The race to Marks wedding and recent goings on.

In Derry we visited the Free Derry Museum and the Bloody Sunday Memorial.  Then in the afternoon we visited the Ulster American Folk Park which is an open air museum with many relocated buildings from the 19th Century from both Ireland and America to show the lives of people during the time.  They also have a reasonable area of information panels and displays which unfortunately we run out of time to get around.

The next morning we visited Glencarr waterfall and lake and then had a quick look at Sligo Abbey and town as it was reputed to have historic looking shop fronts.  We had a wander around Tuam and I had my mandatory pint of Guinness in Ireland at the Thatch Bar, one of the oldest pubs in Ireland.

The variable weather continued when we visited Clonmacnoise, an ancient Christian religious centre in the heart of Ireland on the River Shannon.  One minute we would be in the sun the next a downpour.  I have some film of one such downpour i'll try and get on my youtube.  Anyway the main attraction of Clonmacnoise were the 9th Century stone high crosses, and pretty flash they were too although quite worn.  3 are now indoors for protection.

Then the little marathon runner ran the Kildare Marathon, again the weather was pretty poor, (I hid out in the van) 4.40 was her time another great effort. We had a hotel booked in Cork for after the marathon, so we had a bit of driving to do, got a couple of photos of the Rock of Cashel on the way.
You may remember that our fridge hasn't been working on the Gas since we set off, so we finally got a chance to organise to see someone about it.  We had organised to see a guy John Cronin way down in the South West and it was with some trepidation that we set off to see him.  He turned out to be a very nice guy and somewhat of the local mechanical expert.  It turned out to be simply a blockage in the gas jet thing, so we were quickly sorted, but not without looking at a few panels he had that might have been of use for the van.
After leaving John we made an unfortunately hasty trip around an area called the Ring of Kerry right out in the South West, then start the long drive across the South to get to our Ferry right in the South East corner.  Nicky had a drive, because she is legal on her NZ licence in Europe and i felt on the quiet uncomplicated and left hand drive roads it would be good start for her.  It was a bit of a stressful experience for me being in the passenger seat for the first time, but Nicky did well and managed to relieve me for about 45 minutes.
Last stop before the Ferry was Waterford where we checked out the amazing Waterford Crystal store, one piece was retailing for Euro 40,000.  We got a photo taken with the Irish open Golf trophy which they made.  We also visited the Waterford Medieval Museum and then went to get the ferry from Rosslare to Cherbourg.

The ferry ride was 18.25 hours and the sea got a little rough as we were due to sleep and we both felt quite unwell.  However by the morning the sea we flatter again and we felt much better.
So now it was time to drive on the Right side of the road, Nicky has been helping me a lot to make sure we stay in the right place on the road, so only managed one mistake so far, but I blame the sat nav for telling me to keep left.

Our only stop for the day was Bayeux to see the Bayeux Tapestry which was really cool and we visited their Cathedral.  Also really cliché was that we kept seeing locals carrying around a baguette or two.  We finally managed to get laundry done here which was great.

We then visited several WWI memorials and cemeteries in the Somme and Ypres areas. We need to get to Amsterdam so have been trying to drive through Belgium today but the roads are busy and many in poor condition. We hit a particularly large jam so have stopped to eat and hope the roads will clear.  After an hour we returned and the road hadn't cleared so more time in the traffic, we finally got free and there was no sign of a cause in the end.

Our first stop in Holland was Kinderwijk which is a world heritage site as it shows the old way of de-watering with windmills, there is a total of 19 the area.  You can pay to go in one and go in the visitor centre.  Unfortunately as I have already seen wind and water mills in the UK the bit we paid for was somewhat of a let down (no interpretation, no attendant), i have paid a lot less and got a lot more in the past.  In the evening we found a supermarket and stocked up, we didn't know at the time but turned out we were in the Dutch equivalent of Marks and Spencers (oops).

