IRELAND, Cahir Castle and Swiss Cottage

After going to the Rock of Cashel I stopped in Cahir to see the Cahir Castle which is one of the best preserved castles in Ireland and the Swiss Cottage which was about 3 km away.

IRELAND, Blarney Castle , Blarney Stone, Witches Steps

The first picture is the Blarney House which is the residence of the family that owns Blarney Castle. Legend has it that anyone who kisses the Blarney Stone receives the "gift of gab". Also, if you walk down and up the Witches Steps backwards with your eyes closed you will receive whatever wish you are thinking of at the time. A witch supposedly grants these wishes because the owner of the castle let her collect firewood on the property when she lived nearby.

NORWAY, Oslo, The Viking Museum and Kon-Tiki Museum

Monday September 17, 2007

I spent Sunday night in a hostel in Oslo and will fly to Dublin today at 7pm. Earler today I took the ferry in Oslo to see the Viking Museum. They have 3 original viking ships that have been restored. There are also other viking artifacts such as wagons, carts and cooking utensils. It was quite a sight to see. I also visited the Kon-Tiki Museum which included the raft and the
boat made out of papyrus. This boat and raft sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and part of the Pacific to prove that ancient civilizations could have colonized far away countries many years ago.

"I sought to see the amazing as normal, and the daily as unique, and in that swirling paradox I found the joy of travel."
Mary Poxon

NORWAY , IN A NUTSHELL

Friday September 14, 2007

After finally getting checked into my hostel in Voss, I was looking for a sign of better things to come. I went to the local market to buy sandwich meat for the next few days and that is when it happened. Right in front of me was a package of 10 hot dog wieners and 10 hot dog buns. That's right, an even number of both. Not sure if this would make the pope's list of miracles but it is certainly something that I have neither seen or heard of in my lifetime. lol This was the sign I was waiting for and I quickly purchased them.

The next day was overcast but had great visibility so I went on the "Norway In A Nutshell" tour. It started with a bus ride down the mountains on hairpin turns, then on a two hour ferry ride through the   most beautiful fjords in Norway and then finished by train on the famous Flam Railroad. When we  most beautiful fjords in Norway and then finished by train on the famous Flam Railroad. When we arrived at the town of Myrdal , high in mountain, it started to snow very hard. Overall, it was everything that I came to Norway to do. Trekking through the mountains would be nice but all the hostels in the mountains closed in August much to my dismay.

Sunday I take the train back to Oslo and Monday I fly back to Dublin 12 days earlier than planned. The fact that trekking is not possible and Norway is the most expensive country in Europe made going back to Dublin early an easy decision.