Cinco DĂas Irlanda My journey from Madrid to Dublin, then to nine cities in five days, and finally back to EspaĂąa. By John Kalmar
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Cinco DĂas Irlanda By John Kalmar
Photos by John Kalmar Nichelle Kershner Adam Rossi Lauryn Schroeder
¡Hola! p. 4
Carrick-a-Rede p. 16
Dublin p. 6
Giant’s Causeway p. 18
Galway p. 8, 12
Derry & Belfast p. 20
Cliffs of Moher p. 10
Belfast & Madrid p. 22
Enniskillen p.14
¡Adiós! p. 24
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Above is the map that tracked our journey on the Emerald Island. Each number corresponds with a stop, so starting at Dublin (1), we made our way west, then north and finally back south to Dublin.
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SO YOU LADS FROM MITCHIGAN, EH? Whenever I recount the adventures of my memorable, albeit brief trip to Ireland in June 2010, one of the first stories that comes to mind is my interesting encounter with an Irishman in a bathroom. It’s nothing grotesque nor disturbing, it’s just that they have a tendency to chat with others while standing in front of the John (the toilet, not the one penning this journal). Especially if that person is from “Mitchigan,” a mispronunciation of my homegrown state that I can only hope will catch on in the future.
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Strange meetings with Irishmen whilst in bathrooms aside, I had some brilliant experiences during my time in Ireland. That includes traveling, exploring, being sleep deprived, perfecting my Irish accent, and visiting some of the most gorgeous spectacles my eyes have ever seen. It certainly was a grand time traveling all over the country by train, bus, car and even boat before returning to Madrid to finish up my study abroad program. To use some of the Irish lingo that I picked up (which I also tend to overuse and probably don’t use in the right context all of the time), Ireland, well, ’twas great craic.
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Dublin
Ha’Penny Bridge is one of the most iconic bridges in Dublin. And it just so happened to be right outside of our hostel too. Talk about having the luck of the Irish (ha!). Although the river was quite smelly, the bridge was a brilliant structure.
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DAY 1
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ednesday, June 16, 2010, approximately 7:19 p.m. We land in Dublin, Ireland. After spending more than three weeks in Spain between Barcelona and Madrid, we were back in a country where they speak English. Well, at least somewhat discernible English. Irish jokes aside, they are incredibly hospitable and generous people. I really can’t emphasize that enough. Upon landing in Dublin, Nichelle, Adam and I, the
three amigos who were cunning enough to take on this adventure (we would later be joined by a fourth member, Lauryn, who was also studying abroad with us in Spain), took a bus, which would be one of many in our five days, to O’Connell Street to find our hostel, Abbey Court. It was a strange experience to walk down a street and not hear the chatter of Spanish fill the air. And even though we were stuck in another city and I was just itching to see the
renowned Irish countryside, just being in Ireland was more than enough to make me giddy with unbridled excitement. We checked into our hostel and decided to poke around the Temple Bar area of Dublin in search of food. We wandered for a while, looking for that authentic Irish restaurant to eat our first meal on Irish soil. But with each of us on a tight budget, and with most bars closing their kitchens early, we were left with few choices.
Among those was a pizza place run by a nice Korean couple with the mildly racist name of Apache Urban Pizza. It was a pizzeria with native American pictures on the wall and inspirational quotes such as “remain close to the great spirit.” What it was doing in Ireland, I’ll never know. But the pizza was delicious, and now I have a great tale about my first meal in Ireland. After leaving Apache Urban Pizza, we moseyed on over to the Panama Bar next to
our hostel to turn in our coupons for a free Guinness. This was it, my first real Guinness! I purposely waited to try the Irish stout until I was on Irish soil, and it most certainly worth the wait. None of us had ever sipped Guinness before, so we were unaware that it was necessary to wait a few minutes before the bartender topped off the stout. As I reached to grab my almost full Guinness, the bartender stopped me by saying, “Woah there! Chill pill, chill pill!” He then proceeded to give me a hard time and then invite me behind the bar and top off our drinks. How many people can say they got to pour their first Guinness, in Dublin no less? Right from the start, this trip was already off to a grand beginning. We returned to Abbey Court and tried to get a few hours of shut-eye before waking up at 6:00 a.m. to catch our 7:20 a.m. train to Galway. The madness was just getting underway.
