Morning walk in Sandy Row area and city center

Morning walk in Sandy Row area and city center

The first morning when we woke up, we were all very excited to see the city. Because of our late arrival we were all very tired. We started out with breakfast at the Hostel at 7.30 am that consisted of coffee, yoghurt, juice, cereal and a croissant, and then we went for a walk in the nearby neighborhood, Sandy Row. The houses on Sandy Row were small terraced houses with a very small garden in front of the house. We quickly saw that the Protestants would do about anything to protect their houses with fences and walls everywhere, often with barbed wire on the top.

Besides being told that Protestants lived on this road, you could some places see it on the British colored curb. On the walk we saw plenty of large Murals painted on the house walls, telling different stories and taking political stands.  

On our walk we also saw the University of Belfast. It was an old and very beautiful building – it was very different compared to the small, simple terraced houses in Sandy Row. After that we continued our walk, and we walked through a park with flowers everywhere, and we felt like we were in a fantasy world. Here we took a quick break and enjoyed the lovely weather. It was very exciting to see the differences in the different areas of Belfast, and we think that we all learned a lot. 

SUNDAY 10th of April - MUSICAL PUB CRAWL IN DUBLIN

 Sunday evening our class, 2.c and our teachers went to a musical pub crawl at a little bar in the heart of Dublin. The session led by two professional musicians, Bianca and Mark, who performed Irish tunes and songs while telling the story of Irish music and its influence on modern music. The acoustic concert was held in a room at the bar that was privately booked for us. A dim light, candles and two musicians in a good mood made the atmosphere very great. One of the musicians, Bianca, played the fiddle and the other one, Mark, played guitar and a little bit tin whistle. They gave us examples of different kinds of Irish music and singing – for an example Mark sang a song in the singing style “Sean Nos” which is a very traditional way of singing in Ireland and has existed since ancient times. In Ireland music is one of the most important things at all, and when Mark and Bianca told us about the Irish music, it was clear to see how much it meant to them. One of the interesting things they told us was how the music inherits in the family – if your father played the uilleann pipe, you also played it, etc. They told us, that the most important thing in the music, was to tell a story and to express your soul. They also asked us to do a number, and even though we all were a bit shy, Morten Schrum ended up playing the old MGP-hit “Du' ik'som de andre piger” and we all sang along.

By Emilie Rasmussen and Sofie Lykke Nielsen

Wednesday 13th of April

Departure from Dublin and arrival in Hobro.
by Wivian

 After 4 days in Ireland it was time to go back to Denmark. Everybody  was absolutely exhausted after  having experienced more in 4 days than would normally be possible in 8, and we had all had far too little sleep.

  Some did not get to bed till 4 in the morning on the last night,  as they wanted to have the last bit of dear Dublin lived to the full, pubs, music and all.

 The teachers did not sleep that much either, mostly out of fear of getting up too late.

 We had to be ready at 7.50 in order to be picked up by coaches that would bring us to Dublin airport.

 Some of the students overslept, but amazingly managed to be ready in 5 minutes AND on time, no breakfast though!, and at 8 sharp we were all in the coaches after having handed in our  room"keys". not 1 was missing. Again a proof of  2ab being just super! 

 On arrival in the airport we could proceed to the check in counter immediately. A personal check in, so fortunately we all had our e-tickets as proof that we had paid for our flight back.

Passport missing!! 

 -Then came the  nervewrecking experience - especially for the student concerned: A passport  had been lost -but where? 

 Suitcase, handbag and toiletbag were all turned inside out several times, but to no avail!

 Fortunately we had photocopied all our passports before leaving Denmark, and we managed to get our very unhappy student through to check-in , security control and onto the plane.

 Finally we could set off and had a smooth flight back to Copenhagen where DSB   had seen to it that we had to wait for  4 1/2 hours. NOT VERY POPULAR!
Starbucks provided expensive coffee and chairs.

