Racing for fun. Whose fun?

After the Film Fleadh and the Arts Festival, July finishes off with the Galway Races. University staff is entitled to two afternoons off during this last week of July. To "go and see the Races", which basically means (as far as I understood it): Getting a fancy hat, dressing up, seeing fancy hats and dressed up people, getting drunk and/or puked on (yes, I was told so by an Irish colleague), betting and... Am I missing something important here?
Yeah right, the "Mad Hatters competition", the "Best Dressed Person Competition", "Friday's Fair Lady competition" and the "Ladbrokes Red Day" (another fashion competition - you have to wear red). But there was something else...

Oooooh, of course, the horses! How could I forget that... Well, maybe because they are hardly mentioned on the homepage of the Races. Which I find strange for a web-site about the biggest HORSE race event in town and one of the most famous in the country. It seems, that the animals, running for entertainment, are just worth a side note.
How could they ever compete with fancy hats and beer!?

Light

Walking home from work today someone behind me shouted: "Excuse me, do you have a lidar?" I nearly turned around, before the thought struck me, that this is an odd question to ask in Shop Street at 7 pm. And then he might just as well have asked a smoker for a lighter. Imagine the embarrassment.

Coffee

I knew it. Half past three (in the afternoon) was too late for cappucchino... After two more hours of work + one hour swimming in the wonderful Corrib with view to the Cathedral (if I could see anything without glasses...) + floating in the clear water gazing up in the blue sky + having a shower + making jam + going out to see the dragons (without wings) + having dinner with friends + going to the pub, I still have caffein running through my veins preventing me successfully from falling asleep. Or it's just writing this blog that keeps me awake...

Good night everyone :)

Summer, sun and animal cruelty

A heat wave is rolling over Ireland. This means daytime maximum temperatures of about 25 degrees, blue skies and lots of sun. In other parts of the world there are heat waves of different dimensions. But wherever, the term heat wave describes an extended period of unusually high temperature. Conditions, the local fauna (incl. humans) is not used to - and often not prepared for.

During such times, it is common sense to avoid excessive sun exposure and to drink more (water) than on other days... So we do, and cope more or less well with the heat. But what about animals? Often it is forgotten, that they suffer from the heat even more. They are restricted in their choice of where to spend their time and what to consume. It is our responsibility to ensure, that they have plenty of water and shade. So, wherever you are, heat wave or not, keep an eye open for suffering animals.

Daytime maximum temperatures of more than 35 degrees are not unusual in Portugal during summer. Still, for some (too many) owners of horses, dogs, or other pets it seems to be too much effort to supply their animals with water and a place to hide from the blazing sun.

There, horses are dying from the heat. Owners are sending horses to slaughter before they die from starvation or the lack of water, in order to get at least a little profit out of them.
It is the high season of the only Portuguese association to rescue and help those poor animals. Their Voice Portugal are working hard to save as many horses as possible.
Anyone can help them continue their amazing work!

Moving in

Looks like someone is living here now...

The other side

Today I went to the other side of the bay with my new (used) bike. And I took my camera...

Travelling

People are often astonished by how little I travel. When they find out that I lived in Portugal for more than four years, they tell me about all those famous places in Portugal they heard about or visited during their own holidays. I didn't see all of them yet. I am not a traveller, at least not in the sense of visiting new places. If I am on the road (or rather in the air) it is for my job or to visit my family or friends. It has always been like that. For example, I was living in Bavaria for two years and only passed through Munich once. And as it wasn't the purpose of that trip, I didn't even stop. Years later I was living back in Saxony and on holidays with a friend I visited Nuremberg for the first time, which is actually very close to the place I used to live. So I am travelling, when the opportunity arises, to be with people I like, not for the sake of exploring and finding beautiful places.

There have always been many beautiful places around my homes, places I often visited by bike or on foot. I am very happy with those - no need for seeking more and more (or just different kinds of) beauty on further away places.

And here in Ireland I will travel around the island with visiting friends, but I don't have a list with 'places to see'. Because for me it is the people that matter rather than the places. I wont find anything without, which I am not already carrying within.

Water

I am crossing the small-ish river Corrib twice a day. I could stay on the bridge the whole day just watching this powerful river rushing down its weir. Fishers are standing waist-deep in its strong current any time I pass there, and I am always wondering how this feels. Is it cold? For how long are they doing that? Is the river really as strong as it looks like? Is it dangerous? Do they slip sometimes?

Next on my daily route is one of the channels, always calm, hosting swan families, fishes, a lot of traffic cones and a couple of bikes. In the afternoon there are usually rowers and canoeists on it, and many many pairs of training shoes lying on its edge, waiting patiently for them to return. And when it is raining and not so windy, the water surface looks like velvet.

Then there is Lough Atalia, the first thing I see in the morning, and the last at night when I look out of the window. It is my indicator for the tides and the wind and wave heights, if it is worth going to swim or not. It is a lagoon (which sounds much nicer than the German word for it - Bodden) connected to the Galway bay.

Galway bay is open to the Atlantic ocean in the West and those are the waters I am actually swimming in (if Lough Atalia advises me to do so).

