September 2011

According to an Irish Times article “you can’t beat the setting. Spectacular views, jangling boats, crisp air, the occasional sociable seal breaking the surface” – Howth Harbour makes for a wonderful outing (on a sunny day). Originally just a small fishing village, Howth with its surrounding rural district is now a busy suburb of Dublin, with a mix of dense residential development and wild hillside, all on the peninsula of Howth Head.

Az Irish Times nevű újság egyik cikke szerint “a környezet verhetetlen. Gyönyörű kilátás, csörömpölő hajók, friss levegő és a víz alól időnként felbukkanó barátságos fóka” – a Howth-i kikötőbe megéri kirándulni (ha szépen süt a nap). Howth eredetileg egy apró halászfalu volt, ma azonban Dublin egyik forgalmas külvárosának számít.

Howth Market is situated opposite the West Pier, at Howth, and is a large outdoor market. Howth is said to be by far the busiest Farmers Market on a Sunday in Ireland. Although the Farmers Market is really inviting, usually we arrive hungry and dreamin’ of haddock meal from Beshoff Bros. . I won’t make a debate out of the following statement: This is the BEST Fish ‘n’ Chips in Dublin. Period.

A piac Howth-ban a nyugati kikötővel szemben található. Egy átlagos vasárnapon a Howth-i piacot tartják a legforgalmasabbnak Írországban. Bár a piac kínálata nagyon csábító, mi általában farkaséhesen megérkezve a Beshoff-féle Fish ‘n Chips-nél kötünk ki. A következő kijelentés pedig nem képezheti nálam vita tárgyát: ez a legjobb Fish ‘n Chips Dublinban. Pont.

This Sunday we were surprised to see that there is a new section as well, called ‘Howth Cottage Market’. So after finishing our lovely meal, we set out for a walk between the stalls.

Most vasárnap kicsit meglepődtünk, mert találtunk egy újabb piacot is, kb. 100 méterre a másiktól. Miután elpusztítottuk a fintsi halacskát, elindultunk körbenézni a piacokon.

The Outdoor Market consists of around 30 stalls providing a large range of foods and organic produce.

Az első piacon kb. 30 standon kínálják a különféle ételeket és biotermékeket.

Stalls include: fishermans’ stalls – quality Irish seafoods, large range of shellfish, smoked salmon, prawns, lobster, crabs, clams, cod, haddock, kippers, mackerel, plaice, trout, eel, oysters (pictured), mussel, periwinkles.

A standokon az alábbi ételeket/termékeket árulják – minőségi ír tengeri halakat: kagyló és rákféléket, füstölt lazacot, garnélarákot, tőkehalat, makrélát, lepényhalat, pisztrángot, angolnát, osztrigát (a képen látható) és kék kagylót.

Gourmet foods: organic vegetables.

Ínyenceknek: biozöldségeket.

Organic fruits.

Biogyümölcsöket.

Organic meat, organic eggs, free range meats, organic & farmhouse cheeses….

Hús, tojás és sajtféléket….

Craft & Home Baked Bread and Cakes.

Házi sütésű kenyereket és tortákat.

American Muffins & Crepes (pictured). Amerikai stílusú muffinokat és palacsintákat.

Herbs, Olives & Spices.

Zöldfűszereket, olívabogyókat és fűszereket.

A large selection of Lebanese, Italian, French, German, Caribbean, Irish & Vegan Foods are also available freshly made. Artisan foods including oils, olives, chutneys, pasta, homemade jams, Aran Fudge, chocolates….

A különféle nemzeti konyhák is képviseltetik magukat: helyben elkészített libanoni, olasz, francia, német, karibi, ír és vegán ételek közül lehet válogatni. De kaphatóak különféle olajok, olívabogyók, chutney szószok, tészták, házi lekvárok és csokoládék is….

At Craft Stalls you can find pottery, handmade jewellery, textiles, paintings and photographs. For more information about Howth market and other markets in Ireland, click on the following link: http://www.irishfarmersmarkets.ie/howth.html

Iparművészek, kézművesek és fényképészek standjai saját készítésű kerámiákkal, textíliákkal, ékszerekkel és festményekkel, valamint fényképekkel várják a látogatókat. Ha szeretnél bővebben a Howth-i és a többi, Írországban található piacról olvasni, akkor látogass el az alábbi honlapra: http://www.irishfarmersmarkets.ie/howth.html

As Howth is located on the peninsula of Howth Head, I advise you to discover other parts of the peninsula like the Baily Lighthouse.

Mivel Howth egy félszigeten található, ezért javaslom, hogy fedezd fel a félsziget más részeit is, mint pl. a Baily világítótornyot.

Looking for Narnia? The real portal to the magical kingdom is only a car drive away – for those living in Ireland…. Did you know that the Mourne Mountains were a favorite place of writer C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) and an inspiration for his ‘Chronicles of Narnia’? Lewis was a close friend of J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973) and both authors were leading figures in the English faculty at Oxford University.

Where the Mourne Mountains rise above the rolling countryside of County Down, in Northern Ireland….

The surrounding area is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is proposed as the first national park in Northern Ireland. Not having photographed for a long time, nor being out to enjoy the view, I was extremely happy to be on the road. The landscape was simply stunning, my jaw almost dropped when I saw the snow-covered mountain tops. The Mourne AONB has a large number of historic and traditional building and artefacts. These range from churches, castles, memorials and fine buildings, to traditional farmsteads, gates and gateposts.

We had been in this area before and wanted to revisit Tollymore Forest Park which is located at Bryansford, near the town of Newcastle. Tollymore was previously owned by Robert Jocelyn, 8th Earl of Roden and purchased by the Department of Agriculture in 1930 and 1941. In 1955 it became the first state forest in Northern Ireland to be designated as a Forest Park. Covering an area of almost 630 hectares at the foot of the Mourne Mountains, the forest park offers panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and the sea at nearby Newcastle, while within its own boundaries are many splendid vistas of woodland and rivers.

Tollymore was listed in the Sunday Times top 20 British picnic sites for 2000. The Shimna River flows along its rocky bed through the centre of the Park from the Mournes to the sea at Newcastle. The tree shaded river with its numerous deep pools is home to a variety of birds and mammals such as dippers, kingfishers and otters. The Forest is open every day of the year from 10:00 AM until sunset.

This picture above reminds me of one of my favorite quotes by James Carroll: “We spend most of our time and energy in a kind of horizontal thinking. We move along the surface of things… but there are times when we stop. We sit still. We lose ourselves in a pile of leaves or its memory. We listen and breezes from a whole other world begin to whisper.”

Next morning we went back to the Park for a longer walking tour. Four way-marked trails of varying lengths take the visitor on a tour of the parks most beautiful areas. These trails follow a circular route and are sign posted from the information board in the main car park. Strong footware is recommended . In the afternoon, we decided to visit another Forest Park close by. We found this lovely castle surrounded by spooky trees….

As I had been longing to photograph cute Spring lambs, we continued our journey. Thank God we didn’t have to drive too long, they were everywhere.

The scenes that I saw brought tears into my eyes. I wish I could add sound to my pictures so that you could also hear their adorable little voices. Two tiny lambs fell asleep in the fields. They didn’t realize that the flock was gone and when they woke up they were pretty surprised and at the same time scared that they were left alone. They started calling their Mother who didn’t hesitate a second to come at their rescue. “Follow me home” – said Momma sheep 🙂 .

On the way home we drove through Silent Valley which is situated in the high Mournes. Last soul-lifting experience of the day: watching these cute little critters run and play in the sunset with the Mournes as backdrop….