A weekend with 3 guys

Hey there,

like I said here is the next post coming at you. This is about the last weekend that I spend with Steve, Tom and Dorian.  But first let's talk about Friday. Since I knew I had to go down to Shannon to get another rental car I asked John if I could have at least half a day off and he very kindle gave me the whole day off.  So I had a nice lay in before just packing my stuff. Also a girl I met while studying in Regensburg arrived in Galway so we met for a tea. At five o'clock I then got the bus down to Shannon to get the car for our trip. So Steve and me first talked about the possibility of a trip while we were still back in Germany but we didn't know which trip exactly we were about to take. So in the weeks before we all talked about it and came up with the Cliffs of Moher and the Ring of Kerry. So this is the route I took in the end:

made with https://www.falk.de/routenplaner

The guys on the other hand took the train from Dublin to Galway in the evening while I took the bus down to Shannon Airport and was picked up by Jordan who finalized the rental agreement with me and then I drove back to Galway. This time round I again didn't get exactly the car I rented. I rented a Ford Focus and got an Citroen Cactus which in hindsight was way better suited for this trip.

Citroen Cactus

Since my bus was half an hour late I only arrived back in Galway ten minutes before the guys arrived as well. So I just got my small suitcase and drove to the Rail Station. After getting everyone into the car with Dorian in the passenger seat, Tom behind me and Steve next to him we started our way to our first hostel which was in Lisdoonvarna, which is about 12 km away from the Cliffs of Moher. Since I already drove the way there back on Monday I had a rough idea where I had to turn and what the road was like. After going up the serpentines we made a quick stop at the same place where normally the bus tours have a photo stop.

view from our stop

After that we went to the hostel and checked in. The guy checking us in was German as well. He asked us where we were from and Steve answered Berlin. We talked a bit more before he suddenly asked me where from Bavaria I am. I just had to laugh at that. I will probably never be able to disguise my Frankonian heritage while talking German. He then showed us to our room and told us about a pub just down the road. We went there hand had a pint before going back and get some sleep in before the first and biggest sight of the trip. The next morning we all got up and ready before getting some breakfast. As it is in most hostels, a continental breakfast was included. So we all ate some bread and cereals before getting into the car and going to the Cliffs of Moher.

We first went to O'Briens tower again before then taking the path into the other direction going South. Also this time round I also went a bit more to the edge than last time. And I think Tom found the perfect term for it. It is a weird mix of fascination, death and excitement when you look right over the edge. So here are some pictures:

me sitting on the edge, photo credits to Steve

look over the edge

Cliffs of Moher

group picture

After wandering around there for quite some time we decided to leave it behind since we had a longer drive ahead of us. Next planned stop was Killarney. But we were all hungry after walking around so we had a quick stop in Lahinch and got some burgers (and pizza for Steve) from a small take away shop. We enjoyed our lunch right next to the sea side on some stones and watched  multiple surfer either learning or waiting for their wave.

view while having lunch

We got back into the car afterwards and started the long way down to Killarney which is part of the Ring of Kerry. We arrived there and checked into the hostel Tom booked for us. We freshened up a bit and then walked into the city centre. On our way we all got some ice cream from McDonalds and just explored the city. 

St. Mary's Cathedral in Killarney

We came by this church and were about to discuss were else we would go when Dorian told us that we needed to get food for him for his blood-sugar-levels. So we didn't see much more of Killarney and went back to the hostel where we played some cards before discussing our route for the next day and going to bed since it would be an early morning the next day.

We got up the next morning at seven and had another continental breakfast before starting our journey.  Our first stop of the day was Ross Castle. We didn't go in but the view over the lake was quite stunning. Especially this there was a rainbow involved

Ross Castle

lake view at Ross Castle

me at Torc Waterfall, thanks Dorian for taking it

Next stop was the Torc Waterfall about 10 minutes away from the castle. This was the first time I was happy we got the Cactus instead of the Focus because the street was more of a cart road than a normal road. Also we took a short walk from the parking lot to the waterfall Since the way there was all downhill it was no surprise to me that on our way back the guys were way faster than me and had to wait every once in a while.

