Pictures of Ireland

Thought I would share a few pixs of my trip with my friend, Heather, to Ireland. We spent half of our time in Dublin and the other half in the south at the Ring of Kerry.

In Dublin, at Trinity College, where we saw the Book of Kells.
"The Book of Kells is an ornately illustrated manuscript, produced by Celtic monks around AD 800 in the style known as Insular art. It is one of the more lavishly illuminated manuscripts to survive from the Middle Ages and has been described as the zenith of Western calligraphy and illumination. It contains the four gospels of the Bible in Latin".


Saint Patrick's Cathedral, in Dublin.
"In 1191, under John Comyn, the first Anglo-Norman archbishop of Dublin, Saint Patrick's was raised to the status of a cathedral and the present building, the largest church in the country, was erected between 1200 and 1270. Over the centuries as the elements, religious reformation and persecution took their toll, the cathedral fell into serious disrepair, despite many attempts to restore it. Eventually between 1860 and 1900 a full-scale restoration based on the original design, was carried out by the Guinness family."


Heather eating Fish and Chips, in the park next to Saint Patrick's Cathedral. Need I say more.. the company, surroundings and the fish and chips were awesome!


Heather over looking the Rocks of Skellig (ring of islands) at the Ring of Kerry.
"Skellig Michael and Little Skellig are located 12km off Valentia Island. Skellig Michael has the best preserved early Christian monastery in Western Europe. "


A view from the cemetery at a the Rock a Cashel.
"The Rock of Cashel served as the traditional seat of the Kings of Munster for several hundred years prior to the Norman invasion, though few remnants if any of the early structures survive. The majority of buildings on the current site date from the 12th and 13th centuries. Cashel is reputed to be the site of the conversion of the King of Munster by St. Patrick in the 5th century A.D."



This is Hore Abbey, in the valley just below the Rock of Cashel.
"Hore Abbey was founded by Cistercians in 1266. It was originally of the Benedictine Order. In 1272, however, Archbishop David McCarvill of Cashel, having dreamed that the monks made an attempt on his life, violently disposessed them of their house and lands. He brought the Cistercians from the important monastery at Mellifont in County Louth to found a new Cistercian Abbey and he himself took the habit of that order."


In the town near the Rock of Cashel, here is a explanation for this type of cross.
"High Crosses exist from the 7th century in Ireland, and were later seen in Scotland and in Wales.The ring initially served to strengthen the head and the arms of the High Cross, but it soon became a decorative feature as well.The High Crosses were status symbols, either for a monastery or for a sponsor or patron. The early 8th century crosses had only geometric motifs, but from the 9th and 10th century, biblical scenes were carved on the crosses. There were no crosses after the 12th century."

The pox strikes again

It has been awhile. Rob left with the computer for about a week. The day after he left, Saniya got the chicken pox. Joy. So, she was home and suffering the first three days. Then, she was just home, bored and talking about how she could not play with the other kids because of her bumps for another four days. Now, she is back at school and happy.

As a topper, Rowan has now had a high temperature for about two days. He seems better this morning. We'll see what happens. He hasn't gotten any pox yet....I guess it is a to be continued report.

What else. The weather is great. Sunny and warm. Spring is in full swing.

We will post some pictures this weekend. So, that will be fun.

Rob will be gone again most of next week, again. But, when he returns he will have a four day weekend. There is a holiday here called, "Walprisig Night" on April 30th. It is where people get together and have big bonfires and celebrate Spring and regrowth. We will go to Skansen for the evening's festivities.

Ok, talk to you soon with some pixs!

Yasmiene

Perrrrfect

After being in Ireland, and having an outside perspective from my friend, Heather, Rob and I are on this "Sweden is perfect" kick. It is funny how the longer we are here the more perfect and formal it has become. I think in most societies you would see the cracks and the imperfections over time, but not here. My observation in Ireland was that it felt like home in the U.S., some money and well dressed people, but a socio-economic mix. Then back in Sweden, everyone dresses beautifully, looks beautiful in a fit and slim way, drives nice well cared cars(Volvos, Mercedes and BMW, compared to Ireland's majority of Japanese models and the like) on really good roads. The building in Sweden are "perfectly" cared for and there is minimal trash on the road (motorway) or street(in the city). We went to the zoo yesterday and it was fun. There was a dolphin show and it was "perfect" compared to the one we saw in Spain over Christmas. So, in general we are realizing , once again, this is really a better standard of living than the U.S. (we knew that), but now we realize better than most of the rest of Europe, as well. It is easy to think it theoretically, but to realize it in a tangible way makes it very real. So, there are our recent observations from abroad.