(Top) We were able to spot Abbey Court from its blue exterior, a very helpful characteristic when we were turned around on O’Connell Street. (Left) A shot of my very first, hand poured Guinness. Great craic!
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eing the neurotic and detail oriented person that I am, I tried to have this whole trip planned out before we departed from Madrid. I did as much as I could making hostel reservations and booking train tickets, but I ended up following my sister Juli’s advice from when she traveled abroad in Europe: sometimes, you just have to fly by the seat of your pants. And on Thursday morning, at around 7:00 a.m., I was not too happy about our current impromptu pants flight. I was told by the lass at the front desk that it was about a 15 minute walk from Abbey Court to the Heuston Train Station. Here’s a fun fact I learned from my sister upon returning to the U.S.; the Irish are notoriously bad with time. That little tidbit would have been nice to know before embarking on this structured and time sensitive trip. It made sense to me that if we left at 6:45 a.m., we would make it to the train station with plenty of time to spare for our 7:20 a.m. train to Galway. Sure, I was able to pour my first Guinness in Dublin, but this next part of the trip didn’t flow as smoothly. It was 7:10, and I was keeping a good 20 pace lead in front of my compadres, frantically looking for the train station and wondering if my trip itinerary would be thrown out of wack. I desperately asked a passerby where the train station was. To my relief, she pointed to the large building directly in front of me. We scanned our tickets and boarded the train, only to be ushered off and asked to wait 15 minutes for another train to arrive. All of that rushing, worrying and stressing; all for nothing. Story of my life. But we eventually did board a train bound for Galway and get to see some of the Irish country side, which was certainly grand.
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Nichelle and I cross Ha’Penny Bridge prior to my “almost missing the train to Galway” panic attack. Fortunately for everyone and my heart, we caught the train.
(Above) Adam became quick friends with a young Irish gal named Colleen after she offered him some Pringles on the train to Galway. (Bottom right) A view of the community dining area at Kinlay House. I enjoyed a delicious meal of “American style” peanut butter, bread and some sort of ramen noodles for dinner that evening. (Below) The Spanish Arch? In Ireland? It only seemed fitting for us adopted Spaniards that we would be reminded of Spain whilst in Ireland.
When we arrived in Galway, I had hoped to catch a tour bus to the Cliffs of Moher, which is only about and hour and a half south of the city. Following Juli’s advice, we had already booked a room at the Kinlay House in Galway, so we unloaded our stuff in our room and then inquired about buses to the cliffs. The lass at the front desk informed us that all of the tours for the cliffs had already left, but that we could check to see if any regular buses went there, or try to rent a car or hitch hike. Hitchhiking? Being a sheltered adolescent from the conservative western side of Michigan, hitchhiking was probably the last thing that I was looking to get myself
into whilst in European. Fortunately for me, there was one other bus that went out to the Cliffs of Moher that day. And it just so happened to leave in 15 minutes. So we bought our tickets and settled in for one of the best bus rides of our lives. This was it; we were finally going to see the Irish countryside. And it certainly did not disappoint. For almost two hours, I didn’t need music, a book nor anything else to keep me entertained. All I had to do was look out the window and lose myself in the natural beauty of the land.
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Cliffs of Moher
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hen we first made it to the Cliffs of Moher we initially couldn’t see the ocean nor the actual cliffs. But after meandering past the visitor center and a field of grazing cows, we were hit with one of the most picturesque views imaginable. It’s hard to put into the words the pure joy and amazement that I felt when I gazed at the panoramic view of the Cliffs of Moher, watching the waves crash against its rocks and a sea that endlessly continues out toward the horizon. As we were walking up and down the protective walls around the Cliffs, there was a young girl, about our age, who was playing what sounded like traditional Irish
music on her violin. Combine that with the breathtaking view offered by the Cliffs, and it was my “welcome to Ireland” moment. We had about an hour at the Cliffs, which is not even close to enough time to take in this natural wonder. Not having enough time to enjoy these sites was a unfortunate trend on our trip, as we had a lot to see on our lengthy itinerary. So after an hour, we climbed back onto the bus and headed toward Galway. I was looking forward to the scenery that we would see on the drive back, but alas, I fell asleep. Falling asleep on Bus Eireann buses would be yet another tend on this grandiose trip.
