County Clare, London, Reutlingen, London ... and back to Dublin

This is the first time I am putting down some lines in the library, but I just cannot focus on "coalition theories" at the moment and thus may as well fill you in on what has been going on in the last few weeks.

Having spent some 2.5 months in this lively city, it is time for a first assessment of one of the features that immediately come to the minds of many when asked to state what Ireland is all about: the (bad) weather. However, the truth of the matter is: There is no bad weather, at least, it is not that much worse than anywhere else. Granted, the last few weeks and months are said to have been extraordinarily sunny this year. Also, I had better be happy not to have been around during the summer, which according to the Irish must have been rather non-existent. Nevertheless, I am positively surprised how rarely it rains, and that if it does, it usually stops again pretty soon. Have a look at this magnificent sunrise from my window and then reconsider going to Spain or Italy for your next vacation.



Out of the last four weekends or so, I did not spend a single one in Dublin. In fact, I should ask Ryanair for extra miles. To begin with, I joined the Climbing Club to the rough landscape around the Burren, County Clare, on the Irish west coast. In what can be seen, as it were, as my first trip to a more remote stretch of the country, we had much fun climbing, hiking, partying, visiting the famous Cliffs of Moher and, as you can see, catching a cold in the freezing Atlantic Ocean. Simply a terrific weekend.









The next three weeks saw me going to London twice, interrupted only by a wonderful weekend with Steffi in Reutlingen. Both the Studienstiftung and the DAAD had invited scholarship holders currently studying in the UK and Ireland, offering great weekends respectively, complete with interesting guest speakers, delicious food, pub nights out and, last Saturday, a guided walking tour around Westminster. I had a great time seeing all those familiar faces of people scattered around the UK and Ireland again ... although I still do not really know what the platform 9 3/4 in Harry Potter is all about (see picture below) ...



As to College, that is to say the academic side of it, I have been quite disappointed so far. While the (loads of) readings do raise my interest, the lectures generally fail to do so, due for the most part to tedious lecturers. Since all the courses I am presently taking are running over the entire year, and I will have but one new course in the remaining Hilary and Trinity terms, chances are small that this situation might change. In the meantime, I am making the best of it by focusing my interest (and appreciating) the weekly readings in the library and at home.

Such grievance is however made up for by the vast choice of free time events on offer by the different societies and clubs. The traditional Hist and Phil Socs, in particular, regularly come up with a remarkable line-up of world-famous people of interest, joining their debates, holding speeches and answering questions from the audience. Among others, therefore, I saw Ian Paisley, First Minister of Northern Ireland (see picture below), and Sein Win, the democratically elected yet exiled Burmese Prime Minister.



Otherwise, I am enjoying Dublin, still continuously stumbling upon new and interesting places, people, cafés, shops, customs, words ... simply any kind of aspects of Irish life. So as to bolster my finances, I am giving German grinds, which given the high Irish income level is really lucrative.

Between 13 December and 8 January, I will be spending some three weeks in Germany and Switzerland, and I look forward to seeing some of you around Christmas and New Year. Also, anyone who is still interested in a visit in 2008, just let me know and we will figure something out.

There are quite a few new pictures of all those events online, so check them out if you feel inclined to.

Take it easy,

Chris