Looking back to Ireland from Valentia

Clonakilty

Gelato in the park

You two? You too?

Just behind my work is this graffiti'd mess of a street. Turns out, U2 recorded a few albums here (Windmilll Lane Studios) and this is some sort of tribute.

The Taoiseach

This morning (and yesterday too) I stumbled across the Taoiseach, Enda
Kenny, on the way to work. Best pronounced "tea shookh" he is the
Irish equivalent of John Key.

He's campaigning at the moment for a "yes" vote to the referendum on
the EU Fiscal Stability Treaty being held tomorrow. The treaty is all
about economic growth, but with a massive focus on improving fiscal
management. e.g. it will require EU member states to run balanced
budgets.

Our astute political advice to Enda is that he should probably fire
his media team for putting him right in front of a "vote no" sign. The
one skinny Gardaí watching him is probably inadequate too. Would have
thought the Irish PM would need tighter security than the NZ PM...

Boom and Bust

How bad is the Irish economy? This chart shows unemployment since the early 1980s. The Celtic Tiger years are quite obvious... as is the end of them, when the house of cards came crashing down.

The good news, if you believe it, is that the rate is stabilizing at around 15%.

The celtic white elephant

Just along from where I work in Dublin is this building. It looks like its being constructed... but note the lack of cranes, workmen, etc. It was being built for an Irish bank which ended up being bailed out by the Govt. Now, it's a giant, ugly monument to the boom/bust of the Celtic tiger.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0416/central-bank-to-buy-anglo-building-for-8m.html

Alderney

Defenestrations and Self-Immolations: Easter in Prague

After some long days at work (particularly by Charlotte) we were well ready for a long weekend break in the Czech Republic. We arrived on Good Friday and were instantly relaxed. It took about an hour (on excellent public transport) to get to our hotel in the centre of town. We dropped our bags and headed out exploring. 

First stop: Wenceslaus Sq, named for the same chap as the Christmas carol and home to a number of significant events in Czech history. The stunning national museum building is right at the top of the square. It is closed for three years of renovations, so we were surprised to find concert tickets being sold in the foyer (more on that later).

Just in front of the museum is this memorial to Jan Palach and Jan Zajic, two young men who self-immolated in protest at the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia. Wikipedia explains:

In August 1968, the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia to crush the liberalising reforms of Alexander Dubček's government during what was known as the Prague Spring. A group of Czech students including Palach made a suicide pact intending to sacrifice themselves in protest of the invasion. Prague-born Palach was the first to set himself on fire, in Wenceslas Square, on 16 January 1969.

It took another 40 years before the occupation ended, with the Velvet Revolution of 1989. The Communism museum (probably better described as the Anti-Communist Museum) which we visited on Sunday, provided a good description of the Czech Republic's history and the extent of the oppression as the Soviets tried to keep the country wrapped in the 'Iron Curtain'.


Wandering up Wenceslaus Square, (more of an oblong than a square) we picked up some delicious Czech bready, sugary, handmade snacks, rolled around a broomstick and heated on a fire. After getting a bit disoriented by the side streets and architecture, we got to Cafe Louvre. Charlotte had googled "best hot chocolate in Prague" and this was the result.

Though we don't have any comparison, it was pretty good. We stayed on for strudel, then a beer. It's such a great spot we came back every day. From there, we hit the tourist hotspot, the Vltava river and the Charles IV bridge over it. It's such a great spot, we came back every day. 


By then it was time for more food and we found a likely looking restaurant (selected on the basis that it served Goulash). I got a huge plate of meat (5 varieties), cabbage (2 varieties) and bread (2 varieties) while Charlotte went for a slightly more conservative one-meat meal. An accordion player kept us entertained.


On Saturday we headed via metro and tram, to Prague Castle. While very picturesque, it's a complete tourist trap filled with people queuing their way round various buildings. The first photo is St Vitus's Cathedral, the second is some very serious looking soldiers under some very serious looking statues.

One of the main points of history at the castle involves the first and second defenestrations, where people were thrown out of the windows. The first (15 town council members in 1419) was part of a protest for the release of political prisoners and the second (3 catholic advisors to the king, 1618) was a protest by protestants against a catholic takeover. In the first defenestration they all died (either from the fall or the subsequent beatings from the assembled crowd). In the second, a pile of manure cushioned the fall and they survived.



After a few hours there, it was time for more food and we found a restaurant with Goulash, a stern waiter and a goldfish pond set into the floor. Strange. We rounded out the daylight hours with another walk across the Charles Bridge and another Louvre hot choc. 

On Saturday night, we went to a classical music concert in the stairwell of the National Museum (much better than it sounds as the whole building is closed to the public and it a very grand stairwell, and with 6 musicians it sounded great), followed by a trip to Zizkov, a supposedly hip suburb in the East, although it was a bit quiet, when we were there. We did find a cool Czech pub, a downed a few tasty Czech beers, and found the Zizkov TV tower which has some David Cêrny baby sculptures crawling up it. 

We spent a cold Easter Sunday wandering the streets again. While we were up the Powder tower, one of the old defense towers for the Charles bridge, it was snowing lightly. So lightly, it's impossible to tell from these photos.

We also found another couple of David Cêrny sculptures. One has 2 statues urinating into a pool shaped like Czechoslovakia, writing poetry with the stream. 

The other is self explanatory. Sort of.

That night, we went out for a few cocktails and dinner in Zizkov. On Monday we went for more hot chocolate, then to the Child of Prague church (where we bought a tacky porcelain Baby Jesus for the mantelpiece), before heading for the airport and a beer.

The perils of internet shopping

We wanted 2 cans of coconut cream....