Amsterdam Netherlands - The LAST DAY

For our last full day in Amsterdam we got ready ate the breakfast provided by Bob’s, which is a piece of toast and a hard boiled egg, and then walked down to a bike rental shop and rented a couple of bikes. We had heard that it was easy to take the bikes and ride in the Dutch countryside, so that’s what we attempted to do. To get there you have to take a 10-minute ferry so that is what we did and ended up in a very small town. All we were told was to follow the canal for about 30 minutes and we would be in the countryside. But seeing as how there are numerous canals throughout the Netherlands we must have followed the wrong canal because we ended up in an area that was not the nicest so we decided to look around, take a couple pictures, and then head back to Amsterdam. One of the interesting things about the Netherlands is that there are two types of freeways, a freeway for cars, and a freeway for bikes so we potentially could have taken the path toward Rotterdam but that was a 4 hour ride so we forwent that experience. Once we were back in Amsterdam we rode the bikes around the different neighborhoods in the city. After about three hours we decided that we were done riding bikes so we went to return them, grab a bite to eat and then we decided to rent a paddleboat to go through the canals. The paddleboat was a lot of fun in that we got to see the city from a different perspective. Although I was the only one that could figure out how to drive the boat so I took the position as captain of the ship. After the boat ride we decided to walk back to the hostel rather than take the tram so we could check out the city. The short walk ended up taking about an hour seeing as how we got somewhat lost. After relaxing back at the Hostel we caught the tram from the Leidsenplein, a popular square, where we grabbed some food and a couple drinks and met some local Dutch people. A couple hours later we decided to head back to the hostel and get some sleep since we had to wake up early the next morning to catch our flight back to Cork.

Caitlin and I navigating the boat while Caitlin and John are in the back

A view of the canal from the boat

Out in the countryside/bad part of the Netherlands where we got lost trying to find the countryside.

Amsterdam Netherlands - Day 2

While in Amsterdam we thought it was important to check out some museums seeing as how we went on the Heritage Weekend where most of Amsterdam’s national monuments were free to see. So we headed to the Museumplein where we took a couple pictures in the park with the iconic I AMsterdam statue and then headed for the Van Gogh Museum. We spent a couple hours in the museum checking out over 200 of Van Gogh’s works. Overall I have never really been interested in art but I actually did like seeing some of Van Gogh’s pieces. Unfortunately all of the museums did not allow any pictures so I don’t have any pictures of any of the museums I visited. After the Van Gogh Museum we walked over to the Heineken factory, but after arriving we found that the tour was a bit more than we wanted to spend so we just check out the gift shop. At this time everyone was getting hungry so we headed over to the Albertcyprt street market and got a bite to eat. Once we finished checking out the outdoor market we headed for the Rijksmuseum. The Rijksmuseum is the national museum of the Netherlands. I enjoyed this museum the most because I got to learn a bit about Dutch history. I was unaware how large the Dutch empire actually was back in the day. They were actually the first to colonize India even before the Brits. We also got to see a couple of Rembrandt’s artworks too. Since we are in Europe and there are really old churches everywhere in Europe we almost had to go see a couple of Churches so we checked out the Neuwe Kerk next to Dam Square. Seeing as how we spent the entire day looking at and learning about Dutch history and culture we thought we should check out a traditional Dutch restaurant. So we went back the Prinsengraht district to an area known as the Niners and found a restaurant that was packed with Dutch people and knew that this place was probably a good spot to grab a bite to eat. My meal at the Dutch restaurant was one of the best meals I have had so far in Europe. After we stuffed ourselves with food we headed back to Bob’s Youth Hostel and played some cards with a couple of the other people staying at the Hostel. But on our way back we ran into a Dutch rock concert so we hung out there for a while before heading back to the hostel.

The awesome resteraunt where we ate the traditional Dutch food.

The iconic I AMsterdam stature

In the back is the Rijksmuseum which is the Netherlands national museum but unfortunatly they were cleaning the old building so it was covered with scaffolding.

Me stuffing myself with some good Dutch food.

