I will miss it! Pennys is great.
When I was there the first time I bought 6 items for 7 Euro! A good bargain, aren't it?
The first of us who discovered Pennys where some Spanish and I think they spent 200 euro there the fist time. I really would like to know, how they carried, all the things you can buy there for 200 euro, at home.
I thing for all Erasmus Pennys is the most visited shop in Ireland, maybe after Lidl! Ok, it could be that there are a few, who don't like it because there is sometimes a lot of crush and because they don't like the cloths. I also don't really know about the quality of the stuff you can buy there, but seriously, who cares if you sometimes pays 1 euro for a top!
The special offers are great. Every time if you go there there are two or more hall stands where they offer cloths for 1-4 euro each. And you start your bargain hunting.
They are not only selling cloths, they offer toothbrushes, shampoo, body lotion, towels, bedclothes and many kinds of decoration stuff. You can also buy shoes for around 3 euro.
In Germany we have H&M and it's similar to Pennys. Almost everybody, who is my age or younger, buys there. They also offer cheap and trendy cloths and often have this special offers like Pennys. But it's not the same! Normally you can't find tops for 1 euor only.
So I hope there will open the first Pennys in Germany soon! And I advice all of you: If you are in Ireland one time, have a look and enter the first Pennys you see!
Friday, November 30, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Belfast
Saturday we went to Belfast. When I searched in the internet, I found differnt companys going from Dundalk to Belfast. At least I found Aircoach, Eireann and Goldline and I thought all are leaving at the main busstation in Dundalk, the long walk. But I was wrong. When we arived there at 10am, the man behind the information desk told us, that there is no bus leaving before 11.30am. Airchoach, he told us, has their busstation "at the motorway". Later in Belfast we found out that Aircoach actually stops infront of Mc.Donalds in Dundalk, so that we could have reached it if we would have got the right information. But so we decided to have a coffee till we saw that there is another bus leaving to Newry.
We thought it would be nice to spend maybe one hour in Newry instead of Dundalk and we went back to the man at the information desk to ask if we have to pay twice when we take a bus to Newry first and than from there to Belfast. He told us, that that won't be a probleme and that there is a bus leaving from Newry to Belfast every 20min and we wondered a little bit why he didn't suggest us this opportunity before.
We took the bus to Newry, paid the 20 Euro for a two ways ticket and wondered again, because one of us had paid only 16euro when he was there a few weeks ago. But that let me come to another question: Since I'm here nobody can tell me why you have to pay sometimes 7 sometimes 5 Euro to go to Dublin. And why there is a differnece between "drop out" and "pick up" stops. If somebody has discovered this please let me know!
But back to Belfast. After a short stop in Newry, we arrived in Belfast and went directly to the big international Christmas market infront of the City Hall. We had really fun to see Bratwurst and Schwenkgrill boths from Germany, french, spanish and other international boths.
We ate Tartifette, which is a traditional meal in France. It consists of potatos, onions, bacon and cream.
I think you should have seen the Eyes of our frensh friend, when he saw the both. He had some kind of home feelings in seeing and eating it.
After our french meal we decided to make the Busguiding tour through Belfast for 9pounds. I think this is expensive and normally I would prefer discovering a city on foot and on my own, but it wasn´t really good weather and we only had a few hours till it would become dark.
We saw the port where the titanic was built, the painted walls in the west of Belfast and of course the towncenter. The trip took around 1,5hours and then we went shopping and after this in a pub. By the way the booze is really cheap in Northern Ireland! So we had a few bottles with us when we left home at around 10.
On our way back we shared opinion about the conflict. And we wondered how the conflict was being ended. When I was at home I searched for some expalantion in the internet and found very interesting facts at Wikipedia.
For example I got to know, that only on the night from the 30th to the 31 of july 2007, that means 15 days before I arrived in Ireland, the british armee had ended their deployment in Northen Ireland after 38 years.
