Actually, I did not want to write a post about a single country of my journey and until now I have not done so. But since you are an island and I refer the subsequently mentioned to both countries situated on you, I will make an exception and start again:
My dear Ireland,
I just fell in love with you. I still don’t know how this could have happened since I am not a landscape photographer and normally I like it warm and dry. Related to the latter, you really don’t make things easy to me. In mid-August I am sitting inside right now in front of a wood-fired oven while it rains and storms outside as if there were no tomorrow.
That is why I have no idea how much our new friendship would be put to the test in wintertime. But for now, I really feel deeply connected with you. Your landscapes are nothing short of spectacular, your beaches are breathtaking, your harbours are so cute and your green is simply greener than elsewhere.
You are so wild and so lovely, so fresh and so clear and every day – sometimes even every hour – so different than before.
Therefore, I forgive you a lot. Your roads are often so narrow that my adrenaline rises in each and every curve…
… but falls down again in the lovely loneliness of your countryside.
You can be so dark and so stormy and to swim in your ocean while the wind and the rain lashes my face literally takes my breath away – and yet it makes me smile.
Your light sometimes brightens the colours that it almost hurts…
… and I really become sad if it disappears into the night.
I wish I could stay with you for a longer time… but soon I will have to go.
As if that all were not enough, your people are so loveable, so warm-hearted and so friendly I maybe have nowhere in the world experienced before. Even your policemen who caught me driving too fast on your motorway just explained me the rules and then let me go without a ticket – not before wishing me a nice day of course.
Keep it real! I promise I will come back one day… but not alone again. 😉
“Get out from your house, from your cave, from your car, from the place you feel safe, from the place that you are. Get out and go running, go funning, go wild, get out from your head and get growing, dear child.”
Dallas Clayton
Sehr schöner Beitrag, Peter! Spricht mir aus der Seele, welch Überraschung… und Hut ab, dass Du es geschafft hast zu schnell zu fahren ?
Ja, aber Irland hat den Brief offenbar noch nicht gelesen. Das unfassbare Wetter stellt meine neue Liebe sehr auf die Probe… it’s raining cats and dogs 😉
Ach ja, und das zu schnelle Fahren war natürlich auf dem Motorway 20km vor Belfast. Ansonsten wäre das ja geradezu unmöglich gewesen auf diesen lustigen “Straßen” 🙂
I really enjoyed reading this Peter and the images are very true. I sometimes forget this impression of my country when I am all day in the city at work, but I always know it is out there.
… and I am still jealous of these beautiful landscapes and I really like to think back on the warm-hearted people 😉
I am seeing this 7 years after-the-fact. I am late to the party, I know.
Last year, I spent two weeks driving around Ireland. I, too, fell in love with the land and the friendly people who inhabit the island.
This year, my wife and I spent two weeks in Scotland before revisiting Ireland for two weeks.
Scotland is beautiful and sometimes even more devastatingly lonely in its windswept landscapes. Yet, the people are welcoming and friendly and are glad you have taken the trouble to make the journey. We went to Scotland first, knowing that we’d have a strong finish to our trip in Ireland. However, after spending time in the Scottish Highlands, I began to think I hade made a mistake… Scotland is also an amazing destination.
Of course, Ireland didn’t disappoint (again). It is a special place that begs to be explored with a camera. Traveling light, I took only an M10, an 18mm lens, and a 35mm lens. This small kit was enough.
I’m writing to voice my agreement with your post on Ireland, and to try to encourage anyone who may read this to put Ireland (and Scotland) on their “bucket list.”
Thank you,
Cliff