Ireland

Ireland

We hadn't planned our transportation to Ireland far enough in advance, and ended up with an expensive airfare from London to Dublin. It is particularly annoying since there are very cheap ($20) fares with longer notice. Unfortunately, we are due to meet a friend in Dublin so didn't really have the flexibility we needed.

We joined up with Alex! Many of you know Alex. He became a close family friend when he and Arlo were both in the second grade. He is one of those quality people you meet once in a while in life, that exhibits all of the ethics you hold most high. Now 25, he is traveling a little while before starting his master’s education. In fact, he landed in Europe in February and he has been to many of the same areas that we have. You can read his stories at http://groups.msn.com/TriparoundtheWorld.

We continued the same style of tour --renting a car and staying in campgrounds. With three people, this becomes even more economical. It does remove us a bit from the contact with locals and other travelers, but we will resume that soon enough in Africa. We are appreciating this last week in Europe as a bit of a vacation from traveling.

We enjoyed Ireland, but honestly the fabled geography was too familiar. It really looks like Oregon or maybe a bit less. The coastline has a few areas that are as nice as Oregon, and we hiked in some wooded areas in the Ring of Kerry. This is a very popular destination, with tons of tour buses, tourist towns, and tourist bars. With so many people coming to see it, we were surprised, I guess, that the natural scenery was not more spectacular. Oregon really is a beautiful place. And it certainly was nothing compared to Juizhaigou or Guilin. All in all, I think we might have enjoyed just staying in the Rhine and Mosel valleys of Germany, skipping the extra travel time and just relaxing. (It turns out that Alex was coming from the same region of Germany and also booked a late flight --we could have just met in Germany!)

A unique thing about Ireland is the pubs, so we did sample them several times. In Dublin, they seemed to cater towards the tourist, with mostly popular American songs. (Everywhere in Europe, the radio and the pubs play mostly American songs.) But we found one little pub in the south where we were the only foreigners, and the songs were locals. After the usually lively songs (mostly about sea wrecks, battles, and broken hearts) the songs took a definite turn toward heavy nationalism. We watched as the place came to life, people jumping to their feet and singing along, as the songs recounted the martyrs of the fighting with Britain. Some songs worshiped the fallen Catholics, and others ridiculed the British army. The crowd was very animated, and the bartender even went so far as to close the shutters to the windows and doors, presumable due to the noise and the lyrics. The crowd was definitely roused to excitement!

Having spent time throughout Europe and sensing the terrible loss of war, we were not quite ready for the fierce nationalism and fighting spirit of the Irish. Much of Europe has paid such heavy prices that they now consider war unthinkable. But in Ireland, it is still a matter of honor and pride, and fighting spirit. We left the bar with decidedly mixed feelings. By far this was the most entertaining pub, the most lively, the most fun. But we also were a bit shocked at how easily the fires of intolerance can be lit.