My Irish adventure: A day in Derry...with complications

I'm back again and this chapter will deal with what happened in Derry...I guess you are a bit curious now
Let me get started:

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Bogside

The original plan was to go to Derry the same day as we would be leaving for Belfast, but luckily Michael had some things that needed to be tended to there, so we got a lift across the border into Northern Ireland. 

And what a feeling it was being back in Derry. As the historyinterested person I am, I tried to give my sister a teeny-weeny-historylesson about the place...which failed. So after 10 minutes in Bogside we split up, and I had no idea when I would see her again that day....

Amazing details in some of the murals in Bogside

The peacedove rises above imprisonment

The famous wall of Derry...still a symbol

So I went up on the wall, and decided to walk the opposite direction as I did a year ago with Steven and Amanda, and soon I found the little church close to the wall again: St Augustine

It feels so much bigger inside

The details in the stained glass-windows are amazing, so colorful

I was so amazed by this eagle last year since it reminds me of "Boondock Saints"

Detail from the eagle

Detail from the wall

When I got out, I decided to find a shortcut to Guildhall, the cityhall, but as I should know by now: "A shortcut is the longest distance between two points"....so by chance I ended up in Fountain by chance, and it started raining. So stood there under the bridge and just took in the feeling the place gave me...it felt a bit weird being down there, and not standing somewhere else and looking over a fence...

Identity? Definitely yes

This definitely shouts "HOSTILITY"

Would the world be a better place if everyone drank tea instead of fighting eachother?

When the rain stopped, I started walking towards the busstation to get the bus back to Ballyliffin, and guess who I ran into? My sister! We had plenty of time before the bus that would alledgedly bring us back to Ballyliffin (we had seriously no idea) was going, so we decided to do some shopping for Michael and surprise him with a proper dinner. So when  that was done, we got on the bus....and guess where we ended up?

CARNDONAGH!

So just 10 km away from Ballyliffin with no idea of how to get there...what should we do?

We started walking....and guess what? Things seems a bit upside down in Donegal, since the first sign I passed said that it was 8 km left to Ballyliffin...while the next said 9....weird

But finally a very sweet lady picked us up and drove us...cannot imagine how long it would have taken us to walk that distance with all we had to carry...

So that evening we surprised Michael with mushroomrisotto and appletart...and he even did not know that he had a springform pan. So an eventful day ended most perfectly.

Next time: geocaching

My Irish adventure: Ballyliffin 2

Yes, while the storm rages outside I will tell you all about the first evening in Ballyliffin and the following days. Ready? Well, here goes....

Michael was very busy working in the shop, but he popped by now and then to see how we were settling in. He told us that there would be a tradsession in Culdaff,  a tiny village north of Ballyliffin that evening, and since I had my fiddle with me it would be such a shame if I didn't join in. So off we went, chatting about everything and nothing, and Michael told us about the area.
The pub we were going to (McGrory's) was just like a proper Irish pub should be; warm and cosy with lots of people.

Solveig in her right element

Great musicians

Wonderful atmosphere

At first we just talked and listened to the musicians that were already there, and you could say it was quite impressive that Michael managed to talk me into this...with a little help from a french lady I believe

Me playing  the "Bergen song"...which has a slight resemblance with the Irish national anthem....

So here I was with my fiddle, in the middle of a tradsession...it felt like a shock of pleasure to sit beside these talented musicians and jam with them. The other fiddler was sooo amazing, I simply could not believe how fast her fingers moved. Very inspiring. They asked me to play something from Norway and the first thing that popped up in my mind was the citysong from Bergen (which is actually a french menuet). The funny thing is that this song is somewhat similar to the Irish national anthem; Amhrán na bhFiann, which is played at closing time...so people were wondering about what was happening.
But I made it right by playing a norwegian dance called tretur (has to do with doing something three times) and after getting a pint of Guinness on the house for being with the musicians, I sang "Black is the colour". You could have heard a needle drop if you were there, it gave me goosebumps. Such an amazing experience!

So when we drove home I couldn't stop smiling. But noone saw it as the night in Donegal is the darkest there is...

My Irish adventure: Ballyliffin

Things take time, and my everlasting story about last summer seem to have no end...well, we are slowly closening up to the big finale...but don't just yet. It's time for Ballyliffin.

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It felt weird to leave Letterkenny behind, but we wouldn't leave Donegal county just yet. We got all our stuff (we looked pack asses...) unto the bus that would take us through the landscape of beautiful Donegal to one of her little villages on the Fanad Peninsula: Ballyliffin, where we would stay with a couch-surfer called Michael. The sun graced our travel and it felt good to sit back and just relax and talk about what we had experienced so far. When the bus passed through Buncrana, the memories from last summer returned to me and I couldn't stop smiling. 

