Weekend trip, part 2

Getting on the Paddywaggon, which is also a name for a police car, we left the eerie town of Belfast and headed over to (London)Derry.
On the way, we stopped at Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge.
Here's some scenerie:

Way in the back, that's Scotland

While driving, we were entertained by our 1-man-show Seanie from Paddywaggon. He introduced us to the fine art of Irish music, sampling a few songs, among which rediscovered classic Molly Malone, reminds me of a friend in Dublin

Caledonia, replace Caledonia with Katie and you might get it

and the last one Danny Boy:

Well, next stop was Giant's Causeway. This is a vulcanic basalt formation.
Legend has it, that Finn McCool wasn't a big fan of Irish girls. So, he started looking somewhere else and ended up checking the girls in Scotland. In order to get there, he built the Giant's Causeway.
The girl he  fancied had a gigantic boyfriend. This boyfriend, when he found out about Finn McCool stealing his girl, set out after Finn. The Giant must have been a real slo-mo, because by the time he got to Ireland, Finn already had a baby. Finn heard about the Giant coming and jumped into the baby's crib. That worked, because Finn wasn't really very tall. But as the Giant looked into the crib and thought Finn was a baby, he thought this Finn-guy must me truely HUGE. So, he turned around and went back to Scotland.
Finn then destroyed the Causeway to keep the Giant out.

The Chimneys at The Amphitheater

Finn McCool's Shoe

Giant's Gate

The basalt columns

general panorama

Looked like a face to me

Finn McCool's camel- not sure, what he needed a camel for, but he had one

We went on to Dunluce Castle, following the Causeway Coastal Road. The castle was inhibited by the McDonald family. The front of the castle was for stately affairs while the back housed the kitchen and such.
One day, as the staff was preparing the meal for a banquet, the back of the castle broke off, killing all the staff, except for one boy, sitting on a stool in the corner of the kitchen.
Lady McDonald assumed the castle then would be haunted and urged her husband to move to a different location. Since then, the castle is becomeing more and more of a ruin.

About the next stop, also for the night, I got particularly excited, because I partially followed my favorite author's traces: Andy McNab being in (London)Derry in the mid-80s.
We did the Walls Walking Tour.
Despite it being really secterian again, it wasn't nearly as awkward as in Belfast. I don't know why, but I felt a lot more comfortable in this town.
Well, we started in the Bogside, site of "Bloody Sunday" of U2-fame. The site, the guide said, doesn't look like the 70s anymore: the concrete was replaced by some grass and some terraces had to go in order to improve this part of the town.

Apparently, a few weeks back, the "Derry" was replaced by "It's called Londonderry, you bastards!:)"- spelling Londonderry with a few "N" too many.

The murals are painted having real photographies as basis

Illegal IRA- monument

The Bogside

Well, that was the catholic side of the River Foyle. The river would be the border between Republicans and Loyalist. Yet, there is a very small population of loyalists on this side of the river:

And as they were having a party that day, playing this by Mark Knopfler, I decided to visit them:

Dangerous? Maybe, but I was playing tourist. So, it was a lot of fun.
And this is the party (just stating a fact, no opinion):

Of course, they, too, have murals

I guess, this is just a humble wish:

To finish a day out in great Irish summer conditions, we were rewarded with this:

 

So, today, to sum it up read like this:

Weekend trip, part 1

Are you up for a LOT of pictures? Because, I am finally doing s bit of touristy stuff. I booked a 3-day-trip to Northern Ireland including visits to Belfast, the Giant's Causeway, Derry and a lot of things in between.
To give you a heads-up, some pictures are just snapshots taken out of a driving tourbus.
Okay, the trip started at 0800 hrs in Dublin with our driver Seanie radiating a lot of enthusiasm.
Well seasoned traveller me charged all the batteries necessary: cell phone, computer and even my internal battery (halfway, though). What I DID forget to charge were the batteries for my camery. That I found out on my way to the meeting point while I was trying to take  apicture of a nice restaurant/hotel.
Starting the tour, we drove by a few sights of Dublin, but as this is not about the south, we didn't stop. What I picked up, though, is that I should try and go to Pheonix Park during my last weekend in Ireland. Since there are some geocaches hidden in that particular area, I don't think it would be hardship to do so. Who's up for it? Lemme know :)
Leaving Dublin, we first went to a place called Drogheda, pronounced Drh-heeda. This town is supposedly well known for the fact of being actor Pierce Brosnan's hometown (yepp, 007) and its cathedral. In that cathedral is the head of Sir Oliver Plunkett of catholic rebellious fame. He was beheaded for standing to his religion back in 1671 or so.