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e were all exhausted after our excursion at the Cliffs. I slept on the bus all the way until we reached the Galway bus stop, where I fortunately was awaken by Adam. We figured that an extended nap would be our best option before we explored the rest of Galway. So we went to our temporary home of Kinlay House and dozed off for about two hours. Upon waking up, we were all quite hungry. We stopped a local grocery store and picked up something that we had been craving for about a week or so: peanut butter! We had a very difficult time locating the delicious legume based spread in Madrid, so it was a welcomed relief to find some in Galway.
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After dinner, our group was refreshed and ready to take in the sights and sounds of Galway. The city is located right along the Irish Sea, and we were greeted with an amazing sunset that lit up the shoreline. Strolling along the ocean and admiring the red and orange streaks of color in the sky, I still couldn’t believe we were in Ireland. It was an amazing feeling. After exploring the city for a few hours, we eventually made our way back to Kinlay House and got ready to wake up early at 5 a.m. for the next leg of our trip: Enniskillen.
(Left) Ay, ’twas a grand and gorgeous evening in Galway. There were even colorful houses nestled right along the shoreline. (Above) I take in the beautiful coastline whilst standing along a brick wall. It was the perfect evening to experience Galway.
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s I mentioned before, I did most of the planning for this trip whilst in Spain. But I couldn’t have done it without the help of two people; Juli and her Irish friend Elena Murphy (what a great Irish name, I might add). Elena and I had met the summer before while she was in Michigan working at the same summer camp as Juli. Elena was essential in the planning and success of my Ireland excursion. We had a couple Skype conversations while I was in Spain to help plan our route and what sights we wanted to see. With the sparse communication we had, we planned to meet up in Enniskillen, a city in Northern Ireland just outside of her village of Tempo on Friday morning. We waited around for about ten minutes after getting into the Enniskil-
len bus station, but sure enough, Elena was there to greet us. After exchanging hellos and brief introductions, it was time to travel to the Marble Arch Caves where her brother Michael would be leading us on a cave tour during his day off. What a guy. The caves were a very cool experience, but we all had one thing on our mind: food. Say hello to the Ulster Fry, a tradition Irish breakfast from the region that consists of potatoes, sausage, potato bread, chips (french fries for us Americans), and beans. It was possibly the most delicious meal I’ve ever had. Maybe it was the sleep deprivation, or the fact that I ate peanut butter and bread the previous evening for dinner, but that Ulster Fry was beyond heavenly. Plus Elena’s mum was nice enough to pay a visit to the res-
(Above) The gang poses with our wonderful cave guide, Michael Murphy, who was kind enough to lead us on a tour during his day off. (Right) Adam takes off on a zip line at a playground just outside of Enniskillen Castle. Among all of the playgrounds that we experienced in Europe, this one was hands down the best.
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killen DAY 3
taurant and buy us breakfast. We just couldn’t lose that day. After loading up on our Ulster Fries, we checked out a wonderful playground in Enniskillen and then moved onto the castle and museum, which is the focal point of town. When we finished exploring, we headed to Elena’s home in Tempo. Driving up a dirt road, we were met with acres upon acres of green land, horses and her lovely abode. It was a shame that we only had a couple of hours at her house; I would have loved to just sit on the back patio and admire the beauty of the land, but we had yet another bus to catch to Belfast that evening. Elena’s mum cooked us some delicious spaghetti dinner (did I mention how great she was?), and then we were off to wait for our final bus of the day. As a recap, we started off the morning in Galway, traveled
up into Northern Ireland and explored caves, castles and playgrounds and then ended the night at Elena’s apartment in Belfast. It took me a day or so after the trip before I could grasp all that we did in such a short amount of time. Over the course of the entire trip, we traveled 1,099 km, or about 683 miles. At this time, I would like to thank the Bus Eireann bus services for making the majority of this trip possible. Muchas gracias. We picked up the fourth member of our crew, Lauryn, who had just taken a train from Dublin. We had a quiet night in. We had to rest up for tomorrow, which was the bus tour of Northern Ireland and our last hurrah on the Emerald Island.
(Left) Enniskillen Castle now serves as a museum for Fermanagh. (Above) Elena had five, count ‘em, five horses at her house. Her property was probably the most accurate description of the term “Irish countryside.”
