Celtic tour day IV: Tara

Our last touristy thing of the trip was a quick visit to the Hill of Tara, one of the most important crowning sites for the ancient kings of Ireland. For the last time, TripAdvisor:
"You can truly feel history in the earth at Tara; this is where the kings of Ireland were crowned for centuries. The site contains several burial mounds and large fields perfect for assembly, even some Christian sites. Also, some very good views of the surrounding countryside."

Old burial chamber.


Some heathen, or possibly papist mumbo-jumbo. It looks like one of those clootie wells I've seen in Scotland.


This sloping field was reportedly the actual place of crowning.


Naturally, I was skeptical of Tara (my buddy & travel companion Massimo in the back).

Celtic tour day IV: Battle of the Boyne visitor center

After the ancient history, we drove off to see some more recent stuff. The Battle of the Boyne was a decisive Protestant & English victory over the Catholic & Irish and this and some other skirmishes of that era is what the Orangemen of Northern Ireland are still marching for today. TripAdvisor:
"Visited here with a friend to see where the papists were decisively beaten and the foundations were laid for a modern, democratic Britain (and Ireland). We both learned something new from the exhibition in the visitor center, and there's a good audiovisual presentation, both at the center and in a building outside. Also, friendly staff and nice surroundings. What I did not get was a proper sense of the battle in the context of where I was. As far as I could ascertain, there was no audioguide, no map you could take with you to stroll the grounds and imagine troop movements and such, which I am used to from especially American battlefields."

The battle was fought on this field (among other places).


Outside the museum building was a cannon.


In the backyard were several more.

Celtic tour day IV: Newgrange

We then went back to the bus stop and got on another drive, to famous Newgrange. Again, my TripAdvisor review comes in handy:
"Newgrange was built more than 5,000 years ago and is one of the largest neolithic structures in the world. There are several theories about why it was built and interpretations of the surrounding artwork; most likely it served a religious purpose at least partially to do with burials. You're allowed inside the burial chamber itself, but only in the presence of a guide and once inside, photos are "verboten". A fascinating moment is when you're standing in the burial chamber and the lights are turned off and you witness the recreation of the sunlight hitting the chamber during winter solstice."

The mound in all its glory.


This big stone was placed in front of the entrance and originally you'd have to climb over it. The ritual probably served some religious purpose. Putting artificial, pointless hindrances in the way of human progress seems to embody all types of religions, anytime, anywhere.


The reconstructed wall around the tomb.


There were several structures around the mound, whose purpose one can only guess at.


More artwork.

Celtic tour day IV: Knowth

Our fourth and final day was spent in four different places - five if you count the visitor center where we started. It's called Bru na Boinne and has lots of facts and some models of the famous Celtic grave mounds of the area. From my TripAdvisor review:

"The visitor center has very informative exhibits about the neolithic structures in the Boyne valley area and prepares you for the trip out to Knowth and Newgrange, indeed I would deem it essential that you go here before getting on the bus to these places. The ticket sales are well organized in that people will come and ask you where you want to go (and when) before you reach the cash register and bring you the necessary stickers, which I can only surmise saves quite a bit of time. Good bathroom facilities and a very nice shop with a wide range of products."

We actually visited the center in the afternoon of the third day; as it was too late to go out and see anything, they let us walk around the exhibits for free. I wonder what they mean by "necessary management". Does that include being stuffed for the education & entertainment of tourists?


What a neolithic house might have looked like.


How they moved the big stones. Same method was probably in use all over the world, maybe for the pyramids.


Once we had our tickets (or rather our stickers), we walked over to the bus stop, about 5-10 minutes' walk from the center. We had to cross the river Boyne, which meanders quietly through the fields. The access to water was probably the most important factor when they decided where to settle.


A short ride away was the giant tomb of Knowth, with some smaller buildings close by. I'll turn it over to TripAdvisor:
"A visit to Knowth gives you an insight into neolithic life and shows you an incredible 4,500+ year old construction, the largest of its kind in the world. I was lucky enough to have a very well spoken guide who told us about the building of the mound and some theories pertaining to the artworks and the positioning of various parts of the structure. Very interesting and stimulating talk. You're allowed a little way inside and can take as many photos as you want, but for safety reasons most of the interior of the mound itself is off limits. The views from the top are very nice."


Some smaller structures.


There was some kind of wooden structure very near the mound, I'm not sure they know what it was for.


This was as far as we were allowed inside the tomb.


Ancient artwork, just about every stone is decorated.


Looks like Jabba the Hutt visited here long ago.


Views from the top.


Nice, rolling countryside.


Original entrance.

Celtic Tour Day III: Giant's Causeway

Thursday started out with a visit to Giant's Causeway, possibly the most famous and intriguing place on the island. According to legend (aka bullshit), it was built by a giant who wanted to fight a Scottish giant; there are several versions of the story, some incorporating the similar stones over at Staffa, an island off Oban on the Scottish west coast. Again, I'm just going to refer you to my TripAdvisor review:
"Went there with a friend. Interesting rock formations, great scenery, good transportation and facilities up at the informative visitor center. Extra plus for a good range of products in the shop."

