Over Yonder in Donegal

Last week we took advantage of the midweek 12th of July holiday (a fascinatingly contentious celebration if you care to look it up) to spend a few extra days exploring County Donegal in the northwest of the Republic of Ireland.  It was named the coolest place on the planet in 2017 by National Geographic...so it's reputation speaks for itself.  We were looking for beautiful hiking, magnificent coastline, fun towns, and great pubs.  And of course the requisite pasture-lined, curvy, narrow roads we have come to very much associate with the entire island.  Donegal did not disappoint.

On our way over from Belfast, Abe was quite keen on traveling first to Tangaveane - a real place from which a totally fictional character, Patrick Harper, hails (from the Sharpe's books I hear - frequently).  Let me tell you, Tangaveane is quite literally in the middle of the great wide open.  Breathtakingly vast and beautiful and also incredibly difficult to actually get to (or away from).

Tangaveane - the picture does NOT do it justice and it made Abe happy to go there so "thumbs up"

We stayed in Donegal town (on Donegal Bay) which is on the very southern end of the county and along the Wild Atlantic way (the coastline drive).  The kids will likely report the best bit of the trip was that there was a pool in our hotel and we will all agree being in town was convenient and the pool was a nice bit of fun to work up an appetite before dinner. We'll call Day 1 "the kids' day" since it featured lots of driving (aka screen time), pool, playground, and ice cream).

I told the kids I was going to take a picture of them in front of all the castles we see so one day we have proof we took them to a million boring castles :) This one is Donegal Castle

The River Finn that runs through Donegal Town

Day 2 was a very long, full day.  We got an early start and headed up through Letterkenny and onto Glenveagh National Park.  We hiked over 6km by a loch to the castle and up to a spectacular viewpoint.  Although the whole thing was beautiful and very classic "castle" feel, we were a bit disappointed to learn that the castle was actually built in the 1800s by some wealthy American and after exchanging hands a few times, was donated to the Irish government.  Still cool, but with an asterisk.

On top of the turret at Glenveagh Castle

Hiking next to the Loch. Photo credit to Ariana Lorber

Mt Errigal

Selfie at Poisoned Glen

 Poisoned Glen

After a wee rest and a dip in the pool, we headed out for an evening visit to Slieve League - the highest sea cliffs in Europe and a late dinner and the very lovely Kitty Kelly's.  I'm not sure how all four of us made it through to dessert, but the whole evening was my favorite part of the trip.  Day 2 was "mom's day".

Slieve League - The Giant's Desk and Chair

Sheep EVERYWHERE

Slieve League

Which brings us to day 3, "dad's day".  It involved a boat, swimming, and fresh from the creamery ice cream.  We drove to Enniskillen - just over the border* back into Northern Ireland (UK).  We grabbed some lunch from Chaska - voted 2018 best kebap restaurant in Northern Ireland - to take on the boat and headed out for a 3 hour tour (just kidding, it was only 2 hours).  We all had a turn at steering the boat and we stopped off along the way to check out a VERY old monastery (like 500 CE) on an island.

Our last stop before Belfast was to Ticky Moo Dairy and Creamery.  It was very cool to see a fully automatic milking operation in full swing.  It was also very very delicious ice cream.  I'd advise not combining the two activities.


*The border...currently referred to as a soft border...is only noticeable in the streets signs which in the Republic feature kilometers as well as lettering in Irish and English.  And maybe the motorways are a bit better kept in Northern Ireland. 

Belfast - boats, birthdays, and more

Ok, so for starters - I can't believe that it's been 6 weeks since my last post!  I think that's a good sign though, right?  It means we've been busy having some adventures (and going to work and school)!  A few weeks ago, we had a VERY full weekend of all sorts of Belfast fun.  For starters, there was a tall sails ship festival in the harbor.  There were wooden ships, more modern coast guard type ships and even some that looked like pirate ships.  We had fun climbing around looking at the galley, sleeping quarters, captain's bridge and more. 

Here's something worth importing my fellow Americans: group birthday parties!  3-4 times a year, all the families with birthdays around that time in the school class team up and throw a class birthday party.  Everyone is invited, gifts are the same for all the kids, and you don't have to run around to a different birthday party every weekend or juggle between conflicting dates!  I'm sure it's not perfect, but I'm finding it to be an execllent idea!  Another great grade school export is the class WhatsApp group.  Particularly for less well connected families (aka the lorbers), it's an instant way to ask questions, find out key information about school and activities, and not have to run around trying to collect people's phone numbers.  I'm a fan (Abe could use a bit less of the chatter but oh well). 

Ariana with her P1 classmates at May's birthday bash

The final excitement of the weekend was a trip to the Stormont Estate which theoretically is the seat of the Northern Ireland government (which is current defunct but that's a whole other tale).  It is also a giant estate open to the public with loads of nature trails, a playground, and more.

