Spring Break Sightseeing – Journals from Abroad

Welcome back!

As briefly mentioned in my previous post, the University of Galway gives students two weeks of spring break… technically. The first week is labeled as spring break, and the second week is study week, or a chance for students to study for their end of year exams. However, because of my exam schedule, I was able to use study week as an extended spring break and do most of my studying this week. This two week break gave me the opportunity to check some sightseeing off of my Ireland bucket list.

The first stop on the bucket list was a day trip to Dublin, which I had yet to explore. I boarded the bus from Galway to Dublin’s City Centre, and 2 1/2 hours later I was there.

My first stop was at a boba shop to fuel up for the rest of the day’s adventures. I then made my way to Trinity College for a tour of their Old Library and The Book of Kells exhibit. The Book of Kells is a manuscript of the 4 gospel books of the Bible and dates from 800 AD. It is incredibly well preserved, and the library staff take great care to keep it that way, which means that photographing the actual manuscript is prohibited, as it can damage the book. The Old Library and the books housed within it are also consistently undergoing preservation work, which means that there was construction going on and about half of the collection missing when I toured. Nonetheless, the library was beautiful. My favorite part were the marble busts of famous authors, philosophers, and scientists lining the central walkway. Definitely a worthwhile visit as a bookworm.

a wooden bookshelf with a ladder in front of it. in the foreground is a marble bust of William Shakespeare — Trinity College’s Old Library

a young woman standing in a library. Her hair is partially pulled back and she is wearing a black mock neck shirt and dark wash jeans

an enlarged photo of an illustrated page from the Book of Kells — an enlarged photo of a page from the Book of Kells

a museum display case full of different colored pigments — commonly used pigments in early manuscripts

The rest of my day in Dublin consisted of wandering Temple Street, where I grabbed dinner before my main reason for venturing to Dublin that day: a Rainbow Kitten Surprise concert. While the band name seems odd, their music is amazing, and they managed to climb their way to the #1 spot on my 2022 Spotify Wrapped in the span of a year. Their concert was sold out, but I managed to find someone reselling their ticket online. They rarely tour the west coast, so I find it quite ironic that it was easier to see them in a different country than the US. The concert was such an amazing experience, and I met some cool people while waiting for the doors to open. Coincidentally, I had seen them earlier in the boba shop, which made for a nice icebreaker in conversation.

a marquee with the word "Academy" on top and the words "the academy welcomes, tue 04, rainbow kitten surprise ,sold out, dublin's biggest club every fri and sat" — Rainbow Kitten Surprise Concert

a performer on a stage, backlit by a red LED light

5 performers on a stage with a crowd of people below them. the stage lights are yellow and blue

My second bucket list item of spring break was visiting the Cliffs of Moher. Most of the other international students I know had visited them earlier on in the semester, but I was holding out for better weather. The morning of my excursion was cloudy and rainy, so I thought that ship had sailed, but by the end of my 2 hour bus ride south the rain had let up and it was sunny and warm.

The cliffs, famous for their incredible view of the Atlantic (and for appearing in movies like Harry Potter and the Princess Bride), offer a visitor center, a gift shop, 800 meters of paved paths, and access to the coastal trail, which runs north-south through the cliffs. I went in the afternoon on a weekday, so it was a bit less crowded, which was super wonderful. After exploring the paved paths, I decided to venture northbound on the coastal trail for a nice little hike, and the view was spectacular. The cliffs are also known for their puffins, but I went a bit too early in the season to see any.

a young woman poses in front of the cliffs of moher. she is wearing a pink bandanna, glasses, a pink jacket, a beige tank top, and light wash jeans. — my photo op with the cliffs!

the cliffs of moher. grey stone cliffs with patches of green grass bordering the Atlantic Ocean

a light stone monument with a grey stone wall behind it — a memorial commemorating climbers that died on the cliffs

the cliffs of moher border the left and foreground of the image. the right side of the image is the atlantic ocean — the sun was just starting to set as I was leaving, which made for an even more breathtaking view

a stone staircase with green grass on either side. the atlantic ocean in the background on the left side of the image — hiking along the coastal trail. Some parts, like this staircase, are more well maintained than others

My next excursion of break was an overnight trip to Derry in Northern Ireland. There’s a direct bus from Galway to Derry that leaves twice a day, with the first one departing at 6 AM. A 5 hour ride and a nap on the bus later and I arrived. I checked into my AirBNB room to drop off my bag and set off to explore downtown. I ate lunch in a little café and wandered the small shops before heading to the Museum of Free Derry, which focuses on the Troubles and the Free Derry/civil rights movement in the early 1960s from the perspective of the Irish nationalists that championed for greater rights and increased parliamentary representation for Catholic citizens of Derry.

