Leaving New York. Hello Dublin!

May 19, 2010

It was a cold, rainy Tuesday in New York when I left for my Irish bike trip. Sort of like the weather I expected in Ireland, though recent forecasts showed a warming trend there, up into the 60's for the week ahead. My Aer Lingus train took off an hour late at 10:40 and after six hours or so, I landed in Dublin's airport at 9:30 am the next day. Ireland is five hours ahead of us.

My friend Ed met me at the airport, having deposited his brother there for his flight back to the states. Ed and his brother had been touring Ireland for the past week by car. The two of us boarded a shuttle for a half-hour ride into Dublin city. But we were not stopping there. We got off at the last stop - Heuston Station where we would take the one o'clock train to Killarney - the starting and ending point of our week's bike tour.

Ed holds up a finger to signify our "first day" in Ireland. We're on the shuttle bus from the Dublin airport to Heuston rail station in the city.(Tip - click on any photo to see see it larger).

Here's Dublin's Heuston Station.

Ireland's train system, like the rest of Europe, is modern and efficient. Our trip took us to south west out of Dublin to County Kerry. We rolled quietly and quickly through farmland with cows, sheep and horses and their springtime babies interspersed with suburban housing developments - many of whom looked to be unfilled, a product of the housing collapse and a devastated economy. Newspapers were blaring frontpage headlines of the drug giant Pfizer closing Irish plants and throwing another 800 workers into the ranks of the unemployed.

Our train took us through Ireland's rolling farmlands.

As we got closer to Kerry, beautiful mountains gloomily shrouded in clouds and fog appeared and I remembeed from my last trip, how hauntingly beautiful this part of Ireland is. We debarked our train at Killarney station after having switched trains in Mallow. The station was a just a bit of a walk from our B&B, the Countess House. But when we got there, no one was home to greet us. A quick phone call rectified the matter and our hostess, Noreen, drove into the driveway and showed us our room.

Who's that cute guy?

Our first night's lodging: The Countess House, a short walk from Killarney train station.

I should mention that I started this trip with an oncoming cold. Combine that with the usual jet lag and time displacement and I was feeling pretty bad by the time I reached our inn. So Ed took off at about 4pm for a walk about the town while I lay down to rest. When he returned we went out for dinner at a pub, Murphy's, on Main Street and a quick look and listen at another joint that had some traditional music. But I was exhausted and we walked back to our place for a 10:30 bedtime. Tomrrow, depending on my condition, we'll explore the adjacent Killarney National Park - the largest remaining piece of native forest in Ireland. Maybe a hike or a smaller walk. See you tomorrow. - Matt

Ahhh, we're home at our first night's lodging: The Countess House.

I love the way they paint the buildings in Ireland.


For all of today's pictures, go here.