Duesseldorf und Dortmund

Getting excited about my trip to Germany in a couple of weeks. I've done some basic research and know the kind of places I'll likely visit but if any natives end up on this site, then feel free to leave a message with recommendations.

The proposed places are: Duesseldorf, Dortmund, Bremen and Hamburg. I've looked at Ron Pattinson's Euro beer Guide so there are plenty of possibilities for beery goodliness. I'm also hoping to catch the Borussia Dortmund v Stuttgart game. Therefore, I'm going to use this post to add links and guides so if I'm stuck I can access then easily.

Anyway, in the meantime, some photos of nearer home.

Chester

This was taken at The Boot Inn, Chester. It is situated on The Rows. A larger version can be found here. An unspoilt pub serving Sam Smiths beers including Old Brewer Bitter and Taddy Porter (bottles).

Leeds Away Day

Always one for a bargain I took advantage of the National Express Funfare offer of a trip to Leeds for £1 each way. It costs more than that to get to the coach station.

It's a few years since I've been to Leeds and whilst - like many cities - there are tall apartment and office buildings beginning to dominate the skyline, they haven't totally detracted from the style of the city centre. The pubs are excellent too. I only remember the Duck and Drake from previous visits but there are enough in the centre to have made Brian Clough's 44 days a lot more bearable.

So, a few photos methinks.

Leeds Town Hall

County Arcade

Leeds Pubs

1. Town Hall Tavern

Not a traditional Ratskeller establishment but a pub across the road from the Town Hall. Had a very rare outing for Timothy Taylor Ram Tam as well as the more usual Landlord, Golden and Best Bitter. The brewery was having a week long celebration of cask ale with 5 pint purchase (over the week in Taylor's pubs) earning a free one.
Did not try the food but the portions looked substantial. A bizarre incident was a man coming into the pub with his own fish fingers asking for them to be heated up!
The clientele (sans Birds Eye produce) seemed to be a fair mix of people. The Law courts are also nearby so lawyers and council workers are regulars. Mein Host is very welcoming to 'foreigners' like myself.


2. Victoria Family and Commercial Hotel

Great George Street

A large range of beers in an ornate, if dark pub with individual alcoves to discuss civic secrets and conduct illicit trysts (perhaps). Plumped for a Batemans brew but it was less than perfect.

UPDATE: an intrepid adventurer using this post as a pub crawl guide found the beer to be in good order so don't rely on my single dealing with the pub.

3. Mr Foley's Cask Ale Bar

Chanced upon this on the way back from the Town Hall on The Headrow. It is also known as Dr Okells so this caused some confusion. Has an upstairs area and separate room for hire. Decent range of beers and Belgian bottles. Had a quick pint of Black Bess Stout. The toilet area displays pump clips from previous guest beers.


4. Whitelocks

The oldest pub in Leeds dating from 1715. Very friendly staff quick to offer recommendations. Decided against the tempting Old Peculier as I settled on a pint of Moorhouse Pride of Pendle. There is a beer garden/smoking area in the courtyard, which attracted a sizeable following despite the weather. They're made of stern stuff, Yorkshire folk.

The pub is off Briggate in Turk's Head Yard. Well worth a visit.

5. The North Bar

Couldn't find this one in spite of the directions given in Whitelocks so rather than ask a policeman I grabbed a couple of nuns. They knew exactly where this was; the Trappist beers on offer here may be popular in convent circles.

This is not a place for the softened drinker. It has some of the strongest Belgian beers on offer (Delirium Tremens at 9%, Rochefort 10 at 11.3% and Stouts at 9%). The bar warns patrons to know their limits so I went for a Wallonian Saison Silly at a mere 5%.

Mainly frequented by younger people when I popped in and it was pleasing to see so many women who appreciated strong, decent beer without the need to end up vomiting in a skip afterwards. (A reader writes: Takes one to know one, Eric).

Certainly worth a trip to Leeds by itself. Interestingly, it has taster size glasses so punters can avail themselves of a variety without developing an irrational urge to buy a kebab.

A decent day out for £2. Coupled with the fact that I availed myself of McDonalds' toilets without buying anything (on principle), I was quite pleased with the outing.

Bremen Part 2

Day 1

We arrived late into Bremen and due to the fact that we were staying at the rear of the airport, it made sense to get a taxi rather than a tram into ton and then back. The cost was reasonable at about 7€.
Managed to get water through customs and back again. So much for water based bombs and airport security.

