couldn't have asked for a better day...

Today I went on a nine mile walk which was an annual memorial walk for one of the local pub owner's wife. She died from breast cancer a few years back. We couldn't have asked for a better day. The sun was shining and there was a slight breeze that made it not too hot and not too cold, perfect for walking. The sun also makes the different shades of blue water and green grass appear so much more vibrant. I'm really glad that it was really a flawless day because Patrick Sammon deserves a flawless day like today. 

Epiphany! --> background picture is actually Cliffs of Moher! for real.

The Southern part of Ireland is well on it’s way through the transition from winter to summer. The rich green grassy plots of land are speckled with baby lambs, calves, and foals. There are small and subtle bursts of color coming from the shrubbery and flowers. And everything is so green!

The Cliffs of Moher were indeed breathtakingly awesome and definitely what the picture of my background is :)

Sweden, Sweden, Sweden

I revisited a few familiar places during my extended weekend in Stockholm. I explored the Stockholm Cathedral once again and noticed a painting that looked like Michelangelo’s The Last Judgment on one of the walls near the altar. There was a lot to take in at the cathedral, including a statue of St. George and the dragon which is carved from oak and elk horn. I revisited the Royal Palace as well and saw a few guards in the courtyard. Since the weather is just beginning to change from winter to spring, the water ways in between the islands were crowded with floating sheets of ice. Some really tough ducks and swans were even swimming around in the clearer parts. We learned from a local that in the winter when the water is frozen solid people merely walk across it and there are trucks that clear the ice and spray water in order to make areas where people can ice skate. Then in the summer there are hot air balloons flying all above the city giving a sort of tour of the city; and providing eye candy for everyone else. Stockholm is a beautiful city no matter what time of year it is. We revisited a 700 year old prison that has since been turned into Café Stuen Sture that I’ve ate at in 2007. The Vasa museum was really fun to explore a second time as well. That’s the kind of place I think you could go to multiple times and learn multiple things. The Vasa ship is commonly known as Stockholm’s biggest failure because it is this extravagant ship built for battle but set sail for 20 minutes then sank. Today it has been restored and a wonderful museum has been built up around it. Restoration is still occurring, we saw people working on restoring three small boats that were found that seem to be life boats.

In Stockholm and from what I remember in 2007 the Swedish people are all very nice and speak English very well. Even if they didn’t always understand everything we said they were willing to try and understand what we were trying to say and find the words to talk back.

Stockholm is a very pleasant city and I would go back again. It’s a city that I can visit and revisit throughout all my life I think. 

Extended Weekend

I'm off the Stockholm, Sweden on Saturday until Tuesday for the extended weekend we are allowed. yay!

It's pretty interesting...

Now that I’ve been to different parts of Ireland – geographically speaking – our trip to the Bunratty Castle, which is near Shannon, has seemed the most like Michigan, home :) Aside from the actual castle, and the folk park which had thatched roofed homes and 19^th century buildings and houses I felt most at home today. Riding on the bus and taking in the country side around the Shannon and Galway area I noticed it’s more developed here, yet there are still huge sections of land that remain wide open divided with rock walls and shrubbery.

In the Bunratty Castle they burned wood for heat verses turf or peat which is what we use in our cottages and what people in Ireland still use today. Our guide mentioned that Ireland used to be covered in forest, but the people of Bunratty Castle were not the only ones using wood so now there is not nearly as much forest covering the land. That really surprised me because the Ireland I have come to know is mostly bog land, open fields, or a city. Then within the castle in The Great Hall large tapestries covered the walls keeping the heat within the banquet hall. The tapestries are French, Belgium, and Flemish - and interestingly enough while I was on spring break I spotted very similar tapestries in Rome within the Vatican museum and in a couple castles in Germany, the Neuschwanstein castle and the Oberschleissheim castle.

We also went to Coole Park today and that is probably my favorite place in Ireland. I could easily get lost in my thoughts there. Although we did not stay there long, I was enthralled with the park as a whole but especially the trees. It reminded me of a forest I went to in Sweden, very cool stuff. 

Dublin Recap

I've decided to do an entry about our time spent in Dublin, because we saw quite a few things as a group before we departed for Spring Break.....Here's a little recap of my time spent in Dublin. I went to Newgrange, which is a massive stone tomb and the majority of the very top of it is covered in grass. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures on the inside. 

At Trinity College I had the chance to see The Book of Kells (but we weren't allowed to take pictures inside either). 

Then at the the Guinness brewery I tasted the best pint of Guinness, hands down. I even made a purchase at the gift shop; I bought a coffee mug that looks like a pint of Guinness :) 

While strolling around the city we set foot in the General Post Office see the bullet holes from the 1916 East Uprising; and took a tour of the Kilmainham Prison, where the rebels of the Uprising were held and later executed. One cell which is labeled as Mrs. Joseph Plunkett contained a painting which is said to be painted by Grace herself while she was housed there. Then there were pictures in the prison of what the prison was like when it was in use. In one of the court yard the crosses on the ground mark the spots where the executions of two of the rebels took place. It was a bit creepy to stand in between them. Across the street from the prison were statues of the rebels standing in a circle around the Proclamation on a table in the middle. The tall figures have bullet holes in them as well. I don't have any actual pictures of the Post Office, just the signs in the front lobbies. 

I snapped a couple of pictures of the city streets in Dublin, just to give you an idea of what the city looks like.

Enjoy the pics!