The yellow flowers of Howth

We did so many great things last week. We learnd a bit about irish historie.

• Guinness Storehouse
• Wicklow jail
• Croke Park
• Glendalough
• Irish Dancing

But I think one of the most amazing activitis was our cliff-walk in Howth. Howth is around 15km beeline away form Dublin, it is a village with a habour and a market on the weekends. On Saturday morning we took the Dart to Pearce Station where our meeting-point was. The sun was shining bright, so we were very confident that we wound’t have rain. Even so my host mum said to Flora and me that it will rain the whole day long. Finally the majority of our group arrived so we took the next Dart to Howth. We were waiting for the rest of the group. We went to “HOWTH MARKET” and we were cruising at the harbour.
I haven’t seen so many gulls before
At last all where in Howth.

Our class and Mr. Eichhorn had sat down on a small wall to take a photo for Mrs. Gruber-Reisinger. It is fastinating what the new technoligies can all, the panorama shoot looks great. And then we started our cliff-walk, Mr. Eichhorn our leader went in the front of our groupe and Mr. Riegler at the conclusion. I can’t describe how beautiful it was, everywhere were the yellow flowers. The yellow flowers are called gorse, although the are so beautiful are they very treacherous with their prickles.
The sun was shining all the time so it was very pleasant (perhaps a little bit hot with our winter-jackets).

But we also had some misfortunes, e.g. I think after 10 minutes Bianca, Thery, Sarah, Babsi, Anschi, Flora, Julia G. (6B), Marlies (6B) and I lost our group, because we  were taking photos and they went away, it was not a big problem until we came to a road junction. Some of us wanted to go left and some of us wanted to go right, we agreed to take the way on the left way ’cause it was seaward. And then we were very happy because we saw some of our group, we arrived while the were taking a break, but as we arrived they continued. When we got to another field we took another break. It was big fun.

 

But I think the best thing was that we had such great weather.

Tell me if you have ever been to Howth or if you want to go now after looking at my pictures.
Leave a comment!

Summary of our Dublin Journey

Now we’re back at home. The long-awaited Dublin trip has ended after one week filled with fun and interesting places to see but also exhaustion. We are back after one week, that felt like a few days. After one week, that gave us a great look into the Irish culture and history and also after one week, that really improved our English skills. But has the language week really met my expectations?

Host families:

I didn’t really know what to expect from our host families before our journey. My thoughts went from living in a villa with own rooms and an own bath to a small house with almost no place to live. When we arrived in Dublin on Thursday last week, we were picked up by our host father John. After he turned out to be friendly, we soon realised, that all our concerns were unfounded. Our home for a week was clean and big enough, the food was edible, and our host family made sure that we knew where we had to go to meet our class every day.

Excursions:

Even though we only spent one week in Dublin, it feels like we have seen almost everything Dublin has got to offer. Our host families told us, that we did way more excursions than every foreign student, that stayed with them before. And it felt like that, too. We did the Cliff Walk, saw Glendalough, Wicklow Jail, the Guinness Storehouse, Croke Park and much more, while going to a language school every day (except from the weekends) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., so I definitely saw everything I expected and even more.

Public transport:

At first a bit concerned about taking the right bus and finding the way to the DART stations, I quickly realised that there was absolutely no reason to be worried at all. We arranged meeting points for the next day every evening and our host families explained us how to get there.

All in all, our Ireland journey has mostly fulfilled my hopes and not my worries. What do my classmates think about our language week? Have you been to Dublin before and have you made similar or different experiences? Let me know in the comments!

Overall Experience

Social Improvements

The one-week trip to another country was a great thing for all of us. We had to trust others in an unknown area, made new friends from the other class and eventually with some of our class which we didn´t knew that well. It was very exciting to explore parts of Dublin, taking new buses to the city centre, the DART or the Luas, which is the tram in Dublin city. At most of the time, we didn´t really know where whe had to get off the bus because the name of the station changed almost every day for an unknown reason.

Living at a stranger´s house also was a new thing that was better than we expected. The fact that we didn´t know if our host family will be friendly or annoying made the first few days interesting because we talked to them very much and found out many things on how the Irish live.