The Neuwe Kerk, or New Church, which is not that new seeing as how it was built in the 1800's

The Albertcyprt Market

Amsterdam, Netherlands

I noticed that I didn’t mention whom I went on this exciting adventure with. So I ventured to Amsterdam with three other people from my early start class. I went with two girls that I go to USD with, Caitlin and Victoria, and a guy from New York state, John O’Keffe. Unfortunately my roommates, Matt and Ryan, couldn’t make it because they had their class field trip for there early start class. After dinner the four of us decided it was time to check out the night scene in Amsterdam. So as any tourist would do at night time in Amsterdam we decided to check out the Red Light District, or De Wallen as the Dutch call it. The Red Light District is an area in Amsterdam where prostitution is legal. The Netherlands tends to be a very liberal area compared to the US and a lot of things that are illegal in the US are legal in the Netherlands. Although I was very surprised as we toured the area. The district is in a very nice part of the city where the canals are lit with red LED lights and red lamps adorn the buildings on the streets. Surprisingly the district was filled with tourists, young and old, who were checking out the area. So within each building are glass doors outlined with red lights and on the other side of each door is a women dressed in lingerie. Overall I was shocked and surprised that the Dutch don’t frown upon it but rather simply consider it as part of their culture. I also realized that prostitution tends to happen in every city the only difference is that Dutch prostitution is legal. So after our wild adventure through the infamous Red Light District we decided to head back for Bob’s but on the way we stopped at a konditeri, pastry shop, where I had the best piece of Apple Pie to end a great first day in the Netherlands.

A building in the Red Light District where the women strut their stuff in attempts to get a customer.

The Red Light District

The Dutch Konditeri where I had the best Apple Pie

Victoria and Catilin are two of the people that I travelled to the Netherlands with

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Once upon a rainy day in Cork I was sitting in class contemplating life when I decided it was time that I begin to see another part of the world. So I went back to the apartment and found an 80 euros roundtrip ticket from Cork to Amsterdam. Of course I couldn’t let that deal go to waste so I found 4 people from my early start class to go with me and we booked it. A couple days later I found myself on a plane headed for the Netherlands. We left at 6:30 on September 11th and arrived in Amsterdam at around 9. After arriving in Amsterdam we went straight to the hostel to check in. Since I initiated the trip I sort of designated myself as the tour guide, so I was in charge of figuring out what to do, where to stay, and how we would get around. From what I have heard hostels tended to be very dirty, kind of dumpy, and typically have some weird people staying there. My assumptions were completely correct but all in all my hostel experience was not bad at all and I would most definitely do it again. Thus, we ended up at Bob’s Youth Hostel located only 5 minutes from Dam Square, the main square where the Queen of the Netherlands lives in the Nieuwe Zijds Kolk area. After checking in with Bob we headed up to room A, a 15-bed room and settled in. The room was decorated with an interesting painting of an Arabic man who was saying something although it was written in Arabic so I couldn’t read it. Since we began our day at 4 in the morning and had a late concert to go the night before we decided to take a nap. After napping for a while we bought an unlimited tram pass for the duration of our stay and hopped on the tram for the Westerkerk, the area where Anne Frank hid during World War II and the Holocaust. We were able to actually walk through the building and the annex where the Frank family hid. Anne Frank and her family hid in an annex in the top of her father’s company warehouse building. Overall I thought the Anne Frank house was a very humbling experience and it helped me to understand the situations and conditions that Jewish people had to undergo during that period. Since I had read the Dairy of Anne Frank in the 8^th grade I knew a bit about the situation however actually visiting the house helped me to reflect on the horrors of our past. After touring the Anne Frank House we walked around the Prinsengracht, a very picturesque and typical neighborhood in Amsterdam where the Anne Frank House is located. We then caught the tram to Dam Square where we looked around at all the sights in that area. After checking out the square and hitting up Albert Heijn, a Dutch grocery store, for some toiletries and water we then went to grab a bite to eat. Since Holland has a large population of Indonesian people we decided to try some Indonesian food. The food was very good, however like most places in the Netherlands they would not give out free water they would make us pay for it, just an annoying fact.

Bob's Youth Hostel

Me sitting on my bed with Bob's Blankets.

Bob's advertises its hostel as having some of the best blankets in the Netherlands.

The neverending steep stairwell

The wall decoration in our room at Bob's Youth Hostel

Our Room

Caitlin and I sitting by the canal in the Presengracht

The Westerkerk

A church next to the Anne Frank House

Me in the GVB or Tram

The Royal Palace in Dam Square

Unfortunately most of the palace was being refurbished so the Queen was at her other palace.

The building that Anne Frank and her family hid in during the war.

The Prisengraght Canal

I think this was one of my favorite areas. Its very picturesque and a typical Amsterdam neighborhood.

