Sláinte - a weekend in Dublin

So I'm picking back up on the blog.  We've fallen massively behind which can be demotivating.  The fact that we are headed back to Dublin again before even writing the first post was the wakeup call needed to get back to things.  So let's see what I can remember from our past Dublin trip.

It was a nice weekend in early February when we traveled to Dublin.  We were tempting fate a bit by going in Winter but the weather ended up being pretty nice (slight drizzle but generally warm enough with jacket and hat).  One of the benefits of the cold weather was how it complimented the Irish food (stew and roast), Irish beer (Guinness and much more) and Irish Whiskey (Jameson of course).  Upon arriving we had some Irish comfort food at O'Donoghue's Bar.  Their Buffet style allowed us to sample much and we got a listen to some live Irish music as well.  The rest of the night was spent pub-hopping and watching 6 Nations Rugby (Go Ireland)!

Saturday we brushed up on our Irish history through a walking tour.  Our tour guide was much like Dublin - laid back, charming, and self deprecating.  Some of the highlights included: Trinity College, Dublin Castle, street art and the Old Jameson Distellery.

James Joyce's Bloom watches over the Irish Bankers

That evening we went to a Gaellic Football game.  It's a physical fast paced sport that combines concepts from rugby, soccer and handball.  We made like locals and bought standing room only tickets for a game at the beautiful Croke Park.  One of the best parts was hearing the locals complain non-stop about how the referees were absolutely screwing their team.  Their disdain was so contagious I even started lamenting the blindness of the officials.

One of the highlights of the game was at halftime when the little ones got to play.  Some were littler than others.

After the game we headed out to explore more of Dublin's pubs.  We came across a nice pub that had live music.  While awaiting the live music we "made friends" with an extremely intoxicated Scottish man.  Between the booze and his Scottish accent it was quite difficult to understand anything he was saying.  Megan had the right idea and ignored him but I couldn't complete stiff-arm him.  He tried to talk to us about football and beer and politics but really none of it made any sense.  Once the band played he tried to sing, dance and join in.  The band was quite top notch and couldn't be bothered and in some ways I felt sad for them because their talent level deserved more respect.  Watch the bad ass fiddle guy go at it.

Our last day saw us visit the famous Guinness Storehouse.  I couldn't recommend this place enough.  The exhibits and building are really well done.  The history and production of Guinness is fascinating.  Megan particularly enjoyed the exhibit on how they made the wooden barrels.  During the tour they teach you how to properly taste Guinness and they explain why it tastes better in Ireland (partly the environment).  Lastly, the tour ends at the roof top bar with a nice view of Dublin and a great pint of Guinness.  It was a satisfying end to a spectacular trip.

Well that was a blurr - recap on Term 1

Term 1 finished up in December and thank goodness.  We were running at a bit hectic pace, averaging a trip almost every other weekend.  We visited: UK, Portugal, Spain, France, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Italy and Hungary (with a brief train ride through Slovakia).  Some of my favorite highlights include:

• Exploring Berlin with the Zipfs
• Surfing with new LBS friends at the perfect beach in Baleal
• Learning our Canal Smarts in Venice
• Punting down canals in Oxford
• Returning to my Polish roots in Krakow

Since moving from the US we visited 10 countries in less than six months.  Not bad.  Stay tuned throughout 2015 for more great highlights and adventures.

Surf's Up - Portugal

Back in the Fall of 2014 we went on our first LBS trek. It was a Surfin Safari to Baleal Portugal.  The weather was warm and sunny.  The beaches were sandy and beautiful.  And we had a blast surfing during the day, eating large in the evening and socializing late into the night.  Below are some highlight pictures.

One of Baleal's many choice beaches for catching the waves

This is Turco he was our guide.

We had surf lessons in the morning and afternoon for two straight days.  We were fortunate enough to be in the group led by Turco.  Turco was amazing.  He would lead us on these long and hilarious stretching exercises that were probably quite helpful.  He had energy, he had passion and on the first day he was the most nicest and encouraging guy.  Turco even took cool photos for and with us.

Taking lessons from the legend

Day 2 Turco was a different story.  He was a task master telling us to paddle left then paddle right then go deep then come back into the shallow water.  It was brutal and exhausting and he would mock us if we weren't paddling hard enough.  While it was a bit discouraging, we can't argue with the results.  We caught some awesome waves and rode them a long ways into shore.  Definitely one of our best surfing adventures yet.

After the lessons we'd relax a bit back at the lodge.

Megan on the Indoboard

 Then we'd head out for awesome but lengthy dinners.  The Portuguese diet is heavy on steak, fries, fish and wine.

