Inis Mór

July 17, 2018 Kate Koenig

After our brief stop at the Cliffs of Moher, we headed to our Galway hostel for the weekend. We had the rest of the night after a group dinner to explore Galway and the rest of the next night as well. The morning following our first night in Galway we hopped back on the bus to take us to a ferry which would bring us over to the Aran Islands

I have never taken a ferry before and was anxious yet excited to see what it was like. We were warned by our program directors that the ride over could be rough for some of us. It didn’t help that the weather was poor and sea was choppy. So, for the forty-five minute or so ride over, we were told to sit outside or in the back of the ferry if we tended to experience motion sickness. Our group of forty-some students and program directors boarded the ferry almost last, leading to few seats left for our large group. I hurried in and found a seat upfront, not wanting to sit outside in the frigid air. Some in our program found seating inside, but many had to sit outside and ended up soaking wet once we arrived.

The ferry ride over for me, luckily, was without any stomach upset and was actually fun. I loved the bouncing of the ferry and the splashing of the waves against the side. Not even halfway through our journey though, scores of people were hunched over trashcans scattered along the floor in various stages of motion sickness. There was a group of girls traveling together that quickly morphed from laughing at every jump in the boat and taking selfies to crying. I felt bad in my seat watching the lone girl without problems checking on her friends and grabbing them plastic bags and water.

Once the ferry reached the port, we grouped up, half soaking wet and frowning, and the other half ready to get started. The island offered three ways of reaching our ultimate target of Dún Aonghasa (Dun Aengus) and a tour of the island. You can tour and explore the island by way of biking through bike rentals, a bus tour, or a horse carriage. I decided on the bus tour. When we arrived, it was pretty cold with strong wind and I wanted to be out of the elements, hoping it would warm up.

The Aran Islands are three separate islands. Inis Mór (Inishmore), which means the big island, is known for hosting past Red Bull cliff diving competitions and also was a filming location for the 2010 movie, Leap Year. Inis Meáin (Inishmaan), meaning the middle island, features the John Millington Synge cottage. The smallest island, Inis Oírr (Inisheer), the east island, is known for its lighthouse and the shipwreck, Plassey. All the islands offer stunning views of the sea, interesting terrain, and a fun biking and walking atmosphere. We spent our time on Inis Mór.

I shared a bus with one other Pitt student, six other students in our program from other schools, and an older couple. Our bus driver drove us up the one main road on the island to the village at the top. Pictured below are my shots from inside the bus, so you may see some window glare. The bus moved surprisingly fast up the hill with bikers, walkers, and cars moving in either direction. Sometimes a lost cow had to be corralled back to its field by an irritated farmer. That, by the way, was hilarious. Cows take their good old time moving. We did not mind.

Many of my pictures are from this viewpoint. I sat in the front of the bus, taking pictures out of the many windows.

St. Brigid's cross on the front of a home

We shared the road with bikers, walkers, other cars, and the ocassional loose animal.

Right before the village our bus and a few other cars had to stop as three donkeys had gotten loose from their enclosure and were taking up most of the road. We passed them on their side and continued and heading up to the village. Our driver let us know how long we would have up here before he would drive us back down to the main part of town. As we walked down the road, away from the ice cream shop and knit shops, the donkeys came barreling through, passing right next to us. It was awesome.

After the exhilaration of watching wild and rowdy donkeys doing whatever they pleased, we continued to the final rest area before the trail heading up to the ancient site. After the eventual hike up to the site, I would come back to eat lunch and shop in the knitting and jewelry store.

Finally, with my ticket bought, I started the hike up the trails, walking behind and passing various travelers on the way up. We hadn’t been told too much about Dún Aonghasa other than that it was a prehistoric stone fort built on the island. I was not prepared for the views and experience at the ancient site. Before that sight, came the walk on the craggy ground flanked by the stone walls. The land on the islands are rocky and not the best for farming. In many of my pictures, you can see the rocks and stone breaking out from the ground.

