Feline Friday 19

Why is it that whenever I try to make a photo of one of my cats, one of the others decides to walk into my frame? You might be able to spot Wuppie (you can just see his ears on either side of the tail). The tail belongs to Sophie.

Y is for...

Ypres

This is one of the many cemeteries surrounding Ypres in Belgium. One hundred and thirty seven British ones alone! With over 40,000 graves still holding unknown soldiers!

During the First World War (or the Great War, the War to end all Wars), heavy fighting took place in both Belgium and France. The German forces on one side and the Allied forces on the other. One day the Germans would conquer five meters at heavy losses on both sides, the next day the Allied forces would reconquer those same five meters at again heavy losses on both sides. Shell shock was unheard of: it was thought of as defection and you could get shot for it (as indeed many were). It was the first war where poisonous gas was used and many were afflicted by it.

The reason of WW I was quite simple: a Serbian nationalist shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria/Hungary. The Austrians wanted an apology and several other retributions. The Serbians refused and the Austrians declared war. The Russians sided with the Serbs, not wanting to loose their influence in the Balkan. The Germans then sided with the Austrians. The French sided with the Russians and before you knew it, most of Europe was at war with each other. The Netherlands and Belgium were neutral and although the Netherlands were able to stay neutral, Belgium wasn't so lucky, drawing Great Britain into the war (and later the USA).

The end result of the War to end all Wars was approximately 10 million military dead, 20 million military wounded, 8 million military missing. The civilian populations were also hit terribly. In the region surrounding Ypres (and many more towns and villages in the area and even further afield), not a house was left standing. The area was razed to the ground and looked nothing like it had before. It would take years of rebuilding homes and lives. Germany had been shut off from food supplies during the war and many people starved. Huge percentages of men were dead or permanently disabled in all participating countries. When the Spanish Flu hit a year later, the result was devastating. Other diseases followed with the same result.

Apart from the people, countries changed as well. The four huge empires were gone: Germany, Russia, The Ottoman Empire and Austria/Hungary. Most of the participating countries in Europe had borders changed. New frontiers were going up and again the ordinary people were the victim.

Ypres is now known the world over as the center of the war. A large museum stands in the market place showing the atrocities of that war. But the largest atrocity is still the huge amount of cemeteries, where young man from all over Europe found their last resting place, the known and the unknown side by side...

For more Y stories, please check out ABC Wednesday and join in the fun!

Whiskey

Well, I'm back in Dublin and back online! It was quite annoying to not be able to use my new gizmo, but I have decided to cancel it as soon as I get home again. Paying for something that I don't use is not really what I want. I have better uses for my money.

Anyway, the trip has been part good and part awful. The good part are the people and everything we saw. The awful part was the weather that didn't really play along. We did have mostly decent weather, but on some occasions it was as if the heavens had opened up and decided to throw down a year's supply of angel's tears! Truly terrible. Fortunately the people don't really complain and even if they did, it's not as if I can anything about it.

Today was our last day in Ireland. Tomorrow we will be returning to England (Hull) and take the overnight ferry to Europoort (Rotterdam). From there all I have to do is drop them off at several stations before heading home myself to clean the coach and go home and see my monsters.

Our last day in Ireland was well spent though: I got a lovely cross and six bottles (small ones, don't call AA just yet) of whiskey! And I know I will enjoy them so much when I get home! Then, tonight, my sister arrived with goodies: the films I had ordered and a lovely necklace for my birthday. And the radio I have to take back to my parents and a handblender (?). Mind you there would be room for a bike in there and actually two years ago that's what she brought. Isn't it easy (and cheap) to have a travelling sister?

Tomorrow we will have to get up early to catch the ferry. So, this will be the last post from Ireland (not counting the pre-posted one coming up early tomorrow morning). As soon as I am back properly, after kissing and cuddling and petting the monsters, I will post some more photos of the trip. I have some beautiful ones just waiting to be shown to the world!

Ireland 3

Yesterday I found out that my internet thingymebob didn't work. So, I wasn't too pleased about that: spending money so I can use the internet abroad and then not being able to use it! Anyway...

We left Dublin yesterday and our first stop was Clonmacnoise. A beautiful old monastery in the middle of the country. Completely in ruins of course, but still very very beautiful. I will post some photos asap, but I've only got about ten minutes left now! In the afternoon we had a drop of rain in Adare which is also a very pretty village and afterwards we drove to our hotel near Tralee in nice sunny weather.

Today was a different day altogether. A massive threat of rain kept off (fortunately) until well into the afternoon, giving us the pleasure of enjoying the sites and sights of the Ring of Kerry. I had a lovely Irish Coffee (decaf) and it wasn't even ten in the morning yet! It tasted really good though and I had been looking forward to it. I bet our relief driver could have done with one as well, since he had to keep dodging cyclists. There were about three thousand cycling around the Ring of Kerry for charity. It was "only" 180 km (120 miles) up and down. The roads are very narrow and bendy in places, so the driver was not well pleased. I was just happy to sit next to him! We did manage to do most things though. And as I said we were in luck with the weather. We only had a bit of rain during one of our photostops, everywhere else it was dry. It was a good day...

