70 boxes arrived last week as the very first real and physical step of relocating to my new home. I set out last week thinking it’d be easy to fill them with the stuff I want and to simply clear away all the rest in anonymous bags.

As it turns out, though, finding things in drawers and closets that I hadn’t seen in years is more of a shock to me than I anticipated. I found myself confronted with postcards from ex-lovers, photographs of family members that have passed away, New Year’s wishes and Valentine cards from girlfriends, get-well-soon cards, and bills from foreign restaurants where I’ve had romantic dinners with women who have all but disappeared from my life. And I’m not one given to cheap or sentimental nostalgia, but this confrontation has certainly made my evening one of reflection and some sadness.

But I still threw almost all of it away.

On the way I met some people that were also walking the Dingle Way. A friendly young German couple stayed in the same B&B as me at the beginning and at the end of the walk, and I met some people along the walks. The Irish are very friendly and always up for a nice chat with strangers. I met a farmer who when up into the hills with his young son to get their sheep, and also other walkers who just happened to cross the Dingle Way walk. There were also people in pubs and restaurants interested in whoever came across their town, and all of them inquired, after a few minutes of animated conversation, about how disappointed I was with the final of the World Cup.

To be honest, I expected a lot of rain—in fact, I expected to have a cold for a few days. As it turns out, the only ailment bestowed on me during this holiday was a sunburned face! There were rainy bits on some days, but most of my walking time was spent in splendid sunshine and soothing winds, at a very pleasurable temperature. Looking back, that’s not too weird for a place that meets the Gulf Stream first in Europe and, like any other coastal area, usually passes clouds of rain onto the mainland.

Some of the highlights of this holiday have been:

• spending a day in Cork and visiting St. Anne’s Church and going up the tower;
• Meeting the view of the Atlantic Ocean and Inse’s Beach as I passed through a narrow valley from Camp to Annascaul;
• Seeing the ruins of Minard’s Castle on the shores of the Atlantic;
• Rounding Mount Eagle and viewing the islands just off the coast of the Dingle peninsula;
• Walking the beaches of Smerwick’s Harbour;
• Rounding Smerwick’s Harbour and standing no more than 2 feet from the edge of the cliffs;
• Climbing Mount Brandon using the weathered 16th century road laid down by monks, and being surrounded by mist as I passed the 1,500 years old Gaelic cross at the summit of the pass;
• Tasting Smithwick’s;
• Losing my passport at Cork or thereabouts.

All of these highlights are great except the last one. I found out during lunch at Cork Airport that my passport was missing—something I thought would never happen to me. I checked my passport before going on any of the busses I was on, and still it was gone when I left the restaurant at the airport to check in. I went to the Information Desk immediately, and they contacted the Immigration services, but to no avail. I proceeded to call both the Cork bus-station and the Tralee bus-station, but neither had any passports brought in that day yet. Happily there was no panic—I checked with Aer Lingus and they would let me board the flight as they could reasonably verify that I was whom I said I was.

Ok, enough words. Let’s move on to something I am also able to pull off: pictures. Below are the best pictures I took in Ireland, or the pictures with me in it.

Rounding Mount Eagle , with a view towards Great Blasket Island (top left).

A view over Smerwick Harbour.

A view of the Atlantic from Fermoyle Beach.

A view from the mist covered hill at Dunquin.

Me on top of the hill at Dunquin overlooking the view in the picture above

Me just before the road into Anascaul.

The ruins of Minard’s Castle at the Atlantic shore.

The view from the slopes of Mount Brendan, before the mist, looking towards The Three Sisters.

Here’s the deal: I have bought a house in Leiden! It is a ‘proper’ house with a very small garden in a reasonably quiet street, and I’m moving in the first week of August! It’s a busy time trying to think of everything that needs to be taken care of, but also very exiting. It doesn’t need any work and I can move in one day after I get the keys!

Meanwhile, I am also going on a holiday to Ireland. I will walk the Dingle Way, which is a path around the Dingle peninsula approximately 100km long. It takes six days and leads across valleys, over mountains, beaches, cliffs and meadows. Like my holiday in the Lake district, I’ll be a solitary walker mostly. After playinv at both Imperium and Toverlei, I really want to spend some quality time with myself.

So, these are the last few weeks I will spend in this part of town. I’ll miss the view from my 3rd floor apartment, but I’m sure that will be compensated by the 3 meters high Lundia bookcase I’m going to get

Pictures of Ireland and my new home will follow! In the meantime, check out my photoblog–link in the menu on the right.

… my Moleskine notebook

Here’s one:

And in the distance, here and there, standing motionless and in complete silence by the flowing Dapple, were red-roofed villages – the least vain of all fair things, for they never looked at their own reflection in the water, but gazed unblinkingly at the horizon.

Here’s another one:

And the sun would set, and then our riders could watch the actual process of colour fading from the world. Was that tree still really green, or was it only that they were remembering how a few seconds ago it had been green?

Get it here!

I’ve spent a few hours today with Marca on a walking route from Utrecht to Houten, today. It’s an enjoyable 11km through fields, some small towns, and along some interesting historic sites. There’s two Dutch forts as well as remains of an ancient Roman settlement.

It took us 2.5 hours to reach Houten, including a stop for lunch and tea. After returning to Utrecht we both got on our train back home.

This picture is of a tower near the remains of that Roman settlement.

You can see them in a larger size on my photoblog over the next few days.

  Vlietlanden, March 28th