Freddy

In one of the hotels in Ireland, we had a very luxorious room. I learned that you need to get trained for higher standards, for example the bath tub. In the hotel, the room had a very nice jacuzzi (bath with bubbles), with some interesting massage like functions. Of course this needed a try. So I filled the water into the bath and added the content of the small bath soap to the water for extra relaxation. Well, after a few minutes I turned on the engines for the bubbles (it really makes a lot of noice). It started fine, but after short time I saw the foam of the bath increasing. After 2 minutes I got worried, since the foam was getting more than 10 centimeters thick... and it kept growing. After the foam even further increased, action was needed because it was getting over the bath tub and there was no sink in the floor. I moved all the foam to the normal sink to get rid of it, which also became huge... almost the whole bath room was suddenly filled with foam. I showed the result to my friends, which were quite amused about all the mess. In the end, I think the hotel was happy, since I cleaned almost the complete bathroom for them...

 

After Ireland, we went to Nothern Ireland. This is basically the top of Ireland, but belongs to Britain. Here we finished Londonderry and Belfast. Both cities are wellknown due to the religous conflicts between the protestants and catholics. In Belfast, there is still a big wall (like the Berlin wall) that separates the areas, although you can get to the other side via a big tour around the wall. Luckily the violance has stopped and Belfast and normal life is returning, but still does not feel completely normal. This were certainly not the nicest places, but it was interesting to see. Also we visited the coast, which has very impressive views. Luckily the sun was shining then, but it was still very cold (16 degrees).

 

After Nothern Ireland, we went by ferry to Scotland to travel further on by car to the Lake District in England. This is a top tourist destination because of the nice lakes and mountains. We decided to take a more advanturous route by taken a very steep pass with slopes of 30%! We noticed how advantorous it was... Before entering the pass, we were first driving through very small lanes (where only 1 car at a time can pass, but is dual lane...). If you have bad luck and a car is coming from the other side, you might need to drive backwards for several hundred meters. Luckily these roads are not busy and in the end we had not so much problems luckily.

 

However, then we needed to go over the pass with 30% increase. Until half way it went ok, but then a car came from the top to downhill and was driving straight on us. This time we drove on the left (the right sight), but instead that the car coming to us went left he kept on driving straigth on us and making strange moves with his hands as if we need to get out of the way. However, he was driving at the wrong side. We needed to stop the car on the 30% slope and another car was also stopped half a meter behind us. When we tried to drive further, the car could not manage the slope. The engine made a lot of noice and we noticed a burned smell. After 2 tries, we found out it was impossible to get forward! This was very scarry! I and Roger went out and tried to push the car. Luckily due to less weight in the car and stopping the car from moving backwards (as far it was possible, because due to the weight of the car and the steep slope you could never push the car forward), we managed to get the car moving forward again. Hans drove to the top and we walked to the top to get in again. Before that, we also needed to help the car behind us (a family), who also could not move forward with their car. The children in that car were very afraid. Luckily we found out there was no serious damage to the car and we could continue our journey.

 

Just one more thing worth to mention. On the last day, suddenly the weather became nice and warm. That was the end of the holiday...

 

 

I left Ireland now and am currently in Northern Ireland (UK). The holiday continues to be quite wet and cold wetter. However, you get some inspiration

to get warm. Today I went to a whiskey distillery Bushmills to see (and taste) the brewery. Well, the smell was not always that pleasant at the plant, but luckily the whiskey tastes better.

 

I also went to the coast of Northern Ireland (UK), where a miracle happened: the sun started to shine (but with hard and cold wind; it was not warmer than 15 degrees). Very nice cliffs and spectacular views from the cliffs and beaches. I was also able to make several walks on the cliffs, which was really nice. The photos look like postcard pictures. There was also a rope bridge over a cliff, where the water was about 50 meters below you while you were almost blown of the bridge. Well, it is not something to be done by people with a lot of feir of height.

 

Tomorrow I will have a day in Belfast before going by boat to the mainland by UK. The end of the holiday is approaching... just about 5 days left (although a warm office has its advantages I must admit).

