Blog Of Good Cheer » Places

Mooching Around München

felix — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:38:07 +0000

The last time I was in Munich was October 2011, about four months ago. It was a cold damp weekend but I’d two free days to explore and rediscover the city and I was delighted to have the chance.

I say rediscover because I was there in December 2009 and I’m pretty sure I was there two or three times a good few years ago when I worked in Germany.

But you forget things. Not the obvious things like the Marienplatz and its Glockenspiel, or the endless choice of really good beers, but perhaps the more subtle things like the smell, the taste and the pace of the city.

But once I got a whiff of the heat coming up from the U-bahn (Untergrundbahn) and the S-bahn (Stadtschnellbahn), once I tasted my first bratwurst with sauerkraut and once I had an opportunity to wait patiently for a green man with fellow pedestrians as we dared not cross the car free street – I knew I was in Munich.

We arrived and easily found our way around the airport to the trains that would take us to the centre. We stayed about 30 to 40 minutes walk from the Marienplatz, across the river Isar, and our stroll into the city brought us past the Englischer Garten (English Gardens).

I love Munich. I love the imposing buildings that tower over its many open spaces, I love the effortless way in which you can get around on foot or by train or tram, and of course I love the beer.

It was October but I’d no chance to enjoy the Oktoberfest. If you ever feel the strong tug of Bavarian beer and want to be part of this great festival then you should note that the Oktoberfest usually starts in September with the tents being well and truly packed up by early October.

No Oktoberfest, no problem, as there are plenty of places to visit to sample the best Munich has to offer. Löwenbräu, Hofbräuhaus, Augustinerbräu, Paulaner and Hacker-Pschorr all ensured that I didn’t work up too much of a thirst while exploring the city. Somehow I missed out on Spaten, don’t know why. (Report card: must do better next time!)

What surprised me most was that Paulaner turned out to be my favourite. You can get it easily enough in Ireland and I’ve always liked its taste. I felt that an untried brew might win me over and give me the opportunity to gloat with an “ah you haven’t tried beer till you try a whateverbräu on the banks of the Isar” but it didn’t work out that way. Paulaner was my favourite with Augustinerbräu taking second place.

I’ve read that Munich has a strong Italian influence. Certainly there are plenty of Italian restaurants and people had the very Italian habit of sitting outside with their coffee or beer whenever they got a chance. If blankets and heaters were required, then blankets and heaters were provided.

The best meal I had while we were there was in an Italian restaurant. I think if I’m back again I’ll avoid the various variations of roast meat that you tend to get in the beer halls, a bit too heavy and unexciting for me. I did feel I had to try the schnitzel, which was good, but they can keep the dumplings.

Here is a list what I think are the must see and do items if you are in Munich for a short break:

Stroll around the English Gardens (Englischer Garten)
Sit a while in the Marienplatz and watch the tourists wait for the Glockenspiel to chime
Take in the view from St. Peter’s Church (Peterskirche), even on cloudy days
Try a few beers
Try some wurst and sauerkraut
Visit the Munich Residence (Residenz München), definitely a highlight for me. It poured rain outside as I wandered around loving every minute. Opulent is the word. Make sure you see the Antiquarium and the small chapel.
Watch the locals river surfing on the Eisbach (a tributary of the Isar which runs directly through the Englischer Garten)
If you have time and the inclination for another museum then it has to be the Deutsches Museum
Stoll from Schwabing to the city centre, stop for coffee or…
…try some more beers, there has to be one you haven’t tried yet!

None of the activities listed require you to travel too far from the centre and all are accessible on foot. If you feel like travelling a little further there is always the Nymphenburg Palace, the BMW Museum and the Olympic Park.

On this occasion I gave them a skip and didn’t regret it.

Would I go back? Every chance I get.

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Mooching Around München

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No Particular Place to Go

felix — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:12:42 +0000

Heading to Westmeath last Saturday morning we had no destination in mind.

