We said good bye to Cork and headed further west. We were now setting our sights on County Kerry on the southwestern shores of Ireland.
After checking, we were told that our apartment for the night in Killarney (made famous in songs by Bing Crosby) would be ready whenever we arrived, so we decided that this would be our first stop.
We stayed at the Park Place Apartments, very beautiful and modern self catering accommodations with every amenity you could imagine. The most expensive accommodation on this trip, but well worth the price.
We had a full day of exploring planned and had to be back in Killarney in the early evening as we had booked tickets at an Irish traditional music and dance show (similar to Riverdance) that evening in the centre of town.
Killarney is a small city that is situated at the edge of Lake Lough Leane, the largest of three lakes in the region. It is also right next to Killarney National Park and so is in a very picturesque setting. It attracts many tourists, most on bus tours that use this city as a launching pad to explore two nearby attractions, the Ring Of Kerry and the Ring of Dingle.
After unpacking we headed into Killarney Park to hike to Torc Falls. There is a parking area and then a short 10 minute walk takes you to the base of the falls, and there are a number of additional hiking trails that allow you to explore the area and climb to good vantage points where you can get a bird's eye view of the area.
Well, after Niagara and Iguazu, Torc is not much of a waterfall but it was a pleasant day, the short hike we chose was nice, and it was good to get some exercise after spending a few days hopping from place to place in a car.
We still had a good part of the day left before the evening show, and while we had a full exploration of the Ring of Dingle scheduled for Wednesday, we decided to drive the short 65 kms. to the town of Dingle.
Before our report on Dingle, a few paragraphs about our initial observations after nearly a week in Ireland.
Highways and driving:
There are a few major 4 lane limited access highways which would be similar to highways anywhere else in the world. Then there are the secondary highways, which transition from divided 4 lane to undivided 4 lane to two lane and even to what we consider less than two lane, where you have to literally move into the hedge beside the road or into a driveway to allow an oncoming car, bus or tractor to pass. There were areas on the drive to Dingle, a very curvy winding 65 km road, where cars were backing up into a driveway to make way for oncoming traffic.
What is very refreshing is that drivers here for the most part drive within the posted speeds and they are very courteous to each other. Unlike some places where we have been, where drivers do not yield to another for fear of losing the upper hand, here in Ireland, there is a wonderful sense of courtesy. In our first week here, we have not heard the sound of a horn, and this while driving on very narrow roads at posted speeds of between 80 and 100 kms. per hour.
You rarely see a traffic jam outside the main cities.
Cows, sheep, people and the green rolling hills:
On the drive to Dingle we saw what we have seen advertised in tourist books to Ireland; the rolling hills dotted with tons of sheep and cows grazing on the greenest, neatly organized farmland you have ever seen. The colours are magnificent. So what should be a one hour drive quickly turns into a much longer one as a result of the many stops trying to capture that ultimate Kodak moment.
The other striking thing about Ireland is the vast number of farms all over the country. When you consider that Ireland (Northern Ireland plus the Irish Republic) is three times the size of Israel, with less inhabitants, and that over one third of all its population reside in the two largest cities (Dublin and Belfast), that means that just 4 million people occupy the rest of the area. When you are driving, you see farm after farm, field after field filled with sheep and cows grazing on the plentiful grassy areas. The farm areas are divided by hedges or by fences constructed of stone.
Ireland is well known for its dairy industry and its beef and lamb industry. The grazing is free range grass fed which results in higher quality meat. Irish butter and Irish milk is famous around the world. And everyone knows about Irish stew made with lamb; unfortunately we have not yet tasted the lamb😀.
Kosher meat:
What is less well known is that there is a huge shechita (kosher slaughtering) industry in Ireland and that rarely a week goes by that the shochtim (rabbis authorized to perform kosher slaughtering) are not present in the synagogue in Dublin. They do not live in Ireland, but come there from France, Belgium, Great Britain and Israel. There were a few this week in shul in Dublin. What we also learned was that all the sides of beef or lamb are then shipped elsewhere for processing. As a result, fresh kosher meat for sale in Ireland, which may have originated in Ireland, is very expensive, as it is shipped to London or Manchester, processed and sent as fresh packaged cuts back to the Super Valu store in Churchtown, the only source of kosher meat in Ireland.
Gas stations, Pubs and Tim Horton's:
You also are struck by the small number of gas stations (called filling stations here) and convenience stores/fast food/coffee shops across the country. Not that they do not exist, but we in Canada take for granted the Tim Horton's, Mac's, Gas Stations, 7-11, etc., that are always within a two minute drive, no matter where you may be driving.
But then again, you do see pubs everywhere. They are more than drinking establishments, they are usually restaurants, similar to what we would know as a roadside diner, that are all over the country. And you will many times see families in the pub with little children enjoying their meals together. In many pubs, in the evening, there is live traditional Irish music.