Field Trip to Slibh Luachra and Dingle

Me at Inch Beach near the Blasket Islands

The Blasket Islands

The Blasket Islands

Me in front of one of the houses on the Blasket Islands

The Slibh Luachara Ceili Musicians

These guys are the best musicians in the region!

Stella, one of our professors, playing the Fiddle outside of Sean O'Riada's house

Daithi playing the fiddle

Field Trip to Slibh Luachra and Dingle

This past weekend I went on a field trip to County Kerry with my early start music class. Irish traditional music varies stylistically through out the different regions of Ireland. So my music class took a field trip to the Slibh Luachra region, which is current day County Kerry and some of County Cork. The main focus of the trip was to be immersed with Irish traditional music but with an emphasis on the Slibh Luachra style, although it was hard to focus completely on the music because the scenery was almost unreal. From what I have seen of Ireland so far County Kerry is by far a strikingly scenic region of Ireland. So the trip began with a bus tour of the Slibh Luachra area to some famous sights were fiddle masters lived or where Uileann pipers died etc. We made a stop in a very small city where we listened to what we were told by our professors as being some of the best fiddle and accordion players in the whole of Ireland. After that performance we ended up in Dingle where we would be staying for the next two nights. The accommodations were nothing special seeing as how they decided to put all twenty-two students in a single room packed with bunk beds. That night we went to an Irish traditional music concert in a church, which was very impressive. After dinner at the Goat’s Cafe the class hit the pubs of Dingle. We ended up at a pub where our two professors, Daithi (pronounced Dahee which is the Irish name for David) and Stella, had joined a group of musicians and they were all playing traditional Irish music. The next morning we drove to a region of Kerry where almost everyone solely spoke the Irish language. The only phrase I have learned in Irish so far is “Ta me go maith” meaning I am doing well thank you. Here in Ireland almost everyone knows the Irish language because it is the national language and all government documents are written in it, but it is rarely spoken in the major cities. However as you move farther away from the cities more and more people will only speak Irish. Ireland has seen a major boast and revival of the language in the last twenty year in attempts to prevent the language from dying out. But anyways we went to a picturesque region and the most western tip of Ireland and Europe for that matter known as the Blasket Islands. After we had experience the scenery and music of the Blaskets we headed back to Dingle for some free time. The next day we were headed back to Cork but we made a couple stops in Tralee and Killarney and the house of Sean O’Riada who is a pretty big deal over here. O’ Riada is responsible for the revival of Irish traditional music in the 1950s. The trip was a lot of fun and I enjoyed seeing another part of Ireland but I was very excited to be back home in Cork. Also that evening the class went to a Moving Hearts concert at the Cork Opera House. Moving Hearts mixes Irish traditional music with rock and everyone really enjoyed the music!