There are a few more interesting facts about the conflict on these sites:
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Troubles
or
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Belfast
We thought it would be nice to spend maybe one hour in Newry instead of Dundalk and we went back to the man at the information desk to ask if we have to pay twice when we take a bus to Newry first and than from there to Belfast. He told us, that that won't be a probleme and that there is a bus leaving from Newry to Belfast every 20min and we wondered a little bit why he didn't suggest us this opportunity before.
We took the bus to Newry, paid the 20 Euro for a two ways ticket and wondered again, because one of us had paid only 16euro when he was there a few weeks ago. But that let me come to another question: Since I'm here nobody can tell me why you have to pay sometimes 7 sometimes 5 Euro to go to Dublin. And why there is a differnece between "drop out" and "pick up" stops. If somebody has discovered this please let me know!
But back to Belfast. After a short stop in Newry, we arrived in Belfast and went directly to the big international Christmas market infront of the City Hall. We had really fun to see Bratwurst and Schwenkgrill boths from Germany, french, spanish and other international boths.
We ate Tartifette, which is a traditional meal in France. It consists of potatos, onions, bacon and cream.
I think you should have seen the Eyes of our frensh friend, when he saw the both. He had some kind of home feelings in seeing and eating it.
After our french meal we decided to make the Busguiding tour through Belfast for 9pounds. I think this is expensive and normally I would prefer discovering a city on foot and on my own, but it wasn´t really good weather and we only had a few hours till it would become dark.
We saw the port where the titanic was built, the painted walls in the west of Belfast and of course the towncenter. The trip took around 1,5hours and then we went shopping and after this in a pub. By the way the booze is really cheap in Northern Ireland! So we had a few bottles with us when we left home at around 10.
On our way back we shared opinion about the conflict. And we wondered how the conflict was being ended. When I was at home I searched for some expalantion in the internet and found very interesting facts at Wikipedia.
For example I got to know, that only on the night from the 30th to the 31 of july 2007, that means 15 days before I arrived in Ireland, the british armee had ended their deployment in Northen Ireland after 38 years.
There are a few more interesting facts about the conflict on these sites:
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Troubles
or
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Belfast
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Anaverna Mountain and the Magic Hill
15 min away from Dundalk there is the Anaverna Mountain. You have a really nice view from there.
By car you can almost go up the mountain and then you´ll find the way.
A few minutes on foot and you see a real Dolmen and a kind of stonehanch.
But much more intersting is the magic hill. I think you won´t believe it, but near to the Anaverna mountain there you go on a street and if you switch off your car you will although go up a hill.
You will ask why, but I think nobody knows exactly. maybe there are a few explanations but I think nobody really has discovered it yet.
My landlord told me, that there were a few TV shows about it and that there is another magic hill near cork, too.
Unfortunately there is no sign or anything else to find the magic hill, so that you only can experience it if you are with somebody who knows where exactly it is.
By car you can almost go up the mountain and then you´ll find the way.
A few minutes on foot and you see a real Dolmen and a kind of stonehanch.
But much more intersting is the magic hill. I think you won´t believe it, but near to the Anaverna mountain there you go on a street and if you switch off your car you will although go up a hill.
You will ask why, but I think nobody knows exactly. maybe there are a few explanations but I think nobody really has discovered it yet.
My landlord told me, that there were a few TV shows about it and that there is another magic hill near cork, too.
Unfortunately there is no sign or anything else to find the magic hill, so that you only can experience it if you are with somebody who knows where exactly it is.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Fairy tales
Yesterday I made a fairy tale party to celebrate in my birthday. I think it's an habit of Erasmus students to celebrate topic partys and so I chose also one: fairy tales. Recent topics were for example: bad taste, punk/gothic, Halloween of course and traffic light. What traffic light means? People have to dress in green, yellow or red and the colours show, if you are spoken for somebody, if you don't know or if you are free. When I heart it the first time it sounds stupid but it was a nice party!
