Two Beloveds - Margarete & Siegfried come to Ireland

Out for an early morning run with my friend Aisling. We meet at 7 am and run for 30-40 minutes - she's just starting out and meeting her is the only reason I'll get myself out of bed while it's still dark. One reward for us on that particular morning was a gorgeous sunrise and the silhouettes of these fisherman at the end of the pier. I'm not sure if they camp out all night up here, or what. A beautiful sight to see though.

A week prior, two of my most beloved family members - Margarete & Siegfried (Siegi) - arrived in Dublin. I mean honestly, these are two of my most favorite human beings who have ever lived. To put it mildly and with restraint, they have led two of the most epic lives I have ever encountered.

We met them in the city that evening and brought back a couple of their suitcases that they didn't want to lug on their 7 day bus tour of the country. They had a whirlwind tour, seeing the periphery of this entire island in 7 days (C.I.E. tours - very famous here and they highly, highly recommend them). And keep in mind, this is a couple in their late 70s....just on the verge of 80. And I kid you not, they can run circles around Wayne and I. We're a fairly fit couple of 30-something's and yet these two....had us exhausted! Several days I had to take nap when the two of them were out touring.

Example #1: They returned from their 7-day whirlwind tour of the country on a Monday evening. At 9 am the next day, they boarded a train to meet me in Dun Laoghaire. I met them at the train station and asked if they would like to have a nap, or some tea. (given they had just been on a non-stop 7 day tour, staying in a different hotel each night)

They say to me, "Oh no, what about that hike you told us about - to Bray head - can we go there?" I was flabbergasted. And so, we went inside to pack a small lunch and before 10 am, we were on the train, heading south to Bray. And this is no small outing - especially if you're 78. This involves a 1 (or 1 1/2) mile walk from the train station, to the actual mountain. Then there the ascent. (and the entire return trip back)

Ok, now we made it to the base of the mountain - coats off - all warmed up. 

(you can just barely see large cross at the tippy top - that's our destination)

 Norah and Margarete left us in the dust on the way up. They just motored right up the mountain.

Notice Margarete looks like she's eating an ice-cream sandwich. No, that's the gargantuan chunk of brie she stole (*borrowed*) from breakfast at the hotel that morning. So funny! These two can teach you about surviving on less, very quickly. They have travel worked out to an exact and perfect science. You should see their suitcases and the amount of plastic bags they have to hold everything. They are brilliant.

Siegi pushing Norah in the swing

Another beautiful evening walk in Dun Laoghaire - (back when it was mild!)

 As usual with these two, we picked their brains about all their life stories - we heard about Margarete living in Egypt for a few years, their trek from Germany to Canada with nothing, their jobs in Montreal and then B.C., and the move to Seattle. (with an impromptu 6-month move to the Big Island of Hawaii where they lived in tents in a plot of forest and worked odd jobs.) During this trip we realized Margarete speaks a total of 8 languages. EIGHT. Including Latin and Arabic.

A walk down to the Tuesday evening running group (just dropping Wayne off) for one of his last runs before the marathon.

Norah and Siegi making paper airplanes one morning before school (Siegi used to be an engineer for helicopters back in Germany in the 1950s and then for Boeing in Seattle in the late-1960s)

Getting a famous Teddy's ice cream on the East Pier

Out for an evening ice cream on the East Pier - just across the road from us.

Halloween 2014 - Last one in Dublin

Rather than start back in September and move forward, I'm going to start with the latest, Halloween, and then work from there. (otherwise I'll be sharing Halloween pictures in December...)

Norah - as proud as can be in her witchy costume! This is our last Halloween in Dublin - We have had three here already.

The loot for a 2 year old (2012).

The loot for a three year old - Year 2 - Lalaloopsie Cartoon - 2013

And here we are, in 2014, with our big 4 year old:

At school with her good friend Peaches (far right) and her little sister Edie.

On Halloween, we had a bit of a long day as we had to be in the city centre (20 minute train ride) by 6:45 am. This made for a very early start. This was for our annual trek to the immigration office to renew our Irish immigration cards. And arriving at 6:45 am is quite late by their standards - by then, the line stretched 1/2 a mile and the people near the front of the line had been waiting since 11 pm the night before (for the 7:30 am opening of the doors). People do this every single day in Dublin. There are no appointments, you just arrive and wait. Well, thank goodness someone took notice of the incredible wait and let anyone with children inside to get a number. In years before we have arrived by 8 a.m. and have waited until 3 pm to get our cards. This year, despite the line being quadruple the length, we were out of there by 9 am. It felt like an actual miracle. (the day before we arrived and waited in line for 45 minutes before being told there were no more available numbers). Good news: We never have to do this again! 

I made the broomstick out of some dried grasses and twigs we found outside (and a stick from Norah's large 'stick collection' on our balcony).  

At Sebastian & Arlo's house (where their parents also live) :)
Aisling got a Halloween Barn Brack (also known as tea brack). For Halloween, in Ireland (for thousands of years now but definitely for as long as anyone can remember in modern times as well) - these cakes have been eaten on Halloween. The cool thing is there are hidden items baked into the barn brack. It used to be four things: A ring (to predict marriage), a rag (meaning you'd end up poor), a coin (riches) and a bone (death). Nowadays though, (with store bought cakes), they only include the ring Well, here is Arlo who found the ring this year! (Arlo says he's going to marry Peaches in their class)

Then Sebastian went running into the living room to grab the two rings from LAST year's Barn brack that he has been saving......to marry Norah. They talk about this all the time - that they're getting married - but to know he's kept these rings for a year was just beyond heart-melting. We're starting to think they really might get married. :)

Three little witches!

First house - Sebastian and Arlo's granny's house - right next door!

