30th of December
If you like hiking and you're not too afraid of high altitudes you should definitely consider a trip to Bray. It's a town in the south of Wicklow and about 1.5 hours away from the Dublin city center. However you should keep the time in mind because the trail is very uneven and can be difficult to follow, especially if it's dark outside.
22nd of December
Howth, once a small fishing village is now a well known place for its beautiful views.
17th of December 2015
Christmas exams
Unlike in Germany, here in Ireland student have all their exams at the same time. In the weeks before the christmas holidays, students spend night and day learning for the tests desperately trying to rembember everything they learned in the last term. The exams last for 90 minutes and between each class there's a 45 minutes break. Today was the English and the Physics exam (We didn't have to attend the German exam). The schedule of the tests is probably the same as in most German schools exept that the number of points e.g. in English indicates the number of lines you're supposed to write. In this case a total of 160 points and therefore 160 lines (about 6.5 pages A4). However the christmas period is also a very fascinating and exciting time because all the students and teachers are celebrating it... There's christmas decoration everywhere in the school and many of the theachers are wearing christmas jumpers or hats. Last Friday we even had a uniform-free day were everyone was allowed to wear whatever he fancies, assumed he payed 2 Euro for charity. Another thing that's different from German exams is that they don't count for their leaving certificate. They are only for the sake of preparation and to give students an overview about their current level of archivement.
16th of December 2015
There are two christmas markets in Ireland we visited so far... The one in Belfast and the one in Dublin. The first one was part of our Belfast trip last weekend and to the secound one, we went together with our german class during school. Actually the market in Belfast was very interesting and we had a lot of fun, however the one in Dublin wasn't. To be fair it must be said that we went there in the afternoon probably earlier than most people but honestly there wasn't much to see anyways. In total there were a few snack stands and a LIDL tent and not much more. We spent about two and a half hours there but I'd recomend 10 minutes should be enough:)
13th December 2015
Funny enough, many people don't know that the Titanic was originally built in Ireland. To be precise in the Titanic Quarter in Belfast, which is the place where we went this weekend. Together with most of the irish exchange students in my area we took the bus very early in the morning and then met another group of about 20 exchange students in Belfast. The museum was interesting yet modern and we had enough time to walk around and have a look at everything that attracts our attention.
6th of December 2015
The Science Gallery is a temporary changing exhibition at Trinity College in Dublin-city.
The current exhibition: Trauma, is about memories and how they can be influenced by different incidents.
In the left is the 'Tinnitus Suites' which is build out of piano wires and pressure transducers which cause the wires to vibrate and therefore produce a soun.
The 'Grasp' in the right is a interactive sculpture made by Colm Mc Nally. It is meant to demonstrate the loss of ability in your hand.
5th of December 2015
No GAA training in near future... #winterbreak