Our tour guide had told us earlier on the way up that these walls were not held together. They were loose stones piled on top of each other. While walking the trail, I rested against the wall up the winding path to adjust camera settings and the rocks started to shift. It was so weird to see these walls all over the island, knowing they were freestanding.

No building material keep these rocks "glued" together. They are simply stacked on each other.

It was, uh, a tad bit windy as you can see. Had to take a snapchat!

The path steadily took a steeper turn with more rocks and stones slicing through the ground.

At last I made it through the main hike into the mostly flat open field, to see the exposed cliff side at Dún Aonghasa. The views were breathtaking, the height, terrifying. I stayed here for a while, inching myself to the cliffs edge and securing myself for some shots of the cliff faces. After enough time and a substantial increase in my heartrate, I headed the final distance to inside of the fort’s half circle structure.

The stone walls on the right are the walls of the fort.

I don’t need to say much as the views truly do that for me. I photographed the stone walls, the cliffs, and the people exploring the grounds around me before heading back down to the village to take some pictures of the town at the top before the tour back down.

The final stretch back to the town at the top

After some time, our tour guide collected us in the square and loaded us back up for a trip down to the harbor. Before the harbor though, he took us to one of the old church sites and current cemetery on the island.

We thanked our bus driver as he concluded the tour and for his many jokes and good humor in taking us around. He stopped a few times on the road when he saw me trying to take pictures of cows and horses, so my shots were better.

While in town before heading out on the ferry, I indulged in my own planned splurge and bought a famous Aran Island sweater, soft as a cloud and so comfortable.

It was another fantastic day in Ireland.

The Cliffs of Moher

July 8, 2018 Kate Koenig

Scrolling through Facebook or binging video clips on YouTube of Ireland, you’d be hard pressed to find one that excludes the Cliff of Moher. The dramatic view of the high cliffs and rolling waves a couple hundred feet below look like a scene out of a movie. In fact, several movies have been filmed at the Cliffs including Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Standing on the top of the cliffs and walking along the rocky and uneven paths around, it’s not hard to see why this location has been used in film or why it’s such a popular tourist destination. They are, in one word, breathtaking.

Visiting the Cliffs of Moher was one of the excursions I was most excited about. With such a beautiful landscape, I knew my little photography heart would just sing at the opportunity. The Pitt in Dublin program included several excursions outside of the city such as the Glendalough visit two weeks prior. Instead of classes, those studying from Pitt and other universities met outside the school for our weekend visiting the Cliffs of Moher, Galway, and the Aran Islands. We were originally meant to spend two hours at the Cliffs but due to late comers to the bus, the time was cut down to a strict one and a half hour so that we could get to Galway on time. I was so happy that we were able to visit the Cliffs, but I was sad with how little time we had there. It’s one of the places you have to spend a full day exploring and I really look forward to going back and doing so in the future.

After a scenic bus ride with lots of cow, sheep, horse, and donkey sightings, we pulled up to the visitation center, which in and of itself is very cool looking. The building is cut into the mountain side, the grass forming a roof. The first thing I did off the bus was run inside to use the bathrooms (small bladder on a group bus is torture). Once I walked back outside, I took pictures of the area surrounding the parking lot which included some picnic benches, flag poles, a wooden carving, and the visitor center.

While I was photographing the outside, a woman was walking her extremely energetic Springer Spaniel who bounded toward the picnic benches. Now, I’ve said in a previous blog post how much I love dogs and Springers Spaniels are my absolute FAVORITE. So, I gave myself a little time before hiking up one of the trails to talk to her owner and ask if I could pet her. The adorable pup was named Sienna and belonged to a German woman who loved to talk about Springers and her little girl.