Train delays

 At 6.38 we could finally board the train to Hobro.  We all had a nice trip, cosy atmosphere, laughing, talking,playing, watching  football on the computers, but we were all dead tired and had very rosy cheeks, so it was almost unbearable to be informed that the train would be delayed by 30 minutes.

At 11.50 pm we eventually arrived at Hobro railway station. 

For most of the students it  was at least  half an hour  more before they would be in their homes.

 Still, everybody turned up the following day for the AT-project, worked really hard for 2 days and gave some  absolutely stunning and amusing presentations on Friday afternoon.

At 3.15 pm we could finally wish each other a pleasant Easter Holiday. 

Everybody really needed it now after 7 intense days of hard work, long hours, fun and great experiences.

 Happy Easter!

Pool floor Garden of Remembrance Dublin.  Let there be peace.

Wear an Easter Lily.

http://www.dublinevents.com/easter/

Tuesday April 12th Comhaltas Monkstown-Guinness Store House-Dinner at Temple Bar

 We have been in Dublin for a couple of days. Tuesday we prepared ourselves for a visit to a town called Monkstown which was a bit different from where we were staying in Dublin. This place is known for providing good traditional Irish dance music and arranging Irish river dance shows for the music. From the minute we walked into the hall where some Irishmen were waiting for us, you could feel the warm and inviting atmosphere around the fireplace at the center of the hall, as they were greeting us. The Irishmen gave us a taste of live Irish dance music, and they talked about its background. We also heard about the Irish dance music’s development and the instruments. They also taught us to dance real Irish step dance, as a result of the students’ excitement and enthusiasm about dancing. They were very polite, and they were willing to answer all sorts of questions we had. They even offered us tea and some biscuits. After this instructive show we took a train from the Irish rail DART, back to Dublin. 
This trip has been very nice, and we think you should consider going to this district on every “Dublin-Belfast” class trip, because you learn thoroughly about the most well-known music culture in the world! We have also learned to expand our horizons and see how other cultures can make you happy, such as the step dancing to Irish music.


TUESDAY AFTERNOON  Visit at Guinness Store House + Evening  farewell dinner and the rest of it.

  by Shannon and Nikolaj


 

By DART to Comhaltas, Monkshill,  Dunleary. Cultural Centre visit by Sharon and Michael

Anders  plays the Danish tune "Molbodrengens Hopsa" and students join in. 

Neef teaches Danish students how to dance the Irish way

Evensong at St Patrick's Cathedral Monday 11th

 
Monday 11th  was a nice day in Dublin where we experienced a lot of different things. We saw a big part of Dublin for instance Croke Park, the Gaelic sports stadium. Afterwards we had to go to different parts of Dublin in small groups in connection with our project in English and Geography where we had to do some research. When round 5 p.m. the class met in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral, which is an Irish Anglican church, it was clear that the quarters in Dublin were quite different from each other.

The Evensong in St. Patrick’s Cathedral was a very special experience because the choir had the whole focus. The choir wore a kind of dress in purple and green with a white cloak over it. A thing about the choir which contrasted a lot to a Danish choir was that different ages were represented. There were small girls and older men. A thing which was also characteristic of the evensong was that there were 3 priests, who had different functions during the ceremony. We did not feel as a part of the evensong because the choir had the whole focus, and the choir sang the hymns without help from the congregation. However, the choir was very good and sang in different voices.

We had the night off, and a lot of us went to a restaurant and afterwards to a pub. 

Mette & Emilie Blach 2.ab

  

The first morning in Dublin + Croke Park April 11th

 

CROKE PARK:

Monday the 11^th of April, we went to Croke Park, which is a Gaelic sports stadium. We were on a guided tour around the inner, outer and upper stadium, and saw things like the dressing rooms, the players, lounge and the warm-up areas. Here we learned about the different teams, and that everything in the players’ lounge is made out of Irish materials. We were also told about the very expensive chandelier whose colours change depending on the colours of teams that are using the lounge, and how they had to put up mirrors to make it look like they had more than one chandelier because they couldn't afford more than one.