Mullingar was mentioned but we weren’t planning on stopping there. But thinking of the home of Joe Dolan got us singing Good Looking Woman (Have I made you sigh?) and we decided to engineer a brief stop at the Wines Direct shop and pick up a few bottles in their sale. Paddy Keogh and his team never fail to have a few tempting reds and whites on offer and after selecting more than we intended (always the way) we headed on to Lough Owel.

I thought Lough Owel was part of the Children of Lir legend and when I saw the sculpture I was convinced I must be right. A quick check later and I discovered it was nearby Lough Derravaragh where they spent 300 years as swans.

The light on the lake kept changing as I tried to take some photographs. I think my favourite is the lake with the pier and the ladder up to the heavens.

Where to next?

Weirs of Multyfarnham beckoned. Although we did make a brief stop beside Lough Derravaragh we were beginning to feel a bit hungry and since the best light of the day had gone we decided to eat.

We kept it simple, I had the burger and P had the fish and chips. We’ve had lunch in Weirs before and I have to agree with their own website’s description…a charming old world, family run pub that serves some of the best food and drink in Ireland.

While waiting on the food to arrive I had a chance to take a photograph of the front bar while it was empty. I can see how you could get very comfortable on those high stools while indulging in your favourite tipple.

I’m going to leave you with Joe Dolan…Oh me, oh my!

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No Particular Place to Go

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Three and A Half Hours in Galway City

felix — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:57:49 +0000

Yesterday I was in Galway City for the first time in years. I knew it was going to be showery, Met Éireann left me in no doubt what to expect, but since I had a chance to explore and reacquaint myself with the city I decided to grab it.

I was prepared for the worst of weather. I had a woolly hat, scarf, gloves, a Gore-Tex lined rain jacket, leggings and a waterproof backpack to carry the lot in. I also brought a book, A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry, just in case things got really bad and I had to take shelter for a couple of hours. But apart from a few showers, the heaviest around 2pm, I was able to walk around, listen to the buskers chat to the locals and enjoy what is a jewel of a city.

My first stop was what looked like a temporary tourist office on Eyre Square. The very helpful lady behind the counter gave me a map with all the highlights marked. We chatted a little about the city, the amount of time I had and we agreed the best route to take.

I started with Shop Street and all its side streets taking in Lynch’s Castle, St Nicholas’ Church (I was St Nicholas’ Feast Day after all), Kirwan’s Lane, Spanish Arch and over to Claddagh. I didn’t feel I had enough time to head out to Salthill so after Claddagh I went back towards the pedestrian area and on to Lynch’s Window, over the Salmon Weir Bridge To Galway Cathedral and then to the University.

I loved the feel of the centre and I though how lucky a student must be to go to NUIG with a campus only 15 minutes walk from Eyre Square!

The Buskers were great. First of all there were three lads who gave a rousing version of Spancil Hill and later in the day a man in a dark hat and a bow tie comfortably switched from opera to Dean Martin! Fantastic stuff.

Was there any disappointment? The only one I can think of is that I didn’t pop in to one of Galway’s many fine bars for a pint. There I was within a few steps of McSwiggan’s, The King’s Head and Neachtain’s and I didn’t take the time to savour a scrummy pint. But I didn’t really have the time and it would have been a bit of a rush – another time definitely.

Was there a highlight? I think walking around Claddagh talking to a local man who kindly took the time to give me a little history of the village.

He told me that the village got its name from the Irish word cladach which means stony shore. When the fishing village was at its height 160 open fishing boats (hookers) would regularly put out to sea. The best time to go fishing was decided by the village King, an elected leader considered to be the wisest member of the community. They sold their catch at a market beside the Spanish Arch just over the river.

I think we could have talked all day if the rain had held off.

