A Wee Trip to Ireland

(OK I wrote this 8 days ago, my apologies--a lot of it, like the last part about the weather being good, is totally irrelevant, because the weather now one week later stinks. Although the post date probably says 2/9, I am actually posting this on 2/17. Will try to post pictures here later.)

Liebe readers (if you still exist), apologies for not posting in a while. Rest assured, I will not update you in usual detail about what I have been up to, like birthday parties, sweaty bars, and three trips to a cheap Mexican burrito place that is conveniently less than 5 minutes on foot from my apartment. I had two visitors (plus my mom was here) at the same time a couple weeks ago, although only one stayed with me, and I did lots of touristy things again. But it was fortunately the Lange Nacht der Museen, which means lots of museums were open from 6 PM to 2 AM for only 8 Euro, and there were lots of special events and exhibits. In addition to visiting the Musical Instrument and Film and TV Museums, I also got to listen to concerts at the Berliner Dom (and climb the Dom itself) and watch a laser show at a planetarium in PBerg that I never knew existed. My nerd self was totally happy.

Just four days after my friend Sandy from Heritage visited, I went to Belfast to stay with her for three nights. She's getting her Master's (in American History, ironically) at Queen's and there were really cheap flights, so I figured it was worth a trip. Belfast is a very small city in comparison to Berlin, and I'd forgotten what it's like to walk everywhere. I took a bus tour and got a pretty good sense of the city--saw the Parliament, City Hall, all the political murals on the Protestant Shankill Road and Catholic Falls Road, and the brand-new Ikea!

We also visited (London)Derry further north, and I was surprised to find one of the best museums ever--the Tower Museum. We got a private tour of the museum by a lovely old man who was so enthusiastic and passionate about informing people about Derry and Northern Ireland. I loved hearing his stories about the Troubles and finding out about mass emigration to the U.S. There wasn't much else to do in Derry besides walking around, but all-in-all it was a lovely city! I should mention that the weather was not that great--it had even snowed the day before in Belfast, so our bus ride up to Derry was more white than green!

I then went down to Dublin by myself and spent the first day getting lost and exhausted in a city that is much bigger than it looks yet is still relatively small. I went to the Guinness Storehouse, which is fun but still not as awesome as the Heineken place in Amsterdam. I managed to drink the taste-test beer, but couldn't bear the thought of drinking a whole pint, so I gave away my free ticket to someone much more appreciative of the black stuff. I also got to go to the National Museum, which had a fascinating exhibit on bogs and what kinds of things are found there--jewels, silverware, butter, and even well-preserved bodies! I stayed in a hostel that night, but the next morning I met up with my mom, who just arrived on a trip. She had to sleep, so I hit St. Patrick's and Christ Church alone. Very beautiful churches with interesting displays--especially enjoyed learning about Jonathan Swift, who was Dean of St. Patrick's. I also visited the National Gallery of Irleand, but I've lost most of my enthusiasm for art over the course of the past few years, I think. My mom and I then got to see the Book of Kells at Trinity College, which is beautiful. I can't even fathom how someone drew those huge, intricate, fancy letters.

I left for Berlin early early early the next morning, and now I sorta have someone else staying with me--Anna, who I know from German and CF at Harvard, had my keys while I was in Ireland and has spent a couple nights here because her great-uncle lives in the 'burbs and doesn't have Internet. It's nice to have someone from Harvard here--someone who understands my frame of reference a bit better than other "Amis" and a lot better than non-Americans.

Lent (German Fastenzeit, or "fasting time," see how literal Germans are!) started on Wednesday, and although it is just Saturday, I am already wanting to break my fast and eat sweets and drink soda. It doesn't help that I was just given a bunch of chocolate by a couple people, and I also have a half-drunk bottle of Coke sitting on my desk. Oh well, I suppose it is a very, very, very small price to pay considering Jesus's sacrifice.

I have to prepare lunch for 10 at church tomorrow, in addition to preparing a presentation on the German welfare system for my German class on Wednesday. But the weather is gorgeous outside (who woulda thunk that I would consider 50 degrees and sorta sunny gorgeous?), so I'm gonna go take a long walk to the Brandenburg Gate and do some shopping.