But back to the party yesterday. We had Peter Pan, Puss in Boots, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, a dwarf, an elf, a pirate and so on but the best costume was the Pied Piper of Hamelin. One of the two irish, which were on my party, came with a walking frame and went for around 10min to "dress up". When he came back, he had put a few balloons on a string and fixed it on one feet. During he was walking he was drawing the string with the balloon with his feet and used the walking frame as if he would play an instrument. I think i have to add the fairy tale to let you understand what he showed us:
"Once upon a time . . . on the banks of a great river in the north of Germany lay a town called Hamelin. The citizens of Hamelin were honest folk who lived contentedly in their grey stone houses. The years went by, and the town grew very rich. Then one day, an extraordinary thing happened to disturb the peace. Hamelin had always had rats, and a lot too. But they had never been a danger, for the cats had always solved the rat problem in the usual way - by killing them. All at once, however, the rats began to multiply. In the end, a black sea of rats swarmed over the whole town. First, they attacked the barns and storehouses, then, for lack of anything better, they gnawed the wood, cloth or anything at all. The one thing they didn't eat was metal. The terrified citizens flocked to plead with the town councillors to free them from the plague of rats. But the council had, for a long time, been sitting in the Mayor's room, trying to think of a plan. "What we need is an army of cats!" But all the cats were dead. "We'll put down poisoned food then . . ." But most of the food was already gone and even poison did not stop the rats. "It just can't be done without help!" said the Mayor sadly. Just then, while the citizens milled around outside, there was a loud knock at the door. "Who can that be?" the city fathers wondered uneasily, mindful of the angry crowds. They gingerly opened the door. And to their surprise, there stood a tall thin man dressed in brightly coloured clothes, with a long feather in his hat, and waving a gold pipe at them. "I've freed other towns of beetles and bats," the stranger announced, "and for a thousand florins, I'll rid you of your rats!" "A thousand florins!" exclaimed the Mayor. "We'll give you fifty thousand if you succeed!" At once the stranger hurried away, saying: "It's late now, but at dawn tomorrow, there won't be a rat left in Hamelin!" The sun was still below the horizon, when the sound of a pipe wafted through the streets of Hamelin. The pied piper slowly made his way through the houses and behind him flocked the rats. Out they scampered from doors, windows and gutters, rats of every size, all after the piper. And as he played, the stranger marched down to the river and straight into the water, up to his middle. Behind him swarmed the rats and every one was drowned and swept away by the current. By the time the sun was high in the sky, there was not a single rat in the town. There was even greater delight at the town hall, until the piper tried to claim his payment. "Fifty thousand florins?" exclaimed the councillors, "Never..." " A thousand florins at least!" cried the pied piper angrily. But the Mayor broke in. "The rats are all dead now and they can never come back. So be grateful for fifty florins, or you'll not get even that . . ." His eyes flashing with rage, the pied piper pointed a threatening finger at the Mayor. "You'll bitterly regret ever breaking your promise," he said, and vanished. A shiver of fear ran through the councillors, but the Mayor shrugged and said excitedly: "We've saved fifty thousand florins!" That night, freed from the nightmare of the rats, the citizens of Hamelin slept more soundly than ever. And when the strange sound of piping wafted through the streets at dawn, only the children heard it. Drawn as by magic, they hurried out of their homes. Again, the pied piper paced through the town, this time, it was children of all sizes that flocked at his heels to the sound of his strange piping. The long procession soon left the town and made its way through the wood and across the forest till it reached the foot of a huge mountain. When the piper came to the dark rock, he played his pipe even louder still and a great door creaked open. Beyond lay a cave. In trooped the children behind the pied piper, and when the last child had gone into the darkness, the door reaked shut. A great landslide came down the mountain blocking the entrance to the cave forever. Only one little lame boy escaped this fate. It was he who told the anxious citizens, searching for their children, what had happened. And no matter what people did, the mountain never gave up its victims. Many years were to pass before the merry voices of other children would ring through the streets of Hamelin but the memory of the harsh lesson lingered in everyone's heart and was passed down from father to son through the centuries.