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Three and A Half Hours in Galway City

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Great Food, a Wonderful Walk and Some Unusual Gift Ideas in Dublin

felix — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 11:47:14 +0000

I’ve eaten in Juniors deli and cafe on Bath Avenue, Dublin 4 twice in the last week. Although the circumstances where very different on each occasion Juniors delivered. Putting it simply Juniors do great food.

They describe themselves as follows:

Juniors is a New York style Deli, serving generous sandwiches, salads, soups and specials by day, and an Italian influenced Cafe by night.

I’ve not had the pleasure of eating there in the evening but if the popularity and taste of their soup and sandwiches are anything to go by then I bet I’d walk away well satisfied from a dinner.

I’ve only eaten there at lunch time. The first occasion I confined myself to the char-grilled chicken sandwich and the spicy tomato soup. The second ocasion I stayed with the chicken sandwich theme but this time I had it with salad.

You might think that at €6 the sandwiches are pricey, but this is definitely a case of you get what you pay for. I defy anybody to walk away from a Juniors sandwich feeling hungry.

They do a roaring take-away trade but if you want to sit inside then you should get there early as this place is very popular with the local office staff.

As I said the first time I was there I had a soup and a sandwich for a tenner. Yes it’s a big lunch but I had just walked there from Terenure!

I was visiting my Mam and normally I take the public transport combination of a DART to Tara, followed by a 15A to Terenure Road West. The return journey is usually the reverse unless I have to take care of something in town.

This time, inspired by a conversation I had with a fellow Jazz fan in JJ Smyth’s, I decided to walk along the Dodder to Lansdowne or Grand Canal stations and take the DART home. It seemed like a great idea. I had the time, the weather was overcast but dry and it was a chance for a bit of exercise along a really nice route.

Starting from near the KCR, I walked into Terenure Village and joined the Dodder as it crosses Rathfarnham Road. Following the Dodder away from Bushy Park you pass plenty of weirs, millraces, bridges and some more unusual structures like the Ely Gate (once an entrance to Rathfarnham Castle), the former grazing ground for the Bewley’s Cafe Jersey cows (near Mount Carmel Hospital), the Nine Arches Bridge (Milltown) and the tall chimney which was once part of the Milltown Laundry.

Before long you find yourself passing through, Rathfarnham, Churchtown, Dartry, Milltown, Clonskeagh, Donnybrook and on through Herbert Park to Ballsbridge.

It’s a great walk, probably best on dry days. You can understand why I was feeling peckish when I reached Juniors.

This walk, along with many other Dublin walks, is described in detail in the book Walking Dublin by Pat Liddy.

So how was it I was in Juniors a second time? Well the reason this time is a lot less energetic. I was at the National Crafts and Design Fair in the RDS and since I was only a short stroll away once again Juniors seemed the perfect place for lunch.

The annual Craft and Design Fair can be a good place to pick up some inspired Christmas gifts and once again it didn’t disappoint.

There were some fantastic skills on show in the RDS including clothing, jewellery, wood turning, photography, pottery, games, books and of course food.

The highlights for me were the photographs of Michael Gannon who just seemed to capture light and colour perfectly in all his images and the most unusual handcrafted jewellery and gifts on display from May Fly of 11 Fownes St Upper, Temple Bar, Dublin 2.

Unfortunately the fair ends today but perhaps you still have time. Note there is a charge (€10 I think) to enter.

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Great Food, a Wonderful Walk and Some Unusual Gift Ideas in Dublin

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Savouring the Equinox at Loughcrew County Meath

felix — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 14:45:25 +0000

This morning we got up at 05:45 and were out the door at 06:15 on our way to Loughcrew in Meath.

What possessed us to get up at such an ungodly hour to drive to Meath?

The Equinox!

Today may have become one of the greatest commemorations of modern marketing by being referred to as Arthur’s Day but in cosmic terms we’re getting close to the Equinox, that time of the year when night and day have approximately equal length.

This year the time of the Autumnal Equinox is at 09:02 (UTC) on 23 September (tomorrow). If I understand UTC correctly that will be at 10:02 in Ireland.

