The Beautiful City of Prague

This past week we spent our first holiday outside of Ireland in the gorgeous city of Prague. We had always heard it was a beautiful place to visit, but neither of us knew what to expect. I (Ross) arrived a week before Suzanne to attend a philosophy conference where I shared a paper.  It went really well and I had incredible opportunities to meet and dine with some important philosophers in my field of study.  It was such a privilege to talk philosophy over a pint with some of the philosophers I most admire... and in Prague of all places!

I (Suzanne) met up with Ross on the last day of his conference. We spent five days and four nights touring Prague and two towns outside of the city. After a guided walking tour given through Ross' conference,  we ate dinner at an authentic Czech restaurant with the Brower family (the husband is the man Ross wanted to work with at Purdue University). They were an incredibly sweet family.  Once we went back to our hotel room my stomach started feeling really crummy. Unfortunately, that whole night I was keeled over the toilet... not the pleasant first night I was expecting! That next day, we had so much we wanted to see but because I still was feeling awful we took it really slow. I slugged through the Jewish Quarter, an area in town that was the Jewish Ghetto during WWII. There is a cemetery there where 20,000 Jews are buried, but because of how small the area is, the bodies are buried vertically. The headstones are literally on top of each other! It was really sad.  After barely making it through that area of town, we went back for a two hour nap to power up. That night we went back out to explore the famous Charles Bridge.

Our beautiful room at Mosaic House

Sick, sick, sick

Old Town Square

Jewish Cemetery

The waterfront close to our hotel

Feeling well enough to smile by the end of the night :)

The next day, I felt dramatically better. We explored the castle grounds in Prague, a large area that contains the beautiful St. Vitus Cathedral and Prague's castle (which really doesn't look like a castle). The rest of the day we spent meandering through the narrow, windy streets. They have fantastic shops, gelato, and an outdoor market where you can find all sorts of fresh fruit and trinkets. That night we found a wonderful outdoor restaurant right on the water where we listened to live music. What a great way to end the day!

St. Vitus Cathedral

I just had to take a picture with this castle guard

Restaurant where we listened to live music

The following day we took a day trip to Kutna Hora, a town an hour outside of Prague. Oh my what an absolute adventure... well actually it was a nightmare trying to get to the right bus station. We were using a friend's travel book to help us get around. Unfortunatley, it was from 2002, and led us all over town to the wrong bus station. But, after a couple of hours, and just before giving up, we finally made it to a train station that led us to our desired destination... the BONE CHURCH! I know, sounds creepy right? Yes, it is exactly what it sounds like. It is a church decorated with real human bones from thousands of people that died during a plague and war in the 14th and 15th century. There is a bone chandelier, coat of arms, and huge bone piles. Creepy! Creepy! Creepy!... but very worth the day trip. St. Barbara's Cathedral was in the same town and a wonderful balance to the creepy bone church. After making our way back to Prague, we went to the same restaurant to listen to some more music... but this night the musician was terrible! Quite entertaining with a cowboy hat and a twang... we think he came all the way from the south to serenade us!

Huge bone pile

Coat of Arms made of bones

Bone Chandelier

St. Barbara's Cathedral in Kutna Hora

Our last day, and our favorite, was spent on another day trip to Karlstejn Castle. How amazing and beautiful!!! I was ready to move in! We loved the little shops selling Bohemian crystal, and we just couldn't pass it up! We bought two wine glasses that ring like a bell. To end our trip we went back to Prague and took a relaxing paddle boat ride on the river.  Overall, a fabulous and wonderful trip!  This country is a must do!

Karlstejn Castle... oh how lovely!

In the castle grounds

View from the paddle boat

Ross’ Birthday Getaway!

For Ross’ birthday my parents so graciously let us stay in two of the bed and breakfast’s that we would have stayed in if their trip hadn’t been cancelled. On Saturday, we headed down to Killarney, an adorable town in the southwest of Ireland. We checked into Crystal Springs, our B&B, rested awhile, and then drove around The Ring of Kerry, a scenic drive around a large peninsula. It was a lot of driving, but the views were absolutely breathtaking… gorgeous rolling bright green hills coming right down to meet up with beautiful blue water…ummmmm a view you can never get enough of!

View from the Ring of Kerry road

The furthest tip on the Ring of Kerry... gorgeous!