We also quickly acquired some inofficial rules in the city. We learned quickly that pedestrian lights are more a recommendation than a rule. So if there is no car in 50 metres range you can easilly cross the road. On the first day it was very strange seeing a big group of people crossing the road at red lights.

Language Improvements

The language school wasn´t that interesting for me most of the time. But we learned some phrases we can use when speaking. One example is the word hangry. It means “A state of anger and irritability resulting from being hungry.”(Urban Dictionary). We played some games like Taboo in order to train our word skills and train using synonyms.

 

All in all, it was a great experience to go to Ireland for one week because both our language and social skills improved and we learned much in that week. I really enjoyed it and would definitely do it again.

Croke Park Stadium

On Tuesday we went to the Croke Park Stadium.
Jakob Wedl and I stood up at 6:30 a.m. and we immediately went downstairs for breakfast because we were extremely hangry.
After breakfast we packed our schoolstuff and went to the bus which drove us to the “atc-language-school”. After we had finished school we had one hour to get some lunch. Then we drove to a bus station near the stadium and went the last few metres “per pedes”. At the stadium we had waited a bit until our guide came (a very friendly woman). She picked us up and took us to a room (acted as a cinema) where we watched a short film about the big final that takes place in Croke Park every year.
After that we went to see a small museum where you can see pictures of all the major events from the history of GAA. There was also a small area where we could try to play gaelic football and hurling which was great fun.
But the really interesting part followed now.
We saw where the VIPs and the big TV-companies park. I was also very excited about the changing rooms and I hadn’t been dissapointed at all. But the stadium and mainly the pitch itself was the most amazing stop of our tour! The stadium has more than 80.000 seats and the field was just so big! Nearly as big as two soccer fields! The stadium is well made because one side is lower than the other so that the houses get enough sunlight in the morning.
We saw where the VIPs sit and we also went to the seats on the very top of the stadium and the view from there was just awesome! It was definitely a very impressing day.

Gaelic (Irish) Sports

GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association)

The GAA was founded by Michael Cusack in 1884 to revive the old Irish traditions which were nearly extincted.                                      Although the GAA most likely gets associated with sports like Gaelic football or Hurling, it can also be associated with political issues. The GAA has always been a really nationalistic institution. Twenty years ago, players of gaelic clubs weren’t even allowed to watch a game of soccer or rugby. The Association only wanted to see them playing the typical Gaelic games which are Gaelic football, Hurling and Camogie (Hurling for women). But I think that political institutions shouldn’t interfere in sports because sport has always been a reason for peace and harmony, without war or fighting.

Gaelic football

In my opinion, Gaelic football is just a mixture of rugby and soccer. Each team has 15 players on the pitch and they play with a ball which is quite similar to an ordinary football. They can either play the ball with their hands or with their feet. But  they are only allowed to run with the ball in their hands for four steps. After that they can “pass” to themselves with the feet or tip the ball on the ground and then catch it again. You can score by shooting into the goal which is worth three points or by shooting over the crossbar which is worth one point. It’s also a very physical sport.

Hurling and Camogie

Hurling is the fastest sport on grass. The balls can achieve a speed around 155 km/h. The ball is quite similar to a baseball and then you have a stick made from ash-wood. You are allowed to run with the ball in your hands but after four steps you have to balance it on the stick. You are also allowed to hit your opponent with your shoulder. The way of scoring is the same as in Gaelic football.

All in all, I think I’ll better keep on playing soccer than switching to Gaelic football or Hurling. They are just too tough for me i guess….

But what are your opinions? Do you think political issues should dominate sport? Write it in the comments below!

Now it’s time for a great movie.. ✌🏻️👍🏼

Our Irish Weekend

In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.

(John Muir)

Frankly, this was definitely one of the most exhausting but also most beautiful weekends ever.

SATURDAY

Up hill and down dale – we enjoyed every minute of our cliff walk. The sun was shining ever so brightly, the sky was clear and yellow flowers were blooming everywhere. The marvelous landscape of meadows and hills was as taken from the picture-book.

When we were back in Howth, we took the bus to Madaline, where we went for a walk at the beach. Though it was really cold, the sun was shining and some of us even went ankle-deep in the ice cold water.

