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The Exchange to Friendship
Force Causeway Coast in Northern Ireland
using a bus trip across the British Islands from September
4th to 17th 2011.
After nearly one year of preparation by the Exchange directors Heiner
Kröger, responsible for the organisation and Rainer Becker
in charge for the correspondence, the planning of the bus trip for
the exchange with Friedship Force Causeway Coast and a private Roundtrip
across Ireland with 30 ambassadors was established.
The Night Ferry from Amsterdam to Newcastle on Tyne had no problems.
The planning got under time stress because of an unexpected welcome
from Friedship Force friends at Newcastle and therefore the bus
driver showed a “hells driver” performance to compensate
the lost time to get onto the ferry from Stranraer to Belfast in
time until he noticed that the forgotten time change on his watch
had been causing the rush.
At dawn we met our meeting point with our hosts from Causeway Coast
at Portballintrae Village Hall where hosts and ambassadors took
the chance to learn each other during a Welcome Meal Buffet. When
the hosts invited us, virtually as the dessert, to exercise “Scottish
dancing” we knew its going to be very late until we would get
to bed either at the private homes or at the hotel.
The following day they initiated an interesting and variable four
day programme they had planned for us starting with their UNESCO
World Heritage the “Giant’s Causeway” at the Northern
Coast of Northern Ireland. It is an area of about 40,000 interlocking
hexagonal and up to 12 meter high basalt columns, the result of
an ancient volcanic eruption 60 Mio years ago.
The legend talks about the Irish warrior Fionn Mac Cumhaill and
his Scottish counterpart Benandonner who wanted to have a duel using
the stone bridge, however they never really fought it either because
of to much respect or fear and somehow the stony dam got destroyed.
It was going to be a test of courage when we visited the worldwide
famous Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge, a small suspension bridge for
pedestrians, which connects two islands at a distance of 20 m at
a height of 30 m above the boiling sea. Courage or not the rationality
made some of us to refrain from crossing it and this way they enjoyed
free of stress the common dinner which our hosts prepared every
night always inviting our ambassadors staying in the hotel. We considered
this to be a demonstration of outstanding hospitality!
During the daily tour to Belfast on Wednesday we were impressed
by the visit of the City Hall and the Cultra Folk Park however the
unforgettable event highlight was the Irish dance Performance in
the Riverside Theatre of the University of Colerine. Kids and young
boys and girls of the age between 6 and 18 burned a firework of
Irish Dance with so much joy and enthusiasm that there was no thoughts
of the modest form of dance that was historically the Catholic Church
had demanded to prevent excesses.
The people who tasted at the worldwide known oldest Whiskey Distillery
in Bushmills showed no effects and enjoyed the wonderful Farewell
Party at the Bushfoot Golf Club as everybody else closing this exchange
in harmony and promising that we will meet again.
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Welcome Party at Friendship Force Causeway
Coast
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Volcanic basalt formations on the Northern
coast
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Not recommended for anybody with fear of heights
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Detlef, our driver at the steering wheel of
a 1910 bus
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Bushmills Whiskey Distillery – storage
of delicacies with high proof
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Extensive wall paintings in Londonderry as reminders
of time of violence
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| The Peace Bridge of Londonderry today combines
the enemies of yesterday |
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A change of weather within in a half hours time
is normal in this area |
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Wild nature in its original state |
The private Ireland tour in company of the Dutch guide Annalisa
Hoek started after we had fixed a technical problem with the
bus engine.
Before we crossed the border to Ireland she informed us about
the strain between the various political and religious groups
at Londonderry with a lot of sensitivity during a city sightseeing
walk. From our Hotel in Oranmore/Galway we started a round trip
through the lonesome Connemora area with his numerous lakes
and the one and only fiord of Ireland, via Cliffton and Kallymore
and Westport where a tunnel was too tight for the bus and made
us deviate to get back.
At that night a “three man band” and a Guinness at
the hotel bar helped us to digest the obligatory dinner potato
pie.
Although the rain had diminished the wind had increased to a
storm, when we arrived at the Cliffs of Moher. It required a
lot of power to fight your way against it towards the 100 m
high cliffs and get a look onto the raging Atlantic Ocean.
Thereafter we crossed the area of Burren, a limestone landscape
without any trees and submerged watering systems but numerous
historical monuments. Passing the “godforsaken village
Lisdoonvarna“ we were told that it awakes only once a year
for the well known wedding market of Ireland, where any male
subject, disregarding his shape or image believes to have chance
to profit from the surplus of women in this country.
In Killarney the home of Annalisa offered her local knowledge
and accompanied some of us during a night tour through the Pubs
of the city.
The next day we “made” the Ring of Kerry in the Southeast
of the country and we did not miss any highlight or legend such
as Killorglin (the goat King), 500 year old Cahers (farm houses),
or the Holiday flat of Charly Chaplin in Waterville and Cobh’s
Strand with the unbelievable high sea waves reaching our hotel
at Cork for the night.
Heading for Dublin we stopped at Rock of Cashel, where the National
Saint St. Patrick has baptised king Aenghus against his wish
and we visited the middle aged city of Kilkenny with its Victorian
Castle.
No potato pie but the Irish Music and Guinness in the various
Pubs at Dublin which we visited that night formed a real contrast
to the historical sites and laid ground for the next day’s
sightseeing with a visit to the Trinity College, St. Patrick’s
Cathedral and a free stroll through the town before the start
of the return trip.
We had waited for quite some time and as the one and only customer
for the “usual ferry from Dun Laoghaire to Holyhead“
when we learned just in time to catch the correct one
that this ferry did not exist any more.
This difficulty had just been circumnavigated when the electricity
of our bus failed totally reaching the English side which took
a lot of phoning and a bridging wire to fix it and a lot of
time making us arrive very late at Ashfort.
The concluding highlights of the tour were the visits of the
little and beautiful city and port Rye which used to be a “pirate
hideout” at the southern Coast of England and Canterbury,
the largest and oldest Cathedral of England.
With our heads full of impressions and the digital camera full
of pixel and MB’s we left the British Island via Dover
and Calais and drove visa Belgium and the Netherlands, Oldenburg
back to Varel.
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The weather should improve if you do a pilgrimage
uphill and walk around holy St. Patrick for three times
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Rain and storm at hurricane force over the Cliffs
of Moher |
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Cheerio – Irish Coffie in the Red Fox Inn
at the Ring of Kerry
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| A 2500 year old fortified farmstead |
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Ihe surging breakers at the West Coast
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Irish Folk in a music bar in Dublin
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A symbol of Dublin: the fish and mussel seller
„Molly
Malone“
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Rye – a former pirate and smuggler's town
in Susex
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The huge Cathedral of Canterbury in Southern
England
(Source: Wikipedia)
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