So far we're doing a good job of balancing some Belfast adventure weekends, travel weekends, and just hangout at home weekends (cause CrossFit, laundry, and screen time are important too).  Two highlights hopefully coming to the blog soon - our trip to Paris, a look at the first term of school at Inch Marlo and Victoria College, and Ariana has a loose tooth!

Beetling, you say?

 

 

Wellbrook Beetling Mill - Mid Ulster Northern Ireland

Last weekend, we hopped in the car and made our way to the Mid Ulster region near Cookstown, Northern Ireland.  We were in search of hill forts, rolling sheep pastures, stone circles and the only water powered linen beetling mill in Northern Ireland.  Beetling? Thanks to Google Dictionary:

1. ram, crush, or drive with a beetle.

   • finish (cloth) with a beetle.

Origin: Old English bētel, of Germanic origin; related to beat.

Apart from being a scenic and generally lovely place, the tour hosted by the National Trust guides was super informative and interesting (don't ask Ariana, though, because she thought the whole thing was very boring, very smelly, and overall NOT FUN).

Small sidebar about the National Trust/Royal Oak Foundation, it's a super cool conservancy non profit organization.  So far, we have been very impressed at the quality, accessibility, and in depth information at the sites. It includes over 500 sites across the UK and - BONUS - it's tax deductible for US members.  Check it out if you're planning a UK trip! More relevant is that it comes with a very detailed guidebook and map which is how we came to find ourselves at this water-powered beetling mill in the first place!


Ok, so now we know what beetling is and all about the awesome National Trust - on to a little more about Wellbrook, green technology, and child labor.  Our guide Oina (pronounced like "onya") shared with us the scandalous story of the land's acquisition, intrigue of original family who ran the mill, and toured us around the last functional part of the original operation.  Oina especially captivated Zev telling him tales of the work he would be assigned from 6am to 7pm working in standing cold water and constant high decibel noise conditions.  She walked through the entire linen production process from planting and harvesting the flax, through to stripping away the "tow", and spinning and weaving the fibers.

Oina showing us how to create the linen yarn.

  All that before you get to the very end process of hardening and making the linen fabric shiny by beetling (or beating the wet febric rolls repeatedly and in specific patterns)!  She then turned on the mill and we got to see and hear firsthand the rather impressive, if crude, machinated process. It was very loud and very cool.  We failed to take a picture of the actual beetling machine (oops) so I have included two other pictures I found online.  All in all, we learned a ton about the linen production process, industry, and history.

view from the top of the beetling machine - NOT MY PHOTO

View from the side of the beetling worm - NOT MY PHOTO

Bonus picture! A very small viewing of Beaghmore Stone Circles, the largest stone circle grouping in Northern Ireland

Sunday Special!

For your extra viewing pleasure on this sunny (at least in Belfast) Sunday, a bonus blog post full of pure fun.

First, when we were at the Westbrook Beetling Mill (blog post coming later this week), we got to walk right alongside a sheep pasture.  To be honest, everywhere we go we are right alongside a sheep pasture.  On this instance, we were just on the otherside of a thin wire fence.  As we walked along, more and more of the herd were coming to check us out and they were LOUD.  I think you can see in the video, but to be sure, they were charging the edge of the fence and it was an amazing sight (and sound!) to witness an entire pasture of sheep and lambs gather towards us and essentially yell at us. Not sure if they thought we had food or they were being protective of the lambs, but either way it was quite an experience.

Second, ever had spiral potato crisps? (local language lesson: what we refer to in America as "chips" are called "crisps", here, "chips" are a type of french fry. though I was at a restaurant the other day where I was served "fries" and my friend was served "chips"...one was skinny fries and the other wedges, but I don't remember which is which anyway!) ok, so spiral potato crisps...strange stuff.  They were not thin and crispy, more like a fried noodle texture (looks like a noodle too of course).  Not my favorite, but when on a long car ride in the country, one must make do with the snacks that show up in the car!  We also had flat flavored water thinking it would be a twist on a spritzer. It tasted like flat sprite...why were we surprised?!

The Zombification of Zev

If you had asked my kids what they were most looking forward to on our travels they would have answered, without hesitation, the unlimited screen time on an approximately 10 hour flight.  This should have been a sign, a warning, a teachable moment for us.  Instead, we told them of the other "perks" of business class travel.  The lay flat beds, the near constant food (which contrary to one's thought is actually quite good), and generally just a bit more comfort.  They did quite enjoy the ice cream sundaes! But Zev was really quite intent on getting every last moment of the screen time available at his fingertips.  Despite being tucked into a cozy bed (evidence below) and told multiple times by me (and the flight attendant!) to get some rest, he persevered to watch screen time the ENTIRE flight (except the last 5 minutes of taxiing when, naturally, he fell dead asleep. Behold, the many phases of Zev the Zombie.

Zev all tucked in for bed

Zev Zombie 1 - just after landing and before passing out

Zev Zombie 2 - waiting for our boarding passes

Not pictured is Zev trying to walk through Schipol airport, barely able to carry his own weight, let alone his backpack.  I wish I also had a picture of Zev in the airport lounge, he was sitting up with his legs crossed, resting his chin in his palm.  He was not like this for lack of a comfy place to curl up; he just fell asleep too quickly to get positioned otherwise. We then had a connecting flight into Belfast.