Afterwards we made a stop at Ladies View. From there one can see three of the lakes of Killarney National Park. But the way there wasn't as easy as one would imagine. It was very curvy and a lot of rocks and cliffs to go around. An additional challenge were all the cyclists. A few were going our way but there was a cycle tournament going on in the opposite direction. These cyclists come out of the curves at a speed that can only described as crazy and border lining suicidal. So I thanked whoever is up there that around Bayreuth we do have similar roads. After our stop there we went on to drive to Moll's Gap. Unfortunately the weather wasn't as good anymore and there was a lot of fog blocking our view of the gap. Also we got a peak of the road we were supposed to go down from there. There were also still cyclists coming up this road. On a positive note we stopped right where a track marshal was positioned. I asked them how many more of the cyclists where coming up because I wouldn't have wanted to go down a one car wide road into the fog with the prospect of a lot of cyclists coming my way. Fortunately the track marshal told me that there were only about 5 cyclists left so we all decided to wait for these and then go down there. It was quite an interesting experience. We had to wait for oncoming cars rather often and at one point we were trapped behind a horse carriage while going up some serpentines. So here are some pictures of ladies view and the road we were going down and up and everything in between.

view at Ladies view

waiting for the oncoming car to pass, photo credits to Steve

But it was totally worth going down and up this Street because along the way there was a stunning view over the Gap of Dunloe was awaiting us. Here are two pictures:

Augher Lake at the Gap of Dunloe, photo credits to Steve

view up to the Black Lake, taken on the Wishing Bridge

Unfortunately I wasn't able to park the car anywhere other than next to the Wishing Bridge but Steve took some pictures while I was waiting for the oncoming cars to pass us. Yet it was truly amazing to drive through this and it was worth every second. 

After going through the Gap of Dunloe we  started our way back up to Limerick where the guys would catch a train back to Dublin. But before that we all got some food at Boojum (a Burrito place) together and also walked around Limerick a bit (as much as the weather allowed us). Therefore we walked to King John's Castle before we took shelter from the rain.

King John's Castkle, Limerick

The only thing left to do was to get the guys to their train and then giving back the car. So that is what we did. I drove the guys to the Rail Station and we said our goodbyes. I then drove the car back to the Shannon Springs Hotel where Easirent has its branch for Shannon Airport. There I met Frank again and he took the car in before driving me to the airport for my bus.  If you want to read more about the trip I'd advice you to read Steve's, Tom's and Dorian's blogs.

Back in Galway I said my goodbye to Anna who left early Monday morning before getting into bed since I was knackered again.

Monday it was back to work. I served customers again and John showed me how to change a screen on any iPhone between the iPhone 4 and the iPhone SE. Also the weather was really nice. 

Tuesday, Wednesday and today were pretty much the same. John showed me hoe to change iPhone 6S and 7 screens and I cleaned out some charging ports. Also today I started testing an order of used phones that came in. Also I put together a order John placed with Baseus for different accessories. And I was told that I'm a miracle girl today. It was a very nice older lady who is here for holidays. Her Samsung phone wasn't showing her pictures anymore. She could take them but as soon as she looked at them and swiped through them they came up black. All I did was updating the gallery app of her phone but she was so happy I did it that she said I'm a miracle girl. Mainly because she and her grandson feared they would have to wipe the phone to make it work again. I have to say it was very nice to see how happy she was.

So now you are all caught up on what's going on again. I will update you again at some point after Saturday but before I go back home (obviously). I can't believe that at this time next week I will be in back in Berlin already. It's so surreal to think about going back. I feel like the time went by way too fast.

Stay tuned. Cheers!

Juliane

Long weekend and another short week

Hey there,

so first I want to apologize for not updating at all last week but I was quite busy and also didn't watch all through my pictures, so I didn't know which pictures I wanted to upload. But here it is. So this post will be about the weekend of the 12th of May and the following week until Friday. For the last weekend there will be an extra post tomorrow.

