Nelweg Oliver

Oliver Nelweg

Nordirland Belfast St. Mary’s University College

Nelweg Oliver

Studienrichtung NMS

WS 2013/14

Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 St. Marys ...... 2 1.1.1 PE ...... 2 1.1.2 Irish Cultural Landscape ...... 2 1.1.3 Irish History ...... 2 1.1.4 Unity in Diversity ...... 2 2 Travelling and experiences ...... 3 2.1.1 Castlerock: ...... 3 2.1.2 Portrush ...... 4 2.1.3 Dunluce Castle: ...... 5 2.1.4 Portballintrae ...... 6 2.1.5 Giant’s Causeway ...... 6 2.1.6 White Park Bay: ...... 7 2.1.7 Rope Bridge ...... 8 2.1.8 Fair Head ...... 9 2.1.9 Glenariff Forest Park...... 9 2.1.10 The Dark Hedges...... 10 2.1.11 Travelling to Donegal ...... 10 2.1.12 Slieve Donegal Cliffs ...... 10 2.1.13 Malin Bay: ...... 12 2.1.14 Ardara Beach ...... 12 2.1.15 Music & Nightlife ...... 14

Oliver Nelweg

1 St. Marys The Colleague itself is a quite small one, which creates a very familiar atmosphere. I enjoyed going there because everyone was very friendly and helpful. I was really happy that the colleague supported us so much in organizing things.

1.1.1 PE The courses I liked best were the PE courses. One course was netball; it was the first time that I have heard about that sport at all. It reminded me on basketball. The ball you play with is smaller and the basket where you have to throw the ball into has no board. Every player has a special position and an area where he is allowed to move. At the beginning it was a little bit complicated for me to get all the rules in my mind, but as soon as you got it, it’s a very cool game.

Every Monday in the morning I joined swimming. The water in the pool was really warm; it felt like in a bath tub, I was always looking forward to it.

1.1.2 Irish Cultural Landscape One of the theoretical courses that was my favorite. Now I know all the stuff about Ireland in the very early days. How the people got there, when they arrived there and what a day was like in the life of a human in the Stone Age. There are a lot of old monuments all over Ireland. It’s interesting to get an idea what they might have been for. The early settlers of Ireland were already very skilled in art and different kinds of craft. They created things that were amazing. I like it to learn about things that are not 100% sure, for example why humans built the stone monuments. So there is a little space for fantasy.

1.1.3 Irish History A lot of questions I had about Northern Ireland had been answered in this course. I think it’s good to know about the history of the country you live in, even if it is just for some months. The history still affects the present, so it’s interesting to know, why there are walls in Belfast, why there are people running around with British flags and why the people live in divided societies.

1.1.4 Unity in Diversity Here we had the possibility to watch films about social aspects. In the seminars we could talk about in groups and then discuss it with the teacher and the class. Half of the class was Irish students and half were Erasmus students, so we had different views of different cultures. The films were shown in the language where the film was from, so I understood at least one film, the German one. No just kidding.

Oliver Nelweg

2 Travelling and experiences We almost did the whole north coast from Castlerock until Fair Head and we had trips to Donegal, Cork, Kerry and Dublin. We really saw a lot of nice places.

2.1.1 Castlerock: Castlerock is a small village at the seaside. It has a nice beach and you can walk along the coast to Mussenden Temple. Castlerock was our first trip out of Belfast. We were very impressed how green Ireland is. Austria for example is also very green but not as green as Ireland, all the colors of the nature are very bride. We arrived at the beach and the first thing we saw were dolphins 20m in front of the beach. That day was a perfect start for a good time in Ireland.

Oliver Nelweg

2.1.2 Portrush

Portrush is the most famous place for surfing in Northern Ireland. At night you can find cool bars and nightclubs there. It is said that there is the biggest nightclub of Ireland (Kelly’s). Portrush has a beach to the west and one to the east. It’s very nice to have a walk from East Stand to the end of the beach (Whiterocks). There is a surfshop in town called „Troggs“, where you can rent surf – and bodyboard (5 – 10₤/day) and wetsuits (7₤/day) from April to November. 2 hour lessons are for around 25₤.

