Killarney and Oktoberfest

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Wow. I've had a couple of amazing weekends, and the week between was pretty incredible too.
Weekend before last Me, Nick, the Rutgers crew(Frank, Rob, Cait), Bec and John went down to Killarney to see what we could see. It was probably some of the most fun i've had in Ireland as of yet.

The town is a gorgeous little hamlet nestled between the views of the ring of Kerry, a 100+ mile circle of beautiful little towns in some of the most beautiful parts of ireland, to the west and a spectacular national park to the southeast. After a hefty train ride, it was really a treat to have such views readily available on our disembarking, as well as the charm of a small town. I will admit that after an extended period, even Dublin begins to grate on the nerves a bit. Friday night was a great time, as we let Frank lead us around to bars he knew from previous visits, we drank with the locals, sang songs, and eventually ended up in mustang sally's- an irish bar that, if the name didn't tell it, approved of americans. Through the night we'd also listened to several irishmen playing covers in different bars, as well as a hole-in-the-wall pub where locals were playing traditional music- though we got a few unfortunate looks in that place. I think the most noticable difference between Dublin and Killarney is that the Killarney folks tended to actively welcome you with arms wide open as opposed to the Dublin folks who tend to be very focused on inner issues. In either case, friday was a great intro to the folks of Killarney.

Saturday came, and Rob, John, Cait and Bec decided it was worth it to wake up at 9am and run headlong over to a bus stop to catch the bus tour of the Ring of Kerry. Frank, Nick and I had different plans though, as sleeping in and decompressing from the big city tended to be our main focus rather than following an ambitious tourism regimen. Additionally, a bus didn't sound too appealing after 4 hours in a train the day before. We woke up around 11, found an amazing place that was advertised by the locals to get a traditional breakfast, then decided that we would save some more energy, and went back to sleep. Needless to say, several hours and one more irish meal expedition later we were still lying around, BSing and having a great time. We eventually went out and watched some Ryder cup, explored the city a bit and had a few drinks that evening. Either way, Sunday was the highlight.

Sunday we got up bright and early, had another irish breakfast and rented bikes to explore the national park that abuts Killarney. This was easily the highlight of my trip so far. We wandered aimlessly around the park, finding castles, waterfalls, mountains, mansions and abandoned buildings to tickle our fancies. Thankfully, these were available in abundance and we spent most of the day wandering about. We even ended up biking through a flooded path to get to a castle that was otherwise inaccessible, much to the chagrin of a then-waterlogged Nick who didn't take off his boots. All in all, it was the best-spent 10 euros of my trip so far, yielding an unimaginable amount of fun. I've also got some great pictures from the biking- particularly from a lovely place called "Torc Waterfall" which, unsurprisingly, has a magnificent waterfall. Again I was struck by the shades of green in the national park- colors that just aren't present in most areas of the U.S. except maybe waterlogged northwestern parks.... Uncle Jon and the seattle cadre would know more about that than I would. Perhaps I will visit the west again soon, refresh my memory of the redwoods and Olympia? Perhaps.

In either case, the week came and Ultimate started. I'm beginning to sense the intricate plans that the Irishmen have laid... they begin a drill, ask me to add a few things about techniques, then slink into the shadows leaving me to bestow my knowledge on the rookies. To be sure, it's extremely nice feeling needed and valued as a contributor, but at the same time it is quite amusing to see the captains slide off to take care of "important administrative business" then come listen in themselves. It doesn't hurt that all the cute girls get all starry-eyed when this happens.... 😉

Whatever the situation, i'm enjoying meeting all the Irish ultimate guys, they're a fun bunch with a great attitude. Seeing the sport at a younger stage is offering me a lot of benefit in that I remember why I started to play disc, and it's helping me get over my instilled chagrin that arose after my many injuries last season. Unfortunately it seems as though there is only one non-beginner tournament this semester, but c'est la vie. There is a price to pay for a sport at an earlier stage.

In other news, though, the disc kids recommended a fantastic bar to us that instantly became my favorite place in dublin. The entire philosophy of the place is to find beers that are brewed with the simplest processes- minimal ingredients, preservatives and such- resulting in the best brews bar none. They also have an excellent selection of cider, so I think I've found the bar where i'm taking my family when they come to visit- I want rob to have a chance to explore both the delicious beers of ireland as well as the lovely ciders.