The hotel greeted us with bizarre reminders of home. Not only is the local telephone number (0151) the same for Liverpool, but there were three football pennants in reception, Liverpool, Everton and amazingly, Tranmere Rovers.

A more cynical person than me would think that they had a supply of every team in Europe and they replace them when you leave the room - rather like the Liverpool supporting Greek owner of a bar in Crete who would don his LFC shirt to drum up business for his bar showing Live matches involving Liverpool and replace it with an Arsenal top when they played!

Although the local bars/restaurants were advertising closing times after midnight, none seemed to be open so a quick Becks was obtained from the kebab shop. Despite a few scoops in Manchester earlier in the day, the alcoholic effect was not sufficient to make a kebab seem tasty.

The room was down in the basement next to the vibrating washing machine and upon waking I realised we hadn't drawn the curtains so anyone passing at street level could get a good laugh if they wanted.

Day 2

The walk into town was not too exhausting and consists of merely following along a main road. Due to the inclement weather it was decided that a tram ride back would be best. A day ticket costs only about 7€ for 2 adults and can be used with a number of children too. Ensure that the ticket is stamped on the tram each time it is used.

So, half an hour later, passing the Red Cross Hospital, crossing 2 bridges over the River Weser, and after the Bansky-esque graffiti, the city centre is found.

One thing to note that this city seems to have more cyclists than Amsterdam and it is easy to forget that the red lanes on the pavement are for two wheels rather than two feet.

One of Bremen's most famous features is the statue commemorating The Town Musicians (Die Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten) of Grimms Fairy Tales. The donkey, dog, cat and cockerel came together for the finals of X Factor and can be seen outside the entrance to the Ratskeller.

Whilst we were looking at this, there were TV cameras recording human versions of the animals for some unknown purpose. Yet again our acting abilities were ignored.

Roland is a gigantic statue in the town square. Roland is a popular legendary figure in Germany and other European cities. Bremen is proud of the size of theirs! Aren't we all?

One thing that we found strange was that notwithstanding the intermittent rain, there was a dearth of customers in the department shops of the town centre. Perhaps the economic factors are biting in Germany as much as elsewhere.

There were not many tourists in the town and one person we spoke to at length thought we were students - a bit of a bonus at our age!

Moving away from the town square with the Cathedral, parliament and statues, we visited the nearby quaint area called Schnoor. This is similar to the shambles in York and every nook and cranny contains a different experience from cafe bars and restaurants to craft shops and Christmas emporia.

Eric was thirsty by this time and after having sampled a Thueringen bratwurst in the square, the necessary lining was on the stomach for a goodly beer or two.

Purely by chance we stumbled upon the Comturei restaurant,[Ostertorstraße 30/32,
28195 Bremen.] which is in a 13th century crypt and was on my list compiled from the European Pub Guide. Here we settled on two glasses (0.5l) of Stortebeker Schwartzbier, a tasty dark lager.

The Stortebeker pub itself is full of ship memorabilia. Strangely the stotebeker beer we had previously did not seem to be on so I settled on a Czech Staropramen dunkel for €3.70 which I’d not had before. They served food here with Italian a specialty.

Another interesting pub is the Spitzen Gebel. This is in a small area near the Schuttinger brewery, referred to as the Bottcherstrasse, the entrance of which has a golden frieze from 1936 paying tribute to a certain Austrian water colour specialist.

The pub came as a bit of a surprise when entering as a plume of smoke escaped from the small saloon bar as the door was opened. There is a sign on the door announcing that this is one of the last vestiges of the smoker. Germany has not brought in complete bans on smoking and there are different rules in different states.

As this is a small kneipe (local) pub, it is allowed to have cancer stick users. The great problem is its small size and the fact that obviously most people coming here are smokers. However, eventually the atmosphere became clearer as glasses of Haak Becks Pils were imbibed. We also had an interesting conversation (partly in German) with a local guy, who was married to a woman from South America.

Although the beer was standard fare, this was one of the highlights of the trip due to the atmosphere and friendliness. We did find some people's demeanour a bit serious and sometimes frosty, but this was exemplary.

Whilst here, we found out that there was an exhibition of Helmut Newton's nudes (as I had seen a few years ago in Berlin) but we did not have time for this. Still, the brochure's very interesting!