Wave forecast: http://magicseaweed.com/Portrush-Surf-Report/56/

Weather forecast: http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/

I went there a few times of surfing. I brought all my surf stuff from Austria, so I didn’t have to rent it. Ireland is really good for surfing. I didn’t expect that good condition. The waves are clear and not very messed up. I was surprised how many people do surfing, even at temperatures of under 10°C. It was the first time that I surfed under rainbows. Sometimes I even forgot about catching waves, because the whole thing looked so fascinating. When you want to surf there and bring your own stuff you need a wetsuit of at least 5mm, gloves a hat and socks, otherwise it would be so freezing.

If you really want to try cold water surfing in Northern Ireland you should join the facebook group of queens university surf club: https://www.facebook.com/groups/queensuniversitysurfclub/?fref=ts

Oliver Nelweg

They have all the information and are really cooperative. Sometimes people from Belfast are heading up to the coast for surfing, who can give you a lift.

2.1.3 Dunluce Castle: Further on the way to the west there is Dunluce Castle. You walk there around an hour from Portrush. I think it’s really worth walking that distance, because on your way you can see a lot of nice cliffs. The road always goes along the coast, so you have a lot of great views. When you are lucky you also might see an elephant on your way.

Before getting to the Castle there is a platform with a good view on it. I think the castle looks much more spectacular from the distance. When you pass it and then look back it looks the best, because you see the castle and in the back the beautiful coast line until Portrush. A man there told me a strange story about this castle. During a big storm when Duncles castle was inhabited, the kitchen, which was built right at the edge of the cliff, broke into the ocean. Since that day the castle started to fall in pieces, because what’s a castle without a kitchen, the man said with a smile.

Oliver Nelweg

2.1.4 Portballintrae In the beginning of October there was an event “surfers against polluted ocean” were I took part. We met at Punkerry beach and collected all the waste we found at the beach. I think it’s a good idea to keep the beaches clean. I picked up 2,5kg tiny plastic pieces. I met a lot of cool people there. The one who collected most waste won a price. Unfortunately it wasn’t me. The price was thick socks for the cold weather. I got the information about that event from the Queens university surf club.

2.1.5 Giant’s Causeway Giant’s Causeway is probably one of the most famous tourist attractions in Ireland. It’s really very impressive, but also a place of mass tourism. When somebody comes to Northern Ireland he has to see it at least once. When you see the symmetrical, hexagonal stones raising from the ground you can’t believe that nature made this. It looks like a way built of tis stones leading into the ocean. Scientists say that millions of years ago, there were huge volcanic eruptions and after they were over, thousands of strange-looking columns appeared on the coast of Co. Antrim.

The story (one version) 6

Oliver Nelweg

It's said that the Causeway was built by a gentle giant, Fionn MacCumhain, or Finn McCool. Even legend, though, has its contrasting accounts. In one tale, Finn was said to be in love with a lady giant who lived on the Scottish island of Staffa, and that he built the Causeway in order to safely bring her home to Ireland. In fact, there's a similar though smaller collection of the strange columns on Staffa's coastline, and geographically, Ireland and Scotland were once much closer than they are today.

2.1.6 White Park Bay: After the steep cliffy part of the coast a wide sandy bay call White Park Bay appears. We were there on a sunny warm day. It’s perfect to relax or walk along the beach. You reach it when you take the bus from Coleraine to Ballycastle.

Oliver Nelweg

2.1.7 Rope Bridge The next big tourist spot is the rope bridge, which you can also find on many postcards. From the parking space a nice way along the cliffs is leading to the rope bridge, which connects the main land with a small rocky island.

Oliver Nelweg

2.1.8 Fair Head

My favorite spot in Northern Ireland was Fair Head. For me it really represents the Northern Irish landscape. It’s quite a long walk there when you start fom Ballycastle. It took us 4 hours to the top of Fair Head (with a lot of stops). But it’s definitely worth walking this small path along the shore to the big cliffs. It’s nice because there are almost no people walking this track. Sometimes you can’t even see the path, because it’s so crooked. I was at Fair Head 3 times and one time we saw a seal in the ocean. It was the first time in my live that I saw one in nature.

There are two small lakes at the plateau of Fair head which perfectly fit into the landscape.

2.1.9 Glenariff Forest Park. Glenariff forest park is near Waterfoot. I think the nicest place there is the glenariff waterfall. In autumn the forest looks magical because of all the different colors of the leaves.