Crystal Springs B&B in Killarney

Katie and Aaron, two friends of ours met up with us that night and spent the next day with us as we took a boat/bike tour through the Killarney lakes and Gap of Dunloe. At first we were a little hesitant of the boat ride since it was a pretty small, dinky boat, which we were to load our bikes onto. We said our classic line, “Well, this is Ireland!” Our friend calls it TI² (for “This Is Ireland”) for random things that you would only find here. It was freezing on the boat, but the scenery made it worth it! Once we rode down the lakes we unloaded our bikes and began our cycling journey of a lifetime! It was SO intense! For a large majority of the first half of the journey we had to walk our bikes because the incline was so steep! Even though we made it to the top with burning thighs, catching a first glimpse of the valley below made it all worthwhile. We coasted down the rest. Our classic line of the trip was, “Wow, my gap of dunloe is sore! How about yours?” Hee hee! Doing this bike tour after not having ridden a bike in ages, will do some serious damage to your rear!

View of Ross Castle from the boat

At the top of the mountain!

Cathedral in Killarney

That early evening we parted ways with Katie and Aaron and headed to the BEST part of the trip, DROMOLAND CASTLE :) . Amazing, breathtaking, charming, lovely! Our room was HUGE! Seriously, I think it was bigger than our entire flat here in Dublin. We had a delightful dinner surrounded by medieval and posh décor. Our server addressed me as madam, I think a first for me! We then enjoyed a live guitarist in their bar area. The next morning, we had delightful eggs benedict in their fancy dining room. Ross’ favorite breakfast meal, he was ecstatic when he saw it on the menu! We then played tennis, a favorite hobby of ours that we haven’t been able to enjoy since leaving La Mirada. As we were playing a helicopter landed right in front of the castle to drop of a guest. Ross and I looked at each other thinking, “Where in the world are we?” Upon returning to our room, I then had the delight of using my long awaited bath bomb! There is nothing like a relaxing bath in a castle :). After checking out, we walked the lush grounds and enjoyed a yummy cup-o-tea in the drawing room. Sounds fake, right? It felt surreal! Ross thought he spotted Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice on the grounds in the cool of the day, I told him he was only a fictional character, but that he could pretend to be him for the weekend. And so he did.

Dromoland Castle

Another view of the castle

The cozy sitting room

Dinner... chicken and fish & chips

Chicken with Parsley Mashed Potatoes....mmmmmm!

Eggs Benedict...yummo!

Mr. Darcy relaxing in his castle

A fierce tennis match

Next, I surprised Ross with horseback riding! For some reason I thought it was something he has always wanted to do… well it turns out that as a teen Ross read an article in “Men’s Health Magazine” about how many accidental deaths take place while men were horseback riding. From that point on he had no desire whatsoever to ride a horse… oops! He told me that he thought it was going to be “interesting to say the least” but he really enjoyed it in the end :). I guess I should have done my homework before booking that one! Our horses were Smurf and Shrek, very calm, gentle horses who were great for us beginners. The countryside was amazingly beautiful and our guide was very informative, actually probably a little too much! Ross and I were a little overwhelmed at the wealth of horse knowledge she wanted to impart to us! The great thing was, she was happy to shoot tons of pictures for us during our trek, a woman after my own heart!

It was a great weekend! After all the emotional drama I had gone through the weeks prior, it was a much appreciated and needed get away. We can’t wait for the fam to be able to take the trip with us when they are able to come out!

Oh, the Ups and Downs!

So as many of you already know, this has definitely been a very difficult few weeks for us! Since we moved here in August, we have been planning my (Suz) parents’ trip out here for this April. Especially since coming home from Christmas, there has been much planning and anticipation towards their arrival. We were so excited to have the opportunity to share our lives here in Dublin with those we love. The bizarre ash cloud from Iceland’s volcano caused my family’s flights to be cancelled the first go around. I was devastated. Then a few days later, my hopes rose again when my family’s flights were rescheduled for the following week! Yeah! The whole week I was telling myself, “Suzanne, don’t get too excited. It is possible that their flights could get cancelled again. Prepare yourself for it not to happen.” So I tried, a measly attempt I must say. The morning of their flights, I finally allowed myself to get excited. Right before heading out the door to go to my last tutoring, I quickly checked my email to find that my mom had seriously injured her back! I didn’t know how to react! I was an absolute wreck. I was so upset hearing that my mom was in extreme pain and that both of us were unbelievably disappointed that their trip was cancelled again! To both myself and Ross, it was immediately evident that my reaction to this disappointment was coming from somewhere deep. I didn’t know why it was affecting me so badly, but it did! I felt so incredibly helpless, frustrated, disappointed, and lonely. For a few days tears were my constant companion. My poor, sweet hubby was a champ during this time. I am so blessed to have a man who knows when to give an encouraging word and when to be silent and simply embrace me! A few days after finding out this news and experiencing a whole lot of emotional pain, the Lord graciously gave my sweet hubby insight into my life to help me process my emotions.

