The Quest for the "Gift of the Gab": My Thanksgiving Weekend Trip to Ireland

Cork, Ireland is where one of my good friend Kait and her husband Markus are currently living. Kait and her boss (who owns a coffee shop and is also an American) were planning a large Thanksgiving extravaganza and so Kait invited me over to Ireland for a long weekend. I left early on Thursday morning from Duesseldorf and flew first into Dublin. In Dublin I was required to switch airlines (because Aer Lingus does not fly to Cork from Dublin and Ryan Air does not fly to Duesseldorf) and so I had to exit through pass control. The Non-EU passport control line was ridiculously long and they only had 2 windows open and for about 20 minutes the pass control people were dealing with the same foreigners. As I nervously waited, worrying that I wouldn't be through pass control in time to check in for my next flight, I watched as numerous EU citizens would come in waves and breeze through pass control. Finally after about 40 minutes of waiting I had a little Irish luck and they opened up so additional lines and I was able to make it in time to check in for my flight.
At the Cork airport I was picked up by my friend Kait and her boss Ella. We then spent the afternoon frantically running around in order to procure the final ingredients for the Thanksgiving feast which, I learned, would be for 30 people (a combination of Americans and Irishmen). Once the errands were finished, Ella took us back to her house where we met up with Julie (another friend whom I had studied abroad with in Salzburg). This is where the frantic cooking began. The turkeys were already cooked as they had been put in early that morning, but cooking for 30 people requires a great amount of work. Amazingly Kait, Julie, and I (Ella didn't do any of the cooking but instead spent the time "staging" and creating atmosphere) pulled it off and were ready to serve by eight o'clock. Of course Ella was still not finished with her staging as a guest had arrived who does professional lighting for parties and such. We ended up not eating until 11 p.m. (probably about the same time that most of you in the U.S. were sitting down for dinner). The atmosphere was quite impressive - complete with about 5 disco balls and numerous colored lights. It was not exactly what I would expect for Thanksgiving but it turned out to be quite enjoyable and we received many compliments on the food.
The next morning, after some peaceful sleep, Kait, Julie, and I began to clean up from the chaos of the night before. It actually didn't end up being too terrible. Then Ella drove us from her house (pictured in the top left corner and top center) in the country back to town to Kaits house.
On Saturday morning I ventured off on my own so that I could actually see some of Cork and not just the inside of people's houses. Kait had already seen all the tourist attractions and so she opted not to join in as they also cost a bit of money. Cork is not a particularly large town, however, it is incredibly easy to get lost as the streets are poorly marked. I was always heading in the right general direction but would often overshoot a turn that I was supposed to make. Downtown Cork is a cute little city. I explored the glorious Penneys which is an inexpensive department store. After some shopping at Penneys, I meandered throught the English Market (pictured at right) which is sort of a permanent farmers market that is all enclosed.
After wandering through the town I began to head towards the City Gaol (Jail), however, once again I became lost. This time I ended up on a lovely little nature walk along the river Lee. I enjoyed the serene nature setting for awhile and then headed back the direction I had come in order to climb the hill and end up at the jail. Finally I reached the jail, which turned out to be interesting and informative. The two ladies that worked there (that day anyway) were very friendly and they gave me a new bag to put my shopping purchases in, as mine had ripped on the journey. The old jail chronicled the history of both the general prisoners and those who were imprisoned due to political affiliation. One quote on the audio tour that I found to be especially representative was, "The only real crime many of these people committed was the crime of being born poor." The jail seems to have been a revolving door (as it is now in the U.S.) and often times people were continuously being relocked up. Once a person had served time in the jail it was almost impossible for them to find employment and so they were destined to lives of beggary and thievery. The jail is also supposedly haunted - one passageway in particular depicts an optical illusion that is "ghost-like". Kait informed me, however, that people in Cork really do believe the jail to be haunted, even though the "ghost-like" figure is clearly fraudulent.
Kait and Julie ended up having to work that night so I ended up hanging out with Markus and Pa (short for Patrick), who was a friend of Kait and Markus. Pa is a typical Irish character who liked to drink and have good crack (Irish for good conversation and fun). He nicknamed me "Blondie Bear" partially because of my hair color and partially because he has a horrible memory and could not remember my name. After having a couple beers with Markus and Pa we met up with their friend Nora, who was also incredibly nice and fun to hang out with. We first headed to Lennox's to have some famous chips and cheese and garlic. The Chips and Cheese and Garlic were deliciously greasy and satisfying - I have never had anything quite like it before in my life as normal fries and cheese really do not compare. Then we headed to Nancy Spains for a pint and to meet up with Kait and Julie.
Sunday morning, Markus cooked us scrumptious omelettes. After savoring every bite, I headed off to the bus station in order to head to the Blarney castle. The Blarney castle (pictured at left) once belonged to Cormack McCarthy and it is also the site of the Blarney stone which is supposed to bestow upon those who kiss it the "gift of the gab". Although I am not usually hurting for words, I decided to kiss the stone in order to ensure eloquence - I also hope that perhaps some of my eloquence would transfer over to my German language abilities.
The castle grounds were beautiful and serene. It provided for a relaxing afternoon filled with Irish lore. On the grounds there is a witches stone (pictured at right) in which a witch is believed to be trapped until nightfall. The witch has a kitchen and there are steps that lead down to a river that are said to be wishing steps. As repayment for using wood for her fire the witch must grant the wishes of anyone who walks up and down the steps with their eyes closed (of course I participated in the activity).
On Monday morning I ate a traditional breakfast roll (a baguette with scrambled eggs, a few types of sausage, cheese, butter, and brown sauce - basically a delicious heart attack waiting to happen), said my goodbyes, and headed to the airport. My first flight was just to Dublin and this time I had a 6 hour layover. Not wanting to spend the whole time in the airport, I caught the bus into town. In Dublin I walked along Henry Street (which is the main shopping district), Temple Bar (a funky pub ditrict), and strolled through Trinity College. Due to the short amount of time I was really only able to whet my appetite for returning to Dublin and not able to really explore properly. All in all Ireland was a wonderful trip and I will definitely be returning for more exploration.