Mom Comes to Ireland

Day 2 - Cork, Kinsale, and Blarney

With my moms time in Cork I thought we should go to Blarney Castle which is only about 8 minutes away from Cork city centre and she wanted to go to Kinsale so we made a day out of it. We ventured out from my apartment to the Cork Airport where we rented a car. We both thought it would be more affordable and we could do a lot more with our day. So Hertz gave us a burnt orange Ford CMAX along with a Neverlost. We thought that was necessary to navigate through the crazy road systems here in Ireland. Oh and another minor detail cars drive on the left hand side of the road here, which added some fun to our adventure. Mom was convinced that she could not do it so I was the lucky person that got to drive on the left hand side of the road. This was one of my goals for my time in Ireland. I would say that I was pretty successful in that I only made one minor mistake. When we pulled out from the airport into the round-a-bout going towards the R6005 autoway I took the wrong exit and had to turn around. So all in all it was a good experience but the round-a-bouts can be somewhat confusing. So after picking up the car we took the R6005 to Kinsale, a small beachside village on the County Cork coast about 30 minutes from Cork city. After we arrived to Kinsale we went straight to a restaurant to grab some fish and chips. The restaurant claimed to have the best fish and chips in Ireland, and I must say they were very good. After lunch we hopped on a tram made to look like a train and took a tour of downtown Kinsale and Fort Charles. Interestingly we learned that Kinsale was the sight where the Lusitania, a passanger ship, was sunk during World War I, which caused the United States to enter World War I. After our tour of the picturesque town of Kinsale we were off to Blarney Castle. I really enjoyed seeing another part of Ireland and it was good to see the Atlantic Ocean. But I really enjoyed the Blarney Castle. Both my mom and I climbed the castle through a very small and tight spiral staircase. We saw the main room, the kitchen, the bedrooms, the church etc. After reaching the top it was time to kiss the Blarney stone. So the man sits you down and tells you to lay back and then he hoists you back to kiss the stone. Supposedly the Blarney stone is the dirtiest tour attraction in the world; however after you kiss the stone you receive the gift of eloquence and the skill of flattery. After we went through the castle mom and I toured the blarney premise, which is very peaceful and green. On our way back from the castle we stopped at Tesco, the main Irish grocery store, to pick up some groceries. One of the rule my roommates and I came up with to try and conserve money is that we only buy necessary foods and we try not to buy anything over 1 euro. So my mom wanted to buy us some luxury items like chips, cookies, cereal, popcorn etc. along with some stuff to make tacos, stir-fry, and chicken. As an aside, my roommates and I typically eat a lot of bread, peanut butter, ramen noodles, pasta, potatoes, and meat packs we get from the English Market. Also grocery stores here do not provide bags for your groceries so you have to bring your own bags. After the grocery store we went back to the apartment to get ready for dinner. My mom wanted to take my friends and I out to dinner. So eight of us went to the Market Lane in downtown Cork. The food was amazing, probably the best I have had in Cork so far, and my friends loved the food as well. Everyone absolutely loved my mom and they all say she is welcome back anytime. So thanks mom for everything! After dinner mom took us all out for drinks at a pub, which was a lot of fun. So after a long night of eating and drinking it was time for us all to go to bed seeing as how I had a field trip with my music class to County Kerry the next morning and mom had to catch a 5am train back to Dublin to catch her flight back to the US. I am so grateful that she got to come and see how I will be living for the next couple of months and I wish she could have stayed longer since we didn’t even have time to tour UCC.

Mom Comes to Ireland

Day 2 - Cork, Kinsale, and Blarney

Overlooking Blarney from the top of Blarney Castle

Someone kissing the Blarney Stone.

Walking up the very narrow steps through the Blarney Castle

The Blarney Castle

The Blarney Castle

The Watch Tower next to the Blarney Castle

A view of Kinsale

Fort Charles and the Atlantic Ocean in Kinsale, Co. Cork

Mom and I on the rolling green hills in Kinsale

A picture of me standing in Fort Charles in Kinsale

Mom Comes to Ireland

Day 1 – Dublin, a place that oozes personality, a city whose soul and sociability makes it the most charismatic of capitals

So I was very excited to have my mom come to Ireland to visit me, meet my friends, experience a bit of Cork, and of course take me out to eat. Our adventure began with me taking a very early train to Dublin to meet her at the airport. Interestingly her flight contained about half of Irelands Cardiologists who were at a convention in Barcelona. So you can imagine that Ireland would have been in some big trouble if that flight had crashed on its way back to Dublin. After I picked her up at the airport we caught the bus back to Heuston Train Station where she stored her luggage and we caught the DART for the Temple Bar area. Temple Bar is a popular area in the city centre and right above the River Liffey that has preserved a medieval street pattern with cobbled streets. As soon as we arrived we searched for the best restaurant that served traditional Irish food, so we ended up a Boxy McGallaghers. I had Irish stew and mom had Corn beef and cabbage and we shared a side of Colcannon. Colcannon is a potato dish that I learned about in Music class surprisingly. Then we finished our meal up with some delicious Bailey’s Cheesecake. After our phenomenal meal we were off to see some of the sights in Dublin. We shopped around the Temple Bar area for a while and then decided to walk toward the Guinness Factory. On our way we toured Trinity College, Dublin, a beautiful medieval school that is comparable to Harvard in the US, along with Dublin Castle. Although once we left Dublin Castle we decided to hop into a taxi because, as always in Ireland, it was raining. Unfortunately we got to the Guinness factory and it had closed twenty minutes prior. So we then decided to walk around the national museum of art’s gardens and cemetery. Afterwards we thought it was time to head back to the train station because we were both exhausted. On the way got kind of lost and ended up at Phoenix Park, the world’s second largest park. After a long walk we eventually made it back to the train station and caught our train back to Cork. We arrived in Cork pretty late so we went back to the apartment and planned for the next day and went to sleep. Unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera so I have very few picture to put up for our trip to Dublin but when my mom sends me the pictures she took I will post those up.

The Gates to the Guinness Factory

The Temple Bar Area

Trinity College, Dublin