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Carrick-a-Rede DAY 4
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pon waking up in Belfast on our fourth day in Ireland, we were rested and ready for a day filled with, you guessed it, more bus rides! The day before, we reserved our spot on a Paddywagon bus tour of Northern Ireland that hit Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, the Giant’s Causeway and the walled city of Derry. Elena was finishing up some errands at her university in Belfast, so it was just Nichelle, Ireland 16
Adam, Lauryn and me on our epic bus ride. We left Elena’s apartment with what we thought was plenty of time to spare to reach the bus stop before 9:30 a.m. I figured with Elena leading us to the bus stop, and since she had lived in the city for a couple of years, that we’d be fine. So I let my guard down and didn’t worry about the little ticking hands on my wrist – for the first time all trip. But when I checked my watch and it was dangerously close to 9:30, I began
totoget geta alittle littlenervous. nervous. We Werounded roundeda acorner cornerand andthere, there, about three blocks away, was the big, green Paddywagon bus. I turned to Elena and said, “Should we run?!” She pointed to her sandals, noting that she was wearing the wrong footwear needed to chase down a tour bus, so I took off. I sprinted down the street, leaving everybody behind in hopes of catching the bus that was plastered with a large cartoon of a leprechaun on it. Just when I thought I had the bus in my grasp, it took off around the corner. That was it. No bus tour of the northern coast for us. But hold on. on There there! There was a second was a second bus waiting bus waiting right right behind the first, and the bus driver informed me that they had been waiting for us, us,but but that that he’d he’d take take us us aboard aboard and and catch us up to our bus. After taking some good natured ribbing from the bus driver for being late, he caught us up to our bus bus,and and we we were on our way. The bus drove for a couple of hours until we reached our first destination: Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. The scenery scenery around around the therope ropebridge bridgewas wasspectacular. spectacular.It’s aIt’sshame a shame we only we only had had an hour an hour to explore to explore the area. the area. But the But sun the was sun was shining, shining, the sea theair seawas air crisp was crisp yet comfortable, yet comfortable, and it seemed and it seemed like once likeagain, oncewe again, justwe couldn’t just couldn’t lose in this losecountry. in this country.
We were greeted with this amazing view of the area when we stepped off the bus.
(Above left) Nichelle crosses over the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. It cost £ 5.40 to pass over the bridge, which seemed like a steep price to cross a roped bridge. But it was the view that we received on the other side which was worth the price of admission. (Top right) Oh captain my captain! Adam gazes out into the Irish sea. (Bottom right) I pose on the edge of the island. Don’t worry Dad, I didn’t fall. Ireland 17
Giant’s Causeway
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cientists claim that the Giant’s Causeway was created by natural forces over thousands of years, but we all know that it was the handiwork of Finn McCool, the legendary Irish Giant. As soon as Adam and I heard the tale of Finn McCool and the creation of the causeway from our tour guide, Eric, we were infatuated with all things Finn. I sound like a broken record, but I can’t stress enough how one or two hours is not sufficient time to explore some of these great Irish landmarks. We were allotted two hours to check out the causeway, and we took full advantage of that time frame. We couldn’t have asked for better weather the day that we saw some of the most
recognizable sites in all of Ireland. ’Twas a little chilly being right on the coast and all, but it definitely wasn’t unbearable. We had packed a lunch for the day, so we sat down on the hexagonal rocks to take in the spectacle and enjoy our sandwiches made on delicious Irish soda bread. We spent the next hour walking along the causeway and climbing the shepherd’s path to take in an aerial view of Finn McCool’s masterpiece. What I would give to be back there again. Just to sit on those rocks and watch the waves rolling in – it’s hard to describe in words unless you’ve actually witnessed it. The Giant’s Causeway definitely was one of the grandest sights that I saw during my five week journey in Europe.
(Above) It was a beautiful day in Northern Ireland to take in the sights and sounds of the Giant’s Causeway. (Bottom right) The green hills surrounding the causeway were equally spectacular. (Bottom left) I ventured out onto the edge of the causeway to pose for a picture. Note the authentic Irish cap I’m sporting, courtesy of my sister Juli. (Left) Adam’s day took a turn for the worst when he was attacked by a leprechaun.
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y the time our Paddywagon bus arrived in the famed walled city of Derry, we were all quite sleepy. We had already seen two of Northern Ireland’s most impressive natural sights in the landscape surrounding the Carrick-aRede rope bridge and Finn McCool’s masterpiece, the Giant’s Causeway. So it was a little hard for me to get back into the city and enjoy the sights and sounds of Derry.
