Sabine in Gozo

Ireland Holiday

It came… and went, in a hurry! Our long awaited holiday in Ireland, is what I’m talking about. Thanks to a very kindhearted and generous person, who arranged for our hotel accommodation in four different places, we finally got to see the country I’ve been very keen on visiting for a very long time. Added to that our equally kindhearted friend Mick and his girlfriend Sharon made us feel at home by sharing their home with us.

I had meant to write a little bit each day of our holiday, but that just didn’t work out. Instead, I posted photos on facebook on a regular basis, and if you wish you can see them here. Alternatively, you might enjoy the video I’ve put together, which is at the end of this post. By the way, Ryanair is by no means the worst to travel with. Having had the worst expectations – because of rumours and the harsh tone on their website – I was pleasantly surprised. In particular, it’s quite relaxing to be able to sleep without having to worry about missing the food delivery LOL! The only snag is that 15kg luggage limitation – and the awkwardly small size for cabin luggage (which is smaller than the IATA recommendations). Especially when packing for the return journey – who goes on holiday without a decent shopping spree?? – you’ll find yourself in panic mode…

We set off on 28th December and spent the first four days in Dublin, where we stayed at the Mount Herbert Hotel, a charming hotel on the outskirts (Dublin 4) but only three train stations from the city centre.

The amount of rain that came down on us in Dublin was phenomenal. For two full days it actually never stopped! We tried our best to ignore it, though, and even went on a bus tour (you know those double-deckers with open top?). It’s quite a good system; you hop on and off wherever takes your fancy. In theory, that is. Our first stop was the Guinness Storehouse (naturally) and by the time we came out, the weather had whipped itself into a frenzy. We were extremely grateful to finally board a bus (albeit without a seat for most of the journey!) that had leakages all over the place… we didn’t even dream of stopping anywhere else after that!

Eventually the rain stopped and was replaced by freezing temperatures. New Year’s Day was a bright and crisp (read: bone-chilling!) day – probably just perfect for the traditional New Year’s Day swim in Skerries… Are these people crazy??

New Year's Day in Skerries - air temperature ca. 1°C, water 3 or 4°C!!

Ardgillan Castle

On the same day we received our hire car and, with some trepidation, set off on our way up north – which really was a piece of cake, compared to what was lying in wait for our return journey! Our first stop was the Europa Hotel in Belfast. What a beautiful place! Although each of the four hotels we stayed in was beautiful in its own right, the Europa was top-notch, and our room was fabulous, overlooking the city of Belfast. Although it’s “only” a four-star property, it was no different from the best Kempinskis in this world…

Only very little rain came down on Belfast during our stay, a vast improvement over previous days! There’s one huge problem in this city, though: parking. I think we spent at least a quarter of a petrol tank cruising around in search for that elusive little space.

Belfast City Hall

From Belfast, our way took us further north, to Antrim Coast, where the lovely, quaint “Antrim Suite” at Ballygally Castle was our home for one night. The room was surrounded by  windows on three sides, all of which had seaviews – I wished we could have stayed there longer!

Sheep on Antrim coast

Our final station was Londonderry – or rather Derry, as the Irish prefer to call it. The Everglades Hotel, where we stayed, is just under 2 km from the walled city centre. And when we woke up to snowy scenery we decided to walk, rather than drive. However, in Ireland there seems to be no law (as in Germany, for example) that owners have to keep sidewalks in front of their property ice-free. At times I was clinging to walls and railings for dear life…

Bridge leading into Derry

And then the drive back to Dublin… oh man! As it turned out, we’d chosen the worst winter in 30 years for our Ireland visit. That figures, doesn’t it?? I’m not sure I’d have gone for the hire car option had I known what was coming. Setting off from Derry in bright sunshine, the GPS insisted on leading us through all sorts of minor roads, and when we finally reached the M1 to Dublin, both hubby and I breathed a huge sigh of relief – only to be surprised by a tremendous flurry of snow just a few kilometres later.

Winter wonder land

Snowy nightmare on the M1 to Dublin (still frame of video)

But all’s well that ends well: we needed four hours to cover 200 km but arrived safe & sound in Dublin, handed back the car punctually without a scratch, and were greeted by dear Mick, who put us up at his house for the last night. By that time Dublin Airport was closed due to the “Big Freeze”, leaving us to wonder we’d make it home the next day! But instead of getting sick with worry, we headed for a last walk with Mick and his adorable dog Kola, bringing our holiday to a close.

Last evening beach walk in Rush

Again, luck was on our side… our flight at 6.25 am left on time – though unbelievably later that day, that airport was closed again!) A very enjoyable 20°C welcomed us in Malta. By now, it’s considerably colder though. I’m trying not to care LOL!

PS: The video is also hosted on facebook, and a larger format, HQ version is available there!

Tags: antrim, belfast, derry, dublin, ireland, londonderry, northern ireland