This is AWESOME!!

Scientists have found a sea slug that produces chlorophyll!!!! part plant, part animal=AMAZING!!!

Read it folks! Words cannot describe how exciting this discovery is! A defining feature of plants is the ability for them to create this pigment...the chloroplast is one of the major differences between the plant and animal cells. I want to see the cells in this bad boy!

CRAZINESS!!!

Read all about it!

Wicklow Mountains

So during my last weekend in Ireland Abrahm took us up to the Wicklow Mountains. It was gorgeous! It was a rare sunny day in Ireland and windy as hell and oh so perfect. The mountains are more beautiful than anything so I will let one place tell that story, Sally Gap

So lovely

this is someone's private lake, by the way. Not a shabby backyard, eh?

examples of windiness and coldness

After our mini hike we headed to Avoca handweavers, a famous Irish wool company. The old looms are so intricate and daunting, I don't know how they do it. We had a deliciouslunch there and then headed back to Dublin. It was a lovely day and I got to see another part of Ireland thanks to my gracious tour guide. I am so grateful he let me stay and that Sarah mentioned the idea in the first place. Wicklow was my last adventure in Europe and man was I sad to come home. But we all know there's more adventuring in store for me; can't keep me in one place too long!

So I was San Francisco bound.

Now the only question is, what's next?

Northern Ireland

I was pretty sad to come back to Ireland, only because I knew that meant my adventure time was almost over, BUT I had something to be excited about...NORTHERN IRELAND, plus my mom came over to spend my last few weeks bummin' around with me. It felt good to really know Dublin when I got back. I knew which buses went where, which way was east, and could tell cabbies where to go with certainty and correct them if they turned on the wrong street. It felt like I was home again. It was nice. But as always, you gotta head out and EXPLORE!

Soooo.....to Belfast I went! The city itself is pretty ordinary, especially downtown, but there is this neat thing you can do called a black cab tour. There are these old timey guys that take you into the "neighborhoods" of Northern Ireland. The tour is centered on the religious conflict in Northern Ireland. The Catholics vs. the Protestants. These neighborhoods are literally one street away from one another, but to help cut back on violence there is an actual barrier between them. Things have calmed down so this gate is opened during daylight, but still closed every night. As I am sure you're tired of reading it was nuts to see a building after a bombing and then in the present...the violence and destruction we inflict on one another is disheartening.

Our cab driver was very very very Protestant and made comments when driving through the Catholic neighborhood. Apparently he also completely skipped the memorial on the Catholic side, where as he MADE us get out of the car and take pictures at the protestant ones. The working class folks definitely still have some bad blood between them, but the country has a whole has calmed down significantly. The murals, at least on the Catholic side, have been redone with worldwide political concerns and artwork, versus just IRA propaganda. For example...

The Protestant side was a bit of a different story...

yes, yes that gun is FOLLOWING you

Just in case you cannot read this, "Catholicism is more than a religion it is a political power therefore I'm led to believe there will be no peace in Ireland until the Catholic Church is crushed," Oliver Cromwell

And despite being raised Catholic, I did not bias these! The guy took us to a very apolitical selection of murals on the Catholic side, minus on the actual IRA political party head quarters which had a picture of Bobby Sands, a Parliament member who died in a hunger strike, but it is the political headquarters, so I think its okay. These Protestant ones are on housing developments!

After exploring Belfast a bit, I convinced my mom to head up the north coast road to an area called Giant's Causeway. Along the way though I got to see beautiful coastline, old castles, and got warmed up at the Bushmill's distillery! All in all, an AMAZING combination. I got to hike a bit and then head down some sketchy old stone stairs. Any of you who have witnessed my klutziness will be impressed! At one point along the way, we stopped for a snack and I found these!

I feel I should get royalties on this business!!

And now to the lovely sites!

This is where the Carrik-a-rede rope bridge is when it is not November, so we didn't get to cross, but sheesh its beautiful!

Dunluce Castle, beautiful!!

Some happy bovines!

looking down on giant's causeway from the cliff hike

The way down to giants causeway from the cliff hike...

Success!

(imagine me giving you a thumbs up whilst saying that, because I totally did!)

Rocky intertidal!

Crazy hexagonal stones that make up the causeway, so pretty!

Seriously do not skip this trip if you ever find yourself in Northern Ireland! It was such a lovely day! Castles, whiskey, hiking, and ocean time...what else do you need in life?

Next, it was back to the republic with me!

Berlin

When I arrived in Berlin I remembered how much I liked Germany. Berlin is very different from Munich though, that is for sure. Berlin is really modern and hip. The city is also HUGE. I had to break down and take public transit because it took me too long to walk places! I like to walk everywhere because I feel like you get to take in so much more, and I did have a couple chances to do that in Berlin. I stumbled upon neat little things like this:

Lego Giraffe with Daises!!

heart in the grass!