Teddy and Jeff giving the thumbs up for a great meal

Megan and Darren showing us their model side.

The team organizing drinks - there were 30 of us total

That weekend there was a professional surf competition in town.  It was a huge attraction; locals and tourists both showed out in force for the event.  Megan even got to meet one of the surfers.

Panorama of the surf competition.  Huge crowds and huge waves.

Megan met a surf pro!

Our buddy Tom.  He's a riot.

Berlin Germany with the Zipfs

In mid November we visited Berlin Germany with Stef Zipf (one of Megan's bridesmaids), James Denue, Stef's parents and her brother.  Stef's mother grew up in Germany and her father was stationed in Berlin for a few years during the Cold War, so it was a great opportunity to learn from former locals.  They showed us around to some of the key historical attractions and they taught us about German culture.

Enjoying a beer with the Zipf family!

Us at the Brandenburg Gate

Historical Berlin

It's hard to think of a city more intertwined with the history of the 20th century then Berlin.  It was the capital of Germany during both World Wars.  Following the defeat of the Nazis in WW2, Berlin was divided into sectors and West Berlin would be an outpost of democracy surrounded by communist East Germany.  Berlin was the site of a major blockade/airlift, an infamous wall, many espionage adventures, and the fall of communism.  Walking around Berlin you can see many of the building and landmarks that played a pivotal role in world history.  There are bullet holes from the Battle of Berlin in 1945.  There are still standing sections of the Berlin Wall with varying levels of artistic and political graffiti. There is the iconic Brandenburg gate - site of so much history including the fall of the Berlin Wall.  There is the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church - a bombed out building that was left in disrepair as a testament to the destruction of war.  The list goes on and on

The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church - left bombed out as it was at the end of WW2

The Berlin Cathedral with a shot of the TV tower to the left and the Altes museum in the foreground.

In addition to the landmarks there are also great museums to see in Berlin.  We visited the DDR museum which shows what life was like under communist rule.  Life under communism started off with optimism and then steadily grew into poverty and despair.  The museum had many interactive components including a driving simulator in a Trabant car, a model communist home, a voting simulation (spoiler: if you don't vote for the communist party it doesn't end well) and a modified foosball game showing the futility of playing for East Germany.  We later found out that the East German secret police (the largest police force ever) would break into people's homes and 1) steal their underwear and 2) move their possessions around to create paranoia and make their victim's questions their sanity.

The infamous Trabant cat - made of plastic, frequently broken and with a waiting list of 14 years!

Modified Foosball at the DDR museum - The East German side
can only defend against the West German side, with no way to score!

Another great museum we visited was the German Historical Museum.  The exhibits were very robust and well constructed.  It was fascinating seeing how Germans portray their role in history.  Besides the museums we took a History Walking Tour.  There we passed by many of the aforementioned monuments and learned more of Germany's history.  It was insightful, moving and thought provoking.  We even learned that the costumed guards at Checkpoint Charlie are actually strippers.

Checkpoint Charlie = tourist trap

New Berlin

While Berlin has a fascinating past, it also has an exciting future.  It's blessed with heaps of amazing art including the aforementioned graffiti.  The Holocaust Memorial is a moving example of great artwork in the physical space.  Berlin also has a thriving technology startup scene.  It's changing industries with new fascinating companies.  The blend of art and technology has created a culture that attract the hip and cool of Europe.

The Holocaust Memorial at Dusk

Another shot of the Holocaust Memorial at dusk.

During our visit the Christmas markets started opening up.  They are a German tradition and although they've inevitably taken a modern slant in terms of goods and availability and location, they still hold some German traditions such as the wood decor and food offered.  It seemed like there were markets everywhere in Berlin and it was only mid November!

Christmas Market at Night

Beer Advent Calendar!  24 days of beer.

Fried Pork Knuckle is fantastic

Berlin has a thriving nightlife scene.  It has both really cool bars and pumping nightclubs.  If you want to party from 3pm on Wednesday night thru 4am on Monday you can do that in Berlin.  Megan and I passed on the club scene though and explored the pub/bar scene.  We sampled quite a few places and they all struck me with their: friendliness - it was easy to interact with locals, beer quality - they had an awesome selection of beers including some from Saugatuck Michigan, music - the music was typically good and always at a perfect volume (not too loud to talk but not too quite that it's awkward) and entertainment - in the form of foosball or shuffleboard or trivia or something else unique and interesting.  Berlin's beer scene was awesome.  Beerlin/Barlin.

German food: pretzels, soups, and sausages with local beer at a German Beer Hall!

The beautiful Brandenburg Gates at night.

