Ireland 7th day: Fri 3/12/10 Glendalough, Dublin

The first thought that crossed my mind when I was awake was "Thank God I am alive on my birthday"


It is a great day. Glendalough(Valley of the two lakes)  is truly very beautiful. The air is fresh and the tranquil atmosphere is so peaceful. The snow around the hostel was more than 10 inch thick. I was having difficulty trying to walk in the snow since I do not have proper snow boots. Fortunately the road leading to Lower Lake and Upper Lake was passable. There was no one else but me though were some animals like rams, birds and sheeps.


St Kevin first came here in 498 AD. Later, a monastic site was set up around the Lower Lake. The round tower was built in the 10th century. Other than the tower, there is St Kevin's church, Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul with a 10th century nave and Priest's house. It is almost next to impossible to tell what and where the other buildings are. The thick snow made it difficult to explore the place.

Lower Lake, Glendalough

Glendalough Monastic Site, Round Tower at the background

I was ready to leave by 10am and met Marshall, a Dutch guy who needed a hike to Bray outside the hostel. He actually walked from Bray to Glendalough on the day before and that was really a herculean task. We went to Wicklow's gap but the snowfall was getting heavier and I reversed back to Larach. I drove past Annamoe and Roundwood before reaching Enniskerry to visit the Powerscourt Estate. I dropped him off there as he wanted to go to Bray. To my disappointment, the famous garden in the Powerscourt was covered with snow and it was too thick for walking. So I just spent some time in the exhibition hall. Due to the weather, I skipped Powerscourt waterfall, the highest waterfall in Britain and Ireland :(


From the Powercourt House, I turned right to go to the motorway to Dublin. The GPS taught me an unsafe road again... The road was uphill and covered with moderate thick snow.  I made a mistake of stopping the car in the middle of the climb to ask for direction. The car was not able to climb further and slid down by itself causing the tires to get caught in the snow. A kind passerby called up a tow truck to help to pull the car uphill. But the Irishman who came to help is very experience and instead of towing, he just maneuvered my car off the snow and reversed it so that I could use the town way to Dublin...He did not even charge me a cent!


Drove towards the airport to return the car. Because I opted the non toll way, I ended up passing through the Dublin city. Since I was several hours ahead of time, I detoured to the National Botanic Garden in Glasnevin. The glass houses are still open to public and I quite enjoyed the tropical glass house especially when it was dry and freezing outside. Felt good to be in the warm and humid air again. After the visit to the botanic garden, I got lost enroute to the airport but managed to find my way at the end after driving a big circle. 


After returned the car, I took a bus to Dublin city center. After checked in into Ashfield House, I walked to Gallagher's Boxty House in Temple Bar to have a wholesome 3 course Irish meal, to celebrate my birthday :D. The Guinness bread and Guinness raspberry cheese cake were superb! The Traditional Irish stew was really making my stomach burst. After a full meal, I walked around Temple Bar and the riverside.  It is quite sad to see beggars on the bridge as the weather was really very cold. After shopped for Irish whiskey fudges, I walked back to the hostel to rest. Met two french guys in the dorm, Tristan and Elie who were getting ready for a night out. Slept early....