Went into Limerick (central-western Ireland) and got our first dose of Irish History by visiting King John' Castle. Turns out that the Irish have been getting the tar beaten out of them for the last 800 years by the English. It seems as if the Irish have really not won many battles. It amazes me that as large and powerful the crown has been over the centuries, they still have not been able to bring the Irish ( the closest foriegn state in proximity) into submission. I wonder why the brits have been so interested in Ireland who historically have possesed no major idustries besides agriculture in a relatively small island. The conflict continues in Belfast (northern ireland occupied by the brits) to this day.
The people of Ireland are a very proud and dignified race. They are a very warm and cordial to foriegners. They love their country and thier culture more than any other than I have seen yet (not an extensive list).
I mentioned to an old Irish man that we eventually planned to travel to Dublin (Ireland's big city). Limerick is a smaller and more rural community. We were politely informed that we should not travel to Dublin because "we would get into the drugs and end up in San Quentin."
Another man I spoke with told me about the institution of the Republic of Ireland in the 1920's. He was very concerned that the "boys in Dublin (lawmakers) care nothin' for the rest of Ireland." It was interesting and curious to me why it was that these men were so critical of Dublin.
We left Limerick and traveled south to
Killarney.Ireland day 3
We stayed the night in a hostel.
Killarney is a beautiful region of Ireland with mountains and lakes in its national park. There exists many hiking trails and ancient Celtic sites. For us the Gaelic influence deepened as we went south and west in Ireland. The people love and embrace thier history to a great degree. I didnt mention that these small towns are immaculate. There is a lack of chain stores. Every shop and pub is owned by a separate owner who takes high pride in his businness. I observed that the first priority of the businness owners is not profit as in our nation, it is the image and reputation of thier business.
The region (Munster region of Ireland) is mostly agricultural. Everyone seemed to be making a pretty good living for themselves and I observed that there was almost no class division in these regions (virtually all middle class citizens).
Anyway, we rented some bikes and ventured into Killarney National Park. We hopped on a boat manned by an another old irish gent. Phil and I rode with a group of Malaysian students who were quite underdressed for the 30 degree and misty boatride. I could tell that they were becoming very uncomfortable after about 5 minutes. One of the boys put on a girl's stretchy scarf for warmth on his head. They thought this was absolutely halarious and jabbered on for 45 minutes in malaysian making fun of him.
Ireland Day 4
arranged a bed and breakfast in Dingle, Kerry C0unty; a small fishing village in the heart of Gaelic ireland.In the morning we visited the Celtic prehistoric museum and went on a hike to see the ancient beehive huts the celts built. The Slea Head Drive on Dingle Peninsula I would recommend.
Ireland Day 5
Dublin was a huge dissapointment.
On to Germany
Costs
lost track of most.
15E for hostel
4 E drinks
12 E fresh sole fish dinner
12E bike rental
7 E hour boat ride
1.42 E per liter petrol (gasoline)
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