Ireland: Road Trip

We hadn't really planned to go to Ireland, but Ryanair had flights for €19 so who are we to argue? So we booked flights from the optimistically named "Munich West" Airport (very loose description, actually about half way to Switzerland) to Shannon on the west coast of Ireland, and home from Dublin. Instead of trains and buses like we usually do, we hired a car to make the most of seeing the countryside. It was the first time I had driven in a while, and the first time in years I had driven a manual but after a lap of the carpark I was ready to go.

Our first stop was at Doolin on the Atlantic coast which is a tiny village consisting mainly of B&B's and pubs. Our B&B was next to a pub which was handy so we nipped in for a Guinness and some hearty pub food for dinner.

Next morning we went down the road to the Cliffs of Moher just as the fog was starting to lift.

Cliffs of Moher

"Dramatic" camera setting seemed fitting

"Dramatic" cows

 As we were leaving about 6 tourist coaches showed up which we were glad to avoid.

 

From there we headed south along the coast and took the car ferry across the Shannon Estuary towards Tralee. By the time we got to the Dingle Peninsula the weather had started to turn a bit grim.

Beast of a rental car...

Our route took us over the Conor Pass which was totally clouded in at the top which made driving interesting seeing though it was a two-way road about 3m wide.

Visibility was an issue....and this is a two way road

At breakfast we opted for the full Irish (minus black pudding) which was so huge we didn't eat again until dinner.

Driving through the countryside I spotted a ruined castle in a distant field so we pulled over and ducked under the fence with a few other gawkers. After seeing many restored castles across Europe it was interesting to see one that had just been left to the elements.

It was totally overgrown and falling apart with ruined staircases down to lower internal rooms.

We continued along the Ring of Kerry towards the western tip. The roads are really narrow and pot-holed most of the time and you often have to pull over to let oncoming traffic pass. The speed limits are very optimistic, you'd never dream of going as fast as the posted speed in lots of places. You'll be on a narrow winding road with blind corners through a village with a herd of sheep standing on the shoulder and the limit is 100km/hr. We were lucky that it's not peak season yet, as I imagine it would be much less fun battling tour buses on the tiny roads.

Every 10 mins we were pulling over to have a look at something, or look at the view.

The road signs in Ireland are brilliant for finding your way around, we only had to pull a map out a couple of times on the whole trip. We followed a random sign to a castle and ended up at this stone circle which used to protect the centre of a village. The whole thing was made of rocks stacked without mortar. 

Off to the local pub again for a few pints of Guinness and a meal which is becoming a familiar ritual.

Guinness stew and a Guinness

After another enormous breakfast we drove back to Shannon to drop off the car, and then caught the train from Limerick to Dublin.

- Joe

Spring in Munich

Spring is finally here! We didn't take photos in the first week of Spring - and it's a shame, because these trees were completely covered with tiny white flowers. It looked like snow when there was a slight breeze and all the petals would fall to the ground. 

Just around the corner from our house is an enormous parkland. You can see the Olympic tower in the background too. It's lovely here temperature wise this time of year too. Once you're out in the sun you barely want a cardigan on, but it's cool enough to spend the whole day outdoors. 

Tulips grow like mad here, and they're everywhere. Daffodils too. In the city centre the fountains are going again and all the cafes and restaurants have full tables outside! Eating outside regularly is something we take for granted back home with it being a seasonal affair here. But somehow the changing seasons are kind of exciting. The beer gardens are filling up, clothes are coming off (literally - we saw one man in the park in just his knickers. Goodness).

Our spring thing is brie and honey sandwiches in the park, sipping wine. With a luxury like this costing about 4 Euros I really, really, really want to stay here forever and ever.

It's also Frühlingsfest in Munich at the moment, which means beer tents, carnival rides, and an enormous flea market.

It was so great having Linda and Greg here! We became tourists in Münich all over again and went on a few day trips not far from here. We also went to BMW World. It was full of cars and motorbikes, race car drivers and tourists. 

We had lots of German food this week. I honestly love German sausages, I never get sick of them and I never will. 

It's only 2 Euros to get the the top of St. Peter's Church Tower. Finally we managed to squeeze the Rathaus into a single photograph.

Still loving Munich!

- Kate

Austria: Hallstatt

On the way home to Munich from Vienna we took advantage of the nice weather and stopped off at Hallstatt in the Salzkammergut region of Austria. The train through the Alpine valleys had amazing views of lakes and the mountains.

From the train station you need to catch the ferry across the lake into the town, with more spectacular views.