We stumbled across a beer hall that looked like ones we had seen in Cologne. Lo and behold it was the Staendige Vertretung selling Sion Koelsch beer, and Erdinger Weissbier. The only problem with the Koelsch is that it comes in 0.2l glasses. The decor of the hall is amazing as most of the vast walls are covered in memorabilia from political history of the GDR and FDR. It was like being in Willy Brandt's study. The toilets were immaculate - hotel class - strangely I did not see anyone collecting as in other German cities.

The best pub by far was at the Schuettinger Brewery. This has been brewing since 1990 and the beer both Dunkles and Hellen was fresh and the best of the trip. The beer appeared to be dispensed straight from two mighty wooden barrels but given the position of the taps, this was probably for show. One guy opened a narrow opening beneath the copper mash tuns and was able to crawl underneath.

On our first visit we could not get in as there was a private party taking up the whole place, which is on 2 levels so it shows the popularity of this place. This looks like an ideal place to hold an early Xmas party. We also spotted a businessman cuddling a woman who may not have been his wife!

Well, it certainly looks like you went to quite a few pubs, a reader asks. Well. Our excuse was that the weather was a bit nippy and we had to seek shelter somewhere.

On a stroll along the riverside we noticed that the Christmas markets were being readied for December. We chance upon the Paulaner pub in this direction but did not venture in. The Becks brewery could be seen on the other side of the river but the hops could be smelt long before we noticed it in the night sky.

There is a tall ship moored on the quayside area Schlachte, which is the medieval harbour, called the Lord Nelson which is now used as a restaurant.

Day 3

On the third day we decided to take a tram ride to the Weserstadion, home of Euro Champions League qualifiers, Werder Bremen. Unfortunately, due to mistakenly believing that the number 6 tram terminated there we missed the stop by miles and had a long stroll alongside the autobahn parallel to the river.

Not many people were around and the ground did not look particularly impressive from the exterior view. Indeed, we were unable to circumnavigate the stadium due to a fence around the side. The club Fan shop is stsandard and I managed to pick up a Werder mobile dongle which lights up when someone calls. Such fun! We had hoped to catch a Bundesliga game but unfortunately none was scheduled during our stay.
Coupled with our failure to spot Bremen icon, James Last this provided a bit of a disappointment.

Some bizarre things in Bremen:

1. Jewellery shop called Christ. Blessed are the watchmakers.
   
2. Christmas shop selling nothing but nativity items. Must be packed in July.
   
3. Toilet football in the urinals (see pic).
4. Condom/cigarettes machines on most street corners.

Cologne and Bonn : January 2007

Thought I'd start putting some photos on the site. These were taken in Cologne and Bonn in January of this year. My companion in crime was once again the well travelled Steve, who shares some of the blame for England's defeat yesterday. Members of the jury you are invited to look at the evidence. Twice the defendant left his seat in the Rose and Crown and twice the Germans scored. It is believed that he remained on his stool for the whole of the victories in 1966 and 1975. Various bondage techniques were utilised for the 5-1 victory in Munich.
Anyhoo, if I can find my travelogue notes I shall do my Bill Bryson bit later.

Cologne 2007 : Introduction

The trip to Cologne was booked in November 2006 after an abortive attempt to travel there earlier in the year. I managed to pick the only day in the year that Britain had heavy snow resulting in the closure of Liverpool John Lennon Airport . The cost with EasyJet was an incredible £21 return. There is an additional levy in the guilt felt at further damage to the ozone level. The same amount of money would barely pay for a rail trip to Manchester.

Cologne has been on my list of ‘must see' places in Germany for some time. It is twinned with Liverpool. I had travelled through the city before; I managed to visit the shopping centre in the main railway station for a couple of hours and beers. This, however, was the chance to spend a few days exploring the city.

One invaluable help to our trip was the guide to Cologne pubs by Ron Pattinson which can be found at (http://www.europeanbeerguide.net/kolnpubs.htm ), The Wcities guides (www.wcities.com) and the Metro program for the Palm PDA (www.nanika.net/Metro). (Not to mention my sub-O Level standard German!)

The Palm handheld computer is a great help as it precludes the need to take bulky computer hardware. It allows me to take and read notes relating to the trip, calculate currency conversions, and catalogue photos.

The Metro program is available for other formats such as Windows Mobile and is free! It is updated with details of local transport routes (trains, trams etc) for most cities worldwide. You can even get SatNav for these devices. However, as I don't use a car I've had to invest in new software that co-ordinates trips via footpaths, fields and subways. The latest Version 2.0 also includes updated information on uneven pavements (to avoid or sue over) and fast food container and vomit hotspots. But I digress.........