We had a very kind guide who actually had a relation to one of the victims of the “Bloody Sunday” 1920 in Croke Park where 14 people were killed by the British Auxiliary Force.

During our tour we learned that Croke Park isn't home ground for any special team. They support all teams that do Gaelic sports. We learned something about the two sorts of Gaelic sports Hurling and Gaelic football in a short film called “A Sunday in September” which was about the Gaelic sports culture, the finals and how the events are held today. The two sports are very different from anything we know in Denmark, but quite surprisingly we discovered that there's a Hurling team in Copenhagen.

 

The visit ended up in an activity room with different places to try things that had to do with the two sports we'd recently learned about. Afterwards, we split into groups and went to different parts of Dublin to do some research for a school assignment.

No and Katrine

WB PICTURES:
 NO  TRYING THE ACTIVITY TEST IN HURLING. A BALL IN A REAL MATCH MAY REACH A SPEED OF UP TO 180 KMS

.
TRYING THE HURLEY NIELS PETER REACHED A SPEED OF 92 KMS.  MAI HAD A GO AT IT, TOO.
THOMAS BECAME THE CHAMPION WITH 94 KMS,
FAR BEYOND MOST OF THE OTHERS IN 2AB.

 2AB STUDENTS WORKING TOGETHER TO GET
A VERY HIGH SCORE.
A BIT OF INNOCENT CHEATING, THOUGH.

 The first morning in Dublin
After a long trip yesterday in the bus, we were a bit tired. But a new town was about to be explored, so we grabbed some breakfast and took off. The breakfast was no delight, but the excitement seemed overwhelming, and therefore we did not really care. First, we crossed the river and continued to the General Post Office. The shoot marks from the Easter Rising were still noticeable, but inside it was in good condition.

Close to the GPO, we took a look at the great Spire of Light, which is a symbol of peace. You cannot avoid seeing a 121.2 metres high tower in the middle of the city.

 The Garden of Remembrance was really special because of the weapons in the basin. It is dedicated to all those who gave their lives in the cause for Irish Freedom. The weapons are a metaphor for throwing hatred away. Then we had lunch, and passed along to Croke Park.

It was important for us to see because of all the background knowledge we had. We knew a bit about the Easter Rising, but it was nice to see it with our own eyes. Now it was easier to understand, and we could see it from a larger perspective. The solidarity and the spirit made it  a great day.

Stine & Ditte 2.ab

April 10th :

Evening – musical pub crawl in Dublin 

by Sofie and Emilie R.

Sunday noon April 10th : Stormont, Downpatrick to Dublin arrival in Kinlay House 

by Ida og Monica

Stormont: When we came by  bus to Stormont, the parliament of Northern Ireland, the first sight of it was very beautiful: It was a huge old building and was located on the top of a hill which gave a fantastic view. The weather was sunny and hot, so some found a spot on the green grass and lay down in the sun. We didn’t stay long before we went into the bus again and drove further on.

Down Patrick: When we arrived atthe small town of  Downpatrick, we first had a break where we could get something to eat. Not many places were open; some went to “Lidl”, some to “Subway” while some just had a very bad meal. (Morten was very upset) After the break we went to the church where Sankt Patrick had probably been buried. There was a big stone in honor of him, which means the same to the Irish people as the “Jellinge-Stone” to Danish people. Wivian and Anders told us the historical facts about Sankt Patrick and the place.

Arrival at Kinlay House: The weather was still fantastic, but when we came into the bus everybody fell asleep – the quietest time during the whole trip while the class was together. When we arrived in Dublin, our first impression of our Hostel, the Kinlay House, was very good: A young man told us about the rules and the whole hostel seemed very youthful. Our rooms were fine with bunk beds and a bathroom in each room. We were very pleased with the place.

Sunday morning: Milltown, Falls and Shankill/ Ardoyne/ Springfield Road

 by Thomas and Morten