Our trip to the Emerald Isle

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St. Patrick, Shamrock, Guinness, rain, sheep and farms... Many cliches come to your mind when you hear someone talking about Ireland. On March 26 we, the 3 HKB, 3 HKC and the 3HMA, started from the VIA, our heads full of these stereotypes.

Having just arrived in Dublin we got a bit confused. We tried to get onto the bus, but we totally forgot that you get on board from the other side in Ireland. It took us a couple of days to get used to it.

Fortunately our host families received us with smiling faces, because we were all very exhausted from the flight. The next day we started our big Dublin programme. First we visited the city centre, with all its great pubs and other monuments. Right after that we went to Trinity College, where we saw one of the most beautiful and oldest books in the world, the Book of Kells. But there is one particular excursion which I think everyone who was there will remember for a long time, the night we went Céilí dancing, which was just awesome! It was so much fun to learn that crazy Irish group dance with live music. There is no better way to explore Irish traditions than to spend a Friday night at a Céilí.

The next day we went to Glandalough, a beautiful place in the country. I’ve never seen such green grass as there was there. It was the perfect place for relaxing with all its rivers and lakes. It was just a glorious day, the sun shone all day long, so we all went back home with smiles on our faces.

One of our favourite activities was of course shopping, shopping and even more shopping. I’ve never seen a country with such cheap clothes, some of us felt like in a dream.

On the last day we visited the Cliffs of Moher, which are one of the most beautiful things ever created by nature and a stone beach where you could still see rocks from the Ice Age.

All in all it was a fantastic week, with many highlights and a lot of fun. Yes, there was Guinness, yes there was rain, there were sheep and farms. But there were also supermarkets, skyscrapers and normal beer that took Ireland far beyond our stereotypes and expectations. Ireland is a must for anyone who’s interested in culture.

Philippe Steiger