Now here are some tidbits about the zoo that I have lifted from an email I just sent to a friend. Shhhh!

We went to the zoo yesterday. It was funny. Saw a dolphin show. Saniya is really into dolphins. We saw another show in Spain so now she thinks they are at all the zoos. I love Spring! At the zoo all the babies were there and we got to see a camel that had been born in the last hour. It was still wet and not standing and had the placenta sitting next to it. Awesome!

I will have Saniya home all summer from the beginning of July to the end of August. I am excited about it and think it will be fun. It is really standard that the kids are home with the family over the summer and many families take at least one month and some take two to go to the summer homes, etc. Isn't that good for the kids?

Glad Påsk (Happy Easter), again!

Yasmiene

Happy Easter

What a fabulous partner I have! I love the previous post and the appreciation. I must tell you all that we came back to fresh flowers, wine, snacks, candles and a totally clean house with groceries in the fridge. What a person. I feel lucky.

Ireland was fabulous. I really have to say I was disappointed that I didn't miss the kids. I missed Rob and wanted to drink Guinness with him. I thought everyday..."today I will miss them", but it didn't happen. I think a big part of it was my thorough enjoyment of fabulous food, sitting in cafes and pubs, good conversation, and reading a book that I have been wanting to start for months. We saw all the sights in Dublin and then rented a car and went to southern Ireland for about 3 days. We circled the ring of Kerry. The weather was great and seeing the country was incredible. It was so green. The towns were populated with little leprechaun looking old women and men sitting on stoops with their plaid caps and chatting. We had lots of Guinness and realized why both of our partners are so into Guinness. It is really good!

Over the Easter weekend we are renting a car and going to a castle, a zoo and a historic town in the north called, Uppsala. How is that for diversity. Tomorrow for school, Saniya will dress up as a witch for Maundy Thursday. The kids dress up as witches and then go to people's door and give them a card and then they get candy. Interesting tradition, feels like Halloween all over again. Here is some info on Easter in Sweden:

"Today, for many Swedes, Easter is just an extended weekend during which they have a chance to meet spring head on with lots of daffodils, birch twigs and good food. Historically this was a time of great religious significance and until a generation or so back, the Easter week, starting with Palm Sunday, had an air of solemnity about it. Weddings and christenings were not considered appropriate during this week and it was not too long ago that adults dressed in black and spent their time mostly in church or in devotion on Good Friday. All places of entertainment including cinemas remained closed. It was considered highly unsuitable to pay anybody a visit. On this day it was forbidden to touch a needle or a pair of scissors or steel in any form so as not to violate the memory of Christ’s suffering.Much of this has changed but there are many Easter traditions that have survived to this day. The most popular of these is the påskris, birch twigs that are brought indoors and decorated with coloured feathers. Originally the birch twigs were used to give children and servants a good beating on Good Friday to remind them in a tangible way of the sufferings of Christ on the cross. The birch twigs are also believed to be a substitute for palm leaves that were spread in front of Jesus on Palm Sunday.

An ancient grisly aspect of Easter celebrations has developed into a fun thing for children. Little girls with painted faces, wearing head scarves and long skirts, go from door to door with a coffee pot which they expect to get filled with small change or candy. Known as påskkärringar - Easter witches or hags - their origins are to be found in the old superstition that Maundy Thursday was the time when witches stole household brooms and flew to dance and consort with the devil at a feast hosted by him on “Blue Mountain”, a fictitious mountain, possibly in present-day Iceland. There were witch hunts that developed from this superstition and as late as in the 18th century, women denounced as witches could still face capital punishment. The last trial of a woman for witchcraft in Sweden took place as late as in 1720. All doors and windows were kept closed on Maundy Thursday and the dampers of the fireplaces were firmly shut. Thresholds and door jams were marked with the sign of the cross in tar to keep the witches at bay.
The belief in witchcraft is the basis of another Easter tradition, especially in western Sweden where firecrackers are let off on Easter night and great bonfires are lit. Firecrackers and fires were considered to be a proven method to keep witches at bay."

So, there it is. Should be fun and different. Rob is going to England for a week on Tuesday and there is possibility he will take the computer, so maybe our skype groupees can converse with us this weekend. Maybe Sunday or Monday morning, your time.

Ok, take care all. Have a great Easter!

Yasmiene