Oliver Nelweg

2.1.10 The Dark Hedges. Once I watched a page in the internet about the places you have to go before you die. The Dark Hedges were one of those places. This is why we went there, and it really looks cool. When you walk this street you feel like the trees want to grab you.

This beautiful avenue of beech trees was planted by the Stuart family in the eighteenth century. It was intended as a compelling landscape feature to impress visitors as they approached the entrance to their Georgian mansion, Gracehill House. Two centuries later, the trees remain a magnificent sight and have become one of the most photographed natural phenomena in Northern Ireland.

2.1.11 Travelling to Donegal We rented a car for two days and went to Donegal. The drive was funny because it was my first time since 3 years that I drove a right driven car. My main problem was that I always activated the windscreen washer instead of blinking. I was also a bit irritating that you have to change gears with the left hand, but we reached our destination without problems.

2.1.12 Slieve Donegal Cliffs When we got there the weather was very cloudy. Big rain clouds were passing in the distance over the ocean dropping big amounts of rain. The atmosphere was really apocalyptic and perfectly fitted to the massive cliffs. I felt like I was in the film “brave heart”. On our way to the cliffs we saw a lot of sheep standing at the very edge in front of the abysm. This is why I called the suicide sheep. We climbed up the rocks until we found that very cool overhanging rock, that looks like the “lion king rock”. When you stand on it and in front of, beside and under you is nothing except air you feel like the king of the world. I could have spent hours at this place, because it was such an epic lookout. Unfortunately we saw big rain clouds just coming our way, so we escaped.

Oliver Nelweg

To following night we all (5persons) slept in the car right in front of Glencolumbkille beach. The night was not very comfortable, but it was a cool adventure and now when I think back it even funny.

Oliver Nelweg

2.1.13 Malin Bay: Early next day we went on to Marlin Bay. The sun was shining and I was just a perfect morning. Down at the beach we saw thousands of jellyfish who were washed up to the sand. Because of the heavy rain the day before there were a lot of little waterfalls falling over the cliffs into the ocean.

2.1.14 Ardara Beach Our next destination was Ardara beach. On our way we passed a waterfall were we had a little picnic. The beach was huge and there were big sand dunes. The streets in that area were very small and the speed limits extreme. You were allowed to go 50miles on a street, where it was already hard to drive 12

Oliver Nelweg with 30miles. Every mile sheep appeared on the street. They are so funny because when you hunk, I takes them some seconds to recognize that there was something. Then they raise their heads and notice that you are there and then they run away in panic.

Before we had to go back to Belfast we quickly had a look at Mackoght. This mountain looks like a volcano and on the top there was already a little bit of snow. After these two day we recognized that Two days are too less to see all the beautiful places of that area.

Oliver Nelweg

2.1.15 Music & Nightlife Ireland is really a land of good music. Different to Austria there are local artists playing traditional music in nearly every pub. Sometimes they play music from the charts, but in an Irish way. That really sounds cool. So many people here play instruments.

I was lucky; because I saw 3 of my favorite bands live in limelight. Limelight I a complex out of Limelight one, limelight two and in between there is Kate’s bar. It’s a cool location, with a big program of good bands playing there. People told me that it is the most exclusive club in Belfast.

What I see as typical Irish are all the nice pubs. When you enter such an old pub, you really can imagine how it was like a long time ago.

Altogether I had an awesome time in Ireland. I think I was the best decision I could make to come to Northern Ireland. I travelled a lot, I saw so many nice places but when I look at the map, there are still so many places I haven’t seen. This is way I’ll definitely come again. Sometimes Ireland reminded me on the south of Australia and Tasmania with all its untouched landscapes. As I arrived I expected much more rain, but the weather was quite nice all the time. I think there were more sunny days than rainy ones. What I liked best was that, whenever we made a trip the weather was nice. I also have to say that the Irish people are very friendly. We were at a lot of places where people just started telling us old stories or myths about place and it’s really interesting to listen to them.

The thing I noticed on my trips was that there are hardly no fields were plants like sweet corn, grain or anything like this is planted. The farmed areas are mostly for animals like sheep and cows. I Austria for example it’s the other way around.

Oliver Nelweg

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