Here you can see how it looked like! :)
At least it was a funny party and an interesting topic because we found some cultural differences in fairy tales. There are of course the well known fairy tales but also many which are only known in one country or maybe one region. The fairy tale which is told above is only known in Germany.
That becomes very interesting when: french, finnish, portugese, irish, polish and german people celebrate together!
But back to the party yesterday. We had Peter Pan, Puss in Boots, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, a dwarf, an elf, a pirate and so on but the best costume was the Pied Piper of Hamelin. One of the two irish, which were on my party, came with a walking frame and went for around 10min to "dress up". When he came back, he had put a few balloons on a string and fixed it on one feet. During he was walking he was drawing the string with the balloon with his feet and used the walking frame as if he would play an instrument. I think i have to add the fairy tale to let you understand what he showed us:
"Once upon a time . . . on the banks of a great river in the north of Germany lay a town called Hamelin. The citizens of Hamelin were honest folk who lived contentedly in their grey stone houses. The years went by, and the town grew very rich. Then one day, an extraordinary thing happened to disturb the peace. Hamelin had always had rats, and a lot too. But they had never been a danger, for the cats had always solved the rat problem in the usual way - by killing them. All at once, however, the rats began to multiply. In the end, a black sea of rats swarmed over the whole town. First, they attacked the barns and storehouses, then, for lack of anything better, they gnawed the wood, cloth or anything at all. The one thing they didn't eat was metal. The terrified citizens flocked to plead with the town councillors to free them from the plague of rats. But the council had, for a long time, been sitting in the Mayor's room, trying to think of a plan. "What we need is an army of cats!" But all the cats were dead. "We'll put down poisoned food then . . ." But most of the food was already gone and even poison did not stop the rats. "It just can't be done without help!" said the Mayor sadly. Just then, while the citizens milled around outside, there was a loud knock at the door. "Who can that be?" the city fathers wondered uneasily, mindful of the angry crowds. They gingerly opened the door. And to their surprise, there stood a tall thin man dressed in brightly coloured clothes, with a long feather in his hat, and waving a gold pipe at them. "I've freed other towns of beetles and bats," the stranger announced, "and for a thousand florins, I'll rid you of your rats!" "A thousand florins!" exclaimed the Mayor. "We'll give you fifty thousand if you succeed!" At once the stranger hurried away, saying: "It's late now, but at dawn tomorrow, there won't be a rat left in Hamelin!" The sun was still below the horizon, when the sound of a pipe wafted through the streets of Hamelin. The pied piper slowly made his way through the houses and behind him flocked the rats. Out they scampered from doors, windows and gutters, rats of every size, all after the piper. And as he played, the stranger marched down to the river and straight into the water, up to his middle. Behind him swarmed the rats and every one was drowned and swept away by the current. By the time the sun was high in the sky, there was not a single rat in the town. There was even greater delight at the town hall, until the piper tried to claim his payment. "Fifty thousand florins?" exclaimed the councillors, "Never..." " A thousand florins at least!" cried the pied piper angrily. But the Mayor broke in. "The rats are all dead now and they can never come back. So be grateful for fifty florins, or you'll not get even that . . ." His eyes flashing with rage, the pied piper pointed a threatening finger at the Mayor. "You'll bitterly regret ever breaking your promise," he said, and vanished. A shiver of fear ran through the councillors, but the Mayor shrugged and said excitedly: "We've saved fifty thousand florins!" That night, freed from the nightmare of the rats, the citizens of Hamelin slept more soundly than ever. And when the strange sound of piping wafted through the streets at dawn, only the children heard it. Drawn as by magic, they hurried out of their homes. Again, the pied piper paced through the town, this time, it was children of all sizes that flocked at his heels to the sound of his strange piping. The long procession soon left the town and made its way through the wood and across the forest till it reached the foot of a huge mountain. When the piper came to the dark rock, he played his pipe even louder still and a great door creaked open. Beyond lay a cave. In trooped the children behind the pied piper, and when the last child had gone into the darkness, the door reaked shut. A great landslide came down the mountain blocking the entrance to the cave forever. Only one little lame boy escaped this fate. It was he who told the anxious citizens, searching for their children, what had happened. And no matter what people did, the mountain never gave up its victims. Many years were to pass before the merry voices of other children would ring through the streets of Hamelin but the memory of the harsh lesson lingered in everyone's heart and was passed down from father to son through the centuries.