Then it was a short drive in to Amsterdam where we used the park and ride (TRAM) which was not far out.  We spent about 2 hours schlepping around just having a look, before heading over to Java Island for the Back in the House music festival, where we saw Safri Duo, DJ Sash, Darude and a couple of others.  We were very tired when we got back to the van a big day on our feet.

Now we had to make the big drive across to Dresden for my brother Marks' wedding.  The first day we drove many hours on the autobahns with only a short stop at Magdeburg.  It was a public holiday so everything was closed except street stalls for special celebrations with music.
As we had made it most of the way the first day we arrived early in Moritzberg (just outside Dresden) where the wedding was being held the next day.  We were staying at the Reception venue Bad Sonnenland.  It was a lovely day and Nicky and I enjoyed sitting out and feeling hot for the first time in 9 months and the second time in 2 years.  We drove into the heart of Dresden (right in front of the Frauenkirche) to meet Mark and his good friend from NZ Gabrielle whom we know from our time in Timaru.  We had dinner in an Australian themed restaurant called Ayers Rock.
Unfortunately the weather turned overnight and the day of the wedding was cloudy and it built into rain which during the ceremony at noon was quite heavy at times.  Fortunately the ceremony was indoors in the Rathaus (Town Hall).  There was around 30 family and friends and a translator so those of us needing English could understand.  The reception was at Sola Lodge in the grounds of Bad Sonnenland.  We had some German cakes/slices which were very nice.  They did a couple of traditional German things, for reasons unknown they cut a log of wood together.  This was fraught with danger as the log stand moved and the blade flexed and jarred worryingly   However the task was completed with the log the only casualty.  The cake cutting differed in that the couple cut slices up for everyone rather than a ceremonial cut.  The meal was very tasty I wish I could have eaten more, it was our first Bratwurst.  They had food in German, Mediterranean, Jamaican styles.  It was very nice to be there with Mark and Dana as they got married.

We took more time to have a walk around the Moritzberg castle as the weather had improved again the next day.  The area known as Saxon Switzerland was our next stop, we had a wander around Konigstein where they have a marker to show the height of floods as they are on the Elbe River which is huge.  In 2002 they had one of the biggest in recorded history and they had pictures around.  You could still see signs of the effects in some buildings.  Some the water was more the 1 story high.  The next day we checked out a couple for towns in the area and headed North out of Saxon Switzerland and back towards the Motorway.  I must say the scenery has been very impressive I hope Switzerland matches up.

Well good to get this out to you all, internet access has been very minimal.  Thanks Everyone

Ireland

So we crammed our van full of all our things and saw to final jobs like, going to DVLA at Borehamwood to pay for tax disc, filling tyres to fully loaded pressure, and filling the van with water.

Our first stop was a filming of the tv show QI in London.  We had planned to go to Virginia Water and catch the train to Waterloo however we couldn't get a park anywhere (station or town) so we went to Egham, again no parks at the station but we found one on the street.  We queued for 1.75 hrs to get in.  It was very enjoyable if a little hot.  Steven Fry brought in the wrong cue cards which was funny and held up things for a bit.  The shows theme was 'the silent K'.

After the show we made a start on the drive to the ferry terminal at Pembroke.  We had an unusual annoying encounter when I tried to turn in the street in Egham.  The street was narrow so I thought I would nose into a nearby driveway to get round.  No sooner had I crossed the threshold than a middleaged white lady came flying out the door yelling 'what the hell do you think your doing on my driveway'.  You'd think i'd just shat on her doorstep.  This left me trying to turn without the aid of the space of her drive.  All the time being stared down by the the housewife from hell and despite Nicky giving directions I couldn't get turned and had to admit defeat.  It is an interesting illustration of the psyche of Londoners.

The next day we made it to our ferry to Ireland, all went smoothly and the sea was very flat.  We made some progress towards Dublin that evening and we finished off the drive into Dublin the next morning and managed to find a good free park.  Walked alongside the River Liffey which unfortunately is a blight on the city. It is very messy lots of rubbish, the water ran clear but this only served to display that the riverbed was full trash and debris.  The central city was vibrant and bustling and we visited the National Museum, the highlight being the bronze age gold artefacts in particular the collars.  After closing we watched a bit of cricket at Trinity College Dublin before going to our prebooked Food, Folklore and Fairies evening.  This was enjoyable, the food was basic but done okay and the stories and music generally held your attention.  We were with some Lithuanians and Americans, got some good tips about Lithuania.