a young woman takes a selfie with a mural for the tv show Derry Girls. The woman is wearing a teal jacket and a yellow shirt. the mural contains pictures of 4 girls and 1 boy in green school uniforms — A must have photo with the Derry Girls mural

various posters detailing slogans used by irish nationalists during the irish civil rights movement — Posters from the Troubles

a painted trash can lid depicting a scene from the Troubles. in front of the lid is a book with someone wearing a gas mask on the cover titled "The battle of bogside" — part of the Museum of Free Derry Exhibit

a white monument with the words" you are now entering free derry" on it — the Free Derry monument

a memorial dedicated to those that resisted british occupation of northern ireland. orange and green flowers are arranged around the top, left, and bottom of the memorial — a memorial dedicated to those that resisted British occupation of Northern Ireland

My next visit was to the Guildhall, which is Derry’s city hall. It also features an exhibit on the Ulster Plantation Era (which marks the beginning of British involvement in Derry) and one on the Good Friday Agreement, which was ratified 25 years ago and marked the end of the Troubles. Coincidentally, President Biden was visiting Belfast and County Mayo to commemorate this anniversary the same days I was traveling to and from Derry (which takes you through County Mayo). A few people I ran into in Derry asked me about it after realizing that I was American! Tangent aside, after a stop for dinner I headed back to where I was staying for the night.

a building made out of orange colored stone, with a tall clock tower and large stained glass windows — the Guildhall

a giant organ in a large meeting room — the meeting room in the Guildhall

a quote written on a wall that reads "the basis of peace and stability, in any society, has to be the fullest respect for the human rights of all its people"- John hume, nobel lecture, oslo, 1998 — a quote from Irish nationalist John Hume, when he was jointly awarded the Nobel peace prize for his work towards ending the Troubles

The next day I started bright and early with a walk through Brooke Park and by St. Eugene’s Cathedral, then up the hill to wander the Derry city walls, which have remained intact since their creation in the 1600s. This offered an incredible view of the city, and a chance to look at old bastions and churches like St. Augustine’s.

I then headed to my third museum of the trip: the Tower Museum, which gets its name from its location in a historic tower building downtown. The main exhibit outlines the history and prehistory of Derry, including time periods such as pre-colonized Derry, the Siege of Derry in the 1600s, the Potato Famine, and the Troubles. There’s also a secondary exhibit on the excavation of a sunken Spanish Armada ship and an interactive room geared towards children. After exploring the museum I grabbed a late lunch in a different café and bought some snacks for the bus ride home.

a grey stone cathedral with a tall spire. in the foreground is a tree and a grass lawn — St. Eugene’s Cathedral

a paved road on top of a city wall. the roofs of buildings border either side — Derry’s city walls

a wrought iron gate, behind which is a small church with a light colored wooden door and a circular window — St. Augustine’s church

a sign describing the golden age of Derry, in the first century AD. It includes pictures of gold artifacts — Even Derry dislikes the British Museum (a bit of museum studies humor for you, my dear readers) 🙂

a paper model of the early city of Derry, including paper walls and paper buildings — a paper model of early Derry

a room with a carpeted floor. the floor contains glass windows with artifacts recovered from a ship peeking through — Artifacts recovered from the Spanish Armada ship

Visiting Derry as someone who loves learning about culture was such a unique experience. It was Irish enough to be similar to the culture I’ve been immersing myself in for the past three months, but there were elements that felt more similar to my visit to London, which makes sense, given that Northern Ireland belongs to the UK. They still use pounds as currency, most of the road signs were written only in English (as opposed to the bilingual nature of Irish road signs), public transportation and infrastructure was more like that of the UK, and a lot of the architecture had British influence.

I rounded out my spring break by attending a professional women’s soccer/football match here in Galway. Galway has both a men and women’s pro team, and the stadium they play in is a 10 minute walk from my apartment. Galway United took the lead off an early match score from a corner kick, but the opposing team scored in the last 15 minutes of the match to tie up the game, which made for quite an exhilarating match.

a group of women playing professional soccer/football. the stands in the back have colored seats spelling "Gaillimh", which is Irish for Galway — the Galway United Women’s football match!

a group of women playing professional soccer on a green soccer field. a picture of a women wearing a red beanie with the galway united football club crest, glasses, a teal rain jacket, and a sweatshirt that reads "Linfield" in red letters

I have a little over two weeks left in Ireland before I head home. While I’m excited to see my family and friends, I am a little sad to be leaving such a wonderful country. But, my adventure isn’t over quite yet, so stay tuned for more 🙂

Talk soon!

Katie