I was in Berlin for five days and had a great time. Sadly I was sick the first few days, BUT still managed to do quite a bit. Museum Island is AMAZING. The quality of the museums in Europe just blows my mind constantly. My favorite one was on the island was definitely the Perganom. Ancient Roman, Greek, Babylonian, and Islamic architecture? Um, yes please!

Oh, you know, just the Ishtar Gate...no big deal

The procession also from the Ishtar Gate

Museum island also holds some iconic views, like this one:

The Berliner Dom and the TV tower.

Berlin, like most big European cities, is rich in history. The vast majority of the city was destroyed in WWII, so it is less like walking through time and more like with each newish looking building you realize something else was there first. The city has been replaced for the most part and in some areas given that shiny coating like nothing ever happened, but when you look at it all in context its mind blowing how much was lost from this place. Then you have the history from the aftermath of the war, which luckily is mostly still standing. Take Bradenburg Gate, or the sections of the Berlin wall that still remain, or Kaiser Wilhem Church (photos of two below, wall will come later).

So surreal to walk through this thing!

Kaiser Wihlem aka the hollow tooth church. One of the only buildings left after WWII.

Not only are there these historical monuments, but also monuments built to honor the history. The one I found to be the most striking of all can be seen below...I stumbled upon this as I was walking home one night and was quite literally taken aback. This is an ENTIRE city block of coffin shaped stones and very few lights. It creates a somber mood immediately. There was no way you could pass this by and not think about the holocaust and again the history of the country. I know I have mentioned this before but it is just such a new experience to stand in a spot where such history took place. These events transform from simple words on a page to reality in an instant.

...

So more history, happier topic, ART! Berlin, is known for many things, but its street art is up there. They have an urban art tour through the city and its so worth the money! It's a walking tour and takes you through some great spots in Berlin!! I fell in love with the areas we went through and was bummed I went later in my trip, because I would've spent way more time there! The Berlin art scene was booming up until about five years ago and it began after the wall fell. There was a loop hole in the law that stated that you could alter any building you did not find "ascetically pleasing." Neat hu? I thought so! A lot of the art was grassroots style with squatters opening up art schools and then making connections with colleges and sharing the same spaces. The street art is so beautiful too! I put a few of my favorite pieces below!

Gorgeous no?

There was one building especially that will blow your mind if you ever go there. Tacheles. This place is made of squatters who run classes and studios out of an abandoned building. They sell some of their work (a few pieces I now call my own) upstairs and they also actually work with the local colleges and share space. There doesn't seem to be that ohhh you don't go to school for this attitude. It's just artist to artist and its awesome. Here is the staircase of the main building and some shots of the metal pieces below. AMAZING!

awesome staircase, leading to a wonderful world of creativity!

I love this one.

"I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike..."

After all this the tour leads you to the East Side Gallery, before you reach it though, you cross over the river Spree. This area of the river is still untouched, but is slowly being bought up by corporations that just want beach bars and expensive high rises. Right now this lower income neighborhood has green space along the banks for kids, for recreation, but not for profit. Unfortunately we all now profit wins everytime and now that the contracts are up, the buildings are being built. I took this picture because when/if I make it back that way these banks will be full of high rises-metal and glass, no green.

Now onto the Gallery...

The East Side Gallery is the longest section of standing Berlin wall. Contrary to popular belief it was not painted prior to the fall. The whole idea is to honor the fact that if anyone had come close enough the wall to paint in on the east side, they would have been shot and killed immediately. If anyone got by the wall, the river is next. Artists painted political messages or simply beautiful pieces, something the east side hadn't seen in a long time. What was really neat was that while I was there I was days away from the 20th anniversary of the wall coming down and in honor of that Germany invited the original artists (or their families if they were deceased/unable to come) to come repaint their original pieces, or if they are no longer relevant politically, revamp them!

PIECE OF HISTORY FOLKS!

So, now to rant a bit more about politics. O2, a phone company in Europe, built a stadium near the East Side Gallery. Now for the terrible part...not only did they build this arena, they got a sanction to MOVE the east side gallery. They split up the longest piece of standing Berlin wall. The reason? So their guests could then have river access/boat transport to and from said arena. WHAT?! Historical monument? ORIGINAL PIECE OF HISTORY ALTERED FOR A BS REASON...do you feel my anger?? I hope so, and you should be pissed too!! I know at least one artist agrees, the revamped piece on the wall?

need I say more?

That was pretty much it for Berlin, minus an odd encounter with this guy in a Christmas Market, which you can ask me about in person...

And finally I went up to a magical place, the region called Spreewald. This region is BEAUTIFUL! The towns are all on rivers, these folks still get their mail via boat! They have kayaks for rent and you can just get yourself lost in the systems. The fall colors were in full swing, and I was in heaven...sadly my camera died so be sure to click that link above and for sure go there if you're in the Berlin region!!

Berlin was my last stop in mainland Europe, it was back to Ireland with me!