Zev Zombie 3 - waiting to board our flight to Belfast

Zev Zombie 4 - on the 1.25 hour flight

At first Zev was very proud of his accomplishment - in that 8-year-old kind of way (ha - I surely showed you silly grown ups)!  As we forced him off the plane (remember he fell asleep as we taxied to the gate) and he was whining and crying and really wretched, he experienced the first moments of regret.  I empathized - we've all been there - it's miserable.  Everything hurts, you're nauseous, and hungry, and tired, and weak.  You inevitably have a headache.  As Zev tried to shuffle through the airport, he said "ughhhh it feels like I'm dying!" (it was very whiny, shouty, pathetic).  I said "yep, pretty much, but you'll get over it in a bit"  And maybe next time, there will be a little less screen time and a little more sleeping on his travels.

PS - Ariana watched lots of screen time AND she slept for 5 hours (and ate a sundae and had a marvelous time)

Hurry Up and Wait

I'll start with a caveat to this whole post - all four of us have been remarkably patient and forgiving with this process and with each other (you know us, this is a huge win) so what follows is just a sharing of reality but know that we are actually smiling, laughing, and loving a lot.

As anyone who has traveled or relocated knows, there is a great deal of "hurry" and an even greater deal of "wait".  Whether it's at the airport, getting the logistics of life arranged, or getting acclimated to local culture, food, and people there seems to be an endless list of things to do, people to contact, and time to pass until things settle.  You won't be surprised that Abe and I have felt an incredible desire get as many of the logistical items in place as quickly as possible in hopes that the less tangible adjustments will come easier or at least we will be more patient with them.  So we worked before we came to arrange for our "permanent" location, housing, and schools to be in place when we arrived.  Abe scurried about when we arrived to set up a local phone, internet, library access, etc.... We started the kids in school within days of arriving (how 'bout that picture of the kids in their uniforms?!) We stocked the house the day we moved in with home goods and groceries - and are now looking forward to a home cooked dinner tonight or tomorrow!  Coupled with jumping right into working for me, it's been quite a bit of hurry! And now we wait...

Where's the grocery store and when the heck is it open? When will we understand the flow of the city? When will we get internet (aka more FaceTime and more blog posts)? When will the rest of our stuff (most importantly more hangers and for Zev, the Wii) arrive? When will we understand what the heck is written on the laundry detergent bottles (am I right Julie and Aaron)? When will we make it back to crossfit? When will we ever get those kids to bed at a reasonable hour?!

And per usual from Zev and Ariana: When can I have screen time? When is my next meal since I just ate 3 minutes ago? When do we get to do something really really actually for real FUN (for the record...we have)? When can I have screen time?

On the positive end, the people here have been so kind, friendly, and helpful (except for customer service people...ironic, eh?) They are welcoming and full of advice and patience with our asking them to repeat themselves or asking what a "bap" is (a bread roll for the record).  The schools have been fantastic and are embracing our kids beautifully.  When we stumble, we just laugh and look at one another and say "ok, now we know".  Our mantra is definitely "It won't all be right at once but we'll get there eventually".  So we'll continue to hurry and jump right in and then we'll wait as everything will slowly fall into place.

For some fun stuff - here are some pictures of our travels (talk about hurry up and wait!) and our epic luggage train.

Welcome Back, Old Blogger Site!

As many of you likely know, our family is moving to Belfast, Northern Ireland for 1 year.  We are sure to have many adventures and want to have a simple way to share them with our friends and family.  Our kids are also old enough now to want to explore their own voices to pass along their experiences.  So I went to start a blog - wouldn't you know it, I already have one!  It's from 9 or 10 years ago (go ahead, check out the gems of antiquity) and plenty has changed in our world, but we are still the FidLorbs and we may as well pick up from here.

Side note, this is a recurring theme in my life at the moment.  As we've cleaned and sorted and packed to move, I keep stumbling upon treasure (and trash!) troves throughout our house.  In what has seemed like a very short time of 4.5 years, our belongings have multiplied and found their way into piles, and corners, and boxes.  I have unearthed wonderful memories, produced many a functional article (hello plenty of ibuprofen and notebooks and batteries), and purged SO MUCH to local non profits and (unfortunately) the dump.  Abe and I highly recommend (to each other and to you) making the 'clean like you're moving' activity an annual event!

So here we go - launching from our 2 dogs, no kids blog of leisure to our 2 kids, loving our dogs from abroad (more on that later) living abroad blog!  Today is the last day of school for the kids, our house is 98.8% packed, and our tickets are booked for Monday so we are looking forward to a beautiful Whidbey weekend with friends and some of our favorite places.  

Next up, we will share our farewells to Whidbey and maybe a bit of our travels (which will be extremely boring and uneventful).