A rare moment where Sienna stayed (mostly) still waiting for some water

She was an energetic wiggle-worm, who upon seeing my interest in her yanked on her leash to get some scratches from me. Sienna and her owner had just finished a nice hike around the Cliffs, but the pup was still bounding with energy and trying to make friends with any human who glanced her way. When her owner pulled out her collapsible water dish, Sienna plopped down, legs splayed out behind her as she eagerly slopped it up. When she was satisfied she resumed her energetic pull toward the exciting world around her. I took some photographs of Sienna, thanked her owner, and headed up the trails.

When we were driving up to the parking lot initially, the sun was beaming, blue sky was poking out from nonthreatening white clouds. Not long after we arrived, though, gray clouds from over the sea rolled in bringing biting wind and a splattering of rain. Not long before we arrived, we were told how lucky we were to have clear visibility, unfortunately for most of our stay the weather turned. I was still determined to take as many interesting photographs as I could, rain or shine.

Another unlucky strike for us was as our time came to a close, the skies opened up back to sunny blues and the winds died down. So, looking through my photos as I made my way down one of the trails, you can see the progress from 1. Incoming storm 2. Fighting the storm 3. Post storm. I had many struggles taking clear photos here as I constantly had to throw my camera (which weighs a considerable amount and is a bit cumbersome) under my shirt to protect it from both the wind and the rain. I was largely unsuccessful there and had to wipe the rain water off the body and the lens as best I could. Otherwise, the photos would have spots and blurriness. These photos required more editing than usual as my lens got quite dirty and dust spots appeared on my sensor. The things we do for art!

I loved walking along the cliff edge, even though I suffered some bad windburn to the face and the beatdown on my camera. Once the wind died down and the rain dissipated it was fantastic. I don’t have a photo of this as it occurred while I shielded my camera and the rain poured down, but I got to witness an American couple get engaged up on the cliffs! Another trail walker stopped to take a picture of them on their phones. The poor couple was shaking with what I assumed was excitement and cold. Their hair was slick against their face as they smiled for the photo. I said my congratulations to them and continued down the trail. Later on, I would take photos of a tourist who thanked me profusely as he hiked on his own. I hope he liked the pictures! I took them on his camera and I was not familiar with his equipment.

When the storm started getting stronger, people tried to take cover in and around this tower.

Anyway, that was a bit winded! Enjoy the photos below! I’ll caption any I think are interesting but mostly just look at the gorgeousness that is the Cliffs of Moher. At the end is a bonus - bovine surprise that I was absolutely elated to see and was entirely unexpected!

If only it had stayed this nice the entire time!

COWS! Right beside the trail were fields of cows, happily grazing.

You can see here the two levels of the trail and the fence to the left separating visitors from the cows!

The gorgeous blues returned just as I walked back. So sad!

Kilmainham Gaol

June 30, 2018 Kate Koenig

Kilmainham Gaol (pronounced jail) has been on my top lists of places I’ve wanted to visit in Ireland for a few years. One of my majors I study while at Pitt is history with a European concentration. I've focused largely on Ireland, so this visit was incredibly interesting and relevant to my studies. The discussion in my classes involving the political prisoners in 1916 were some of the most memorable. The stories of the 1916 Rising and its aftermath are powerful. The jail's place in the present age has become so linked to the rebels who were executed in 1916 and I knew their stories would rise in the air. I was not expecting many of the feelings and sights within. I knew visiting the jail would affect me, but it's hard to describe how deeply sad and heavy the atmosphere is inside the jail. Hopefully my pictures and recollection can convey these feelings well enough.

I was lucky that one of the classes I was enrolled in for this semester is a politics class. In lieu of going to class one day, we were assigned to visit the jail (we didn't have to pay for tickets!), go on a tour, and write an essay about it. This felt like the best deal in the world, a chance to ditch the classroom for some hands on learning in a place that was number one on the "places I want to visit" list.

We started the tour walking briefly though part of the courtyard.

Our tour guide walked us out of the courtyard and into the jail's chapel. We sat down and listened to the first bit of history. The chapel has a special place in the history that's tied to the 1916 Easter Rising. Before his execution, Joseph Plunkett was allowed to marry his fiancée, Grace. No family or friends were around them to celebrate. They were accompanied solely by prison guards and a priest. Not long after the wedding, Joseph was executed. Grace never married again.