And speaking of beer, though this entry is starting to get a little spotty and schizophrenic.... I went to Oktoberfest this weekend. Wow. What a great time.
Katie and I showed up and spent the night with a guy named Jochen who is a theoretical physicist and engineer consulting with Siemens on wind power. Needless to say, we had a fun conversation with him and he was pretty much the most hospitable, nice guy you could ask for. On top of that, him opening up his place to weary travellers throws him up to the top of my "people I owe big time" list. Either way, meeting Jochen was fun, but seeing Katie again was amazing. It was really fun to walk around and just talk with her, hearing her spout german like it was her job(and it is, of course.), and shoot the shit in person with a wombat. Needless to say, we passed out still incredibly excited to see the others.
The next day, Glasser arrived from florence and Simeon arrived from america. What a glorious reunion we had. We all played a bunch of good ultimate(3 games on grass and 1 on the beach) but the highlight was being together again, drinking bavarian beer and taking in the scene. I mean come on- there were palm trees in Munich. And so Friday was spent, drinking, talking and playing disc. It was pretty much all I could ask for.
Saturday we went to our reserved table in the Hofbrau tent and, in a word, we drank. We drank from 11 until we don't remember anything, and it was pretty much the coolest place i've ever been drinking. For as many hours as I can remember rounds just kept showing up, 12,000 people were standing on tables singing songs along with the band as loudly as they could, hugging everyone within 10 feet, dancing on the tables when the songs really got moving... and thats what it was. It was a place where you were invited to share your joy with your life with all 11,999 other people in the tent. And it was a great time. With the exception of some Italians who molested katie(and yeah, we would have killed them if we found them but she had wandered off and didn't remember where.), it was one of the most rewarding drinking experiences i've had, because they really do it for love over here instead of image.
There were some other parts, but most of what matters is sim and I went down to the city again on sunday(the place we were staying was 10km north of munich- a place called Aschheim) and went and checked out the rest of the fest. It turns out that oktoberfest is essentially the biggest state fair you'll ever see. Tons of rollercoasters, rides, midway games and food stands dominated the whole area, while the 15 beer tents played a relatively minor geographic role. In the end, it was a great trip, and I was really sad to see Sim go and to part from Katie and Glasser- but boy was it worth it for a weekend of good times.

I just recieved several emails from teachers that all but one of my classes this week were cancelled.... lazy irish. I should have stayed in germany. 😉 Oh well though, I guess i'll go to Venice this weekend and see Peter... hooray!

Oh yeah! and my new roommate showed up. His name is Mahats Miller and he goes to Brown. He's a bit shy, and he's clearly having trouble meshing with Mark and Matt, who unfairly characterized him even before he showed up in Dublin, but i'm hoping that I can be a positive influence there and maybe get them to warm up a bit to him. In either case, he's a good kid and really accomodating, so I think we'll get along pretty well. He's also really refreshing in the sense that he's not here to drink himself into the hospital every night with American friends, he's here to meet irish kids and actually take an interest in the culture here and on the continent. Basically he's much closer to my philosophy than any of the Arcadia kids, for sure. I know it may seem ironic or make me seem a hypocrite that I say that after my post about Oktoberfest, but I've been meeting so many locals on our weekend trips and through disc- it's really been exactly what I was after. Did I mention that Ireland is "home" now? I didn't notice til now, but I kept calling it home this weekend, and it's really nice to know that I can adapt that fast. I knew I was feeling comfortable here, but now i've sorta got things nailed down so I feel really grounded and ready to roll.

Hope all is well in the states. Love to hear from you all

Tom

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Photos

The story of a mouse.
I found this poster in a bar in Killarney, and I thought it was the cutest characterization of the irish i'd seen yet. Largely because it was applied to a mouse, but who's complaining?

Comments

[Uncle Jon]

Got to love a culture of beer
So other than drinking all the beer that is put in front of you and learning that bicycle riding is a great experience, you are taking in the culture? Or did I miss something, and that is the culture? Keep up the writing. Although you have inherited your father's ability to tell a really long story, the adventures are fun!