Barcelona with the ND Ultimate Crew

Barcelona is a city of culture and passion.  So who better to explore it with than our undergraduate Notre Dame ultimate frisbee friends on study aboard.  Heather, Pat, Jonathan and Ian provided great companionship, perspective and entertainment.  We took this trip in mid-October.

Airport Shenanigans 

Walking the walk

We arrived mid-morning Friday and quickly caught up with Pat and Heather.  Jonathan and Ian would end up joining us later as they bozo booked flights for 8pm instead 8am.  Our Friday goals were quite modest with the intent to drink sangria, eat tapas, and explore Barcelona.

One of the many beautiful streets in Barcelona

We started off to visit the Bari Gothic museum near the medieval quarter.  While wandering we stumbled upon a museum which we thought was it.  It was not it.  Instead of learning about the Roman origins of Barcelona and seeing the ancient ruins, we visited what could be described as a museum of hoarding.  A rich gentlemen decided to collect many things: pipes, seashells, crucifixes, maps, weapons, printing presses, etc. which then were showcased as a museum posthumously.  An example of the curiosities is this bizarre naked child on an ugly fish sculpture.

Did not make my Christmas list

Park Guell

Saturday with the whole squad assembled we visited Park Guell.  It's one of the highest points in Barcelona and provides amazing views of the city and ocean.  The park was designed by the famous Barcelonian architect Antoni Gaudi.  It's a cool blend of nature and architectural design.

Great view of Barcelona

On top of the Guell.

The psychedelic part of the park designed by Gaudi

La Sagrada Familia

No visit to Barcelona is complete without visiting La Sagrada Familia.  La Sagrada Familia was designed by Gaudi and has been under construction for over 133 years.  It's an awe inspiring blend of art, architecture and engineering.  It towers over the neighboring construction and yet is elegant with it's impressively detailed sculptures and stained glass.  The project is just over 50% finished and has a planned completion date of 2026 but many challenges still exist.  It was amazing to see and is inspiring as a truly unique piece of art.  I recommend the wikipedia page to learn more.

The Nativity Facade

The Nativity Facade

The Glory Facade

Interior details of the columns that support the roof.

The Beach

After a day of sightseeing on Saturday we hit the beach near the center of the city.  The weather was sunny and delightfully warm.  The beach was packed and as we walked to a more empty spot we realized public nudity was accepted.  While none of our crew decided to engage in suitless bathing, we did test out the chilly Mediterranean waters.

Look closely and you may see a naked old man.

Delicious Food

While in Barcelona we had plenty of delicious food.  Being on the coast, Barcelona is heavy into seafood and the seafood paella was delicious.  It had a great blend of fresh seafood, Spanish spices, fresh veggies and rice.  The paella was a nice compliment to the cervezas and sangria.

We also had flavorful tapas (small appetizer dishes).  The most memorable was Can Paixano which served delicious cheap jamon sandwiches.  Heather, Pat, Megan and I shared four sandwiches and complimented them with tasty white wine.

The Nightlife

No trip to Bareclona would be complete without sampling the legendary nightlife.  Things in Barcelona start to get busy around midnight.  On Friday night we tried an 80's bar around 10pm only to find it empty and full of unpleasant bouncers.  At one point we got stared down by a bouncer, who was making sure we didn't have too much fun too early.

Selfie in the club.

Pat, Heather and Ian Doing their best to have fun

We left our first club of pessimism and journey in search of the epic Raz-Ma-Tazz.  Our journey was a bit Odyssey-esque in nature as we zig-and-zagged and ran into numerous hold-ups and distractions.  When we arrived we realized our Oz was less than we hoped for.  We found a line an hour long and a cover charge the size of small nation's GDP.  In a move we will never regret we headed back to the hostel to grab a kebab before the local shop closed.

Saturday night was wildly more successful.  We joined the Be-Sound Hostel pub crawl.  We frequented an Irish Bar (with some of the worst Karaoke), a Turkish hookah bar with exotic dancers, and a techno bar where they encouraged pants sagging.  During the pub crawl we made friends with two fellas from Texas A&M and a couple weird French dudes.  The last stop on the pub crawl was an Asian techno club that opened out onto the beach.  The crew soon tired of the club scene and spent the majority of the night drinking beers and relaxing on the beach until the wee hours of the morning.  Some of the group got separated but eventually by early morning we all made it back to the hostel for at least a few hours of sleep before our flights back to the real world beckoned.

Exhausted at the airport

My major takeaway was that Barcelona is a cool place full of life, art, and the interesting!  I highly recommend a visit.

Travel Tip: Southend Airport while technically in London, is actually really far away

The Blue Dot says it all.  Getting to the airport was longer than the flight to Italy!