I was unsure as to whether staying in hostel/backpackers accommodation would be such a good idea. This was probably down to visions of some 1970s style youth hostel. However, the facilities in these places are quite good given the cost. I stayed in a great hostel in Berlin , which had cheap rooms, beer and internet access. The thought of sharing a dorm with complete strangers can be a daunting one. In Berlin, for instance, I was allocated a room with 5 Japanese guys. Every night I would come back to the room and they would be asleep. In the morning, they would still be asleep when I left so they may not have known of my existence. It was also very quiet notwithstanding the age group in the place. In any case, we decided to book a room for 2 rather than tempt fate.

And so it was that early on the Friday morning we set off for the airport.................................

From January 2007 Liverpool Airport's owners, Peel Holdings kindly decided to implement a new levy (the first in the country) for added security checks (£2 each way). This is in addition to the new fuel surcharge rate introduced by Mr Brown and the limits on hand luggage liquids (puts paid to my patented 'smuggling of cheap red wine in a ribena bottle to avoid exhorbitant prices on board scam'. Fortunately this was an early flight lasting 1 hour 40m, the security tax was not in place and the tax was not retrospective. I could go on for hours about the over-reaction of the authorities to the 'terrorist threat'. Suffice to say, any potential terrorists are probably laughing their collective bollocks off at the turmoill caused and we will all have to have ID cards. A little bit of politics there!

The flight was uneventful save for the "Welcome to Geneva" greeting upon landing. Ah! the life of a trolley dolly, international pop star or Rubber Chicken circuit US politician: if it's Tuesday it must be Tulsa.

The airport (known as Cologne/Bonn) is actually named after Konrad Adeneuer, the Mayor of Cologne in the pre-Nazi period. He was forced to flee by Hitler but returned after the war to become the first Chancellor of West Germany.

The city centre of Cologne is not that far from the airport, an inexpensive €2.30 covering the 20 minute journey by train. Passengers formed into two distinct groups upon arrival at the automatic ticket machines - the foreign visitors feeding in inappropriate notes whilst the natives hit the jackpot every time on the adjacent one.

Cologne Cathedral (Koelner Dom)

Cologne Cathedral is the major landmark of the City. It dominates the skyline of the city and is a good guide when negotiating your way home after a night out. It has survived despite the best attempts of Bomber Harris and remains under constant renovation and maintenance. The sheer size of this Gothic building demands a few hours to do it justice. There are guided tours available and it is also possible to climb the steps to the top to take in the view of the city. Throughout the day there are actual religious servies taking place and at periodical intervals, red-robed church officials rope off the main body of the cathedral to allow this to occur. Confession is also available for the faithful. The adjoining gift shop sells a number of items for the tourist including books and even photos of the German Pope, Rattzinger.

Basic leaflets outlining the layout and history of the cathedral are on display for an outlay of 1€. This seems to be based on honesty as there is a box for the money. Despite my aetheism, I found myself hedging my bets and duly counting out the coins. The same cannot be said for a fellow visitor taking the Spanish version! How costly that Euro may be in the final reckoning (even allowing for the fact that Spain does not suffer exchange rate blues as we do.

Whilst there we came across a Cologne tradition. On January 6th (Epithany) the city celebrates Three Kings Day where children dress up as the Magi and visit local homes to daub chalk on the door to promote good luck for the year. Some of the groups were accompanied by adult minstrels. Another bizarre sight when not aware of the meaning.
The Magi are of course very significant to the Cathedral. It is believed that they visited Cologne Cathedral and were eventually buried there in a shrine.

The Rheinenergie Stadion (home of FC Koeln) was used for several of the early games during the World Cup in 2006, including England v Sweden. I wanted to travel to Germany for the tournament but as put off by the high prices and the England intelligentsia section we call 'fans'. It seems that on the whole the supporters behaved well despite our usual disappointing showing. I was interested to hear locals' thoughts on the tournament, for which the Germans received universal praise for its organisation. From the people we spoke to, it seems that the English fans were, on the whole, well-behaved and friendly to their hosts. Unfortunately, when we visited, the Bundesliga was having a winter break so no games were available.

FC Koeln was relegated from the top division in 2005/2006. Despite this there were plenty of fans wearing their replica shirts which made a refreshing change from seeing the ubiquitous Bayern Munich shirts as in other parts of Germany I have been to.

