Our trip to Ireland (14th to 21st October 2016)

Fáilte go hEireann – this is how we were welcomed when we stepped off the plane and entered Dublin airport. Finally we, the 4A and the 4 B, a group of 42 Austrian students were in Ireland, ready and excited to discover this beautiful country!

Once arrived in Bray,a small holiday village at the Irish sea, we were picked up by our host parents one after the other and taken to their house which should be our home for one week. Indeed, we felt at home at once. We enjoyed Irish hospitality and excellent  homemade Irish food.

We attended language courses from Monday to Thursday and guess what – our language teachers upgraded us after just one course because our English was much better than they had expected! The lessons covered various topics such as Irish food, differences between Irish and Austrian school systems, famous sights and history of Dublin and last but not least the Irish “leprechauns”(so werden die irischen Kobolde genannt).

Of course the sightseeing programme was another highlight of this week. On Saturday we discovered the city of Dublin on our own by answering the questions of our treasure hunt. On Sunday we visited Knowth, a prehistoric burial site, older than Stonehenge or the Pyramids! Then we walked the Hills of Tara which is the heart of Irish history and the home of the mystical Irish druids. We also had a guided tour through the impressive Dublin castle whose foundations were built by the Vikings.

In our free time we either roamed the bustling streets of Dublin , one of Europe´s most enticing capitals or we sat quietly at the beach of Bray looking out onto the Irish sea. We spent our last evening in Porterhouse Inn, a typical Irish pub and then we were just in the right mood for our Irish dance evening.

Now back at school in Austria “our hearts are still in Ireland”. It was a great experience and we would like to thank our teachers for organising this unforgettable trip!