After the chapel, the tour guide brought us through cramped halls with cells on one side. The walls featured peeling paint. It was cool and dark in many of these corridors.

A lock rests on the door of one of the cells.

Patrick Pearse wrote on the wall of this cell, "Beware of the risen people that have harried and held, ye that have bullied and bribed". — Patrick Pearse wrote on the wall of this cell, "Beware of the risen people that have harried and held, ye that have bullied and bribed".

The tour guide continued taking us down various cells. Ones that held notable prisoners from the 1916 Rising were often marked with placards.

The sign above Countess Markievicz's cell.

The cells had circular peepholes so guards could check in on prisoners.

We took a staircase down one level. They were uneven and worn.

At one point, the tour guide stopped us to explain a history beyond the Rising. This jail had been created over a hundred years before the Easter Rising (it opened in 1796) and also had a connection to the famine. Those found guilty of stealing food or begging on the streets could find themselves in a cramped jail cell or on a hall floor during this time period. The famine years saw an explosion in the prison population. The youngest prisoner held was a five year-old child during An Gorta Mor–The Great Hunger. Prisoners held during the famine were guaranteed at least one meal a day, which was more than many outside were guaranteed, but conditions were deplorable and disease was rampant.

You feel small and isolated walking through creaky floorboards and narrow passageways. I felt a heaviness lock around my heart and pull me down. It was not hard to feel history grab you by the ankles and drag you back to moments long since passed. You pass a cell with carvings outside it, initials, half-disappeared words and names from time. The doors are narrow passageways into the cells. You stoop and duck inside, the walls are suffocating. It felt like a thousand voices were calling out in the shadows.

I felt a myriad of emotions walking through the corridors, one by one. I felt as if I were trespassing, here for education, interest, study, holiday, but they were there for punishments, maybe just, many not. That young boy sent there during the famine was there for stealing food. And he, this little boy, hungry, distraught, possibly an orphan, would be placed among adults, men and women. Walking the corridors, this great injustice washed over me.

I felt these voices calling to me, begging for understanding, attention, comfort. How did it feel to be in a prison with only 100 cells at times when the jail saw 9,000? The filth. The discomfort. The crowding. You could lose yourself in a place so shut out from the outside world.

I could feel their stories clipping at our heels as we moved through. I felt like I understood blood sacrifices, how past deaths, how friends condemned to this life, could make me take up their cause. I knew I could leave at any moment, exit the tour and never come back. The men, women, and children who spent their time and sometimes end of their life could not so easily escape. And yet, even knowing I could leave at the end of the tour in an hour or right this minute, I still felt suffocated, isolated, a sense of fear.

Some cells held names of prisoners of note, many executed in 1916. Through a tiny hole you peak inside, and their world is at your feet. These men would have such a small space to breathe, think, sleep, stretch. You can feel their echoes in the air, like they never really left.

It was hard emotionally and spiritually inside the prison. The intention was to change the prison system, one prisoner to a cell (they failed at this at the beginning) and in their core philosophy believed in addition to solitude, that silence would be an important tenant of the prison. Their voices were a soft wave sometimes rolling against you and other times a thunderous call. They couldn’t be silent in death. The former prisoners' presence was everywhere.

Our tour guide, led us from the small hallways into the main room of the prison, the East Wing. Now, I have to preface that in the East Wing I saw something so strange that I'm still not sure I know what or who it was.

Those platforms would be used for guards.

The gaurds would have used this to quickly get to other levels if need be.

Joseph Plunkett's wife, Grace, was arrested during the Irish Civil War and painted this mural on her cell wall. You can see The Blessed Virgin Mary directly looking in through the peephole.