Here you can see how it looked like! :)
At least it was a funny party and an interesting topic because we found some cultural differences in fairy tales. There are of course the well known fairy tales but also many which are only known in one country or maybe one region. The fairy tale which is told above is only known in Germany.
That becomes very interesting when: french, finnish, portugese, irish, polish and german people celebrate together!
Monday, November 19, 2007
The Spirit Store
Yesterday I spent a really good evening in a nice pub.
One girl from my homecollge, who was in Dundalk the last winter Semester for an exchange told me that I have to go to the Spiritstore. Since about 3months I haven't tried it. But now, because the time becomes less and less till I'll go back, I went there for an irish music session. It was great! We were sitting in a small room and there were at first only a few people playing music.
Bit by bit there came more and more people, at least there were four violines, many kinds of flutes, guitars, banjos, an accordion and I'm sure that I forgot something. We were in high spirits and had great 3 hours with the music and all of us said, that we will be there all the following sundays too.
The Spiritstore is direct at the port of Dundalk. It's an industrial port, but very little. It is really nice, to stand infront of the pub and see the two old and left boats and have a look at the sea. I think the Pub opens at noon and I can imagine that it will be gerat to sit in front of it and have a tea. When we were talking to an old man sitting in the pub, he told us, that it is one of the oldest pubs in dundalk.
And all the week there are bands, giving concerts.
So, I'll go there again as soon as possible!
And it's a good tip for all who want to spend a grat evening in Dundalk!
Christine
One girl from my homecollge, who was in Dundalk the last winter Semester for an exchange told me that I have to go to the Spiritstore. Since about 3months I haven't tried it. But now, because the time becomes less and less till I'll go back, I went there for an irish music session. It was great! We were sitting in a small room and there were at first only a few people playing music.
Bit by bit there came more and more people, at least there were four violines, many kinds of flutes, guitars, banjos, an accordion and I'm sure that I forgot something. We were in high spirits and had great 3 hours with the music and all of us said, that we will be there all the following sundays too.
The Spiritstore is direct at the port of Dundalk. It's an industrial port, but very little. It is really nice, to stand infront of the pub and see the two old and left boats and have a look at the sea. I think the Pub opens at noon and I can imagine that it will be gerat to sit in front of it and have a tea. When we were talking to an old man sitting in the pub, he told us, that it is one of the oldest pubs in dundalk.
And all the week there are bands, giving concerts.
So, I'll go there again as soon as possible!
And it's a good tip for all who want to spend a grat evening in Dundalk!
Christine
Monday, November 5, 2007
Hey folks,
actually this is my first real blog entry.
My blog will tell you about my experiences in Ireland. I went to Ireland three months ago to study at the Dundalk Institute of Technology click here to have a look at the homepage.
I want to tell you, what was or is difficult, what I would have expected differnt and of course what I'm doing here.
I hope you will enjoy my blog and I'm looking forward to share opinions about an exchange in Ireland, an exchange in any other country or how you think about the erasmus students coming over for a few months to your country.
Christine
actually this is my first real blog entry.
My blog will tell you about my experiences in Ireland. I went to Ireland three months ago to study at the Dundalk Institute of Technology click here to have a look at the homepage.
I want to tell you, what was or is difficult, what I would have expected differnt and of course what I'm doing here.
I hope you will enjoy my blog and I'm looking forward to share opinions about an exchange in Ireland, an exchange in any other country or how you think about the erasmus students coming over for a few months to your country.
Christine
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