We had big plans for Wednesday. Like JUMBO plans. Unfortunately, the weather has its own plans that messed with ours.
On the itinerary, we were headed to Skellig Islands. We haven't been there since 2003, and Ethan was especially excited to return. I mean, there's nothing like risking your life in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, on a 600 foot high rock with 70 mph wind gusts, right? *cue National Geographic music* Unfortunately, with all the weather conditions involving rain and wind, the ocean was too rocky for us to get there. John tried to talk several people into taking us out, but I had to laugh as I could hear the frustration in their voices rising. No amount of coercion was going to change their minds.
So, we needed another plan, and we needed it fast. Thankfully, Killarney National Park was less than a mile from our hotel (seeing as we were staying in Killarney), and we discovered that the best way to see the park was via Jaunty Carriage. John had one hired first thing, and we were off!
I wish I could remember the name of our driver, or the name of our horse, but I do believe I was too enchanted with the whole experience. Taking a carriage ride through one of the most beautiful parks on the planet? It was really just so lovely.
I loved watching Rebecca throughout the trip. We ended up coming to Ireland because it was the place she most wanted to visit (we learned that the first time we met her). She would frequently mention how she couldn't believe how beautiful and green everything is.
We had a nice stopover at Ross Castle. It's more a photo op than anything else, but it does offer lovely views.
I probably could have ridden around in that carriage all day, but we had other places to go. Namely, our home away from home. Unser Heimatland. GERMANY!!
That's right. We had plans to fly out of Killarney that day to Frankfurt-Hahn. And I'm going to stop for a moment and praise my most excellent planning self here.
I had spent MONTHS planning this trip. I really did want everything to go perfectly. Traveling on "the cheap" though can present some problems. It's not always the most convenient to travel the inexpensive route, so I had to really think things through.
Renting a car in Ireland is outrageously expensive, because most insurance agencies won't cover rental cars in Ireland. However, I had done my research and had found that certain credit cards WOULD cover the insurance--I just needed to understand the rules and have in hand the appropriate waiver.
Because of that research, our rental car in Ireland went from $1,000/week, to under $200/week. And since we weren't flying to Germany from anywhere near Shannon (where we had rented the original car), it needed to make cost sense to leave it for a couple of days while visiting Germany.
I had looked into busses, thinking they could take us to and from the airport also, but for a 60 mile trip, we would have spent a day on either side traveling. Not an option. Also, we were flying Ryan Air to Germany, and luggage weight is always an issue. I knew that our big bags from the States weren't going to work.
It couldn't have worked out better. After our jaunty carriage ride, we drove our rental car to Killarney airport, left any and all extra luggage (clothing, etc.) in our rental car, parked it in long term parking, and got on the plane with just a couple days worth of clothing in tow. I know it sounds like no big deal, but it actually took a lot of planning on my part.
And holy smokes, we were headed to Germany!!
On the itinerary, we were headed to Skellig Islands. We haven't been there since 2003, and Ethan was especially excited to return. I mean, there's nothing like risking your life in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, on a 600 foot high rock with 70 mph wind gusts, right? *cue National Geographic music* Unfortunately, with all the weather conditions involving rain and wind, the ocean was too rocky for us to get there. John tried to talk several people into taking us out, but I had to laugh as I could hear the frustration in their voices rising. No amount of coercion was going to change their minds.
So, we needed another plan, and we needed it fast. Thankfully, Killarney National Park was less than a mile from our hotel (seeing as we were staying in Killarney), and we discovered that the best way to see the park was via Jaunty Carriage. John had one hired first thing, and we were off!
 |
| Our driver picked us up right in the parking lot of our Holiday Inn. |
I wish I could remember the name of our driver, or the name of our horse, but I do believe I was too enchanted with the whole experience. Taking a carriage ride through one of the most beautiful parks on the planet? It was really just so lovely.
I loved watching Rebecca throughout the trip. We ended up coming to Ireland because it was the place she most wanted to visit (we learned that the first time we met her). She would frequently mention how she couldn't believe how beautiful and green everything is.
We had a nice stopover at Ross Castle. It's more a photo op than anything else, but it does offer lovely views.
I probably could have ridden around in that carriage all day, but we had other places to go. Namely, our home away from home. Unser Heimatland. GERMANY!!
That's right. We had plans to fly out of Killarney that day to Frankfurt-Hahn. And I'm going to stop for a moment and praise my most excellent planning self here.
I had spent MONTHS planning this trip. I really did want everything to go perfectly. Traveling on "the cheap" though can present some problems. It's not always the most convenient to travel the inexpensive route, so I had to really think things through.
Renting a car in Ireland is outrageously expensive, because most insurance agencies won't cover rental cars in Ireland. However, I had done my research and had found that certain credit cards WOULD cover the insurance--I just needed to understand the rules and have in hand the appropriate waiver.
Because of that research, our rental car in Ireland went from $1,000/week, to under $200/week. And since we weren't flying to Germany from anywhere near Shannon (where we had rented the original car), it needed to make cost sense to leave it for a couple of days while visiting Germany.
I had looked into busses, thinking they could take us to and from the airport also, but for a 60 mile trip, we would have spent a day on either side traveling. Not an option. Also, we were flying Ryan Air to Germany, and luggage weight is always an issue. I knew that our big bags from the States weren't going to work.
It couldn't have worked out better. After our jaunty carriage ride, we drove our rental car to Killarney airport, left any and all extra luggage (clothing, etc.) in our rental car, parked it in long term parking, and got on the plane with just a couple days worth of clothing in tow. I know it sounds like no big deal, but it actually took a lot of planning on my part.
And holy smokes, we were headed to Germany!!
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