Tales from Deutchsland and Eire

Originally, our plan this year was take our bicycles over to Ireland and attempt to go from Malin Head in Inishmor to Mizen Head in Kerry. That is ,from the northern tip of Ireland to the southern tip.
Unfortunately, despite a good practice weekend cycling from Pitlochry to Aviemore, we found it hard to find the time to put in pedal miles to get us fit for the trip, so a compromise became necessary.
We decided to take advantage of Ryanair’s dirt cheap air fares and fly to Germany for a week with the inlaws and then fly on to Shannon to tour and hillwalk around the West Coast .
All in all 4 flights were involved costing us a total of £120. In addition, all these flights were going to help my beloved’s fear of flying which to be fair is fading fast.
On the day of departure we managed a morning at work before returning home to pick up our luggage and then get the train out to Prestwick.
At check-in, we managed to get in pre-boarding after explaining my SO’s problem with the usual scrum at departure gate on RyanAir flights when the plane is called for boarding, so for this flight and for every other one as it happened we were more or less first on the plane! Excellent!
After getting picked up at Hahn Airport by the in-laws it was a 2 hour drive to their new home in Klingenmunster. It was then straight to bed to sleep off the fatigues of travel.
The next week was then filled with a mixture of seeing the sights of the Pfalzerwald, swimming in the excellent German swimming facilities, eating and partaking of the in-laws hospitality, cycling to France and restocking our wine cellar .This was Interspersed with the the SO knitting me a gaudy pair of socks and a woolly hat. Meanwhile, I studied for my upcoming exam and read Moby Dick.
On the last day of the German leg, the in-laws took us out to the Rhine flood plain to partake of a new form of exercise called “Dresina”. ( I apologise for the spelling, hopefully my editor can correct it!). This involves cycling along a disused railway line in a specially designed vehicle which can seat four or up to 7 people. The route ended up 12 km away just before the River Rhine. The cycling was pleasant enough without being overexertive. The scenery was also pleasant but generally a bit flat.
When we got to the other end the village we ended up in was a wee bit dead without anywhere to sit and have a drink or much to see. In addition, the Rhine was a bit far to walk to.
By the time everyone that was cycling had arrived, we put our “Dresina” back on the line and cycled back to the starting point. This time we stopped off halfway along for a cup of coffee and a piece of cake which was very pleasant.
The trip was German was a pleasant, relaxing break. We were very grateful for the generous hospitality shown by the SO’s parents the whole time of our stay.
Fortunately, our flight to Stansted was from Baden airport, so it was only a short drive from Klingenmunster, compared to the trip from Hahn. What a breath of fresh air the airport was. It was so quiet compared to any of the UK ones.
It was unfortunate, that we had to spend most of the day in Stansted before flying to Shannon ,though this meant there was no chance we could miss our connection as a result of the extra security checks.
After a long afternoon, we flew into Shannon. At this point two mishaps slightly spoilt our day.
Just after we landed, we spent 10 minutes looking through the plane’s overhead lockers for the SO’s fleece top without success. This was sad. It was one of her favourites and had been left behind in Stansted. Poor fleece!
At the same time as the search was going on, I managed to leave my book on the seat beside me and forgot to pick it up. This was a bummer because I had just got into it and had nothing else to read! When we had gone through security, I tried to retrieve it without success. Never mind, maybe I could get it when we returned to fly home.
After picking up our car, we drove up to Doolin Head via Ennis for some chips, and stayed in a hostel sharing a dorm with 3 girls from Eastern Germany.
Woke up to pouring rain and decided to head up the coast past the Burren to Galway City.
Originally, we had planned to go the Aran Islands but since the weather was poor and not forecast to improve for a day or 2 we decided this was the best option. I would be able to find a book to read and hopefully the SO would find the wool she needed to knit my promised Aran sweater.
After a pleasant wander, I managed to find a book in a famouse second hand book shop but no appropriate wool was found.
After lunch, the weather didn’t improve so we headed back down the coast to Lahinch via a couple of Celtic crosses and waterfalls. The Cliffs of Moher were atmospheric but disappointing due to the weather and the restrictions on access placed by the authorities and local landowners.
We found ourselves a bed for the night in Lahinch and had a wander along the seafront before dinner. We were both amazed to see that they were people out surfing in the pre-sunset half-light. The surf looked pretty mental. So much so that we had to go for a drink to a bar called O’Looney’s!
After a disturbed sleep (we had a shared dorm again) we woke to another wet day. There was a hurricane forecast for the next 48 hours!
We decided to head down towards the Dingle peninsula via Tralee. The driving was pleasant enough but the rain didn’t really let up all day.
We arrived at Dingle in the late afternoon and managed to get a room at a hostel just out of
town for a reasonable rate of 51 euros per night. It was a big converted manor house which had seen better days but was comfortable enough.
A wander down to the town of Dingle was aided by a clearing of the weather and it proved to be a charming, picturesque fishing village with literally dozens of pubs!
Amazingly the first shop we popped into was a small woollen mill shop and it sold the appropriate wool for the SO to knit the promised sweater. She seemed very happy with the quality and cost of it, anyway.
Afterwards, we wandered to yet another Murphy’s Bar for a pleasant dinner and pint of Guinness.
At this juncture I would like to point out to the discerning budget traveller that Ireland is nowhere nearly as expensive as it’s made out to be. On the whole during our visit, prices of accommodation, eating out, petrol etc were all on a par with those encountered in the UK. Perhaps Dublin and Cork are very expensive, elsewhere doesn’t seem so bad.
The next day turned out fine so we went up to O’Connor’s Pass and took some pictures of but decided not to go up Brandon Mountain. Then we drove round the point beyond Dingle to visit a famous beach which featured in Ryan’s Daughter. Ireland seems to be very big on selling certain places which featured in films over the years eg The Quiet Man and The Field.
It seems that even 50 years on, they still get people visiting places and using it as a reference point!
After spending a second night in Dingle we moved on towards Killarney. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t too good so an ascent of Carrantuohill wasn’t on. Instead we drove round it, going over the Gap of Dunloe. The whole area reminded me of Scotland. Very picturesque and rugged.
Got to Killarney and booked into the International Hostel just outside. Again we managed to get a room on our own and after a pleasant traditional Irish meal in Killarney had a quiet night. Killarney itself was a nice place. A little “Oirish” perhaps and busy but otherwise pleasant enough.
The next day was our last full day so after a late breakfast we slowly wandered back towards Shannon Airport. The drive up was nice enough up by the Shannon estuary. The only bad point was a diversion at a tourist trap called Bunratty. This place was tourist hell but we managed to get a couple of gifts for friends and I managed to get a T-shirt before we made good our escape.
We planned to stay at a hostel at a small place called Threemilebridge but unfortunately found that it was busy. So we backtracked a little and found a Travel Inn on the edge of Limerick.
This was our last night and since it was the day before our official anniversary we decided that it would be nice to celebrate it on the last day of our holiday.
Unfortunately, the Travel Inn didn’t have a restaurant so we decided to go a mile up the road where there was a SAS Radisson which advertised a reasonably priced early bird menu.
We were lucky to get a table and enjoyed a great 3 course meal with excellent service considering the number of covers that they were doing that night. It was a great end to a most enjoyable holiday.
The next morning we returned to Shannon Airport and managed to get a damaged wheel past the Car Rental Inspector without any extra charges and joined the check-in queue. After the usual delay due to the late incoming flight we got back to Prestwick just in time for the train back to Glasgow and were soon home.