The people:
We have been overwhelmed by the people here. They are eager to help, and will happily take the time to give you directions, answer questions or even to just strike up a conversation. They are very witty, with this wonderful sense of humour and a ready smile. We were a bit wary after reading about the alleged anti semitism and anti Israel sentiment in the country. Thus far, we have not seen it and we have gone out of our way to be visibly Jewish and pro Israel. I have worn my kippah everywhere and when asked where we are from, invariably we answer Canada and Israel. We are getting very positive reactions and good vibes.
Safety:
Like any other place you go when travelling, one has to be on guard against petty theft, pickpocketing and leaving your bags unattended. However, we have felt perfectly safe wherever we have been in Ireland. We have walked the streets after dark and never got the feeling of being unsafe.
One clear example has to be at the filling (gas) station. In most places in Canada, you insert your credit card or prepay for your fill up. In the USA, many times our credit card will not work because we do not have a zip code and we therefore have to go inside to prepay. Here it is like in the far simpler, most trusting, good old days. You pull up to a pump, there is no place for your credit card, you simply pull down the nozzle and fill your car, then head inside to pay by credit card or cash. You get the feeling that there is an element of trust.
The Neat Town:
A number of years ago, the Irish tourist industry inaugurated the Neat Town Program. They would evaluate the external aesthetics of small towns to see how they rated in the eyes of visiting tourists and would award "neat towns" with a sign that they could display at the entrance to the town. As a result, towns encouraged Main Street stores to spruce up their look with the addition of flowers, plants, fresh paint and colourful exteriors. Until you drive into one of these towns you really have no idea as to the positive impression that such a town can give and how this affects your desire to spend time in the town.
Now back to Dingle, a Neat Town winner.....more general observations later as they come up.
We drove the road to Dingle and what started out as a fairly wide 2 lane highway, the road soon narrowed so that when there was oncoming traffic, both drivers slowed down so that we could easily maneuver past each other, without breaking off a protruding mirror. Not too difficult with an oncoming car, but oncoming buses and trucks were a bit more challenging.
We were immediately impressed with the look of the town. Brightly coloured exteriors of all the buildings in town. Not a speck of rubbish in the streets; and it was certainly not a result of a lack of visitors. The streets were lined with tourists like us, who parked their cars in large car parks convenient to the pedestrian areas, and made their way thru the small town.
We parked and took a walk thru the very pretty town. We met this lady who was running a souvenir store and just had to video her for her smile, sense of humour, the Gaelic language and her positive attitude. And even though she was running a busy store, she was pleased to spend the time talking with us.
Video of the souvenir lady: https://youtu.be/oCZnwwAK9sA
Continuing thru town, we heard wonderful Irish music and followed the sound to the Dingle Music Shoppe. When we entered, these two people were jamming (see video below) and the sound was wonderful.
A duo in Dingle: https://youtu.be/kIYaaYVDd7E
A minute later, Michael, the owner, came over to us and recognizing my kippah, insisted on playing a Jewish klezmer melody for us, which he said was an Andy Statman tune called Flatbush. For those who are unfamiliar with Andy Statman, he is one of the premier klezmer musicians of our day and was a Grammy Award nominee. He is an observant Jew who is a Chabad chassid and the song that Michael was playing is called the Flatbush Waltz.
Here is the Flatbush Waltz in Dingle: https://youtu.be/PhPOzDncNlc
More music in Dingle: https://youtu.be/wgIUIWM_sU4
Again, the store was busy, but Michael just kept spending time with us, teaching me how to play the spoons and sharing with us some of his life history and his warm affection for all the Jews that he has met in his life.
We were in the store for the better part of an hour, and I am sharing a few videos that we shot in the store. It was really the highlight of a very busy and enjoyable (and sunny) day.
Playing the spoons with Michael: https://youtu.be/DcpJ_vTjEzE
A trio in Dingle: https://youtu.be/wgIUIWM_sU4
We really wanted to stay longer (they have traditional Irish music concerts in the store a number of nights a week) but we had booked tickets for the Riverdance type show in Killarney, so we headed back, had a quick dinner and were off to the show, called Gaelic Roots.
It was a good show as it gave us a taste of Irish singers, Irish dancing, and a very good band consisting of a harp, penny whistle, guitar, keyboard and drums. Here is a selection of some of the highlights of the show:
An Irish song with harp : https://youtu.be/IUlpN9xZH04
Some Riverdance Steps in Killarney: https://youtu.be/IaoIAozGRZM
We returned to our beautiful apartment in Killarney and had a well deserved good night's sleep. Tomorrow, Wednesday, we are off to do the Ring of Kerry and the Ring of Dingle in one day. A little ambitious, but doable.
All the best,
Fran and David
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