Ireland has always been on my bucket list, especially as I find the landscape and climate so inspiring. After the past eventful years, it would be my first ever sabbatical at the age of 71. But I’m afraid I can’t simply put all my activities to one side. At the very least, I will definitely be significantly reducing my global travel activities and taking it easy in a new centre of life. I love hiking and the sea. I’ve found the Irish people I’ve met around the world so far so pleasant that I’m looking forward to more intensive social interaction at my new home on the Atlantic. Maybe I’ll finish my book here, which I started writing last year.
Firstly, however, the journey from Panama via Newark in New Jersey to Dublin with United Airlines was eventful and challenging due to the weather. I left my accommodation in an Uber taxi at 06:00 in the morning and travelled to Panama-Tocumen airport. There was already an hour’s delay before we took off for Newark. On the way, we learnt that the entire New York metropolitan area was closed to air traffic due to storms, so we first had to make a stopover in Washington Dulles and wait for further instructions at a remote holding area. After three hours, we received the relieving news that we were allowed to fly on to Newark. Once there, we were met by a crowd of several thousand people queuing for US immigration control. After a good two hours, I was finally through. You then have to collect your luggage and go through customs. After that, you actually hand your luggage back in for onward carriage and go to the gate for your connecting flight, which in my case had already departed several hours earlier. So I had to go to the airline’s next counter to get a rebooking to the next possible onward flight. Once again, there was a rush and it took another two hours. The next possible flight to Dublin was only available two days later. I opted for a flight to Shannon the following evening. One of my two suitcases had come off the baggage carousel damaged. I was therefore told to go to another terminal and report the damage at the appropriate counter and possibly get a new suitcase. No sooner said than done, but this also took another two hours until I was able to repack my clothes from the old suitcase into the new one. By now it was 04:00 in the morning and I just had to hand in my suitcases to check in for the flight to Shannon. As the counter didn’t open until 05:00 and I was not only tired but also hungry and thirsty, I treated myself to some food at Dunkin’ Donuts in the terminal before I could finally drop off my luggage. Fortunately, I then found a lounge behind the security checkpoint where I could spend the day with my Star Alliance Gold card until my flight departed in the evening. But this flight was also postponed several times until late into the night as the chaos in air traffic continued. We finally took off at around 03:00. We landed in Shannon, Ireland, in the late afternoon. One of my two suitcases had not arrived there, so I left the address for the subsequent delivery. My bus ticket from Dublin to Glenties in Donegal had already expired the day before and was therefore useless. The next bus connection in the early evening took me to Galway, where I was able to book an accommodation in a hurry via Booking.com. Once there, I first had to buy the essentials (toiletries and underwear) to freshen up after two sleepless days due to the loss of my suitcase. I enjoyed my first evening in Ireland in an Asian restaurant, which was the only place serving food.
The next morning, I travelled on by bus via Donegal Town to Glenties in County Donegal. Thomas, my landlord, picked me up from the bus stop and took me to his organic farm.
I spent the first trial month in the countryside in the north-west: Donegal County. Despite summertime, the climate there was rather harsh, between 10 and 20°C, windy, rainy and cloudy almost every day, so it was more suited to hiking in all-weather clothing. On the other hand, the people here are all the more welcoming and in a party mood in the pub in the evening.
It was certainly also due to my German landlord, Thomas, an organic farmer who emigrated from the Black Forest to Ireland 40 years ago to work in forestry. A surprising number of Germans have settled in County Donegal and they all seem to be fully integrated and feel at home here. I was also warmly welcomed. The visits to the pubs completed the picture.
On 16 July, I visited Letterkenny for a visit to the authorities. With a population of around 23,000, it is the largest town in County Donegal and even has a university as well as a regional hospital.
Walks in the countryside and visits to friends and acquaintances alternated with entertaining pub evenings where Irish folklore was belted out.
The coast and the nearest beach were only 10 minutes away by car and were perfect for walks and visits.