As we stood in the East Wing, the large curved room with a partial glass ceiling, we took pictures and wandered. In the doorway, where we would leave and where we had come in (pictured below), I saw a man in a suit swiftly moving past the frame of the door, beyond a window, and then he was gone. I looked around but no one else had seen him. I turned to Will, who also was taking the tour and in the politics course, speechless and unable to say what I thought I might have seen. It had to be a museum worker. As we exited the room, I looked down the corridor to where the figure had gone, but it was roped off with a “keep out” sign across it. How had he moved through that space so quickly and without pause? But the feeling pressing down, the history of suffering here, of last moments was real and true, so perhaps this could be too. Many days after the trip, I still question what I saw. I'm not a particular believer in the supernatural, and if it was a museum worker, they picked a strange area/bad time to walk by our tour.

Right beyond the spiral staircase is the entrance/exit.

After the East Wing, we were led down one more hallway and then out into the courtyard.

It was a strange juxtaposition, these high, imposing walls that made you feel small with these bright flowers growing on them.

The tour guide moved our group into the execution courtyard, where those executed as a result of the 1916 Rising were taken. The courtyard was chosen as the execution location because it was the only area of the jail that prisoners could not see through windows, due to the high walls surrounding it.

The Irish Tricolor stands in the middle of the courtyard.

James Connolly was executed where the cross stands. He had been shot during the course of the Easter Rising in his leg and had developed gangrene. He was already dying from his wounds but the execution was ordered to go on. Because of his injuries, … — James Connolly was executed where the cross stands. He had been shot during the course of the Easter Rising in his leg and had developed gangrene. He was already dying from his wounds but the execution was ordered to go on. Because of his injuries, he was unable to stand so they tied him to a chair and shot him. When this story spread through Ireland, it infuriated the population. This turned the tide of public opinion to sympathy for the rebels and pushed them to martyrdom.

The spot where the other men were executed is marked by this cross.

A slight breeze picked up the flag as we stood in the courtyard.

We left the courtyard and ended the tour in front of the jail.

After the official tour, I headed up to the indoor museum which held more information on prisoners held and artifacts from those executed during the Rising.

Inside the museum at Kilmainham was one of the original Proclaimations.

I left the indoor museum and took two quick pictures.

As we exited Kilmainham Gaol, the feelings lingered but the oppressive bite of memories on the walls and in the air lessened. Still, my thoughts remained preoccupied with what I experienced simply walking through and what I thought I may have seen. It remains one of the most impactful and most memorable parts of my study abroad experience.

Dublin Zoo

June 21, 2018 Kate Koenig

One of the directors of the program here had told us that the Dublin Zoo was the most popular attraction in the city. Monday June 4th was bank holiday Monday. We did not have classes as a result but many touristy attractions around the city were still running. Dublin Zoo is located inside Phoenix Park, a massive, sprawling park about twenty minutes from my apartment complex. Before I left, I slathered sunscreen over my exposed skin, not wanting another Howth-like sunburn.

The park is massive. At the front is a bike rental location where you can rent a bike to help you get through the truly gigantic space. I followed my google maps and found the zoo. It was madly crowded. In line and inside the zoo, there were tons of families with small children. It makes sense, zoos are a fun place to go for young kids. I was stunned though at how many kids were there, though. I’ve visited the Pittsburgh zoo a handful of times and haven’t seen it so crowded before, especially not with so many kids.

Some flowers on the way to the zoo in Phoenix Park.

I paid for a student ticket and headed inside. Quick note on the student tickets, almost any place in Dublin has student pricing and I think America should definitely take note of that. Please, my wallet is begging you.

I spent about three and a half hours inside the zoo.

I was absolutely mesmerized by the Orangutans. They had a huge swath of land with two large trees and a rope bridge connecting them in the sky. When they climbed over, they were right over your head.

It was a hot and the seal was napping in the sun.

This zoo trip marked a couple firsts for me, including seeing zoo animals mating or attempting to mate (the crowd gathering around that exhibit were highly amused).

The mating penguins are the ones in the back! (Not the picture of course haha)

Look at the top ostrich's chicken wings!

