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Dublin, Ireland - July 2006

Cool building in Dublin as the sun was setting.

Hangin' at Temple Bar.

Building near the Temple Bar area of the city.

I wish I'd taken more pictures of these cool sculptures that dotted the city. So cool!

The Ha'penny bridge over the Liffey River in Dublin. It used to cost one-half penney to cross the bridge, hence the name.

Detail of a stone carving in the Temple Bar area in Dublin. The effect of the evening light is too cool.

Okay, is it just me or is the width of the stripes increasing in direct proportion to the *ahem* width of the girls?

I like the expression on the face of the guy in the background.

Leafy, metal sphere somewhere in Dublin.

Arnaldo Pomodoro's Sfera con Sfera (Sphere with a Sphere) in front of Berkeley Library. This is one in the series of six spheres that are installed all around the world, including one in the Vatican.

Molly('s) McGuire(s).

Look carefully - how many clovers? If you think it's nine, think again!

I hereby nominate thee for the 2006 "Best-named pastry shop in Dublin" award.

A nice change of pace from all the gothic cathedrals we've seen.

Somewhere in Dublin. Despite the damp weather, we had a great time.

St. Patrick's Cathedral.

The Guinness Brewery

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One of the highlights of the Dublin trip was our tour of the Guinness Brewery. There's nothing like a Guinness straight from the source!

"My Goodness, My Guinness!"

Under the Guinness waterfall.

"Guinness for Strength!"

One of the many famous Guinness advertising icons.

Indoor waterfall at the Guinness Brewery.

So many pints, so little time!

The first taste! Mmmmm...

"The kegs go marching one by one - horah, horah..."

All aboard!

Japanese Gardens at Powerscourt Estate

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We were so taken by this garden within a garden, that I wanted to make special mention of it. The weather was perfect and the plants, bridges and waterways were spectacular. Every plant was labeled - even the trees!

Entering the Japanese gardens. Awesome!

Enjoying the Japanese gardens at the Powerscourt Estate.

I could get used to this!

Looking back on the Japanese gardens from an ivy-covered pathway.

Here I am on the cavernous pathway leading from the Japanese gardens. This was so cool!

Mini creek near the Japanese gardens at the Powerscourt Estate.

In the distant background there are two horses in this pic!

Arsty tree pic.

Pet cemetary for the estate. A little creepy for me!

One of the many fountains in the gardens.

Gate detail.

Cobblestone stairway.

Cobblestone stairway leading to the lake from the back of the estate.

The Powerscourt Estate.

Since I've snapped shots of so many different spheres in Europe, I think these might make for a nice photo series.

It took ten minutes to get a clear shot, but it was worth it!

Just horsing around!

Diane and I in front of the zinc sculptures of Pegasus. The Powerscourt Estate gardens were amazing.

Waterfall - this was taken on our second day about an hour south of Dublin.

Waterfall in the Irish hills. Ireland was great!

Blogus Neglectus

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What can I say? No doubt it's been far too long since I've written anything on the blog. I meant to write about our trip to Luxembourg, but then we went on an incredible trip to Germany, said goodbye to fellow expats, flew to Ireland, said hello to old friends and well, I've just been getting further and further behind! Since we have friends visiting at the moment and we're all heading to the Czech Republic (Prague) next week, it's time to get caught up!

Eltz Castle in Moselkern, Germany: Said to be one of the top ten castles in the world, Burg Eltz certainly did not disappoint. It always surprises me just how close we are to such incredible sights! After a nice drive through the Dutch and German countryside (about four hours), we found a nice little hotel overlooking the Mosel River.

"Guten tag fräulein - sprechen sie English? Nein? *oh shit...* Uhm... ja, uh... haben sie ein zimmer für zwei nächte?" Despite my pathetic attempt at speaking German, I was somehow able to book a room (getting fresh towels on our second night however, was not nearly as easy).

The castle was only a twenty-minute drive from the hotel, so the first thing we did was drive over to see it. From the car park, we had to walk about a half mile or so which was great, because the castle is tucked away in the Eltz river valley. When we finally caught our first glimpse of it we were just blown away... WOW!

Our Seventeen-kilometer Hike: One of the main things Diane and I really wanted to do this spring was to get out of Amsterdam and go on a nice long hike. The rain spoiled that idea when we went to Luxembourg the weekend before, but the weather was absolutely perfect during this trip. And the hike was just incredible.

Armed with our camera, two bottles of water and a trail map that I bought from the TI that morning, we drove back up to the castle parking lot and started out. In mere moments we were in the dense German forest.

Our goal was to walk from the Eltz Castle through the Eltz River valley, onward to Castle Pyrmont and then back again. All in all, about eight kilometers each way. We were told Castle Pyrmont wasn't nearly as impressive as Burg Eltz but that the hike was amazing and there was supposed to be a great little restaurant overlooking a waterfall where we could have lunch.

So how was it? Words just aren't adequate - so see the pics below!!

Burg Eltz, Germany

What an incredible weekend we had...

What can I say? Amazing.

A picture from the bridge leading to the castle.

Wow.

View of the castle from below, along the Eltz.

The signpost for Moselkern. Can you see the carving detail on the posts?

A property in Moselkern at dusk...

View of the Mosel River from the balcony of our room in Moselkern. Not bad considering we had no reservation!

Cochem Castle

Cochem, Germany along the Mosel River on the morning of our first full day. So many castles, so little time!

A spire somewhere in Cochem on our second morning. I love this picture.

Castle hopping along the Eltz

The trail from the car to the castle. This was taken in the morning on our second day -- we were excited to begin the hike!

The trail between the car & Castle Eltz. Why is it that Little Red Riding Hood & The Big Bad Wolf were in the back of my mind...?

Here's a great shot of Diane getting her bearings. What a view!

The start of the trail to Castle Pyrmont from Castle Eltz. We hiked about 1.5K from the car to get to this point. Castle Etlz is behind me.

Only seven kilometers to go (and then back again, of course)!

Wow!

We were amazed at the scenery -- so dense and so green!

The Eltz River along the trail. This river flows into the Mosel, which flows into the Rhine at Koblenz.

Along the trail.

Pyrmonter Muhle. The dream of cold German ale becomes reality!

The view from our table after the first half of our long hike. This was so cool!

Pyrmont Castle from the restaurant - almost there!

My Princess!!

Sir Lance-a-Cool and the Son with no Face (we're told the condition skips a generation).

Somtimes you get 'em however you can!

I must say, my wife enjoyed this to a disturbing degree!

"...'tis time, 'tis time. Round about the caldron go; In the poison'd entrails throw. Double, double, toil & trouble; Fire, burn; and caldron bubble..."

Tower at the Pyrmont Castle.

Inside the tower. We're not quite there yet!

Artsy pic of the main tower of the Pyrmont Castle.