Dublin, Cork, and Blarney!

Hey everyone! It's Viveca. Lyle had a lot of work to do back home, so he couldn't come on this trip with me, sadly, but read on to find out all about my trip to Ireland!

This past weekend I went to visit Allie in Dublin. I got in to Dublin in the evening on Wednesday. I made my way to Allie's apartment near Trinity College. Since it was later we didn't do much sightseeing but decided to start the next day.

Thursday morning we headed out to Malahide Castle which is about 40 minutes outside Dublin by train. The castle dates back to the 12th century and was owned by the Talbot family up until the mid 1970s when Rose Talbot sold the castle to Ireland. That was the end of the Talbots at Malahide. We also learned that Rose moved to Tanzania to start a sheep farm! We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the castle, so all I've got is a pretty view of the street leading up to the castle.

After Malahide we went back into Dublin to walk around a bit. There are so many cute streets in Dublin with tons of shops, restaurants, and pubs! It was especially cute with all the Christmas decorations up.

The next day we decided to go see Leprechaun Museum (yes, it's real!). Allie told me that it was really fun, and it was! It's half children's museum, half museum of Irish legends. You start off in a room with leprechaun memorabilia like a little leprechaun suit!

The tour guide (who was basically a tall leprechaun himself, red hair and thick accent and all!) then came in to give an introduction to Irish folklore and myths. He showed us into the next room and we were off! We started going through a tunnel down into a wooden replica of Giant's Causeway. You then open a door and went into a giant's living room! Big chairs, table, storage boxes, and lamp. Very cute. Next room led to a map with information about Ireland leading into a room with umbrellas on the ceiling. Umbrellas on the ceiling, you ask? That's because in the next room was... A rainbow! You walk through the rainbow into the leprechaun's pot of gold! Here the guide met us to tell us some more stories. The last two rooms were more legends and we ended in a dark forest with a wishing well! Definitely worth a trip if you're ever in Dublin. 

Climbing around the Giant's Causeway

On the giant's chair!

Reaching for the umbrella!

The rainbow room

After the leprechaun museum we headed over to the Guinness factory. Definitely not as fun as the Heineken factory, but totally worth it! We even got to pour our own pints!

Outside St. James' Gate

Topping off the pint after letting the Guinness settle for exactly 109.5 seconds!

Allie with her pint and certificate!

Voila!

The next day we headed out to Cork after missing our early flight. Luckily, there was a train just as early that only took three hours. Plus, we got to see a bit of the Irish countryside! The first thing we did was get on a bus to Blarney. Yep- that Blarney! Of Blarney Castle and the Blarney Stone! So far this was my favorite castle I've seen. It was so old and had such an air of magic all around. It helped that part of the grounds held a rock close- a mythical old Druid settlement. There were rock formations that are thought to have magical properties and house witches! We even saw an old Druid sacrificial rock. Creepy! The grounds also had endless trails and something called the Blarney House (which was closed, and we never learned what it was). Of course we both kissed the Blarney Stone! 

The Blarney Castle

View from the other side of Blarney

Walking down the Witches' Stairs - supposedly if you walk down and up with your eyes closed thinking only of a wish,  it will come true within the year! The Witch has to grant wishes because she takes wood from the castle for her kitchen!

Allie peeking around the Witches' Kitchen!

The Witch Rock! She hides in this rock during the daytime and comes out at night. Can you see her face?

Remnants of an ancient Druid temple

Allie at the top of the castle!

Overlooking the poison garden (only has poisonous plants!) and the castle wall

The Blarney House

Kissing the Blarney Stone! The picture is a photo of a souvenir photo  (yes, we got suckered into buying them!)

Blarney as a town was tiny (basically two streets) though, and there's not much to do there other than see the castle. So, we headed back to Cork! However, Cork wasn't much better, and we were tired so all we had energy for was a Chinese buffet and a movie.

Ireland was beautiful and it was good to see a friend! Phew- all caught up on posts now!

In the Homeland- Budapest, Hungary!

We got into Budapest later at night and took a taxi from the train station to our hotel. We got really lucky and picked a hotel right in the city center- it was close to everything! Our first night we spent some time on the computers then crashed.

Our first day in Budapest, we were so tired we didn't feel like figuring out a map so we paid for one of the hop on-hop off busses. We started the tour at Josef Nador square. The tour then took us to Erzebet Square and Andrassy St (the main boulevard in Budapest, with shops, the Opera House, high end designers, and old villas), leading into Heroes' Square. We got of at Heroes' Square to explore the area.

Heroes' Square- featuring statues of famous Hungarian leaders!