Over the last three days early morning visitors to Loughcrew were treated to the beam of light from the rising sun illuminating the passage way of Cairn T and falling on the carved backstone of the cairn.

We arrived at 07:15 and walked the short steep hill to cairn’s entrance. Sunrise was at 07:10 so we were not too late to see the countryside around Loughcrew gradually light up.

There was a good crowd there, hoping to gain access to the cairn’s chamber, but it was by no means mobbed. Loughcrew doesn’t get the same press as Newgrange so that probably keeps the numbers down. But if you are up for it, the Loughcrew illumination happens twice a year, around 20/21 March and 22/23 September – the times of the Spring and Autumnal Equinoxes.

Apart from the Irish who where “in the know” there were quite a few tourists happy to get up early and see the spectacle.

We were all lucky with the morning as the sky was clear and only seemed to get overcast a few hours later. In fact, when we left home the stars were clearly visible indicating a clear dry, but cold and windy morning was expected.

We waited for our turn to enter the tomb. They were letting groups of about six in at a time. You have to stoop to go through the entrance and then throw your leg over stone that reaches above knee, but then you are in the chamber.

The soft early morning sunlight is guided through the entrance to the inscribed target. Those of us with cameras did our best to stay out of each others’ way as we tried to get some good photos of the illumination. Fortunately there was a voice of sense who asked that we all try to remain quiet for a minute or two so that feeling of being inside one of the oldest manmade structures in the world could be savoured.

Absolute bliss!

Afterwards we wandered around the cairn for a little while but we soon realized that it was a bit cold and we were getting very, very hungry – not a good combination.

We headed to Kells and had a well earned fry in Pebbles (McNamee’s) on Newmarket Street. There’s nothing like hot food to get the body warm again.

It was a privilege to be able to see the inside of the cairn and the entire experience of enjoying the sunrise and watching the land gradually (very gradually actually) warm up, was magical.

Adding up the cost of the experience I should include petrol, breakfast and time, but its value was priceless.

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Savouring the Equinox at Loughcrew County Meath

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Reflections of Switzerland

felix — Thu, 19 May 2011 09:00:52 +0000

In November last year we went on a long weekend to Switzerland.

Switzerland? Mmm…interesting. In November? Mmm…fair enough.

November in Switzerland probably isn’t considered to be the high point of the Swiss tourist calendar. It’s a bit cold, a bit wet, can be foggy and misty and hasn’t got a chance to become so snow covered that you feel you’re walking though a crisp white picture postcard.

There was also a foolishness associated with leaving a country in economic difficulties for a weekend in possibly the most expensive country in Europe. But we had good reasons.

Friendship, friendship, friendship!

We were there mainly to visit a friend who lives about an hour from Zurich, not too far from Brugg in the Canton of Aargau. This is a German speaking area which was just as well because although I only have a few words of German (different to Swiss German I know) I feel more confident trying to speak it than I do when trying to speak French. Six years in school and I never really managed to embrace the French language. C’est la vie, I guess.

We flew into Zurich quite late, stayed in the centre and then explored the city the next day. Damp and misty – there’s no other way to describe our day there. Just when the sun got up enough strength to start to break through the clouds, it gave up, deciding it was time to put its head down having expended way too much energy already.

We visited churches, museums, coffee shops and did our best to ensure we saw as much as we could in a morning and an afternoon. Even covered in grey mist Zurich was beautiful. Highlight’s were certainly the Fraumunster (Church of Our Lady) with stained glass windows by Marc Chagall, St Peter’s Church with its large clock face, the Kunsthaus a fantastic museum where I saw a bronze cast of Rodin’s Gates of Hell along with works by Monet and Van Gogh, and of course the Grossmunster, a gothic cathedral which, according to legend , was founded by Charlemagne and gives great views over the city.

You can see that we stayed indoors quite a bit.