No trip to Cologne is complete without a walk along the mighty Rhine. Although the river is less scenic in this section, it is still an essential place to visit. The weather and time of year meant that we were unable to enjoy a Rhine cruise and the cable car crossing near to the Zoo was also unavailable.

The Station Hostel helpfully provide 3 different tourist walks and we chose the one that followed the path of the river taking in the main bridges over the water.

Perhaps the best known and most distinctive bridge is the Hohenzollern Bruennen. This was rebuilt after being destroyed during the war. On each side of the bridge are statues of Friedrich Wilhelm IV and Wilhelm I (Deutz) and Wilhelm II and Friedrich III on the city centre side. Incidentally, the promenade on the Deutz side from the bridge until the Deutzer Bridge is known as Kennedy Ufer. Ich bin (eine) Koelner too! The bridge connects the old town of Cologne with the Deutz district, known locally as the Blank Side. Coming from Birkenhead I can understand their pain but as with the Mersey, the best views are from this side!

The Deutzer Bridge carries a heavy load of trains into the city. The railway station is one of the busiest in Germany. It is unusual to look at the bridge and not see a train entering or leaving the city.

Cologne Pubs

I was told that a visit to Cologne would not be complete without a trawl around its famous brewhouses where Koelsch is served. There is also the tradition of the Koebes bar waiters dressed in blue. These meisters of service pride themselves on being able to ensure a customer's glass is never empty even in a crowded inn. Remember that next time you are waiting for the privilege of ordering a drink in Wetherspoons etc. I am indebted to the excellent web site of Ron Pattinson for some of the suggestions for places to drink in Cologne. We did not manage to visit every place on the list but it provided a great base and also allowed for the discovery of others. The local brew Koelsch is far from the greatest beer produced in Germany. In many places it tended to be rather bland and unremarkable. The fact that most pubs serve it in 0.2l glasses does not help either. Most of the interesting pubs are contained in a small area in the old town.

The Brauerei Zur Malzmuhle

This was difficult to reach in the dark given the Heumarkt tram station in the vicinity. It was busy when we arrived and many were availing themselves of the various cuts of pork on the menu. We noted that Haxe, which had been listed as a house special in many a pub, was in fact pig's trotters. Yum! We had already enjoyed a sumptuous Italian meal not far from here so food was not on the menu so to speak. The beer was one of the highlights of the pub crawl as it had a distinctive flavour compared to the more blander Koelsch examples. Well worth a look.

Bier Esel

We managed to visit this pub twice on walks through the shopping precinct area. It was nothing special. The service was probably the slowest of all the places we went to. There seemed to be a bias towards the restaurant part of the pub and the kitchen looked quite busy. The menu indicated that most meals had been substantially reduced. The beer was from the Sunner brewery. However, the pub does provide a handy watering hole when trapped in the shopping area on a Sunday. (Surprisingly, the area was crammed with window-shoppers despite only food outlets being open. We came across an antiques/car boot type sale in the plush surroundings.

Peters Brauhaus

This was also one of the highlights of the trip. The place was very busy upon our visit and we were forced to stand at a strange shelf in the centre of the room. Other rooms were also busy and the surroundings are very ornate as can be seen from the picture below. The toilets were as expected here, immaculate. Most establishments employ the services of an attendant to maintain hygiene standards. To the newcomer the presence can be a bit off-putting.

Papa Joe's Jazz Bar

We visited this pub together with its sister pub. Both have distinctive décor. This had a small stage with live Jazz musicians. The lead singer had the broadest Scouse accent this side of Kirkby. I'm not a great fan of traditional Jazz but this was enjoyable as it was lively and a good finale to the night.
The second pub had a piano player. Either the piano need tuning or he was a great fan of Les Dawson's comic wrong-note style. There was also an animatronic duo which could be activated as a jukebox with songs such as Lili Marlene and Karneval songs.

Corkonian

This was an Irish pub which we visited to watch the Liverpool v Arsenal game. It was packed with sports fans. Strangely, it was not merely frequented by expats and tourists,. There was a large contingent of German Liverpool and Arsenal fans complete with replica shirts. The banter was largely friendly although this was perhaps the only place we encountered mild drunkenness and falling off chairs behaviour. There was one Liverpool supporter (in Karneval gear) who was bit of a pain with his constant singing but there you go. The pub served pints rather than the tiny koelsch glasses with Guinness and Kilkenny alongside Koelsch and Paulaner Weisse beer.