Halloween this year was oddly and unseasonably warm. It hasn't been this warm on Oct. 31st in over 20 years, in fact. It was 18 degrees. The entire day was mild and beautiful but the moment we stepped out for trick-or-treating, a downpour started. We made it to 3 separate houses (all huddled under a few umbrellas) but then we decided to head back. It's just as well though, as this is a manageable amount of candy for a four year old (and her parents.....) :)

You might be able to see some people hand out mandarin oranges, peanuts in shells (called monkey nuts here) and bags of crisps (potato chips). The three of them had an absolute ball eating sampling their candy that night.

The Antrim Coast in August

During our near 3 years in Ireland, we have always wanted to see The North coast of the country - specifically the Giant's Causeway and the Antrim Coast. So, despite the incredible lapse in time here, this was in August 2014 - the weekend before Norah started school again. We went up in the morning on a Saturday, arrived at B&B by 3 pm, toured, stayed the night and drove back home after lunchtime.

 On the roooooad again! Having a rental car for a couple days is so, so exciting for us. Here we are, Norah singing up a storm, on our way to Northern Ireland (90 minutes from home).

One of Norah's signature poses. She always stands completely normally and then when I go to take a picture she strikes one of these.  

You always know you're nearing Belfast when you start to see these bomb-squad vehicles. We've been to the North twice and each time we've seen several of these.

And the Union Jacks and 'Red Hand of Ulster' flags on nearly every single light pole and home from the border, northward.  

 So we drove up to Antrim and stayed in the small town of Ballymoney (on the gray road, left of the word "Antrim"). It was a great place to stay because it was only 10 minutes from the North Coast and since it was inland a bit, it was much cheaper. The B&B we stayed in was inexpensive and owned by a young family with two small boys. She was from Korea but had lived in Northern Ireland for many years and her husband was Northern Irish. They were so lovely and the house was just immaculate. It's the first '10 out of 10' B&B we've stayed in.

In their beautiful back garden they even had their own chickens - which is where the eggs for breakfast came from.

And this was their gorgeous breakfast the next morning (all included of course).

They put out butter, orange marmalade and nutella! Pure class.

And anyone who makes a beautiful pancake just for our girl is alright in my book.

We left Dublin at about 12 pm (after Norah's soccer class), and arrived at the B&B by about 3 pm. We dropped our things and immediately went out exploring. The first lookout point, 10 minutes from the B&B, was the magnificent Whiterock beach. We took a walk down to see and once we reached the sand, we realized this was a place to explore for awhile. You could easily spend an entire week sitting on this beach and doing walks. The water was so gorgeous, the sand felt like fine sifted flour and the cliffs were enough to blow....your...mind.

Zoomed in slightly, (barely) showing the castle on the far left (top of cliff).  

 

 This was a flat outcrop of rock in the sand on the beach.

 When I looked closer you'd see these small geodes (?) that were perfectly cracked open.

 

Standing straight and tall like the rock.

Jumping?

 

The sand here felt like powdered sugar - it was amazing!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

She held this for a minute and then goes, "Mahhhm, take my picture!"

 

 

Norah was coloring this page in and then she started her own drawings. When she showed us, we realized it was the first time she's drawn an animal! Of course she's done the little ones where it's a couple people and a circle with a head which is "the dog" but this was new. I know it might sound trivial (and it is) but it was cool for us to see because for so many years, your little person only draws stick figures and then little people and then one day! BIRDS! Ok, it is silly..... but at the time...it was awesome.

And the morning of Day 2 - we drove up the coast (20 minutes) to the Giant's Causeway!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was one basalt column that was perfectly sectioned so we could see what it looks like on the inside.

 

 

  

The legend has it - that Finn MacCool (the Irish Giant), had a rivalry with a much larger giant on the island of Scotland. They built this bridge of basalt columns by throwing them out into the water as they went. Unfortunately, when Finn MacCool got to the other side and snuck up on the Scottish Giant, he realized he was more than double his size. Finn MacCool quickly receded back over the bridge but the Scottish giant was not far behind him. He ended up tricking the much larger giant (with the help of his wife, Oona) and he ran back to Scotland (destroying the Giant's Causeway/bridge) as he went.

 

On the Saturday we were walking barefoot in the sand and into the water. On Sunday we were frigid cold, wearing sweaters and hats and bracing against the wind.

 

 

The next stop up the coast (5 minutes away) was the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. I was terrified to cross this bridge but psyched myself up and realized I would regret it if I didn't cross it.

Unfortunately (fortunately for my nerves), when we arrived to the carpark, there was a sign saying the bridge was closed due to high winds.

 

Here's one of the guys going out to the center to measure the winds again. It was something like 25 mph (or less) and it can be opened. On this day, the winds for 45 mph so it was not safe to cross. Oh dang!

Another view back to the bridge.  

Favorite word in Northern Ireland: Wee. Everything is: "a wee bit 'o honey", or "Careful, it's a wee bit hot", or "your wee one". If there's one word that conjures up the Northern Irish accent, it's this one.

Here we are, on the way back, stopping briefly at the famous Dun Luce Castle on the cliff side. This castle is breathtaking but it was also €8 each to enter so we, instead, walked around the periphery. :)

 

Even though it was a quick trip, we felt we saw everything we needed to see. We have now seen the very Northern tip of Ireland all the way to the very southern. (and quite far West and Southwest). Two areas we have not seen are the Northwest (Donegal, and Sligo), or the Southeast - Waterford, Wexford, Tipperary. Before we leave Ireland for good, we do hope to see West Cork (including Kinsale and Clonakilty) but this may not be possible and we're alright with that as well.

In the next post I'll try to update on what all has happened since September, and how things are progressing in Wayne's Ph.D. (all going very well).