Dublin, Galway, Connemara, Mayo

Saturday night. It's late, and I'm tired after working all day on a politics essay: "What influences voters' behaviour in elections for the European Parliament?" ... which is actually interesting, as I found after reading through numerous studies on the issue. Either way, simply don't expect great prose tonight.

Essays ... that's what I'll be concerned with until the end of the month. It's the second week of Easter break in college, however, it doesn't really feel thus because, for some reason, all my essay deadlines seem to be clustered around March 31st, which is keeping me busy. Nevertheless, it would be exaggerated to claim that studying is all I'm doing these days.

For one thing, there'll be St. Patrick's Day on Monday which I'm looking forward to, although Irish friends have been advising to stay at home rather than struggling in the massive crowds that are expected to witness the famous parade as it marches through the city centre. My flatmate Jojo, his girlfriend, two more friends and I are still trying to get tickets for the "All Ireland Club Finals" in Gaelic football and hurling, which take place in Croke Park just after the parade. I've wanted to watch both a hurling and a football match ever since I arrived last year, and it would be great if that works out on Paddy's Day.

Last week saw my brother come over for a one-week visit. After spending some pleasant days in Dublin, exploring further cultural sights such as the National Gallery, we set off for yet another road trip along the West Coast. Starting in Galway, where we had much fun with a few American girls in a pub, we headed north, cruising along the rugged coast of Connemara und furter on into County Mayo before eventually making our way back to Dublin. Although the rain just didn't want to cease, we had a great time on the road, and I was once more awestruck by Ireland's beautiful scenery. Nick left on Thursday, abruptly ending my short holidy and directing my focus to voters' behaviour (see above) instead.

I'll leave you here with a few impressions of our trip. As always, more pictures are available online: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/christoph.truebenbach/NicksBesuchTripNachGalway

Take care,

Chris