...And Leave The Driving To Us

We have the Greyhound. Here they have the Irish Setter. The only difference is the clientele.

Cliffs Of Moher, County Clare, Ireland

Bi-Lingual

There are about 4.6 million people living in The Republic Of  Ireland. About 100,000 speak Gaelic (commonly referred to as "Irish") on a daily basis. About 1 million speak it occasionally. You hear it often here in Dingle (County Kerry), and it is also widely used in some other counties such as Galway. It is taught to all school children in Ireland. Here are the same signs, one in "Irish," and the other in English.

The Dingle Peninsula

Wow! This place is beautiful.

Dingle, County Kerry, Ireland

The town of Dingle (pop 1,950) is the gateway to the picturesque peninsula of the same name. By the way, the sun came out  in Ireland today. Hallelujah! It seems to happen about once a month - about the same frequency as marital sex.

Michigan Seems Like A Dream To Me Now...

After three short train rides, I took a bus from the town of Tralee to Dingle. These photos were taken aboard the bus.

Pics - Cobh, Ireland

Hard Times

The recession has hit Ireland pretty hard. This business will pay you money for your clothes. I guess one way to look at it is turning a negative into a positive. Another way to look at it is taking advantage of the suffering of others. It depends on your perspective.

It's More Than Just Rock n' Roll

My personal Bruce Springsteen tour ended in Dublin last week. However, Bruce has a few more shows left in Scandinavia before the tour continues in the United States. He and guitar player Steve Van Zandt made an appearance at a gathering in Olso yesterday commemorating the one year anniversary of the terrorist attacks in Norway. Check out this video:

http://youtu.be/_NR9kuMvJ4o

The Blarney Estate

By the way, they don't allow you to take your own photos of the Blarney Stone. They have an automatic camera which takes two photos of every tourist who leans over backwards to kiss the stone. On your way out they will sell you the photos, along with an official certificate, verifying you kissed the stone. In addition to the touristy part, the castle is located on a beautiful private estate with fantastic views of the Irish countryside.

Kissing The Blarney Stone

The sun came out Saturday so I took advantage of the nice weather and made a side trip to the town of Blarney, which is just outside of Cork. After climbing 105 steps to the top of the castle, I kissed the famous Blarney Stone. Legend has it that when you kiss the stone, you are empowered with the gift of eloquence and flattery. It was nice seeing the real thing after spending much of my youth in several pubs of the same name.

 

Cobh, Ireland

Cobh (pronounced Cove) is a sea town about 15 miles south of Cork city. The town was the last port of call for the Titanic before it sunk in the North Atlantic in 1912. The chamber of commerce milk every last drop of Titanic history to attract tourists. Cobh was also the largest emigration port after the famine of 1846-48. A local lady by the name of Annie Moore was the very first immigrant to disembark at Ellis Island in New York. I'm staying in a home located directly across the street from the ocean (top photo).

The Book Of Kells

I went to the Trinity College Library today to see the Book Of Kells. It is an illuminated manuscript (text with decoration and artwork) created by Irish monks in the late 8th century. Written in Latin, it contains the four gospels of the the New Testament. It is widely considered to be the finest and most exquisitely painted illumination in the world. Sorry, no photographs allowed. However, I did sneak two photos of the "Long Hall" portion of the library which was built in 1732.

Beer Mecca

If you're a beer connoisseur, you must make the pilgrimage to the Guinness factory here in Dublin.Guinness started brewing beer in 1759.

Public Houses

Ireland has a rich cultural tradition; from James Joyce and Samuel Beckett to Riverdance and U2. It is also known for its whiskey and beer. I asked about a dozen locals here in Dublin if there is any truth to the Irish stereotype regarding their fondness for alcohol. Every single one of them replied, "Whatever you heard, it's all true." One lady took if further and said, "Not only is it true, it's a serious problem. We (as a country) would probably get more done if it wasn't for our drinking." Perhaps it's the result of the dreary, rainy weather, but there does seem to be an inordinate amount of pubs here. No judgments, I'm just saying...

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Bruce In Dublin

As you may have read in the newspaper, the London concert ended prematurely when the promoter pulled the plug on Bruce and Sir Paul McCartney while singing "Twist and Shout." There is a curfew ordinance in Hyde Park because wealthy people reside nearby and the promoter sucked up to them. Well, the very next concert was here in Dublin. Bruce, the master of shtick, was ready. He came onstage with a large prop of an electrical power switch. He turned it to the "On" position and said, "Now, before we were so rudely interrupted," and the band kicked in and they completed "Twist and Shout." The next song was "I Fought The Law (And the Law Won)" which is an oldie by The Bobby Fuller 4. At the end of the 3:20 concert, he had two guys come out in full costume, one being a promoter in a suit, and the other in a policeman's uniform. Hi jinks ensued, with Bruce successfully fighting them off as they tried to invoke a fictional curfew. Of course, the audience lapped it up.

Mauthausen Concentration Camp

Located a couple of hours outside of Vienna, this Nazi concentration camp housed almost 200,000 inmates from all over Europe between 1938 and 1945 when it was liberated by the U.S. Army. The inmates worked under the harshest of conditions at the nearby rock quarry. The granite was used in the construction of Nazi buildings in Germany. The majority of inmates were slowly and ruthlessly worked to death as opposed to extermination camps such as Auschwitz.

Belvedere Palace

This palace belonged to a Frenchman who worked as a mercenary army general for the Hapsburg Monarchs in Austria. The palace and gardens occupy several city blocks in Vienna. The palace now serves as a public art museum and houses the largest collection of Gustav Klimt's oil paintings, including "The Kiss."

Silly Hat Contest

And the winner is...

Vienna (Wien), Austria

The Corleone Family, err, The Hapsburg Monarchy, ruled over a large chunk of Europe for about 600 years ending with World War I. Here are some photos of the Hofburg Palace which was their "in town" digs. Like all one percenters, they owned another huge palace in the country just outside of Vienna.