So here is the route my boyfriend and me took. All in all I drove about 1000 to 1100 km:

made with https://www.falk.de/routenplaner

So first thing on Friday morning was taking the bus down to Shannon Airport. Since I'm not 25 the only wayto rent a car was to get it at an airport and since we didn't want to pay the one-way-rental-fee I had to get the car down at Shannon airport. I rented the car through the easirent.com website. On arrival at the airport I called the branch in Shannon and was picked up by Jordan who works for Easirent. We booked an Fiat 500 online but got an upgrade free of charge to a Ford Fiesta.

our Ford Fiesta

So after getting the car I made my journey up to Dublin airport where I met Michael after parking the car in one of the parks there. We then took the bus into the city and I put my suitcase into a luggage storage. Since it was raining a little bit we decided to go to the Long Room of the Trinity College Library first. Also as part of going there we went through the Books of Kells exhibition which was quite fascinating considering that it was written at some point of the 9th century. Up in the Long Room one can see a model of the Irish Harp as well:

Long Room of the Old Library at Trinity College Dublin

Irish Harp 

After finishing there we thought about going to the Teeling Distillery. Unfortunately there weren't any open spaces for the remaining tours that day so we decided to walk to Jameson Distillery in Bow Street and see if we got into a tour there. On arrival we learned that we would be able to join a tour but it would have taken a bit longer than we wanted keeping in mind that we wanted to check into our AirBnB on time. So we decided to come back there on Saturday morning and instead went around town with me steering us to the National Leprechaun Museum. It is a tiny museum and it is all about the mystic creatures in Irish folklore. We went in there and learned about giants, fairies and leprechauns and their origins.

Michael and me in the giants room

inside the show

So after this we went to get my suitcase and after that to our AirBnB which was located with in the Temple Bar district. After checking in we went out to Nandos to get dinner and than made plans for the next day before having a bit a of an earlier night because we were both up since early in the morning.

On Saturday we first went to Jameson Distillery  and got into the 11:15 tour. It was very interesting but I liked the tour back in 2014 better because now it is an all media sourced and one doesn't see anything of the actual distillery anymore. But it was still interesting. Afterwards we went to the food court of a shopping centre for lunch before taking a bus out to the airport at about half one (13:30) and starting our journey to Belfast. In Belfast Michael wanted to see the Murals which are graffiti. So we took a taxi tour through it and the driver told us all about the history of the risings and the IRA. Also he told us how there was a period of peace before the troubles started up again. Also he told us about the hunger strikes and how John F. Kennedy was the first person ever to write something on the peace wall. Now thousands and thousands of people have followed him and we did as well:

one of the murals

my writing on the wall

We finished the tour at around 18:45 and than after getting some petrol and sandwiches at a petrol station we began our journey to Ballymoney. After taking a wrong exit we had to drive through some back roads before we arrived and had a late dinner while talking to our host, Alan, about Northern Ireland and our plans for the next day. 

On Sunday we wanted to visit the Dark Hedges and the Giants Causeway. So our first stop were the Dark Hedges. This is a tree-lined road were a scene of the Game of Thrones was shot. So here is a picture of it:

the Dark Hedges

After that we made our way along the coastal road down to the Giants Causeway. On the way there we met a lot of cyclists who almost had me going mad because of how many there were and the missing opportunities to overtake them. At the causeway we had a small lunch and then went down to these basalt stones that are building the Giants Causeway ever since 50 to 60 million years ago. But according to an Irish legend the causeway was built by a giant of the name Finn MacCool, who was challenged to a fight by Scottish giant Brenandonner,  in order to meet the Scottish giant. To go down the hill and see this fantastic sight was truly breathtaking and also made me feel quite small thinking about it all.

middle causeway

grand causeway

small and middle causeway

After that we drove down the coastal road a bit more to go down to Galway again. I wanted to make a stop in Londonderry at first but it was quite late so we didn't do that and only stopped in Ballyshannon to get some food before going straight back onto the road again. We arrived quite late in Galway and since I drove the whole time I was a bit knackered so I opted to go straight to bed after some light dinner and a quick talk about Monday. Also on this day we reached the peak number of roundabouts per day of the trip counting 23 at the end of the day. My level of confidence with them changed from 'Oh my god! I don't get these Irish roundabouts!' to 'Come on! He's taking the exit, you can go in!' within these 23. So it's save to say I'm now a roundabout pro.

