Month: November 2007

Ireland is an island of amazing beauty and color. Even in winter (or almost winter), as the saying goes, Ireland has 40 shades of green.
We began our voyage in Dublin, where we rented a car, got used to driving on the left side of the road (and shifting with the left hand). Our first stop was to the National Museum. This provided a stunning overview of the land we were about to tour. I thought the most impressive section was the gold work from the Bronze Age. These works of art would be impressive in any age, but the fact that these are 4,000 years old made them amazing. Equally amazing are the human remains and clothing that has been found in the peat bogs throughout the country. The environmental conditions are perfect to preserve delicate textiles (or bodies) from centuries gone by. It seemed to be a clearer view into a bygone time than the preserved bodies of ancient Egypt.
In fact, the clothes were the key. They were ordinary woolen garments used in everyday life. They weren’t regal or special (and therefore warrant preservation), but simply the clothes that people from the time wore.
After our improved understanding of Ireland and its history, we headed out to the countryside.
Across the island are the breath-taking Cliffs of Moher. Rising sharply out of the ocean to a height of 700 feet (or 214 meters), they make a dramatic point to behold.

We walked for a significant portion of the 8 kilometers (OK, not the whole length, but a long way nonetheless).


We looked over the edge, just to see what butterflies would appear…


We stayed there so long that the sun began to set.

Then, we turned south and headed for the Dingle Peninsula.

Since the peninsula is pretty small, and the most scenic route only about 30 miles (50 kilometers)long, we decided to rent a couple bikes and ride the route to feel a little closer to the land.

The architecture and landscape were both very rugged. Built to last harsh conditions for hundreds or thousands of year (which in some cases has already happened).

Although not as famous or sheer as the Cliffs of Moher, this coastline was very scenic as well.

While there weren’t many people on the ride, there were lots of sheep. Here’s an interesting fact about the mountain on which this sheep is standing. On May 20th, 1927, at about 3PM local, this was the first land Charles Lindbergh saw on his historic transatlantic flight.
Of course, the sheep could care less…


On this, the far western edge of Europe, the landscape got more and more rugged.

The three peaks in the background are fittingly named the Three Sisters.

Another highlight of the trip was our stay at the Kinnitty Castle. Back in 2004 when Anna visited Ireland with her Mom, my Mom and my sister, they stayed at this ancient castle. She fell in love with it, so this time, we decided to stay there together. It was my first time staying in a castle and it was quite an experience.
The castle was originally built in 1209, but has been highly modified over the centuries. But, in 1811 it took on the form that it is today (well, mostly at least) and sits on 10,000 acres of land.
As a bit of a break from the norm, here are a few images from our room.



This is truly a “bath”room.

Even the bar is romantic. It’s set in a library with candles to add to the atmosphere.

The dinner was one of the best we’ve had. Everything in the castle was perfect. Exactly what we expected. If you happen to be in the Irish midlands, we highly recommend staying at this magnificent location.

The next destination was the Burren. It’s renowned for being rather desolate. However, it’s full of archaeological sites. In fact, this one is a portal dolmen and grave site used by people of the region approximately 5-6,000 years ago (the Neolithic era). When it was excavated in the 1980’s, they found about 30 bodies from that time period. The also found a woman from the Bronze Age (4,000 years ago) buried just outside the entrance.


This is the weather we expected to see our whole time. Although it’s not as pleasant to be walking in, it is certainly very pretty.

This mountain road in Dingle may give you some idea of the roads and climate. I’ve already mentioned the weather a couple times, but the roads were … a little small. This one is barely wide enough for a single car, let alone 2 buses passing next to each other. The road is very much a shared commodity. Drivers were very courteous and would pull over to let another driver pass by. So, once you are accustomed to driving on the left with little or no room between you, the rock wall and the cars zipping along, driving in Ireland is a breeze. Oh, and did I mention the road conditions are usually somewhere between fair and poor?

OK OK, so the driving wasn’t that bad (there are many places it is much worse).
This was another great adventure for us. We loved the people, landscape and history of this island. We look forward to returning.
So, until then…
–Jim

Last weekend we went to visit our good friends, Gabi and Philipp (Gabi is Anna’s German sister who you may recall from earlier posts), at their home in Würzburg. They both go to school at the university there and were kind enough to show us a little of their city.
Even though the weather wasn’t the best, it is still a beautiful city.

