Who knows me, Ireland is my second home and I often feel more comfortable and balanced there than in Germany. Why is that? I can't say. Or maybe I can?

The people and the mentality are different. More positive. More light-hearted. More open. You walk into a pub alone and go home with five new friends. But now I want to tell you a little bit about Ireland itself and tell you a few places that are great to visit in a week trip to Dublin.

Ireland is about half the size of Germany. There are more sheep than people and yes the grass is as green as in the Kerrygold advertisement.

Woman with back to camera sitting on stone looking at green landscape in Ireland

Because Ireland is so "small", you can discover super much in a short time. There are also routes like the Slea Head Drive, which runs along the west coast of Ireland. ATTENTION: Make sure to drive in the right direction, because there is the rule to drive the route in one direction, otherwise there can be problems with oncoming buses, etc. Also, there is left-hand traffic. In addition, there is left-hand traffic.

What many do not know, there is Ireland and Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland belongs to the UK and not so long ago the two countries were separated by a border.

Here are a few places I can absolutely recommend:

Dingle
Cong
Giants Causeway
Cliffs of Mother
Galway
Killarney
Wicklow Mountains

IRELAND &AMP; ITS MUSICIANS

Ireland lives through music and the people there are very musical. Live music is standard there and the atmosphere in the pubs is in no way comparable to the Irish pubs that exist in Germany. Through Allie Sherlock, I slipped into the music scene there. Photographically. Before that, I never gave a thought to photographing concerts or anything like that. But sometimes it's little things that change and enrich your life. And I'm so thankful about that, because it also makes me work in Ireland since March 2019. On the picture you can see my friend & insanely talented musician KK Lewis is a mega talented musician. The picture was taken on a rainy day in the botanical garden in Dublin. Absolute recommendation. Not only super beautifully landscaped, but also the perfect place to be a bit closer to nature and feed squirrels.

GRAFTON STREET

When I'm in Dublin, I spend a lot of time on Grafton Street. On the one hand I take photos there and in the surrounding streets, on the other hand my friends play there all day. Some full-time. Some besides college. A MUST for every music lover! Free live music all day long. At the bottom of the picture you can see Tara. She won 2nd place on Ireland's Got Talent and every now and then you can find her on Grafton Street.

Musician playing on street with people walking by in background. Guitar in hand and microphone in front of her. Photographed from the side.

Maybe you know Allie? She is an insanely talented musician and the reason why I met a lot of my friends and got into the music scene. She has already caught the attention of Ellen Degeneres and has been on her show. She has also accompanied One Republic on their European tour and worked with big name artists like Pharell Williams and Charlie Puth. You can see her performing on quite a few weekends at Grafton Street. Cool or?

DUBLIN CASTLE

Another recommendation is Dublin Castle. Super nice and only 10 minutes away from Grafton Street. If you want to know more about the history of the castle and also Dublin and want to have a private tour from a cool sock | real Irishman, Nathan (below in the picture and linked in the post) is your man.

ST. STEPHEN'S GREEN PARK

Another beautiful spot of nature in the heart of Dublin is St. Stephen's Green Park. Right at one end of Grafton Street, with a lake and plenty of lawn for picnicking.

ST. STEPHEN'S GREEN SHOPPING CENTER

Opposite the main entrance to the park is the St. Stephen's Green Shopping Center. Upstairs is a good place to sit down, have a coffee and enjoy the view of the park and Grafton Street. The stores there are not that good, but the architecture is insane.

WALKING ON CARS

Some of you may know the band 'Walking on Cars'. An Irish band that also had some songs in the charts here. When I lived in Ireland back then (2015 | 2016), one of their songs accompanied me through the time and became the song that always reminds me and a friend of the time.

Little did I know. 4 years later, in 2019, on 3.11., I photographed their concert. One of her last as it turned out afterwards.

Actually, I had tickets for it and wanted to go there with a friend. A week before the concert we sat with me and talked about the concert. I then said as a joke:" Come I write them, then we come maybe backstage." We were looking for an email address because I don't like to write to brands or anything like that via Instagram. We didn't find one. So we went the Instagram way. I wrote that we were coming to the concert in a week and introduced myself briefly. They will not answer anyway, let alone read the message. I then quickly went to eat something. 30 minutes later. Look at the cell phone. Message from Walking on Cars. You are welcome to take pictures of our concert. The result you can see below. Crazy how life plays sometimes.

HOWTH

Howth is about 20 minutes from Dublin by train and a ticket return costs 6.40€. Howth is not only one of the most expensive cities in Ireland, is home to the singer Bono of U2, but offers a beautiful cliff walk. Absolute recommendation for a day trip to get out of the city and see a piece of Ireland's nature.