I'm sure, in his day, he looked a lot better

After Drogheda, we went on to visit the remains of an old meonestary called Monasterboice.

The round tower is really typical for Ireland. The monks used to keep their treasures in the 2 rooms within the structure. When the vikings then came, they just holed themselfes up in there. What the vikings then did, was smoke them out.
Also, the monastery is known to have three high crosses, which were used to teach the farmers the story of Christ:

That, for today, was the pleasant part of the trip. It went on to Belfast. While I was in the Army, I thought I wa around a bunch of weird places. But Belfast, especially the Shankil Road protestant stringhold (trying to avoid the word ghetto) really gave me the creeps.
We took a Black Taxi tour and you couldn't help but feel the narrow-mindedness paired with a feeling of being besieged in your own homes. Funny thing is, the Protestants are the majority in Northern Ireland.
All over the area we were at, they had murals up to celebrate "fallen heroes" or to remember  times of glories past.
Some examples:

Something going for both sides, but found in Shankill:

They seem to be like little kids throwing a fit, if they don't get what they want- absolut restoration of the old days of Protestant supremacy.
Leaving Shankill, you had to pass a so-called Peacewall. They are set up to separate religious strongholds without too much presence of the Security Forces. Having been grown up in Berlin, the Wall there was eerie.
But this thing fits best into Israel:

The set-up is so no idiot could lob any crap over it and possibly fuel a new round of street riots. Weird thing, some of the gates are closed at certain times, emposing a curfew. And they are grown-up people. Believe it or not.
You could tell whether you are in a Loyalist area by the brit colors being displayed. They say, the Northern Irish Protestants are even more british than the mainland Brits...

If you entered a catholic area, you MIGHT see the republican Tricolor. Colors being Green for the catholics, orange for the protestants divided by white for them two living in peace together. It'S all striped like the italian flag.
Being in Falls Road area, which is 100% catholic, the murals were a bit different: they made the effort in putting the IRA in the same league as the PLO or other world-wide known fighting groups (trying to avoid saying terrorists or freedom-fighters). Some of the murals were even funny.
One incident, I heard of (Milltown cemetery massacre after the killing of the Gibraltar 3 by the SAS).

One of the guides telling us about the murals pointed out how smart the catholics were by trying to associate with internationl groups. But that guy himself was a protestant. They also kept pointing out, how it is now possible to enter any of those strongholds without worrying.
Funny thing, before the Troubles started in 1969, Falls Road and Shankill were PREDOMINANTLY catholic, respectivley protestant.
After 1969, they were 100% each, becaus ethe homes of the opposing religion were just destroyed.
Okay. Enough of that.
To put a cherry on the cake, we went to the Titanic Experience, which I had to leave. It was all too depressing learning about so many people drowning while the ship sank.
Some pics of Belfast downtown, neutral ground:

Beldast City Hall with old lady Queen Victoria (the good ol' days)

Self-explaining

Europe Hotel, being blown up 4 times during the troubles with only 7 people injured

And just to show, they haven't quite overcome the troubles, two pics of the police:

That basically concludes my day. I just need to find dinner and then hit the sack. I fell asleep on the bus from Titanic back to Downtown. Maybe, I'm tired :)
Hopefully, tomorrow is a bit more cheerful.

Irish wedding

Today was another fun and productive day.
On the way to work, I set out on my usual mini photo-safari.
This is what I found:

 

This one's for you know who!