Probably the most famous site is spectacular, baroque Würzburg Residenz. It was designed and built in the mid-eighteenth century to rival the other great palaces of the time, like the French Château at Versailles.

Although we couldn’t take pictures inside, it was amazing. The grand entrance is a staircase that greeted visiting dignitaries to a massive art display. It was a frescoed ceiling that was 18 by 30 meters and completely unsupported by columns or pillars. In fact, it even survived the bombings of WWII that destroyed 90% of the city (and the rest of the Residenz).
Also, there was a room inside that was built to amaze visitors. It was covered by mirrors, gilt figures, and Murano glass work. Unfortunately, it too was destroyed in the fire that consumed the building, but after spending nearly 4 million Euros, it was restored to its original brilliance. That was my favorite room and apart from the lack of historical significance, it was more impressive (albeit smaller) than the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles.


You can see the Marienberg Fortress in the distance.



These are a few images from the Marienberg Fortress.


Here is Gabi and Anna catching up.

It was very enjoyable, relaxing weekend. We love spending time with them.
So, until the next adventure…
–Jim

For Veteran’s Day weekend this year, we decided a short trip to London was in order. So, we hopped on a flight to meet both my parents for a long weekend (yes, they had a much longer flight).
This trip was as much about hanging out with my parents as it was sight seeing. However, we still got to see a lot of fascinating sites.

We loved traveling on the tube. It’s one of the easiest public transportation systems we’ve used.

Since Anna and I have read all the Harry Potter books (and seen all the movies for that matter), we decided to pay due homage. We took a pilgrimage to King’s Cross Station in search of platform 9 and 3/4. The trials and tribulations that Harry experienced at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry all started here, on the invisible platform between platforms 9 and 10 that led to the Hogwarts Express train. Unfortunately, there is nothing actually between tracks 9 and 10. But, the rail service was kind enough to indulge us tourists with a luggage cart that is halfway through the magical portal.
Hogwarts, here comes Anna!

We had the opportunity to visit a number of museums on this trip. My personal favorite was the British Museum. If you can overlook the questionable ethics that acquiring this collection required, it is truly spectacular. In fact, it seemed to be an encyclopedia come to life. It’s huge though, so we focused on the big empires of the past: Egypt, Assyria and Greece. The first piece as you walk through the door is appropriately the Rosetta Stone. This is one of the spoils of Napoleon’s conquest of Egypt in the late 18th century. His engineers uncovered this massive stone and realized its significance. It has the same text translated in three languages, Greek, the common Egyptian language, and most importantly hieroglyphics. That was the key to re-discovering the meaning of all those symbols…

The text was from the time of Ptolemy in the second century BC.

This first image is what a common person looked like after being buried for 2,000 years.

This is Ginger (so called for the wisps of red hair). He is 2,500 years old. Although not a mummy in the traditional sense, he is incredibly well preserved. When he was buried, the wind, heat and dry desert climate all served to protect him.

These are pieces from the Elgin Marbles that originally decorated the Parthenon in Athens. Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1799 to 1803 asked permission to remove a number of pieces from the deteriorating building and bring them back to London. Permission was granted by the Ottoman Empire, and Lord Elgin brought back a number of pieces, including this 247 foot section of a frieze.

This statue from Easter Island is known as Hoa Hakananai’a (probably ‘Stolen’ or ‘hidden friend’) and was found in a stone house at Orongo, the center of a birdman cult.

Since we were there for Veteran’s Day (or Remembrance Day in the UK), we went to watch the royal celebration at the Cenotaph. As you can see, there was lots of patriotism in the air.

Of course, the crowds were giant.

There were 8,000 veterans who represented all the conflicts of the last century.



This is the cenotaph where everyone marched past and the royal family (and other dignitaries) laid their wreaths.

The Horse Guards.

Westminster Abbey and the venerable Sir Winston Churchill.

Here’s the Millennium Bridge in front of the Tate Modern Art Museum.

The Tate Modern is another fascinating site. It’s an old power station that has been converted into a museum. Actually, I think I liked the facility better than the art.

Here is the tube.


That concluded our great weekend in London with my parents. It was a whirlwind tour (as usual), but it was a lot of fun.
So, until the next adventure!
–Jim