is my favourite church in Ireland. On the very old wall you can see a sign, there you can read much about this church. The walls a also a special thing in Glendalough. They are very old and cold but they look very nice. Behind the church you can see the great round tower again!

This was a very funny day in Glendalough with Miss Payreder! :)

Leprechauns and famous songs

Hi!

I want to tell you about my interesting journey to Dublin. On the first day we visited the national leprechaun museum. We were told that the word “leprechaun” comes from the Irish Lu Chorpain meaning small body.

The leprechaun is a character of Irish mythology. It is very rich but extremely shrewd and if you catch one don’t take your eyes off him, or he will disappear. The leprechaun lives in a secluded spot, usually a small hole in the ground, where he has a comfortable little home. If you want to know more about him, search on the internet and you will find a lot of exciting stories.

Everywhere we went we heard the “Molly Malone” song. It is the hymn of Dublin and a well-known folk song. Because of that I tried to get some information about it. Some people know it under the name “Cockles and Mussels”. The song was written by James Yorkston of Edinburgh and tells us the story of a good-looking young girl who sells fish on a market. In the story she dies because of an unknown reason. You should listen to it. I am sure you will find it on “Youtube”.

In the picture you can see a leprechaun in front of a statue of Molly Mallone with her wheel-barrow.

An Irish pub

In Ireland I really like the pubs. The pubs are small but there are many people in it. Some are just hanging around but others are also dancing to the music… Live music is played in almost every pub.

Mostly there are little bands in the pubs which play songs, composed by themselves. The Irish people can be proud of their music, ‘cause almost everybody plays an Instrument and has got a pretty voice. A popular instrument is the Irish harp. When you look at an Irish Euro, for example, you can see it. And there’s also the airplane “Ryanair” which has the Irish harp painted on every airplane.. So in most pubs there is a little stage were the irish people show you their dancing style. The culture of the Irish pubs includes music and communication. In Ireland, the pub is not only a central meeting place for talking and playing music. It’s also an important place where you can met for business things and for social life. So you can see several generations there. 

 

And here’s a picture of a pub from outside.. 

Yours,

 Scaffy

An Irish breakfast

Today I woke up at 8 o’ clock. I like Irish food but there are also some things I don’t like. In the picture you can see my breakfast. 

I had a fried egg, it’s one of my favourite foods. I love cocoa. If there’s no cocoa at home I also drink tea. I only like black tea with milk, it tastes very delicious. Orange juice is something I don’t like very much but sometimes it’s also good if it is made freshly pressed. In the picture you can also see my favourite vegetables: tomatoes, I love them. I like eating bread and toast. Something I hate are ham and sausages, I hate it because I’m a vegetarian. A traditional Irish breakfast consists of fried egg, sausages, ham, fried potatoes or hash browns and black and white pudding.

Connemara

Today we ate Irish stew, well my „parents“ ate Irish stew. I would never eat it, because it's made of sheep! That's unbelievable! I mean, who eats meat from sheep?! Sheep are the most friendly and cutest animals in the world!
We also went to Connemara. It's a wonderful  district in the west of Ireland. In the west,south and  the north of Connemara is the Atlantic Ocean. There's a great landscape and it's great for hiking. I think it was a great day with the exception of Irish stew!

A visit to Kylemore Abbey

Today I was in a beautiful castle called Kylemore Abbey.Today the castle houses a Benedictine order which moved into the building in 1920. Now I will tell you something about the castle: It was built from 1867 to 1871 by Margaret and Mitchell Henry. When Margaret died three years later, Mitchell built a church in memory of her. The nicest thing about this castle for me was not the church but the beautiful garden. It has a size of 3.4 hectares, of which 2.4 hectare are surrounded by a brick and limestone wall. It was beautiful. It was not a trip with lots of action, but it was still cool! ;)

The Cliffs of Moher

I visited the Cliffs of Moher today. First I was a little bit afraid of the height because the rocks are up to 214 meters high. Later I looked down the cliffs without being scared. It was so exciting. I saw the waves which were splashing against the rocks.

In the rock face there were many seagulls. Nearly 30 000 animals from 29 species live there.
I really liked the cliffs. The landscape was very beautiful and I enjoyed the view over the Atlantic sea.
There were a lot of people who made photos and went to the edge of the cliffs. I absolutely can´t believe that every year about 10 people jump down and die.
Because of this reason Clare Couty Council has built a 300 meter long secure way for the tourists. I also walked to a tower, where I had a fantastic view and I visited a tourist information centre. It was built under the earth, because they didn´t want to destroy the beautiful landscape.

I recommend to everyone to visit the Cliffs of Moher- I liked them very much.

Stunning views

The landscape in Ireland is just breathtaking. I love travelling along the coast, stopping on the way and enjoying the atmosphere. It's quite windy, but still not cold. In this picture you can see one of hundreds of old churches and cathedrals on our way. There are often graveyards with beautifully decorated Celtic crosses around them. It is said that Saint Patrick, Ireland's patron saint, combined the symbol of Christianity with the sun cross, which represented the sun and the four seasons of the year in pagan religions.

On the road...

Here I am in our car. While we are driving, I want to tell you a little bit about my country.

Politically, Ireland is divided up into two parts: Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland. The Republic of Ireland has about 4.6 million inhabitants and is part of the European Union, so the currency is the Euro - just like in your countries!
The climate here is relatively mild. We don't have extreme winters, like in Austria, the Czech Republic and Finland and we rarely get snow. However, this also means that our summers tend to be quite rainy. Sometimes I envy those people in Spain for all the sun they get!

The Irish are very proud of their culture - and they've got every reason to be! There is a number of world-famous Irish writers like Oscar Wilde, James Joyce and Jonathan Swift. Do you probably know one of their books?
Another important aspect about Irish culture is their traditional music. I'll tell you more about it soon, we're arriving at the coast!

Leaving Limerick

Today is my last day at the University of Limerick. I have to say good-bye again to my new friends Zuzanna, Eero and Jaroslav, who are going back home. However, we will see each other again in a couple of months! I am so looking forward to visiting their countries. Before I leaving Ireland, I want to show you some of the best spots of my country. Helene is joining me for the next two weeks to travel around on the Emerald Isle!

In the background you can see the river Shannon, the longest river in Ireland. It flows right through the campus of the University of Limerick. Some people hire a boat here and spend their holidays crusing and enjoying the superb scenery along the river.

It's Thursday, and I'm in love with Prezi!

Here's a little presentation I made with Prezi, a cool web based tool, to introduce myself and the humans pictured below who were kind enough to take me 'under their wing'...

Enjoy!

Hello!

Here I am with my 'parents' on 25 July 2012