This island is so green, they have trees grwoing out of their houses :)

Just like the look of them

 

So, at work, I was able to finish a presentation on Seed Stand certifications. The initial certification part isn't that difficult, alas for free. Getting the Seed Stand ready and prepared is the tricky part. It requires a minimum amount of trees on a certain area, evenly aged etc...Now, go and find that-  and then take all the undergrowth and such out. HECK OF A LOT OF WORK!!!

Also, my allergies were bugging me pretty good. So I went to the drug store to get someting against it.

On the way, I found there was a wedding at the local church.

I've never knowingly been to a catholic wedding (if it was catholic, but I tink it was), so I figured, it's about high time.

So, I grabbed my co- worker and off we went. Was interesting to play fly on a wall for a few moments.

I particularly liked that I was promised for my marriage to be good beyond death. My co-worker asked, if I believed in having my kids until after  death, I could reply in the affirmative, which she really liked.

Oh, I received a poem I really liked, because I found myself in it, during endless hours of research:

I and Pangur Bán, my cat
'Tis a like task we are at;
Hunting mice is his delight
Hunting words I sit all night.

Better far than praise of men
'Tis to sit with book and pen;
Pangur bears me no ill will,
He too plies his simple skill.

'Tis a merry thing to see
At our tasks how glad are we,
When at home we sit and find
Entertainment to our mind.

Oftentimes a mouse will stray
In the hero Pangur's way:
Oftentimes my keen thought set
Takes a meaning in its net.

'Gainst the wall he sets his eye
Full and fierce and sharp and sly;
'Gainst the wall of knowledge I
All my little wisdom try.

When a mouse darts from its den,
O how glad is Pangur then!
O what gladness do I prove
When I solve the doubts I love!
So in peace our tasks we ply,
Pangur Bán, my cat, and I;
In our arts we find our bliss,
I have mine and he has his.

Practice every day has made
Pangur perfect in his trade;
I get wisdom day and night
Turning darkness into light.

Translated by Robin Flower

Written by an unknown Irish Monk, a student of the monastery

of Carinthia, on a copy of St Paul's Epistles

Geocaching!!!

Work was good. But then it turned 10 and the real work started. We got another earful from our supervisor about how clueless we are concerning the work, company and life in general. Considering, he admitted this charity/ company basicly being run and kept alive by the interns, the remarks he placed were slightly out of the afore mentioned place. I'm known to be outspoken (as my blog clearly proofs), but THIS guy is clearly is way ahead of me. He had me swallow a couple times in the last few weeks. And I thought, I heard it all spending 8 years of my life in the Army.
Needless to say, I'm not sure, if I ever wanna catch up with him:)
To make up for a lame start, we all went to nearby Marino Park for lunch. It was fun, because I introduced some of the kids to the fine art of geocaching. Usually, the boxes the treasures are hidden in are just ordinary film containers. But this one definitely was something different: being close to where Bram Stoker was born, the box just HAD to be a small coffin.

Reminded me of my friend Micha at home: he has similar 3D glasses

After lunch, I continued working on a presentation for the directors about the nursery, proper seed harvesting and marketing ideas.
One of my coworkers had the close-to-brilliant idea to operate the seed stand on a basis, FSC could approve. Now, THAT would be a classic, I think. So, I need to read into that.
Speaking of that coworker, under her rough outer is a really nice core. I believe, and if she ever read this, she'd probably ambitiously attempt to kill me, she isn't quite sure of how she would like to go through life.
Previously, she was told, she was too nice. Now, she discovered the fun in being sarcastic all the time. 

Tonight, we'll have a dinner with the people from work. I'm attempting to prepare a noodle salad. If it wasn't for the garlic stuffed olives, the cheese and dressing, it would be to run for the hills screaming. The noodles are soft, the cucumber, peppers and tomatoes have, in size, a slight resemblance with breakpads.
I hope the dressing will compensate for a slight lack in distinct flavor.
 Last night, my hosts had a minibirthday party for him. He got a blender and put it to use. The fruit peelings and such were supposed to be in their compost selection on the neighboring roof. Unfortunately, the intermediate container was not as sturdy as suspected.
Here are the results:

And yes, that's a classic US-car decorated with a few banana peels.

The sightseeing pic of the day:

If you have too many churches, they have to be put to use: a Theater