The Rinos were all snoozing as I walked around the enclosure.

And then the baby woke up and wanted attention

He tried waking up this one (unsuccessful)

After the zoo, I walked back to my apartment, tired from the busy weekend.

Glendalough & Bray

June 16, 2018 Kate Koenig

My first week of classes passed in a blink of an eye. Well, the trip is passing me by in the blink of an eye. It’s hard to believe all the time that has flown by and what feels like the little time I have left. I’m trying to savor every moment and experience. I’m not ready to leave! I love you Pitt, but I’ve fallen in love with someone else. Leaving Ireland is going to be difficult in a few weeks. Please have tissues ready at Pittsburgh International Airport for me.

Anyway, our first excursion was the Saturday after the first week. The bus met all the Pitt students at our dorms early in the morning and bussed us and other international students studying in our program to Glendalough.

I didn’t sleep well the night before and fell asleep for half of the drive. I woke up surrounded by the greenest greens and pastures of various livestock. One of my favorite things that people do when driving through country land is they tend to point excitedly out the window like they’re kids again to announce “COW!” or “SHEEP!” and then everyone turns and does the exact same thing just naming the animal in an excited tone. No matter what your age or where you come from, this is a universal experience. This went on for like ten minutes straight and I’m proud to say I contributed. I love cows a lot so I was excited to see them in their pastures, splotches of blacks and whites and browns. My camera was stowed away for the bus ride, but I have a few cell-phone pictures of my views.

We filed off the bus and into the visitor’s center for a film. We were at the Glendalough Monastic Site. The film explained the history of the region we were currently visiting and also Ireland’s history with monastic societies and their settlements. The particular settlement at Glendalough was said to be founded by Saint Kevin in the 6th century. From his initial settlement, the area grew. It is marked by the large circular tower, which acted as a bell tower and a marker for travelers heading to the monastic site. The area is surrounded by ancient church structures, many missing roofs, and a large cemetery.

Our group gathered outside to learn more of the history before we entered the grounds.

The monastic city was one of the most popular sites in its time and did grow in size from its inception with St. Kevin. It survived attacks from Vikings who swept through Ireland between the 10-12th centuries. Its importance continued as a central point until the monastery was destroyed in the early 13th century by the Normans. Many of the structures or parts of the structures on the grounds remain.

This is the sanctuary mark right beyond the archway leading to the old monastic city. Once a traveler passed this stone, they were under the protection of the city.

Our group moved through the grounds, exploring some of the main structures.

The tower would be a useful guide for those traveling into the city as a way to position themselves to find it easier.

I love taking pictures of people taking pictures of us in a group. Two of our program leaders/ teachers while we are here.

Some of the graves that rest inside the old church structure were moved for protection of the headstones. It's not clear which ones were moved or which ones were originally there.

The roof of many buildings like this was not maintained. You can see the headstones leaning up against the walls and restign on the ground.

After exploring the Monastic Site, we moved into the trails in Wicklow Mountains National Park. We ate our lunch at the lake.

Almost everyone walked barefoot to the stones to get their picture taken.

Before we left, we took more pictures at the lake. And Anya posed for a quick shot!

After lunch we had a hike planned for us. Now, I love hikes and I was excited for this hike. We made our way to the trail and our first sight was steps leading up. Oh man. We were enticed by our program leads that there was a pretty waterfall up the way. We hiked up steps that felt like an eternity, our group stopping in chunks to take videos, pictures, and selfies at the little waterfall. This was not the end of the hike. With aching calf muscles (thank God I was wearing my workout shoes this day), we continued up the steep incline and gathered the troops at a flat area. The hike to the top was steep and we were now being enticed by the promise of fantastic views. That path we were on would cut into the woods and 180 some steps later we would be at the top of this particular mountain. We set off.