It certainly was an impressive walled city, but there wasn’t any kind of nature to really peak my interest. I need green grass, blue skies and Irish countrysides to really win my attention. So we putzed around Derry for about an hour or so, walking alongside the wall and posing next to canons. We heard what sounded like traditional Irish music drifting through the air, but we weren’t exactly sure
from where. So we followed the musical notes through an open door and up a few flights of stairs until we came to a grand ballroom. That lovely music was being played for a wedding reception. While a few of us did have some Irish blood, we were too weary to crash an Irish wedding, so we turned back and headed downstairs. But first I needed to stop in the bathroom. I walked into the rest room
and headed right toward the urinal. I was just minding my own business, staring straight ahead when an Irishman from down the trough turns to me and says, “How you doin’?” I was caught a little off guard, and offered a sheepish reply. He then asked where I was from, to which I declared “Michigan. The U.S.” “Mitchigan, you lads from Mitchigan?” he enthusiastically replied. I thought that
Derry & Belfast Dunluce Caslte is one of the oldest remaining castles in all of Europe. Built in the 13th century, it last served as home to the MacDonald clan before it was abandoned in the 17th century. The bus driver pulled off to the side of the road so we could jump out and snap some photos before continuing on our way to Derry. Ireland 20
it was just me, but I found out later that Adam followed me into the bathroom, but immediately left when the man started talking to me. He really missed out. So this Irishman continued making small talk with me while I tried to relieve myself for what seemed like a few minutes. Eventually more Irishmen wandered (Above)Derry had a number of unique and colorful murals painted on the walls of buildings in tribute to the victims of Bloody Sunday. (Right) A monumental stands just outside of the walls of Derry also memorializing the victims of the Bloody Sunday.
Above right) A now defunct cannon sits along the ramparts in Derry. The outer walls were probably the most interesting part of the city. There was also a pretty cool fountain in the center of town, but that was about it. Sorry, Derry. (Left) Our transportation for the day was the big, green Paddywagon bus. Our tour guide gave us a brief history of Northern Ireland and well as other facts about the places we visited. He also said “guys” every fifth word, which gave me and Adam hours of endless fun in impersonating him.
into the bathroom, to which he proclaimed that “we’ve got some lads here from Mitchigan!” As awkward and uncomfortable as it was for me, it was one of the most memorable moments that I’ll always take from this trip. We soon piled on the bus back to Belfast and quickly dozed off to sleep. When we arrived back in Belfast, we were supposed to meet up with Elena where the bus picked us up in the morning. But we couldn’t get a hold of her phone, so we ended up walking back to her apartment and waiting. We eventually got in touch with her, and she had a brilliant dinner waiting for us as soon as we walked through the door. What a gal. We chilled out in the apartment for a bit before heading out to a bar in Belfast. I wore my authentic Irish cap out on the town and enjoyed some Magners and Guinness as a final send off to our grand Ireland adventure. I had yet another bizarre encounter with an Irishman in the bathroom at the bar, where he was very excited to hear that I was from “Mitchigan.” I had two Irishmen talk to me at the urinal in one day. Luck of the Irish right there. Ireland 21
Belfast & back to to Dublin Madrid
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fter yet another late night followed by yet another early morning wake up call, we were all beyond weary. To make things worse, our fifth and final day in Ireland (if it even counted as a fifth day) was yet another travel day. We had grand intentions of visiting the botanical gardens at a university in Belfast, but once again, we just ran out of time. We piled into two cabs, arrived at the bus station and bought our bus tickets for Dublin airport. Soon after, we were onboard our plane bound for Madrid. Because we experienced so many things in such a short amount of time, it took me a couple of days before I could sit down and recount everything we did in Ireland. Never before have I packed so many activities Ireland 22
into so little time (it was really four and a half days, but for simplicity’s sake and because “cuatro y media días” just doesn’t have the same ring to it as “cinco días,” I’ll just round up). From the Cliffs of Moher, to the Giants Causeway and everything in between, Ireland stole my heart. There’s an album by an Irish band, the Swell Season, that I listened to whilst we traveled amongst the sheep, horses and ruined churches in the Irish country side. Whenever I put that album on, all I have to do is close my eyes, and I’m back on Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, chowing down on an Ulster Fry, or even standing next to an Irishman at a urinal asking me if I’m enjoying my stay in Belfast. My five days in Ireland, well, ’twas great craic.
This creepy gnome in Elena’s apartment had a special place in me and Adam’s hearts. And when I say a special place, I mean that it creeped us out every time we got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
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隆Adi贸s Irlanda!
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