Gold Collars in National Museum

Next morning we visited Knowth and Newgrange (Neolithic passage tombs the biggest remaining in Ireland), they were very impressive and interesting structures. You get a brief guided tour at each one and there is an exhibition, well worth it and something not seen in the UK.  After this we headed to Vantastival, unfortunately the weather had turned and this day was a little unpleasant and we didn't get around as much as we would have liked but we did enjoy a bit of music.  Day 2 at the festival went smoothly, after some initial trouble with the boiler Nicky and I managed to get the water heated and showered so it was good to get that sorted.  Unfortunately our fridge has not been working, so we'll have to get that checked out ASAP.

Passage tombs at Knowth

 Passage tomb at Newgrange

We were a little tired on Day 3 so didn't see quite as much music but we did see Altan whom sung all their songs in Gaelic.  We have both enjoyed our time at the festival.  However although everyone we've dealt with has been thoroughly pleasant the festival lead us to some concerning conclusions.  1. The Irish national pastimes appear to be drinking and smoking, 2. Natural selection may be acting on the Irish to make one hand better for holding a  drink and the other a cigarette, 3. There seems to be a distinct lack of physical athleticism and they may be held back by the fact most sports can't be undertaken while holding a drink and cigarette.

After the festival we visited the towns of Monaghan and Armagh, then the 3rd largest lake in Europe Lough Neagh.  Of particular note in Monaghan werethe towns info boards and community spaces had a recent revamp and presented a good impression.  However as it was Bank Holiday most things were closed.  Armagh has a very grand Roman Catholic Cathedral completed in 1904 and a much older church or Ireland cathedral located on the site were St Patrick is suppose to have had a church built in 445AD.

Roman Catholic

Church of Ireland

Made a brief stop in Antrim on our way to Belfast where after a tour of the town hall it was all things Titanic. A walking tour and the new titanic exhibition.  I highly recommend the walking tour and the exhibition is okay (very new hi-tech but lacking in actual artefacts relating to white star line or titanic).  While doing the walking tour we also saw Titanic Studios where they film Game of Thrones (GofT) YAY. Anyway this inspired visits to a few set locations throughout County Antrim the next day.

Dry Dock used by Titanic

So after Belfast we had the first experience of filling the new LPG tank, all went well.  Then we used our first aire de service for disposing of toilet waste and power connection.  It appears Northern Ireland is the one place in the British Isles to embrace this concept.

We drove a route called the Causeway Coastal Route. Unfortunately the weather was atrocious.

• We tried to see Glenarm (one of the County Antrim Glens) but we ended up in the clouds and couldn't see anything until we got back to the coast.  
• We went to Cushendun where there were coastal caves that they used in GofT (YAY, the scene when Melisandre gives birth to the shadow baby).  
  
• We went to Carrick-a-rede to see a rope bridge out to an island previously used by fisherman.  It has been rebuilt and modified to include metal cables but the impression is maintained.  Unfortunately the winds were too high and you couldn't go on the bridge. 
  
• We popped across to the next bay which has Ballintoy Harbour which is used as the harbour of Lordsport (Iron Islands) on GofT.  
• We also poked our heads into White Park Bay before heading inland to see a place called the Dark Hedges, this was used in GofT as the setting for when Arya Stark was fleeing Kings Landing. 
  
• Then the Giants Causeway, a formation of basalt in vertical hexagonal blocks, pretty funky and a world heritage site since 1986.
  
• Then we visited Downhill beach which they used in GofT for the scene where the effigies of the seven were burnt.
  

 That has us all up to date we'll be visiting Derry and the Ulster-American Folk Park tomorrow weather permitting.