Ireland and the western parts of Norway (where I'm from) has much of the same unstable weather, so one minute sun and the next we could see dark skies in the horizon. But suddenly; there it was: Ballyliffin. Michael met us at the bus-stop and showed us his home. He's a really busy guy, so we were settling in while he was working.

Double luck? A shoe from a horse and the cross of St Brigid; the latter a strong Irish tradition

We accidentally found Michael's piano...and when we did so we couldn't leave it alone (but believe me it was VERY out of tune)

Michael's adorable, very cosy dog; Levi....don't wear black around him, because he will shed hair everywhere

His home was very cosy, but what was striking about the place was the surroundings, the nature. I went straight down to the beach while my sister went on a lookout for an ATM, and OH MY GOD.

This is something I really love about all of Ireland: how you can see so far and watch the clouds drift across the sky

I sat and watched the waves roll in for almost an hour for this picture...just to get it at its most fierce moment

One day I actually ended up with taking off my shoes (but not my socks) and walked the line the waves made as they rolled in....seems like Donegal brings out the child in me

It is hard to describe the feeling of calmness this place poured into my soul...a place for thought and relaxation. I could have sat on that beach until my dying day, just breathing if it wasn't for the fact that Michael would  be taking us to a trad-session that very evening...

My Irish adventure: some most peculiar pictures from Letterkenny and Donegal

Found this outside Brian's house...I really want one like this

Some of the beautiful flowers of Fanad

I think this donkey is up to some mischief...don't you?

But Donegal is not only beauty....
this shows a part of the dark side (unfortunately)

Would be a good location for a ghoststory I think

A very beautiful bodhran

Small treasures on the beach outside Rathmullan

Trying to get back home

The claw of evil....underneath the staircase at Brian's place

Shhhh...you never saw this...

I miss this place, so secluded from the world. A little pearl

View from the forest

Everywhere I looked, I saw a treasure

Padraigh Pearse himself

My Irish Adventure: Letterkenny part 2

And here we start my recolletion from Letterkenny again

Are you ready?

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Oh it felt so good to get back into the warm house after our little trip around the Fanad Peninsula. We got the fire going and things were good. 

Brians house is a true treasuretrove and there are fascinating things wherever one look. His lizzard seemed immovable for quite some time, until it suddenly in the middle of our conversation moved....so from time to time we could look at him for quite some time waiting for a little twitch. 

Such a charming creature

Isn't it cool?

 It is kind of hard to describe this place, and even the pictures does not give full credit to the sense of it.

And what a strange sense of humour we got...
Has anybody seen a runover cat? This is the perfect sign for you if you ever meet one...

 I think there was surprisingly little silence when we were with Sam and Brian...it felt like it could never be
Lots of music, amazing discussions, good food and a brilliant time

Every evening we sang and played our instruments and my sister was set to play the orange...until Brian said that she was the worst orangeplayer he had ever heard...(all in good fun ofcourse). So I believe we almost sang every song we knew, and I will never forget when Brian sang Kevin Barry for us...



A very good and inspiring musician

And when Frank, Aimée and Elie had left us, another musical guest arrived: Hope from California!
And what a sweet and funny girl she was, we got along almost immediately. And guess what? She played the ukulele ^^ so our little "orchestra" which now now consisted of piano (Samira), guitar (Brian), cajón (Solveig)  and fiddle (me) got ourselves a new member...and what music we made (you should have been there..)

The start of a very fun evening

Tea! This liquid that tends to appear in your empty cup at the most peculiar times in Ireland. Well, this little story I'm about to tell you is about tea. Not regular black tea, but magical tea. Tea that makes you see, really SEE...

This tea had been nearly forgotten inside Brian's cupboard, so we thought it was time to bring it out again. Originally this tea comes from Alaska where the indians drank it so they could speak to their deities...so without saying to much: we had one hell of a good time...

But did we stay inside all the time we were at Brian's? No, we went exploring.

These pictures are from an 'oh-so-charming' village by the name Rathmullan

Seashells....reminds me of my childhood

Oh beautilful beautiful Donegal...oh, how I miss you

Perfect place for a lonely walk

I want to build these again...

Back home from the beach we made more music and I even made 'raspeballer', a wondrous norwegian potatodish...yummy

The last evening was spent discussing about everything and nothing, and I couldn't believe how fast the days had gone. Next day we would take the bus to another place in Donegal:

Ballyliffin

 

Bye Letterkenny and Brian; I look forward to see you again