By living here in Ireland, many great things that I have held near and dear to my heart over the years have been stripped from me, my ability to teach and the ability to see my fam. Although these are amazing things in themselves, I have gradually placed my trust and emotional stability in them. Over the years I have become very good at trusting in my ability to manage my circumstances and emotions, rather than rely upon the Lord. It has only been during the times of helplessness, when I am completely unable to control my circumstances, that my unhealthy attachment to these things burns bright. Although it has been a really painful process to see my heart, the Lord has been so gentle and loving through it all. He keeps reminding me that He is my Good Shepherd that I can rely upon Him to take care of my needs. He will faithfully to lead me to green pastures and still waters. I often see myself as a lamb who can manage it on my own, but thank the Lord, He is teaching me to rest in His arms and allow Him to lead me. He has led me to a place of helplessness that I might learn to trust in Him. Both Ross and I are yearning to be in a place where the Lord is our ultimate treasure and we are tethered solely to Him, so that when the unexpected life circumstances come, we are built on The Rock who is stable, and not on our life callings or people in our lives (even each other) who were ultimately never meant to fill that place. Although, I am still really disappointed my family wasn’t able to come out, the Lord has graciously used the emotional pain I have experienced as a way to reflect those unhealthy attachments in my life. Thank you Jesus that crummy circumstances can be used to draw us closer to You!

If you think about it, please join us in praying that the Lord would use our time here in Ireland to continue to deepen our dependence on Him, as well as for my mom’s healing. She is still having extreme pain in her back.

Birthday Adventure to Doolin, Ireland

So my sweet and loving husband took me this past weekend on a surprise birthday getaway to Doolin, a teeny town on the west coast of Ireland known as the traditional Irish music capital in the world. We started out our adventure by renting a car, which was an adventure all by itself, with neither of us having yet driven in Ireland (on the left hand side of the road).

Our favorite crisps and an awesome Dublin artist James Vincent McMorrow

Thank the Lord for Tom Tom!!!

With our handy Ireland Tom Tom we safely made it out of City Centre in one piece. I took the driver's seat being directed by my hubby, as I did not have a clue at this point as to where we were headed. Along the way, we stopped at various little towns off the freeway to scope out the used bookstores and charity stores (a favorite thing of ours... we love finding cheap treasures!) And let me tell you, we did! Ross came away with a sweet brown jacket and myself with two books. On one of our stops we found an adorable tea house for tea and lunch.

The first castle we stopped at

Ross pretended to be my knight and shining armor riding on a horse (in front of castle)

Once getting off the main freeway, we drove the smaller, and definitely more narrow country roads of Ireland. The craziest part about it was these teeny roads had the same speed limit as the motorways! There would be road signs reading, "Danger Ahead!" "Drive Slowly!" and the speed limit would still be 100 km (approx. 65mph). At points we were driving 40 km under the speed limit!

We finally arrived in the town Doolin which is right on the water. We watched the sunset go down over the ocean for the first time since leaving California. It was absolutely gorgeous weather the whole weekend!

Our first night, we went to the local pub within a 5 minute walk from our B&B to find the most AMAZING irish music! There was a group of 5-6 musicians having a jam session with there instruments and a Guinness in hand between each song. A flute, banjo, guitar, accordion, drums... (and a pint in between) all came together to create the most chill atmosphere. We really sensed a true taste of traditional Ireland, from the music at this pub to the amazing hospitality of Mave, the Irish grandma who ran the B&B.

The musicians' corner

The next day, we took the car out and continued to explore all the little towns surrounding Doolin. Exploring the small village shops and ruins of cathedrals, abbys, and *INCREDIBLE* castles filled our time. My absolutely favorite man-made sight was Dromoland Castle. It was straight out of a fairy tale! I don't know what it is about castles, but they put a smile on my face:) Saturday night we went back to the same pub for another great night of good food and music.

An abby ruin in Quinn

A sad face after finding out the castle was closed

My FAVORITE CASTLE yet... Dromoland!

Front entrance to Dromoland Castle

Lake in front of Dromoland

The first view of Dromoland as you drive up

The last day, Sunday, again was gorgeous weather! We saw the Cliffs of Moher (I know mom, we cheated and previewed a sight we are going to visit during your stay. They are amazing and we can't wait to go again!) They are massive cliffs that are absolutely breathtaking. These were by far the highlight of our trip (that is not man-made). Since I LOVED the castle, I had to make two separate categories of favorites!!!! On our drive home, we randomly stopped in a town along the route and stumbled upon a St. Patrick's day parade. You could tell it was the annual, small town parade will all the locals.

Cliffs of Moher

The parade

To wrap it up, Ross did good! He planned a fantastic and relaxing weekend that gave us a great opportunity to explore this beautiful country. I wish it could be my birthday every weekend!