SUNDAY

Early in the morning, our group met in Dublin City.

Firstly, we visited Wicklow Gaol. This is a jail where you learn about the early 18th century prison life. Because of the live actors, the atmosphere was frighteningly accurate.

Afterwards, we drove to Glendalough. At first we saw a film about the place itself and its founder St. Kevin. Did you know that he died at the age of 120? Crazy!

Our trip ended in Bray, where we spent our whole time at the seaside.

I hope your weekend was as great as ours. Share your thoughts on our trip in the comments and have a great day. ☘

Wicklow Jail and Glendalough

Even though the weather was not as good as yesterday, I really enjoyed the excursions today.

At first, we got by bus to the Wicklow Gaol (=Jail). It was fascinating to see how prisoners had to live in 1916. I absolutely can recommend visiting the Jail, because it is so realistic and sometimes I felt like a prisoner in the 20th century.

After a while, we headed with the bus to Glendalough. Glendalough means the valley of two lakes. But in Glendalough aren’t just two lakes. Monastic buildings from the 10th century, such as churches and graves, are surrounded by a beautiful landscape.

But my favourite part of the day took place in Bray. We spent one hour at the beach and even though it was very cold, I had really much fun.

Because we are allowed to stay till 10 p.m. out, Sophie and I decided to meet Tobi and Jacob at Starbucks. Although my drink tasted gross, I enjoyed the time with my friends.

I hope that I’ll laugh the next days as much as this evening.

“The best  you can say at the end of the day is that it was a great day.”

 

 

 

 

Cliff Walk in Howth

“A sound mind in a sound body” – That’s what I felt while doing the cliff walk in Howth.

“Heavens smile when angels travel” – Perfect weather for walking and hiking with sunshine and mild temperatures all day long. The only thing I am wondering about is: if the students are supposed to be the angels, who are the teachers – archangels?

The Arrival

Right now, me and Ines are sitting in our beds. We are totally exhausted after this long day at the airport.

Host family

When our host mom – Trish – picked us up, we knew right away that we are going to have a great time. Though she’s a little chaotic, she seems to be really nice. A brasilian student also stays with us. He’s a cool guy, or how Trish would say “He’s lovely!”.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow will be our first school day. In the morning, we are going to have classes until 1pm and afterwards, we are going to make a tour through Dublin. This is going to be much fun, we can’t wait to see more of this beautiful city.

Good night, see y’all tomorrow!

A year full of anticipation and expectation

We’ve been waiting for this journey over a year now, we’ve been preparing everything, our teacher Prof. Eichhorn has been planing the excursions in the minutest detail and now we are ready for Ireland.

One year before…

In 2015 my classmates and I had to make up our minds: Would we rather spend a week in Ireland or in England? Fortunately, we chose Ireland for our English Project Week. As soon as my teacher told us that we’ll leave in spring, the first expectations came to mind. “It’ll be warm with sunshine all day long, flowers will start to blossom and Ireland will present its whole beauty and…”  (Well, todays weather forecast is rainy and chilly.) 

One month before…

Of course, these weren’t the only things we’ve expected. When we got the addresses of our host families, everybody jumped up, started the notebook and searched for it on Google Maps. I was a little bit nervous, when I tipped “32 Foxrock Wood, Focxrock”, zoomed in and saw ‘my’ house, where I’ll stay for one week with my best friend. My expectations went from living at a overwhelming kind of castle, which is inhabited by a pretentious family to a shabby and neglected house, where we would have to live with a rapist, have to sleep in cold rooms and where we would get awful meals. Keep your fingers crossed, that my expectations don’t come true! 😉

The trip

I’m not only looking forward to the Irish people, the Irish food and the language school in Dublin. I’m also excited about tomorrow. Apart from the fact that I have the chance to FLY with all of my classmates, my best friends, (I’ve been dreaming of this since I’ve been a child) I think that going by train with them will be really funny.

One day before…

So, my baggage lays ready in the corner, my backpack is already stuffed with the most important essentials I’ll need (PASSPORT!!!) and I’m sitting in my bed, waiting for Thursday to come.

 

I’m sure you have some other expectations about the journey as me, so write them in the comments! See you tomorrow.