The Howth hike was extremely difficult yet endlessly rewarding. I am very much photography minded (if you couldn’t tell already) and was going to do everything in my power to get to the top, no matter how tired I felt before the hell that was those 180 some steps. I had to be careful, the steep incline here was hard on my lungs. I took some puffs of my inhaler and carried on, being mindful of every breath and ache. Howth was long and difficult and got steep in some parts, especially at the end. The Glendalough hike was like walking up a 90-degree angle for an hour.

Once we hit the steps, our group had to slow down and eventually had to split up. The steps were long and narrow, with metal sticking out to help your grip. There was only one set of stairs for both going up and going down. Our group had to go single file. I knew that a stop for more of my inhaler and catching my breath would be necessary, so I hung back. Steep inclines are hard on my breathing. I kept telling myself I could do it, but I needed to be smart about it. One of our program directors, Darragh, as well as three other Pitt students made up our own group that “took in the view” here and there and made up the rear of the group. I would say “breaks” but we were really just taking in the view… that’s all. I dubbed us the real A-Team about halfway up between a ragged breath and a swig of water. We had this.

The steps were hell. They climbed into what looked like infinity and were dizzying. A handful of stairs started under the canopy of the forest and then broke through into a clearing, giving us a sad view of trees that were cut down and put us back into the open.

The steps go so far back you can't really see where we had started.

It was sad to see so many trees cleared.

I don’t think I could have accurately taken a picture to encompass how daunting this climb was. I had to put my camera away and focus on walking. It was far too steep, and I was far too tired to keep myself upright and hold a camera. Little by little we made our way up. As a side note, the path had only a few handrails, which was tough to manage on the way up, but on our way down it was terrifying!

Finally we made it to the top! A couple times up the path I wondered if I could do it. I never want to chance my lungs. Asthma is a physical disease but there is a major mental component of it as well. Negative thoughts and panic can induce breathing difficulties and make situations go downhill, for lack of a better word, quickly. Since I was young, I’ve somewhat mastered calming my mind, it’s kind of like meditating without sitting down. When I’m doing a hard activity like hiking, I wash negative thoughts away, focus on my breathing and the positive. If I feel negative physical symptoms, I have to back out, but I strive to keep my thoughts positive. It’s the Little Engine That Could approach. We passed hikers encouraging us to see the view and those who couldn’t keep going. I tried to push positivity into my thoughts and that helped me immensely in tackling the mountain path.

Standing at the top, feeling like an asthmatic Rocky Balboa, I was victorious. I took my camera out and snapped some pictures as I caught my breath.

The hike up proved a challenge of physical and mental strength. The hike down was a different kind of torture. My legs felt like jelly and walking down the steps, they jerked and wobbled like I couldn’t control them. It felt like at any moment I could just fall and tumble down the mountainside. Each step required concentration and deliberation, but my legs moved like cooked spaghetti.

Our group met at the halfway point, collecting our breath and nerves. The hike down was hard for everyone. If I stood still my legs shook outside of my control. It actually felt better to keep walking rather than stand still. I kept the break short and continued down, practically running down at some points because I lacked control of my leg muscles and the path was steep.

We made it back to the lake and waited for our group. I took a couple more pictures there and then we headed on the bus to go to Bray for about an hour and a half. Bray was thirty minutes or so from Glendalough and the way there was just as pretty.

I walked in the back of our group to the bus. Whenever a car came behind us I shouted, "CAR!" which is less exciting to shout than "COWS!".

I think Tiffani had enough of this walking business.

Let me state the obvious: Ireland is very green.

Bray is similar to Howth, a coastal town with great gelato (it’s a crime to not get gelato in a coastal town) and pretty views. Bray also had a hike which I hope to do before my time ends here but I was far too tired that day to do it. I don’t have many pictures from Bray. A group of Pitt students and I found a restaurant and decided to eat. By the time our meal finished, we were running to the bus to take us back. Bray is on the list of places I want to explore more closely!

This puppy just finished eating someone's lunch.

Can't have lunch in Ireland without Guinness.

Glendalough was stunning and a peaceful place. I enjoyed my time there immensely.

My Irish Adventure