And finally, the most prominent form of water in Irish life is the Rain: vertically, horizontally, cold, warm, few large drops, many small drops, many large drops, drizzle, downpour, in shoes, on umbrellas, on glasses, rushing out of downspouts, dripping from tree leafs long after it actually stopped raining...

Make a wish

In Salthill at the end of the Prom (beach promenade) there is a little stone wall. When you kick this wall, they say, you can make a wish and it will come true. I always have some trouble with this kind of things. I never can think of anything to wish for. If it is shooting stars, fountains full of coins or little walls... No wish comes to mind. And I don't really see the point of wishing anyways, but that's a different subject.
Anyhow, due to peer pressure I kicked the little wall very softly and wished, it wouldn't break down. And it didn't! My wish came true :) Spectacular!
That was yesterday. And tonight I swam in the sea again.

My spot

Two of my four boxes arrived from Portugal this week. And as usually, I was lucky: one of the boxes contained my bikini and my swimming suit. This coincided excellently with the marvelous summer we have here for one week already. So the plan for the weekend was simple: bike rides along the coast and swimming somewhere in the Galway bay.

I wanted to go swimming early, so I checked the tides online. The first high tide was supposed to be at 5:05 in the morning today. That was a bit too early... So I thought I might as well start biking, and maybe the water wouldn't retreat so far. Or if I wouldn't find a nice place to swim, I could come back in the afternoon and catch the second high tide.

So I took my bike to the Ballyloughane Beach, a small, sandy beach with its own car park, few people and not much water (at that time). I left my bike there and followed a pathway along the shore. There were some people taking their dogs or their extra calories for a walk. But after a short while the way got rocky and there were less people around. The beach was not sandy anymore. Instead there were pebbles, but also large rocks with cranes standing on them observing (and eating) the fauna emerging from the algae, which were exposed due to the low tide.

I went on and found a place with a steeper beach (pebbles and rocks as well). Not many algae were growing there. So I decided to give it a try. The sun was shining brightly, it was warm - not hot, almost no wind. I was not too concerned with the water temperature, because I normally take cold showers at home. And therefore it was not difficult for me to get in. Again I was lucky, because just behind the water line, the ground was wonderfully soft and sandy. And the water was perfectly clear.
And so I swam in the icy cold salty water of the Atlantic ocean (or at least of the Galway bay)! It was amazing! During this whole time I saw not one person around. Only the crane stood there, and looked at me for a change...
I think, I found 'my spot' here around Galway :)

Eventually I had to go back. But I decided already, that I would return tomorrow. But coming back to the 'official' beach (with car park and sand and people - but no water), I found that my bike was gone. When I left it, I clamped the back wheel, but I didn't lock the bike to a fixed object. So anyone could just carry it off - and did apparently...
I didn't buy it myself, so it was 'just' a highly useful thing to have, which accompanied me during a little bit more than one week. But still I miss it! I only hope, that the new 'owner' treats it well and appreciates the time I spent, making it run again.

I like Mondays

Mondays as such are usually no reason for celebration. In Ireland however, four official holidays every year are Mondays. And this, it seems, only for the sake of being Mondays. And that IS a reason for celebration. The first Monday of May, June and August as well as the last Monday of October are free. So you can have long weekends without making acrobatics shifting around your holiday leave, trying to bridge so many days in order to make the best out of it. And another good thing about the Irish holiday policy is, that you never miss a day off. Even those holidays which are on fixed dates and therefore might be a Saturday or Sunday, are shifted to the next Monday.

I already celebrated one of those Mondays last week. I went on a bike trip along the coast road towards Connemara. It was a cloudy day, but pleasantly warm...

colourful sea

guess, where the wind usually comes from...

Home

Here are, upon request, some pictures of my new home. Entering the apartment, I first put down my backpack (after work), bags (after shopping), scarfs (after a walk on a chilly, windy day) or my cap (after running).

If the day looked like this:

... I would make a cup of tea in the kitchen...

... and enjoy it in the living room.

 Eventually, I would go to bed. And on the next morning...

... life (and "my" garden) is sunny again :)

My books and a little bit of decoration is missing still. All this stuff is on the way to Ireland. Nevertheless I am very happy with my new home!

Music

Harp, flute, accordeon, violin, guitar and some more... Instruments you can find here - played in the streets. And mostly they play traditional music. Music which reminds me of really great times in Évora. The weekly dance class, balls on the weekends, dancing mazurka on Praça de Giraldo on a Friday afternoon...
And here it is, every day: Walking home from work over Eyre Square, silently thanking the guy who is playing the violin - just for me. Closing my eyes for a moment or two and wishing for someone who can dance Scottish, Circle, Waltz... And just around the corner, there is a bar with live music. Every night! And sometimes it is trad music as well! :)
Now I just need to find some volunteer(s) to dance with me!

Good morning World!

View from my balcony this morning:

It's summer in Ireland. Hurray!

old life - new life

When we start a "new life", how does that happen? When exactly does the old life stop? Where does it go? Where does the new life come from? And how do we get it?

I don't think it is that easy. Or I'd rather say it is much easier. There are no such things like "old life" and "new life". There is just "now", or "current life" if you prefer. It doesn't matter if you traveled thousands of kilometers or just went around the corner, if you have a new job or just a new pen, if you have a new house or just a thorough cleaning. It is still your wonderful life. Enjoy!

And welcome to my blog :)