Yeah, I was slightly underwhelmed, possibly because I had built it up in my head to be this yuuuge thing and when it turned out to be merely good, I was disappointed. Do have a look at the pictures:











I believe this one was called the Giant's booth.


Video from Giant's Causeway:


Naturally, I was skeptical of Giant's Causeway.


We continued towards Ireland by the coastal route, but made a quick detour down to the "Dark Hedges", which is one of many Game of Thrones locations in Northern Ireland. I got some video of that too.


We finally made it out to Torr Head, which is the closest part of Northern Ireland to Scotland. It's a pretty drive out there.


I have video:


A bit south we came upon some glorious scenery. The Glens of Antrim begin here and stretch inland for several miles; a very, very pretty area indeed.

Celtic tour day I: Going to Sligo

Since I had a few days off in early August and my traveling bone was still itching, I booked a quick four-day trip to Ireland and Northern Ireland. A friend came along with me, so both hotel and car costs became a lot more reasonable. We landed in Dublin and with only my (less than) trusty GPS to guide us, we set off for Sligo on the northwest coast.

We first arrived in Trim and had lunch. The Irish put chips (crisps for you limeys) on their pizza. They're fucking crazy.


Our first proper tourist stop was at the ancient Trim Castle. Since I'm a lazy bastard, I'll just paste in what I wrote on TripAdvisor:
Went with a friend who'd never been to a castle, and he was happy enough. I've been to many such places, both in the UK and elsewhere and found it to be middling (which means it was quite average, not in anyway bad!). Paid the full price to have a guided tour of the keep. Informative, but the presentation was a bit stilted and uninspiring (I know from personal experience how hard it can be to keep up motivation, but people pay good money for this). The age and general condition of the keep means the only place you're allowed to go free is the roof. Great views, but it puts a damper on the experience, even if necessary.

Some pics from Trim Castle, here the keep in all its splendor.


What's left of the Great Hall.


One of several models they had inside the keep to show how the castle had looked at different points in time, I believe they had 3 or 4 of them.


The inside of the keep.


I believe the tall structure is what's left of a monastery, but I could be wrong. The small one in the field to the right is what's left of one of the gates in a wall that once surrounded the village.


View from the roof.


What was left of a once mighty wall.


We joked that the donut shop must be right around the corner.


I had hoped to see the Lake Isle of Innisfree, of which W. B. Yeats wrote a very famous poem. But it was pissing down, so I'll save that for another time. I did however take this pic of the strangely named Knockarea. The hill has a large grave mound on top, said to be the burial site of some ancient queen. It is (obviously) clearly visible from the road.


Once inside Sligo, the rain had dissipated and we walked a bit around the centre of town. Now, is it just my warped imagination or is this statue trying to get both females to give him a blowjob? Kinky, very kinky!


Some grand building whose purpose has slipped my mind.


The Garavogue River runs through town and makes for a nice little attraction.


Finally, a statue of said W. B. Yeats in that modern style I hate so much.

Travel report 1

Traveled to Dublin in late March and to England in early April... here are two brief reports, first from Dublin.

I went with 30 colleagues on a Fri-Mon trip to Dublin, and had a blast. Dublin's no London, but it's still a very nice place to visit. Spring had arrived (unlike in Norway at the time), this pic is from a nice little park called St. Stephen's Green. The only thing not so nice was that they had some sort of resident drunk at the entrance, and he seemed to take a particular dislike to me when I stopped to look at the map of the park posted on the other side of the road from his bench. I toyed with the very, very tempting idea of breaking his nose and kicking him comatose, but since I had two colleagues with me, I behaved. Anyways, 'twas a purdy lil' park:




In several streets the houses had very brightly painted doors. According to a tour guide this was an old device meant to help dead drunk inhabitants to find the correct door. A bit tacky, but it also put some color to the city.




We managed to get in some real Irish culture. On Sunday we lunched at the Brazen Head, which claims to be Ireland's oldest pub. They had live music of a very high quality, good ole footstompin', singalong stuff!




We had dinner Sunday at a very good place, the Ryan's pub & restaurant in Parkgate. Great food, though their spelling could improve:




During the dinner I was presented with a gift, as an appreciation of my efforts (I'd organized the whole trip - plane tickets, dinners, lodgings, etc). It may not be apparent from this picture, but this bearded hat is so big it actually rests on my shoulders when I put it on...



I would also like to recommend the hotel we stayed at, the Best Western Ashling. Despite the fire alarm that went off at 5AM Sunday morning, we had a thoroughly enjoyable stay there. On Sunday night (more like early morning) they even opened up the bar area for us to have our private little party in. High Five!