The Ferry was a short ride across the river. The water was crystal clear with a mirror image reflection of the town in the water. 

The town itself was adorable. There were lots of little locally owned shops as well as bars and restaurants dotted along the esplanade. 

It's a short, relaxing walk around the tiny town. Along the way, we were confronted by the many conspicuously dressed tourists, like the one dancing in our photo below.   

After a conversation about the tragedy of bright coloured clothing in a matching two-piece we decided to view the more neutral colours of the surrounding mountains at a bar which was right on the waterfront.

A few beers and sausages later we decided to explore the more residential area of Hallstatt. I was desperately hoping the locals liked cats, and that there might actually be some cats. And that if there were cats, we would get to pat the cats. 

We admired the view, and continued our search for an Austrian cat.

We found one! And two others as a matter of fact. This little guy was so fluffy! He was trying to sink beneath the pavement when a couple strolled by with their dog. 

Hallstatt is another amazing place! At this point I never want to leave. This side of the world is pretty damn incredible. 

- Kate

Slovakia: Bratislava

Just an hours train trip east of Vienna is Slovakia and the city of Bratislava. The walk from the train station to the historical centre of town took us through a dilapidated neighbourhood of Communist era buildings and squares. Disused tram tracks, cracked pavements, crumbling drab buildings, and broken fountains along the way. Being Easter Sunday, there was hardly anyone around which just added to the post-apocalyptic feel.

 We finally spotted some other life and found the Presidential Palace which was nice but not nearly as grand as the buildings in Vienna.

In the historical centre the buildings were much older and restored with cobblestone streets. It was very touristy, I think we only saw about 3 local Slovaks the whole time.

On the top of the hill overlooking the town was a castle which was pretty new due to the old one burning down and suffering various other misfortunes.

Bratislava Castle

The touristy parts of town are very clean and well maintained, however one street back it is obvious that there are big economic problems here with seemingly little money available for maintenance or infrastructure. These bits were probably more interesting though as the centre is a little sterile.

Looking across the Danube River you can see a strange UFO shaped restaurant atop the bridge pylon. It was probably a symbol of the success of communism when it was built, but looks a bit bizarre now. Also over the river were row upon row of precast panel communist era apartment buildings.

UFO restaurant on the bridge and endless Communist era apartments

 We walked past a guy in a restaurant eating soup out of a loaf of bread and thought it looked good for lunch. It was a garlic cream soup which was great, and the bread was really fresh. Strangely most people were just eating the soup and leaving the bread which was madness. Many restaurants seemed to have identical menus with prices varying according to how close to the main street you are. Ours was about half the price of the exact same meals at a place about 100m away, they probably come out of the same kitchen.

Soup in a bread bowl and schnitzel

If you're in the area then Bratislava is worth a look, with a nice mix of old town and interesting run down areas. The food and beer are great and everything is much cheaper than neighbouring Austria.

-Joe

Austria: Vienna

We decided to spend Easter in Vienna as it's only a few hours away on the train and Kate had never been there before. The train ride was very scenic skirting along the northern edge of the alps past Salzburg and Linz. We headed straight to the middle of town to St Stephans cathedral which is famous for it's colourful tiled roof.

We found a little Easter market where everyone was drinking a red drink with strawberries floating in it. It tasted like strawberry juice with schnapps and we got an apple strudel to go along with it.

The ring road around the old town is home to many enormous grand buildings including the Rathaus (town hall) below.

The flowers had all started to bloom and the warm weather had brought every man and his dog out to the parks. It's still a little cool by Queensland standards but the slightest hint of sunshine here at this time of year gets everyone outside.

The next day we walked from our Airbnb apartment near Westbahnhof over to Shönbrunn Palace. It was the Easter long weekend and the line to go into the palace was ridiculous, so we settled on just going through the park and going to the top of the hill to the Gloriette. 

Spring is well underway now in Europe so for the first time for this trip we got to see fountains actually working and statues uncovered! The flowers were out in force too and the gardens were immaculate. There is a zoo at Shönbrunn too and we caught a glimpse of a rhino through the fence as we were walking past.

We had brought a picnic lunch consisting of brie and honey rolls and a 1.5L tetra-pack of Eastern Europe's finest wine dregs. So we found a quiet spot in the forest and set up.

Classy!

There were some squirrels in the trees eating the bird seed out of the feeders, and they came over to see what we were eating. By then we only had honey left which they weren't particularly impressed by.

Kate was pretty tipsy after lunch so she forgot about going back to the hedge maze we'd seen on the way in.

- Joe