A good place to take in a football game and catch up with UK news but not for regular visiting. Prices were quite reasonable. Incidentally, my attempts to order in German were rendered totally unnecessary upon hearing the waitress's lilting Irish tones. I know, what else do you expect in an Irish pub.

Brauhaus Sion

BONN

Despite John Le Carre's description in his novel, it still comes as a surprise how unlike other capital cities Bonn is. It is only recently that Berlin has taken over the mantle. On the surface there is little to suggest how important Bonn was in economic and political terms. It gives the impression of an unspoilt little town. Much is made of the Beethoven connection but whereas Cologne has a plethora of pubs, Bonn is predominantly an eating place. We found it very difficult to find an old fashioned kneipe type pub. The University in the city is one of the most eminent in Germany.

Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven was born on December 16/17 1770. The original house in which he was born has been turned into a museum. As with Mozart's house in Salzburg when I visited, Ludwig was not in. There is also a Beethoven Walk taking in such places of interest as the monument above, the Minster, and the cemetery where his mother's grave lies. The statue was commissioned for Beethoven's 75th Birthday. an original score of the 9th (Europa) symphony is contained in the foundation stone. The words JCB and eBay spring to mind but this would be neither funny nor clever.

Bonn Pubs

The zum Beguestchen was the first proper pub we found. it served Kurfursten Koelsch. We made the mistake of sitting down at a free table only to be shouted out by a strange woman who pointed oout that it was for waiting staff. Therefore we ended up in the window watching the rain soaked shoppers outside.
Later we came across a Munich themed bar, serving Paulaner Weissbier and Pils. The barman was a friendly chap who took no time in making it clear his local beer was superior to the ordinary Koelsch. He also predicted Bayern Munich would beat Liverpool in the European Champions League. One day this Tranmere Rovers fan will be able to converse on the same level as those illustrious teams. One other thing to be said is that at least you get 0.5l glasses.

There are more photos to be uploaded to the above slideshow and further travelogue details.

Ireland's West Coast

Ireland July 2-5 2007

Just got back from a very interesting trip across the Irish Sea courtesy of Mr. O'Leary of Ryanair. He clearly has a problem with the British Government and in particular its doubling of fuel tax in a previous budget of Mr Brown (Prime Minister to his friends). Therefore the meek and disarming Mr. O' L decides to make a political point by offering selected flights for 1p. (that's each way.....I mean, return for a penny would be ludicrous.) This included taxes which the kindly and even more meek Mr O' L agreed to foot himself. Many hours he spent writing out in his own fair hand, individual cheques to HM Govt GB Inc. All this when our publicity-shy pop stars were convening across the planet for Live Earth (insert own carbon footprint comment here).

Anyway, conscience in hand, I purchased a flight, having availed myself of the tuppence found down the side of the sofa. I decided on 2 places yet to be visited: Milan and the West of Ireland. The Italian sojourn will be in September.

As usual the fates came to visit me; a member of the caring profession decided his religious indoctrination took precedence over his moral and professional duty. (hypocritic oath?) and security was tight at airports everywhere. This increase in security has already inconvenienced me before, curtailing my usual scam at avoiding exhorbitant onboard drinks prices. Oh yes, the red wine-that-looks-like-ribena ruse. This is how terrorists succeed; they do not have to kill or injure, only to interrupt the norm.


The flight to Shannon Airport in County Clare takes less than an hour (only about 40 mins in the air). As Ryanair is a no-frills airline it relies on hidden extras to generate revenue. For instance, it has a policy of charging for baggage placed on the aircraft and drinks and food onboard. They also have bizarre sachets of vodka, which look like they should be used on chips rather than supplying flight-calming liquor.

We based our stay in the city of Limerick.

Facts about Limerick:

1. It rains a lot.

2. It has been unfairly given the nickname "stab city".

3. Pubs are as plentiful as the rain.

4. People are very friendly.

In one of the opening narratives in Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt mentions that it always rains in Limerick. During our stay, the veracity of this statement was rarely troubled. Of course, it had been raining in Liverpool on the journey to John Lennon Airport. Yes, the famous pakamac came to the rescue on many an occasion (more of which later).

The Cliffs of Moher

The Cliffs of Moher, County Clare.

