When my good friend and my favorite New York roommate Suzanne told me that she’ll do a stint in Amsterdam for her midwifery studies, we knew we had to plan a reunion. Suz and I lived together for two years in New York. After that, she moved back home, and I left the City as well after I stayed for four more years. Since then we’ve managed to stay in touch. After some back and forth, we discovered that although Germany and Holland are neighbors, the flights were quite expensive. So we thought “Why not meet up in Ireland then?”. Suz is from the emerald isle and I only managed to visit her once so far and I loved it! After checking the flights, it was a no-brainer: Ireland it is. It was the end of 2018 and I couldn’t have imagined a better place to spend the end of a very emotionally tumultuous year.
Suz, the fantastic friend she is, picked me up from the Dublin airport and we drove about 50km (30 miles) north straight to Drogheda, one of the oldest towns in Ireland, which happen to be also Suz’ old hometown. Her dad still lives here and opened his house for us to stay. Now, I have met all of Suz’s beautiful siblings and her fabulous mom during our time in New York, except her dad Peter. So it was about time and I was not disappointed. A very sweet gentleman and a caring father, who made me the most delicious breakfast after seeing me suffering from an unforgiving hangover. After some ham, eggs, blood sausages, I was cured. Thank you, Peter! The next day Suz showed me her town and the surroundings including Slane Castle (home to great concerts and festivals), Slane Whiskey Distillery (of course), and Termonfeckin Beach.
Ireland and its greenery do not stop to amaze me. I mean there is a reason why they call an emerald gem and why shamrock/clover is their national flower and emblem. It is unbelievably green, lush, and intense.
For New Year’s Eve, we rented an Airbnb in Carna, one of the farthest places in the west of Ireland. A remote place after following an off-the-beaten path. You heard at least of Galway thanks to an Ed Sheeran song. Add 1-2 hours of car drive towards the Atlantic, and you arrive at the most western point of the west coast of Ireland. The next stop (over the Atlantic) would be America. Despite having a tiny bit of anxiety about how remote and cut off from civilization we’ll be, the excitement set in when we finally hit the road en route west. Two hours from Dublin we arrived in Galway, a darling city full of young - and good-looking ;) - artsy people. We stopped here for coffee. And luckily they did not disappoint me in that department: deliciously hot and dark brew at Coffeewerk + Press to shake us up and energize us for the rest of the trip.
We were accompanied by Teddy. The cutest little doggo you’ll ever meet. He definitely added to our high spirits throughout the trip!
Two hours towards the west after Galway we finally arrived at our final destination: Carna. Wikipedia calls this place an “area” because there are not enough people living here to call it a village, town, or similar.
Welcome to Middle Earth!
At the house we were greeted by the house owner Sean, a young and friendly farmer, who lives in Galway and rents out his spare house. I am usually pretty good at understanding the Irish and their charming accent, yet the second Sean started speaking I had question marks all over my face. He quickly focused on Suz, who found a better connection with him. After checking in late in the afternoon, it was already pretty dark so we had an early first night with some well-deserved Gin & Tonics - what else.
The next morning we were blessed with a magical view of the Atlantic coast. The mist, resting over the landscape like a blanket, was just about to disappear so after some intentional breathing of the fresh air we headed inside again and enjoyed our first coffee in our new home. On the following days, we got to meet our friendly neighbors: the cows, sheep, and horses. The region is famous for a little horse known as the Connemara pony, the only breed native to the country. We also checked out some beaches to see where we could take a winter dip in the ice-cold waters of the Atlantic. There are amazing health benefits of cold water swimming: it boosts your immune system, gives you an endorphin high, enhances blood circulation and your libido, burns more calories, and reduces stress. So we hopped in and it was exhilarating! Since there was no one around I also felt free to scream a little, which was amazingly freeing to my throat chakra. If I look back now while I am writing this, I feel like I chickened out a bit by staying in the water only for a minute (or not even). Next time, I will stay longer and take a proper dip!
The landscape around Carna and Connemara is rocky and consists of bogs, grassland, and mountains. Exploring the incredible landscape of Connemara National Park and a short visit to the slightly creepy sight of Kylemore Abbey, an old boarding school for girls only, was also a must.
When New Year’s Eve came two of Suz’s childhood friends joined our adventure in the west: Eleanor and Brian, who I know from our New York days. We couldn’t have asked for a better company. They brought the amount of fun, crazy, and volume you need for a day like NYE. We had a simple, yet deliciously perfect dinner - pizza, pasta, and salad accompanied by wine and GinTos - and afterward we hit the local bar for midnight celebrations.
Not in a million years I would have expected the crowd I saw in that bar. First of all, it was packed. Everyone returned home from the cities for Christmas. Secondly, all people, young and old, were dressed up to the nines (high heels, cocktail dresses, suits, and all). I was just thinking of the villages in Turkey or even Germany. You would not see that kind of effort in style. I was stunned - and felt slightly underdressed. When the clock hit midnight, we all hugged, and I mean literally all: Strangers came and wished us a blessed new year and gave hugs all around. It was an amazing night, surrounded by beautiful people.
The day after we already had to leave Carna and headed back home to Drogheda. On our way, we wanted to take one last dip in the ice-cold water in Galway. So we parked, got out of the car, and closed the door, not realizing that the car keys were still in the car. After some initial stress, luckily, we found a locksmith, who opened the doors for us in exchange for some serious money.
Back in Drogheda, Peter invited us for one last supper and with a couple of drinks, my second Ireland adventure came to a glorious end.
I want to thank you a million, Suzanne, for being an amazing host, driver, local guide, translator, hugger, listener, and throughout the best companion on this trip! You made the transition to the new year so smooth and easy. The best days are yet to come. Sláinte!