Trip to Spreewald and Berlin

We had planned a trip to Berlin during the second weekend of August to visit Nora, Simon and Holger (or Hølgær as he is sometimes known). And they had a great suggestion - let's take a trip to Spreewald - the home of the gerkin! Where you can hire a canoe and paddle around miles of canals in lovely sunny weather. Yep, my perfect idea of a weekend away! But we would also get to see Berlin (we love Berlin). We arrived Friday evening, and had a lovely catch up over good German beers, before setting off on Saturday morning to Spreewald. The train trip was a little over an hour, and we picked up Holger on the way. We were staying in a lovely apartment in a GDR-style building (oh so new for us, but brought back a lot of childhood memories for Nora and Holger), just a 5-minute walk from the town centre. On Saturday we did the important things - went food/drink shopping and book the canoe trip for Sunday. We managed to get a 5-seater canoe, so this was going to be a fun Sunday outing along the numerous canals, meeting at various intersections, and the possibility of following several routes along the way. 

After a fun evening of playing Sagaland (I won't go into it! Let's just say everyone had their own tactics, and we were all ruthless), eating homemade pizza and drinking beers, the next morning we picked up our boat at 9.30 and set off on an "adventure". The surroundings were beautiful: cozy houses and restaurants sitting along the river bank, which we stopped off at on the way. And at other times it was just the five of us in our canoe - pure silence apart from the noise of nature - wonderful!

On Monday it was time to leave Spreewald, and head back to Berlin - or from one lovely place to another! We met up with friends of Simon and Nora, ate ice-cream, relaxed in a lovely park area (which used to be an airport/runway!), and simply enjoyed the lovely sunny weather. And we finished the evening off with a visit to the beergarden - well, when in Rome :) Looking forward to the next trip to Berlin already (which is in November for Nora and Simon's wedding!)

World Championships Moscow 2013

Ireland has another world champion!! Rob Heffernan won gold in the 50km race walk competition - I'm so proud of him. He has improved steadily over the years, and it is about time that his hard work and dedication are rewarded. He came 4th in the London Olympics 2012, so winning today in Moscow is even more special after missing out on a medal last summer. I should also mention that is it 30 years to the day since an Irish man won a gold medal at the World Championships - Eamonn Coughlan in the 5000m at the first World Championships in Helsinki. However, we have had success in the women's competition since then - Gillian O'Sullivan (20km race walk, silver medal, 2003) and Sonia O'Sullivan (1500m, silver medal, 1993/5000m, gold medal, 1995).

I love to watch the World Championships and Olympic Games (well actually almost any sport), but these two are definitely in the top 5. In 2004 I went to the Olympic Games in Athens for my holidays - it was one of the best holidays ever, and that says a lot since I've been to many amazing destinations in the last 10 years. I guess being able to watch sports every day on your holidays is something I thoroughly enjoy, and having the opportunity to support Irish athletes at the same time :)

I was in Berlin at the weekend and I got to watch the 100m men's final - Usain Bolt did it again! But I was very disappointed to read today that RTE (Irish television broadcaster) did not show the World Championships at all - and therefore, missed the opportunity to broadcast Rob Heffernan winning gold for Ireland. Something is not quite right here, and I hope they realise their mistake.

Competing in sports is a really tough job - especially race walking, where the training is very intense and time-consuming. I'm just really happy that all this work paid off in the end. Well done Rob, and hopefully this is only the start of the winning streak!

 

(c) Getty Images IAAF.org

Of Monsters and Men

The evening had finally arrived - it was time for the Of Monsters and Men gig in Voxhall. They are an Icelandic band and we've been fans for around a year and a half now. So, it was great to finally see them live. And we weren't disappointed :) Voxhall is a great venue, as it's the perfect size - not too big, not too small - just right for that intimate gig with your favourite bands :) Another great thing is that they sell Murphy's on tap - quite unusal for a Danish or Irish pub (in Dublin), and it's one of Esben's favourite drinks. So what more can you ask for on a Tuesday evening - great live music, and all within 15 minutes of home. Nice.

Looking forward to the next album from these guys...