This was a day trip from Limerick, taking over 2 hours by bus and costing about €19. The service is infrequent so we intended to catch the return bus some 7 hours later. The driver knew the score and advised us of an earlier bus. Two hours later we were ready to trundle back home. The problem with this spot is that there is little to do other than admire the spectacular view and battle the harsh winds. There is a fort on top of the cliffs and a tourist centre chiselled into the rockface to preserve aesthetic values, but it is hard to justify a long stay. We were fortunate that the rain did decide to stop for a bit but it is now no longer possible to reach the outer edge of the cliffs. It seems that a few troubled souls took the opportunity to end it all at a scenic place and so the public are barred. cattle and sea birds are exempt. This is a pity as it would be good to have an official path along the cliffs.

The cliffs are believed to be the deepest in Europe and the view is certainly spectacular as seen by the photos above. Arriving here on Independence Day, we found it to be invaded by hordes of American tourists whose clothes laid battle with their voices for victor of loudness. I utilised my puerile sense of humour by sending surreptitious bluetooth messages to their mobile phones, to the effect that their foreign diplomacy was a bit questionable. According to recent polls in the States, it appears they might actually agree now. Talk about waking up to smell the..........etc etc.

Of course, I will not hear a word against former Governor G. W. Bush. He believes in peace as much as.......well, listen to this if ya don' believe it, y'all.

Limerick Pubs

Blackstuff for the Boys

Dolan's

Jam session at Dolan's

By great planning and cunning (=luck) we stayed near the Dock Road, on which this bar is situated. Wherever I am I always seem to end up near the Red Light area! Did not see any night workers possibly due to the weather. It would take too long to describe the place. Its own website does it so much better. It is also visible on Google Earth. Suffice to say, there have been many major artists playing here. For instance Kasabian played Wembley recently and also were here. There are also free offerings of traditional Irish music in the bar most nights. The bar has something for everyone.

We even managed to get TV coverage of Wimbledon here. Yes, it will always remind me of Maria Sharapova’s exit. On this occasion I was sad to see her behind (schoolboy giggle).

The Whitehouse

This pub also has a poetic license

We came across a great Irish pub whilst sheltering from the rain (as recommended by the red jacketed city guides we met by the castle.). It is known as both Gleesons and The White House. A pint of Smithwicks was our reward. We noticed that at the front of the pub was a small curtained stage with a large spotty bow tie. An advert for a poetry reading caught the eye, so we made a mental note to visit upon our return from the Cliffs of Moher.

The weekly readings have been up and running since 2004 and are compered by the imcomparable Barney Sheehan. There is a blog by one of the prominent members, Dominic Taylor, who has also written songs based on Angela’s Ashes. There is a link to the My Space site from the blog. Hey, no one that has Sinead O’Connor as a friend can be too bad!

I was cajoled into scribbling a few lines myself, but did not expect to have to perform it. The other poets (note the subtle use of ‘other’, implying I am Ted Hughes) were well rehearsed and subjects ranged from harrowing accounts of drug addiction to whimsical memories of hurling matches. Next time I will have more time to prepare and so the results should be better. For the record, my offering was about the rain we encountered. The local inhabitants took it in good humour. There are probably some areas where this would be a bad idea. Anyway, as with the rest of the area, people were very friendly. This is a night to recommend.


Nancy Blake's

This was several pubs in one; a tardis of an inn. From the outside it seemed quite small but it had a sawdust-laden front area, a small dimly lit bar, an old style snug, and a busy outside area for the tobacco takers. One of the places to be at night.

The Wicked Chicken

Be Wicked

Easier to say before entering than after leaving. It was a rarity in that it had beers different to the usual suspects of Guinness, Beamish and Smithwicks. It had a good selection of German Erdinger brews.

I Don’t Like Mondays

One pub we drifted into was, I think, The Black Swan. It was a bit dark and scruffy. A group of well-oiled old characters frequented it. It as not so much that they propped up the bar, than that the bar propped them up. One member of ‘The Monday Club’ improvised an effective pinball impression on his way out. The barman had a large cut on his head caused by a night out when his drink was spiked.

Later in the week we were in another pub (sheltering from the rain you understand) when I spotted a charcoal drawing on the wall of ‘The Tuesday Club’ members and we wondered aloud if there were such clubs for each day of the week and if the same characters were in every one.



More later......... I am constructing bit by bit as I learn

" But I learn Mr. Fawlty, I learn!"

King John's Castle, Limerick