 

 

Currently more than 1 week in Ireland. After Dublin (the capital), the next city was Waterford. The main reason to go there is the Waterford crystal factory, which you can visit. This was a very interesting, while they show the whole process of making glass inside the factory. This includes the blowing of the glass (vases, drinking glasses, etc.), the making of inscriptions/decorations and making it look nice. You can buy crystal yourself, but it is expensive stuff... prices basically starts above €50 for a drinking glass... better not brake it when you buy

 

After Waterford we visited the oldest lighthouse in the world and went to Cork to stay over for the night. The next day, we went to Killarney, where we made a famous tour by car (ring of Kerry) around the coast. Here you find the spectacular landscapes along the coast with mountains. You need to be careful with the car... the roads after often so small that on several stretches only 1 car can pass at a time and you are always praying no one is coming from the other direction... luckily we had no major problems, but the tour of about 200 km was a long day sitting in the car.

 

The next day we made another tour, including a hike to the top of a mountain on the most westly point of Europe. Finally some exercise, while I do not like so much to sit for many hours in the car. Here we had spectacular views on the cliffs and rocks.

 

After that we went to Killarney, from which we made a trip to the cliffs of Moher, which are very famous. They are over 200 meters high and is therefore a very popular tourist destination. If you want to enjoy the view in silence, this is not the place to be.

 

Driving in Ireland is on the wrong side of the road (left), while I am normally drive on the right. Since we are with my car, the steering wheel is on the wrong side. It was me who made the first mistake by driving on the wrong side of the road. My friends were shouting: left, left! but I saw nowhere how to turn left. After a car was coming straight on me and start to make strange moves, I understood what they meant and that I was riding on the wrong side of the road.... Oops, small mistake

 

To be continued

Momenteel ben ik op vakantie in Ierland. Ik heb uitgevonden waarom het land zo groen is... het regent er erg veel... en het is nog koud ook. De meeste dagen komt de temperatuur niet hoger dan 15-20 graden.

 

De reis zelf loopt voorspoedig en hebben we geen problemen ondervonden, behalve dat de prijzen in Ierland erg hoog liggen. Een wijn die in Nederland €5 kost, kost in Ierland het dubbele. Hotelkamers zijn minimaal €80-€100 per nacht en ook lunch/dineren is enorm duur. Bijna alle prijzen zijn 50-100% duurder dan in Nederland.

 

Ierland is zelf wel een mooi land. Dublin is een leuke stad en de natuur is erg mooi. Vooral langs de kust, maar ook de bergen (die niet hoog, maar wel kompleet groen zijn) zijn spectaculair. Het links rijden ging tot vandaag zonder problemen... behalve vandaag. Toen ik wegreed, riepen mijn vrienden links, links... maar ik zag nergens waar ik links kon afslaan. Plotseling zag ik een auto opdoemen die recht op mij afreed... toen snapte ik dat ik aan de verkeerde kant van de weg reed. Gelukkig liep het goed af.

 

Halverwege de vakantie en nu opweg naar het noorden van Ierland.

 

 

My holiday has started now! This time around the corner... in England and Ireland. I am travelling with two friends of mine around with my car. This time Hans and I took the train to England... I went trhough the tunnel from France to England, where you can put your car on the train. It takes 35 minutes... the only disadvantage is you cannot see much when you are below the water.

 

The same day we arrived at Roger's house. He is living in England and also joining the trip. The next day we were going into the direction of the ferry to Ireland, but stayed the night in England, while it is far driving. We visited the first built metal bridge in the world (not a bad design) and a 'chinese' pottery, where we got a demonstration how it was made. Quite interesting to see and interesting ovens (very huge).

 

The day after we took the ferry to Ireland. Luckily the sea was calm... so I did not need to test my sea legs. Our first destination in Ireland is the capital, Dublin. This is a nice city, but the inner city is completely jammed with cars. Very expensive city though and it seems even to be more expensive than London! It seems that the prices are about double what I am used to pay in the Netherlands. Just a pizza which costs normally €8 costs suddenly €16. Also the musea are expensive... Any donations for my holiday are welcome. In Dublin we visited of course the Guinness beer factory, which is a very famous beer in Ireland. Unfortunately I do not like the taste...

 

Today I left Dublin and are on my way to the southern part of the country. I visited several interesting places, like lakes (but most of them were not so nice because it was raining), a Japanese garden and breeding of racing horses. Looking at the prices of the horses (famous horses can earn many million dollar), I might consider to grow one horse in my (small) garden...

 

To be continued... hopefully with better weather, but the forecast does not look very good.