Well, only a short story without photos this time, I hope to remedy as soon as I can.

Camera Critters 4

When I was in Scotland last year, I spotted this beautiful animal in the Highlands. There were several more roaming a bit more in the distance, but he was quite used to people. After all, there was a small snack van and lots of people gushing over him! And for good reason, he was magnificent!

Feline Friday 18

While driving through Chelsea (London) a few weeks ago, I had to stop for a red light. I looked to my left and this is what I saw. I grabbed my camera and was able to take a photo before the lights turned to green.

Ireland 2

When you look at this photo, do you think a. a nice little stream in the country side or b. a nice little canal near the center of Dublin? If you chose a, you will be forgiven. If you chose b, you are completely right. This is one of the views when you walk alongside the Grand Canal in Dublin, not too far from the center either! Within ten minutes you are standing in St Stephens Green or even Grafton Street. I didn't do that however, since the canal was so lovely. Even with the persisting rain!

Yes, it rained nearly all day. In the morning it was still quite dry, but during the afternoon more and more rain came in. Until I picked up the second group from the center and then the sun came out! Talk about timing...

In the morning we had had a lovely tour of the town and I made a grand total of 4 (four) photos. During the afternoon everyone was free to do as they pleased. I parked my coach near the Grand Canal, got myself a nice burger and a huge M&M cookie and took that walk.

I told you about the colours of Ireland didn't I? One of the reasons I like the country so much. Well, in this photo you can certainly see the colours. Click on it to enlarge and you can see a red, yellow, blue and black door. According to popular belief, the reason the doors are all different colours is so the men can find their home again after a night of hard drinking! Probably not true, but it does make a nice story though.

Tomorrow we're off into the country: Clonmacnoise and Adare before heading towards our hotel outside Tralee. Hopefully you'll hear from me then and otherwise you will have to wait.

Ireland 1

Leaving Europoort (Rotterdam)

Well, I'm sitting here in this beautiful hotel in Dublin (the Clarion Liffey Valley: four stars!) and don't you know it: free internet if you bring your own laptop! And what do I own (birthday present to myself) but a small laptop. And I even brought it along...

I can tell you, leaving on my birthday wasn't the funnest thing, but in the end I treated myself to two (free) ice creams and two new books. Finding out that I would have to stretch time today, because the ferry from Holyhead to Dublin wouldn't be sailing until a quarter past five in the afternoon and us getting from the ferry in Hull at half past eight in the morning, wasn't the best thing however! Anyone familiar with the geography of England/Wales will know that that is only 350 km (around 230 miles). Which I can cover in about 4 hours. So, not too pleased. But, as always a back-up plan was soon made and we did a little detour via Llangollen (pronounced in a way that induces vomiting), had a little stop there and then drove on through Snowdonia. Beautiful! In one word.

Llangollen Trainstation

We made it to Holyhead on time and we didn't have to wait long to board and we were off across the Irish Sea. As long as I was standing on the deck I was fine, the minute I moved indoors (it was very windy), I started feeling very sick. So, I found myself a nice little place to sit and even had a little nap. From Dublin Port it was only 15 km (10 miles) but that still took us the better part of an hour! Dinner was good, the company is good and tomorrow it's a whole day in Dublin itself.

Little men

They were only small people. But it didn't matter they weren't much taller than two feet. They were a family. Today they were going to the cinema. All of them: grandma, grandpa, mum, dad, the six girls and six boys and the dog Woof. And then, just as they were about to cross the road, a thunderbolt came from the sky and froze them all.

X is for...

Connexxiontours

Yes, I am cheating a little bit, but the abreviated form used within the company is often xx-tours, so I'm not really cheating.

Anyway, this is the company I work for and the coach you see in the photo is actually 'my' coach (or tourbus). Not mine in the sense of I own it, but mine in the sense of I drive it most often.

I've worked for this company for over ten years now and apart from a few months when I wanted out, I loved almost everything. Some trips are of course more fun than others, but over the whole I've no reason to complain about this company. I get the pay I'm owed at the end of every month, I am provided with a uniform and the work itself is varied. I mean, going abroad without paying a penny, seeing lots and lots of different things and meeting tons of people: my idea of a job as close to perfect as I can imagine.

The one thing bothering me about my job is something the company cannot solve for me: European Driving Laws. Nowadays you almost have to have a university degree in mathematics to calculate the amount of driving that you do. However, I try to make it as easy as possible for myself and have been lucky so far.

Now, I do travel a lot outside the Netherlands (at this time I'm probably heading over to Ireland via Holyhead in Wales) and for any European readers out there (and readers from further afield if you ever find yourself in Europe): if you ever see a coach like this, just have a little look to see who the driver is. If the driver is a woman and blonde at that, there's a fair chance it's me. Come and have a chat! I would love to meet you!!

For more x words, please check out: ABC Wednesday