Vajdahunyad castle in the City Park behind Heroes' Square. Sadly it was under renovation!

The natural medicinal thermal baths in the park

We got back on the bus after exploring a bit and rode past Astoria, the Chain Bridge, and the Funicular to the Castle District. We got off there to explore all the sites around the Castle. Located here is Fisherman's bastion, Matthias Church, and the Buda Castle. The view from up there was amazing! We walked past Matthais Church to the bastion, but decided to save the Castle for another day. 

The view from Fisherman's Bastion. The white building across the river on the left is Parliament

The Szabo Marzipan Museum!!!!! So bizarre- just two rooms filled with marzipan sculptures of mostly Disney movies

Marzipan Harry Potter!

We rode the bus over to Citadel- the highest point in the city- and back around to Josef Nador square to our hotel. That night we met up with Anna- someone Viveca interned with at the Guggenheim this summer who lives in Budapest- who showed us around a bit and gave lots of helpful advice on what to see!

The next day we went to the Great Market Hall to do some browsing. If anyone's been to the West Side Market in Cleveland, it reminded me a lot of that! The ground floor was all fruits, vegetables, and meat while the basement had pickles, game, and fish. The first floor was devoted entirely to souvenirs! We had a good time walking through and picking out gifts for people back home.

Me outside the market!

After the market, we walked over to the St. Stephen's Basilica to look inside. It was really beautiful- especially inside. We then decided to walk down Andrassy for a bit to see some of the stores and houses. Afterwards, we headed over to Parliament for a quick peek. On our way over we saw Angelina Jolie filming her new movie! Very cool. We also noticed something neat on our map - Bihary street! Of course, we had to walk over to get a picture. Afterwards we passed by the Imre Nagy statue bridge, devoted to the revolutionary hero.

The Basilica

Inside the Basilica

Bihari/Bihary street! Spelled differently on the map.

Me outside Parliament 

Nagy Imre Bridge

Our third and final day we spent walking around the castle grounds. The castle is really beautiful and has both old and new parts. Hopefully I'll have some pictures soon to add- so keep an eye out!

We had a really great time in Budapest and were able to sample a LOT of Hungarian cuisine. I've found a newfound love of paprika paste and chicken paprikash, Kürtöskalács (Hungarian funnel cakes), and strudel! I'm very excited to be able to go back next spring. 


Well that's all for now, hopefully I'll have some more pictures soon to add to these posts! Fall break was exciting, long, and fun! I went to Dublin and Cork this past weekend... updates on that soon but for now- I'm out! 

Czeching out Prague for a Few Days...

Pardon the pun in the title! We took the late flight to Prague and just went to our hotel. After a cab ride going about 120mph (no exaggeration) we got to the Green Lobster- a really cute hotel right in Old Prague (Stare Mesto) by St. Nicholas church and the Prague Castle. We immediately fell asleep after a long day!

Our first day in Prague we just decided to go exploring (after a failed attempt at going to the Prague year-round bobsled). We walked around old Prague with the intentions of getting to New Prague to see the National Museum, Wenceslas Square, Old Town Square, and all the other sites.

View over the Vltava River by our hotel

Franz Kafka Museum!

They're big into three things in Prague: garnets, crystal, and marionettes. 

A house in Old Town Square where Franz Kafka lived

The famous Prague Astronomical Clock!

The National Museum (a very strange place...)

As seen on TV store in Prague! Would've been perfect for Christmas, dad!

Old Town Square market- we just missed the big Christmas market, though! :(

That night we met up with Rachel for dinner at a Mexican restaurant near her dorm. It was really delicious!

The next day we had a bit of time to explore the area around our hotel before catching a train to Budapest. We went to see the Prague Castle- the largest in the world!- and the surrounding areas. The castle also sits by some picturesque vineyards with great views of the city. Our second day we saw the castle, the John Lennon wall, the Love Lock Bridge, and more of Mala Strana.

The Prague Castle

St. Vitus Cathedral, attached to the castle

Inside the cathedral 

Another view of the cathedral

View of Prague from the vineyards behind the castle

Mullet spotting in Prague! Uh oh!

John Lennon wall

Me with the love lock bridge... couples bring locks here, attach them to the bridge (usually with their initials etched in or drawn on) and then throw the keys in the river! How cute

After a long day wandering, we took the metro to the train station to catch our evening train to Budapest! We thought that a train would be a fun way to see the countryside. And, since I was reading Dracula, it put me in just the right frame of mind! However, the train was 7 hours and the food car didn't take credit cards. With what little money I had I bought a Snickers for dinner and then ate the Belgian chocolates I got mom (sorry mom!). Note to self: don't ever take a train without food or money!