Not only did we make it there, but we made it back too 12/3/07

In thirteen hours. Projected time to get back? Eight-ish hours. So what were the hold-ups, you ask? Well, let me tell you.

First, since it was Sunday, there was a limited shuttle service to the airport, so we had to leave the hostel two and a half hours before our flight left. The shuttle took all of 20 minutes. That was actually okay though, because I got some Jewish Life homework done. Really rough flight (I slept through it anyway) with a group of, shall we say, dipstick boys who dinged the flight attendants every two and a half minutes. Still, this is all fairly reasonable.

Until we land. It's so windy in Frankfurt (Hähn) that the plane is moving on the ground, and it's drizzling too. Basically a miserable day. So we get off the plane and walk towards the building, only to be stopped outside in a ridiculous line. Our flight was detained by passport inspection, and instead of working it out so that we could at least be indoors, we were stuck outside in the elements. Not the nice ones, either. So half an hour later, we finally get our passports checked. By this point, I'm relatively annoyed, and the nice passport checker person making fun of my German language skills did not really help. But he seemed to have a good sense of humor, so I belayed the minor hissy fit that they soooo deserved. As it turns out, we were left out in the cold because Ireland and the UK do not have the full EU Mobility that Amanda and I have grown to know and love. We're planning on writing a protest letter.

Anyway, this lovely adventure caused us to miss our bus, and have to wait another hour or so. This was followed by a two hour bus ride, only to find that we had missed our train to Marburg by mere minutes. So we had another 45 minutes of waiting. And an hour long train ride. Followed by a bus ride. Might I just say that as much as I love traveling (and I do), it will be quite nice to go back to the half-hour rides to Richmond, followed by the hour and a half flight that does not require a passport, followed by an hour drive home. That will be nice. Absolutely loved Ireland though!

We made it to Ireland! 11/30/07

Things are looking up already. Though it looked gloomy when we missed one of our connections, we still had enough time to get to the airport and after a relatively smooth flight (the flight attendant yelled at me because my camera was on during landing) to Ireland. Our Hostel is quite cute, and the bunk beds don't squeak when you touch them, so all is well in that department. We pretty much dropped our stuff and went exploring, since we still had most of the day.

Killarney is fairly small, so we were able to do a lot of the center of town (which boasts 25+ bars in a 400-yard radius). It was actually sunny for parts of the day, i.e. not during one of the four separate rainstorms that we walked through. Ireland is a very thrilling place, and I'll tell you why.

Every other country we've been in: Coca Cola Light.

Ireland: Diet Coke. Not like in the States, but better. I heart Ireland.

So we walked around for a while and the we took a lovely walk though the Killarney National Park to the Ross Castle, Caislean An Rois in Irish, (at which point the sky opened up and poured) and then went back into town for a traditional Irish meal. By the way, did I mention that we came to Ireland for International Bailey's Day? We ate at Murphy's Pub (I had roast lamb... excellent, just so you know) and then we received complimentary shots of Bailey's Toffee Liquor. Tomorrow we're going on a bus tour of the Ring of Killarney. It should be quite beautiful, except that there's going to be a windstorm and showers. Oh well, we'll dry off eventually. Like back in the States.

Exchange Rates:

$1.46=1 Euro

$1.00=.68 Euro

Off Again 11/27/07

I am down to thirteen days left in Europe. In addition to a three day trip to Ireland (everyone get your fingers crossed and keep them crossed for the next week) I have a day trip to Nuremburg and a day trip to Frankfurt planned. Plus you know, 11 hours of Economic Policy, 10 hours of Jewish Life and four hours of Finance and their respective exams/40 minute presentations. And packing. And deregistering with the city. And meeting with the people in charge of my program. And ResLife. And the House mother. Excuse me while I go bury my head under a pillow and go to sleep for the next thirteen days. Haha, just kidding. it will be fun. Much better than the 17.5 (!!!) hours that I have to spend in transit between Marburg and Richmond. On the way over they showed House on the plane... I hope that it's not the same episodes. Wish us luck on getting to Ireland!!!