{"id":385,"date":"2014-05-18T18:01:14","date_gmt":"2014-05-18T16:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/userblogs.fu-berlin.de\/afibinirland2014\/?p=385"},"modified":"2014-05-18T18:02:01","modified_gmt":"2014-05-18T16:02:01","slug":"bloodstains-and-the-last-unicorn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/userblogs.fu-berlin.de\/afibinirland2014\/2014\/05\/18\/bloodstains-and-the-last-unicorn\/","title":{"rendered":"Bloodstains and The Last Unicorn"},"content":{"rendered":"

Friday came and went, much like today except that today is Sunday and there\u2019s no work on Sunday. After work I went home, had dinner and got ready for a night at The Karma Stone. The Bar is owned by a cousin to George\u2019s host family and Ryan, his host brother is the barkeeper there and he gave George, Jonas and I a ride home.<\/p>\n

I had a few pints of Budweiser and a water to end the night but I still had a little headache the next morning. After breakfast the headache was gone, however and I went to get ready for my trip to D\u00fan Laoghaire on this beautiful day. I took the train from Tara Station only a few minutes before 12 and I don\u2019t actually know when I arrived at Sandycove, which is actually one stop past D\u00fan Laoghaire DART Station.<\/p>\n

I made my way down to Marine Parade\/Marine Ave. and turned right, where I spotted a nice little place to set up the camera and take a few pictures. Unfortunately, I don\u2019t understand the way my camera is processing the panorama pictures because towards the end, there\u2019s always a small piece missing from the picture and this peace is just gray. There also doesn\u2019t seem to be any kind of focusing involved so the pictures turned out quite crappy and I won\u2019t bother uploading them. I took a few pictures with normal settings, though and I\u2019m going to paste them at the bottom of this post. My Mobile seems to be much smarter and the panoramic pictures turn out quite good, so you will 2 of those down in the gallery as well.<\/p>\n

10 minutes later, I put away the camera and tripod and made my way down to the water. I was pretty much alone down there so I took the opportunity to listen to the sea on one side and Passenger on the other. I sat down a couple of times, just enjoying the sun, the water splashing against the old steps of the quay and the music. I used the „silence“ to let my mind drift to a place it hadn\u2019t been in a while. My thoughts stayed there as I made my way further towards the East Pier of D\u00fan Laoghaire. I walked pretty slow, letting all kinds of people walk past me. Old people, enjoying the fresh air and just going for a walk around the place they might have known for years; young people, satisfying the desire to fill their minds with pictures, moments and experiences of any kind; and the people that were just looking for a spot to read their books, be by themselves, get rid of the things that put them down or just get tanned.<\/p>\n

The walk towards and along the East Pier is brimming with memories, carved deep into the stone. Literally! People have carved their initials into the stone, made their confessions of love somewhat eternal or have erected monuments to honor the dead. It takes quite a while to reach the old battery right at the end of the pier but I didn\u2019t walk fast and the pier is a mile long, after all. I had an apple on my way back and thought about walking home. it was only 2 o\u2019clock and the walk would have taken not more than 4 hours. However, I didn\u2019t make it past the third DART Station on my way home before deciding to break it off and just take the train and bus home. I was spent and so I also decided against going to the Docklands Festival as was my plan this morning.<\/p>\n

I had chicken and rice for dinner, took a shower, put cream on my face and neck because the sun had left its mark on my skin and went to lie on my bed for quite a while, reflecting on the day. I have to admit that I was actually disappointed. I don\u2019t really know what I had expected from this walk but whatever I had hoped to gain or lose, I obviously failed.<\/p>\n

Today began like yesterday ended. I washed up after lying in bed for a couple of hours, unable to rest and caught up with The Big Bang Theory. Now I\u2019m sitting\/lying here because I can\u2019t seem to find a comfortable position in this bed. I can\u2019t sit up against the wall because my bed just slides over the floor when I put too much pressure against it. I\u2019m going to see what Ann\u2019s husband has prepared for dinner in an hour or so. I might watch a movie later tonight because I have finished reading The Notebook and I don\u2019t really feel like playing anything. Tomorrow is a work day after all.<\/p>\n

Enjoy the pictures,
\nAngelo<\/p>\n