Over the next three days we were treated to a tour of Switzerland that took us to Etang de la Gruère, a small lake in Jura range, Lake Thun, Iseltwalt, Giessbach, Lungern and Kaiserstuhl on the German border.

Three hundred photographs later it was time to fly home. We had a fantastic weekend and our friend was a wonderful host and perfect tour guide. I may go into the trip in a bit more detail in a later post but for now I wanted an excuse to post some images that “reflected” the time we spent there.

I didn’t see any cuckoo clocks (I was told they were really German but I’m pretty sure there are Swiss versions), I saw plenty of chocolate but no toblerones, and if there was anything I saw too much of it was cheese! If you’re near the Brünig Pass don’t go for the toasted special, you will regret it.

Tschüss!

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Reflections of Switzerland

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Dublin Time Lapse Photography – A Rare Glimpse of Beauty

felix — Wed, 11 May 2011 19:41:16 +0000

The time lapse photography below is the work of Richard Twomey a photographer living and working in Ireland.

Dublin Time Lapse 2011 from Richard Twomey on Vimeo.

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Dublin Time Lapse Photography – A Rare Glimpse of Beauty

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Two Special Hours in Howth, County Dublin

felix — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 18:10:20 +0000

Last Sunday I was in Howth around 10 am as the Howth Farmers Market and Howth Cottage Market were opening for business.

I started the day with a coffee and a toasted sultana and cinnamon scone in the Howth Cottage Market coffee shop (I think called it’s the Dog’s Body Tea Rooms) and then went for a wander.

I met the wildlife photographer Dave McManus as he setup his stall. We started chatting and he showed me some of his work. After discussing favourite shots, favourite locations and favourite equipment, I left Dave and on his advice decided to take a look at the rhododendrons at Deer Park.

Two hours later I was heading home having done the following:

Had a very nice scone (already mentioned but it was very, very nice)
Bought some excellent bread
Looked out over Dublin Bay
Watched the mist rise off the sea
Discovered the rhododendrons (must visit again soon)
Walked though the woods
Found the dolmen
Met a very relaxed peacock butterfly
Watched golfers begin and finish their rounds
Marvelled at the isthmus of Sutton (it’s a bit narrow)
Avoided walking on a carpet of magnolia blossoms
Admired bunches of bluebells
Photographed flowers I didn’t recognise
Paid homage to Howth Castle

Here are some of the photos of the morning. I’d happily do it all over again.

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Two Special Hours in Howth, County Dublin

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A Timeless Experience in Newgrange, Co. Meath

felix — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 09:34:59 +0000

We arrived almost by accident. We’d been to dinner in Ratoath the night before and stayed over. I was feeling a little slow out of the blocks the next morning and P, feeling perfectly fine, decided we were going to be tourists in Meath.

The first stop was Balrath Wood, where we had a gentle stroll around the forest identifying trees listening to a private concert by the indigenous birds.

Off then to Slane, where all we really did was walk down to the weir on the Boyne.

Spotting a sign for Newgrange, realising it wasn’t too far away, and recognising we had no other plans we decided to give it a go.

I’d never been to Newgrange before. Considering that it’s only 45 minutes from the centre of Dublin and that I’ve lived in Dublin for most of my life, that seemed a great shame.

I wasn’t aware that you couldn’t drive directly to the monument. We arrived at the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre on the south side of the river Boyne, parked our car, bought a ticket for the tour, and had a coffee while we waited for the shuttle bus that takes you from the centre to Newgrange itself.

The Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre has exhibitions, including a full scale replica of the chamber at Newgrange as well as a full model of one of the smaller tombs at Knowth. There are audiovisual presentations in English, Irish, French, German, Italian and Spanish. It also has a good size restaurant that serves plenty of food and pretty good coffee. As visitor centres go, I thought it was very good.

We didn’t have to wait long for our shuttle bus to take us on the five minute journey to the tomb.

It was much bigger than I expected. Even though the big thrill is to go inside the 5,000 year old structure, seeing it from the outside is very impressive too.

