General Archives ⋆ Page 14 of 43 ⋆ The Passenger

October 6, 2019October 16, 2019

Irish

Official languages of Ireland are Irish and English. If you travel on the island you don’t need to learn Irish, everybody will be able to talk to you in English (but it is always nice to know some words!). Every now and then you will probably hear somebody speaking Irish and most signs a bilingual. I didn’t experience any real problems because of that – only when I wanted to go by DART to Howth I was surprised that the destination of the train was Binn Éadair and I needed to get the clue that this is just another name for the same location.

October 6, 2019October 17, 2019

Iarnród Éireann

For two days I was travelling by bus through Ireland and Northern Ireland. And then on my way to Galway, Ireland, I decided that it was enough. Jammed into an uncomfortable bus I took my smartphone out of my pocket and booked a train ticket from Galway back to Dublin. Without registration on the website. With online payment. And with choosing a seat like in an aeroplane. One of the best decisions I made on this trip.

October 4, 2019April 19, 2022

Baile Átha Cliath

Dublin seen from Guinness Storehouse, Dublin

Dublin or Baile Átha Cliath in the Irish language is the capital city of Ireland. It is located on the river Liffey and not far away from the Irish sea. The name goes back to the Irish word Dubhlinn meaning ‘black pool’ referring to such a tidal pool near the Liffey. The city was first mentioned in the year 140 and in 842 the Vikings created an own settlement in the area. Its history is strongly connected to the history of the country and you can find traces of the Great Famine, the Easter Rising and the Irish independence war.

October 3, 2019October 17, 2019

Luas, busses and the DART

Getting around in Dublin, Ireland with public transport can be a bit confusing in the beginning but is quite simple once you know how to do it. The city feels like a beehive of different busses, but there are also tramways, the DART and normal trains. The first contact with public transport system will for sure be at the airport – where you can catch the busses 747 and 757 that bring you within 30 minutes on different routes to the city center.

October 3, 2019October 7, 2019

Superfluous flight

Most people might not get into the situation of not using a flight they booked. But what to do if this happens to you? Cancel it, get a refund – that might be the first thought. However pretty often flights are non-refundable. So why not just ignore the fact that you’re booked on a flight and just don’t do a check-in. That might be okay if it is the only flight you booked. If you’ve booked a flight back home afterwards or an onward journey within the same booking, not cancelling a superfluous flight segment can bring you in serious trouble.

September 29, 2019April 19, 2022

Wartburgstadt

Eisenach, Germany is the sixth largest city in the federal state of Thuringia. It is also called Wartburgstadt which is true in two senses: biggest highlight is the castle Wartburg high above the city; but it has also a long tradition in car manufacturing and the car once produced here was named Wartburg after the castle. It is a very green city with many parks and surrounded by vast forests.

September 28, 2019September 29, 2019

Martin Luther

When walking through Eisenach, Germany it is impossible to overlook its connection to Martin Luther. You can see a big statue of him on the Karlsplatz, you can visit a house where he was once living (Lutherhaus) and you can visit the Wartburg castle where he translated the Bible from Latin to German.

September 20, 2019April 19, 2022

Up and down

View from the northern tower of the Martinskirche, Kassel

The city center of Kassel, Germany was largely destroyed during World War II (80 %). Before 1943 it must have been a wonderful place with many half-timbered houses. Today it feels like there is not much to show on a guided tour; tourists normally book art tours during documenta times or visit the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe with guides. But yet there are some hidden gems and fortunately a club of history enthusiasts offers special tours.

September 11, 2019April 19, 2022

Partially accepted

Kosovo is a stabilized de-facto regime accepted by 114 of the 193 member states of the United Nations – in addition to Serbia (which claims this country to be part of Serbia as the region ‘KosMet’, Kosovo i Metohija) and its close friends many states with regions that want to be independent don’t support Kosovo. It is an incredibly young country with young citizens and old ethnic conflicts. It isn’t really prepared for tourism, but it is a good place for travelers. Many of them seem to come from the United States of America; a country that is still beloved by the locals because the 42nd president (Bill Clinton) took side for the country and forced NATO to attack the Serbian army on Kosovan grounds until they left. Kosovo declared independence on February 17th, 2008.

September 10, 2019April 19, 2022

Flag and hymn

Kosovo is a young state which is split up into two areas: north of Mitrovicë the majority of people are Serbs, south of it Albanians. The flag used most widely in the North is the flag of Serbia: red, blue and white with a white double-headed eagle and a crown. In the rest of the country the flag of Albania is shown most: red with a black double-headed eagle. But Kosovo has for sure an own flag which I could only find in the center of Prishtinë. It hasn’t a long tradition and was introduced only in 2008 after a competition.