Hi!
Many a traveller at Dublin airport must have been very puzzled. Most likely he must have presumed that this broadly smiling tanned young man, this fully equipped globe-trotter, who came cycling through the entrance hall was mistaken: at the airport you come to collect people by car and not by bike.

« I’ll call you the moment we’ve landed » my mother had told me the night before. I was still in Holyhead (Wales) and had to be in Dublin by noon the following day. It was up to me now to choose which vessel I considered seaworthy enough to take me to Ireland: a four hour mini-cruise on the super luxurious « Ulysses » cruiser or the « Swift » version which was going to do the job in only an hour and a half. Those who know me say I hate to be in a hurry and I love what’s cheap so the choice was easier than I had imagined. My nocturnal adventure on the cruiser could start although this meant a sleepless night. Embarkation at 2.30am: « Goodmorning! » the purser greeted me cheerfully. For me this was still in the middle of the night!

Many truckers, an exhausted mother, half asleep, with tree tireless young children, there’s always something that is drawing your attention.
A smooth Irish see and these time no surprises: in Ireland too people drive on the left so my rear-view mirror could stay on the right-hand side of my bike. Shall I surprise them and drive immediately to the airport? Finding an airport in an unfamiliar place isn’t that difficult ………"Search the sky for a landing plane, and in the extension of the runway you find … yes, the entrance hall!" Haven’t I heard this sentence before? Right at the camping-site in Seville! Let’s hope that this Bed and Breakfast isn’t in the neighbourhood!

We flopped into the nearest chairs and fired away with all the questions and stories we had saved up for the last two and a half month. Moments before we had kissed and hugged as if we had returned from a space journey. A totally relaxed and slowed down Ewan rattled on, the smile on his face though told us more than all the stories: a Eurotour like this made you bright and breezy…!

Ahead of us lay 4 days to fill in! Jens and I took the bus to Dublin centre, followed by Ewan on his bike. About half an hour later we arrived almost simultaneous at Marian’s guesthouse in the heart of Dublin where a family room was waiting for us. The bike was stalled for a long weekend (didn’t we hear a sigh of relieve?) and the calories of the full Irish breakfast had to be used up in another way. Time for a Dublin Rambler – no not a new taste of Guinness- but a season ticket on Dublin transport. Off we went on to the amazing gardens at Powerscourt in the vicinity of the Wicklow mountains and to the seaside resort Bray.
Fantastic weather and enjoyable companionship, what more could we want? On the top deck of the typically green Irish we admired landscapes and giggled all the time: it looked like a school trip to me.
At night we enjoyed delicious food and after a brisk walk we flopped into our bed and talked till ……… no answers came ………… ! Sleep tight!