After meeting our tour guide and getting the initial history of the site we waited our turn to enter the chamber.

I took this opportunity to take a few photos of the structure from the outside. (You are not allowed take photographs inside the chamber.)

When our turn came to enter the chamber I didn’t know what to expect. We knew we weren’t going to see any natural light in the tomb as that only happens for about 20 minutes, around 09:00 during the Winter Solstice when the alignment is right.

We were warned that the passage is narrow in places and that the chamber, although tall and airy, is not very large.

After a little bit of squeezing (not much) and a lot of ducking we arrived at the heart of a structure that was build over 5,000 years ago (about 3,200 B.C.), making it older than Stonehenge in England and the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.

Our tour guide, who obviously loved this ancient temple, explained what it is believed it was used for, how it was constructed, the skill of those ancient engineers and astronomers and the connection with re-birth. I was spellbound.

Then the lights were turned off, and after a very, very quiet moment in complete darkness an artificial light appeared to enter the chamber and give us an idea (just an idea) of what the Winter Solstice experience is like.

Magical!

From getting on the shuttle bus to returning to Brú na Bóinne the whole tour takes a little over an hour. Not a long time perhaps but you can’t really measure it in minutes.

In truth it was timeless.

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A Timeless Experience in Newgrange, Co. Meath

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Walking Near Glendalough with a Pair of Mountain Goats

felix — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 19:19:33 +0000

Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time. ~ Steven Wright (1955 – )

We weren’t sure which walk we’d do. We wanted to do at least two hours and have a bit of a climb. We were near Glendalough so Brockagh or Camaderry were strong contenders. But we weren’t going to set off until after one and since sunset was a little after five we decided to pick a route that was well signposted.

We decided tackle one of the Glendalough marked routes. We picked the Spinc and the Wicklow Way trail (the red route) which is the longest of the Glendalough marked trails.

The details on the Wicklow Mountains National Park site say that it’s about 11km long, the total climb is 490m and walking at a reasonable pace it should take no more than 4 hours.

That all sounded good but there were some drawbacks.

Did I mention that it was raining?
Did I mention that it never stopped raining?
Did I mention that we were in the company of a couple that went up the Spinc at a pace for which no man or woman was ever designed?

We thought we were in the company of my wife’s sister and husband but it turned out that they had been abducted by aliens and replaced by an off-world form of mountain goat!

The walk was fantastic. And I think we did it (start and finish at the Glendalough Visitor’s Centre car park) in 3 hours.

I want to go back and do it again. Even on a day when the rain never stopped and mist reduced visibility the views were still fantastic. The scenery must be truly spectacular on a bright day.

We went around anti-clockwise, leaving the Wicklow Way section to the final gentle descent. That meant the ascent was tough, following a wooden boardwalk made up of railway sleepers covered with wire mesh and large staples (good for grip on wet days) until the route turned off towards Lugduff Mountain. After the boardwalk ended we followed a trail that was disguising itself as a winter stream. Here waterproof walking boots were essential. It was around this section that I realised that my rainproof jacket and leggings leaked. Fortunately my boots kept my feet dry.

It was also around this section that our companions, the mountain goats, gave their identities away by gliding effortlessly up the hill – obviously using gravity defying alien technology. In fairness they did wait for us to catch up and looked on in a slightly bemused fashion as we tried to catch our breaths.

The descent back to the valley after Prezen Rock was plain sailing as the Wicklow Way section is easy underfoot.

We all decided we’d try to meet up once a month and do some more Wicklow walks. I think we’re going to base ourselves around the Glendalough area initially, possibly meeting early for a bit of breakfast in the Avoca Kilmacanogue Café. They do great fruit scones.

Later on, after a hot bath and a change of clothes the endless rain didn’t seem to matter.

In any weather I think Glendalough is stunning.

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Walking Near Glendalough with a Pair of Mountain Goats

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