On Monday I had the day off since we wanted to go down to the Cliffs of Moher before returning the car to Shannon Airport. So we got into the car and started our trip. The road was very curvy and also held some serpentines. Also I questioned once more why the Irish have signs up that allow you to go 100 km/h when you can barley drive 60 km/h without risking an accident. On arrival we paid our entry and parking fee and first went to O'Briens tower on the left side coming from the visitor centre. Also we listened to the free audio guide which is available after downloading an app to ones phone. Thereby I learned that the cave they shot Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in is located right in the cliffs. Also I had a good view of the Aran Islands:

view of the cliffs taken on the way to O'Briens tower

beach next to O'Briens tower

Aran Islands

After that we went to the other side and enjoyed some more good views

O'Briens tower

Cliffs of Moher

We spend quite some time just sitting there and enjoying the sun before we went back to our car and started the drive back to Shannon to bring back our car. Again Michael made me take some back roads because according to him Google said so. Well, on one of these back roads the passenger side of our car suffered a little bit from some of the bushes there. Fortunately for us I took the full cover insurance so we didn't have to worry about it. Back in Shannon we met Frank another employee of Easirent who looked he car over and then took us to the Airport where our bus would leave. He is very nice and also told us that Shannon Airport was used as a emergency landing field for the American Space Shuttles. Which is quite impressive taking into account that Shannon isn't a big airport at all even though it is an international airport. We then took the bus from the airport back to Galway and had a nice dinner. 

On Tuesday I was back at work while Michael roomed the city and took in the sights of Galway even though the weather had changed and it drizzled down. I did my normal stuff of serving customers and helping John out in every way possible.  Also John let me off of work earlier than usual since he knew that Michael was still there. We then proceeded to cook dinner and before he went on to pack his bags.

On Wednesday Michael and I said our goodbyes and I worked the whole day doing what I do best by now: serving customers and giving them first ideas of what we will do with their phones. Also I learned how to change batteries and John showed me how they do the till every day.

On Thursday I tested some phones, served customers, finished some phones off so that they can go into sale and went about my business while helping in every way possible. But the biggest achievement of the day was when I found a way to get the information off of a Samsung that wasn't recognized by the computer. After that now I'm also in charge for that kind of stuff and I stayed a bit longer to help another customer with his phone. This customer bought a Samsung Galaxy S7 from us and wanted to transfer his data from his old S6 onto the new one. Only problem was that Smart Switch didn't work because it was to much data. Also the phone wasn't recognized by the computer iBroke has and with the iMac we had the same problem with Smart Switch as before. So I tried it on my PC and it worked. So we new that if we could get the pictures off the phone in any other way, the smart switch would work. So we wanted to just cut and paste the pictures from the phone onto an SD card. But all the folders appeared to be empty on the computer. So we had no other choice but to delete some apps and download another that I had discovered earlier that allows you to get access to your phone from your computer without a physical connection. So thats how I did it then. And let me tell you downloading 11GB of pictures takes a while. After that I went home and just enjoyed my evening.

On that note I want to end this post. the next post will be up tomorrow (probably also late in the evening)  and it will be about my weekend trip with three of my colleagues who are currently located in Dublin.

So I will see you then and stay tuned. Cheers!

Juliane

P.S.: I actually got used to driving on the other side of the road fairly quickly and now I'm not sure how easy it will be to go back. But in the end of the day the driver sits on middle-of-the-street-side. So really there isn't too much difference.