Howth – a treasure trove of delights

On September 1, 2017 By ourhoppytravelsIn Dublin, Europe, Ireland10 Comments

Take a break from Dublin city and head over to Howth, a picturesque little fishing village in Dublin county offering gorgeous panoramic views of the Irish sea.

Two weeks ago, we visited Howth (pronounced Hoth). It’s just 30 minutes away from the Dublin city centre and makes for a great break from the city. We hopped on a DART and took a short ride along the Irish coastline.

As we stepped out of the station, we saw that the Howth weekend market was on. We wandered in to find something to fill our hungry stomachs.

It was a lovely little market with jewellery, some handcrafted items, freshly baked bread, dried fruits, candy and lots of other delicious little bites. They also offered an interesting variety of cuisines for the ones craving bigger bites. Being a fan of Mexican food, we packed ourselves a Quesadilla and Burrito and headed over to the pier to find a cosy spot to have our lunch by the sea.

Having stuffed ourselves happy, we were ready to start exploring little Howth. We walked around the harbor for a bit. It’s a pretty little harbor with plenty of sailboats docked at the harbor entrance and a few spread around the bay.

IMG_9813 (5) — It was good weather the day we visited Howth – sunny and dry

Perfect weather for a great cliff walk. The Howth Cliff Path Loop is a 6 to 10 km walk that will take anywhere from 2 to 4 hours depending on which loop you take. There are 4 loops; some are longer and more difficult. We opted for the easier one as it was our first cliff walk in Ireland and we were setting off on our walk in the evening.

Head towards the east side of the promenade for the cliff walk. You’ll see rocky shores just before you begin the steep climb up Balscadden Road.

There’s a bunch of lovely houses along the way, all boasting of stunning seaside views and beautiful courtyards. Wouldn’t mind waking up to this view!

IMG_9826 (2) — See the guy on the little rock luring in a catch?

Howth seems to be a popular spot for the angling enthusiasts.

The island you see just ahead in the picture above is the Ireland’s Eye and the one further ahead is the Lambay island. Ireland’s Eye is home to a variety of sea birds and in a short 15 minutes, you could be in the bird sanctuary. On the island is also an old Christian monastery. The island is fairly secluded and has a nice little beach from what we hear and it could be a good spot for an afternoon picnic. We were unable to visit Ireland’s Eye this time but plan to make it there on our next Howth visit.

As you approach the end of the short ascent on Balscadden Road, you’ll see a car park and just ahead of that a gravel steep path. This is the starting point to the Cliff Walk. If you are unable to make the cliff walk, you can just park your car here and go on a short 5 min climb up the gravel trail. This will lead you up to the cliff top where you are rewarded with breathtaking views of the Irish sea.

It’s a beautiful trail! The sea is just 50 metres below you and looks utterly fascinating as you walk along the cliff edges.

As you continue your walk, you’ll see plenty of jagged rocks where someone’s jumping off for a swim or fishing for a big catch.

IMG_9916 (4) — The views are mesmerising and all you’d want to do is stop and stare

The trails weren’t crowded as you can see. We did the walk later in the day and so we escaped most of the tourist crowd and ran into just a few locals. The trail gets narrower in some places but you should have enough room to allow a fellow walker to pass by.

Do take care as you walk though – you are after all walking on the edge and there’s nothing but the deep blue ocean below you. The terrain is a bit rugged but is a well-worn trail popular with locals and tourists alike.

It can get mucky and slippery when it rains so make sure you have the right footwear! And, may not be a wise idea to do the cliff walk on a bad weather day.

The cliff path takes a whole bunch of turns through the 6 kilometre walk and as you move further along the loop, the views change as well.

The Baily Lighthouse on Howth Head comes into view as you near the Howth Summit. The mountains you see in the distance are the Wicklow mountains, known for its stunning scenery and pristine lakes.

You can continue your cliff walk and do the full 10 km by heading towards the lighthouse. We decided to take a turn towards the uphill path that leads to the Summit car park area.

IMG_9988 (3) — View from the Howth Summit

At the car park, you have the option to continue on the loop and take the path running parallel to the uphill path to return to the Howth station. We decided to take a break and grab a pint at the Summit Inn.

It was well worth the stop as this pint of Guinness is an excellent pint of the delicious dark beauty – it had a great creamy head that stayed all the way thru to its last drop!

We headed back to the Howth Harbor by bus and got off at a stop close to the East pier. We arrived in time to watch the sunset and it was just spectacular with dramatic clouds looming above.

The Howth East Pier walk is wonderful, especially at sundown. The tourist crowd was long gone and except for a few locals walking their dogs, we had the whole pier for ourselves to explore.

Colorful little sailboats dot the bay on one side and the beautiful Irish sea laps on rocky shores on the other.

At the end of the pier, you reach the Howth Harbor Lighthouse. There’s some interesting history behind this fine structure that was also used for defensive purposes.

Further ahead, you’ll find this little beacon tower – it is a great spot to take a break and admire the magnificent Irish sea before heading back.

We stopped for dinner at The Bloody Stream, a lovely pub although the name might indicate otherwise. It’s right at the station so quite convenient to head straight to your train. We finally got our craft beer pint in this little pub and were ecstatic. They serve just the Hope beers (one of Dublin’s good craft breweries) and of course the traditional Irish beers were also on tap.

It was the perfect end to a perfect day. Howth is a little hidden gem in Dublin that is well worth a visit!

Memmingen – where time stands still

On April 9, 2017May 9, 2017 By ourhoppytravelsIn Europe3 Comments

Sometimes, the smallest of things pack in the largest of wonders.

Memmingen is a quaint little Bavarian town, popularly known as the gateway to the Allgäu (a region across Germany and Austria that stretches across the Alps). Most tourists use Memmingen as a base when traveling to the Bavarian Alps or the Neuschwanstein (sleeping beauty) castle as this little town has an airport and it’s quicker to access the Alps from here rather than from Munich or Stuttgart.

Oh, but, this dreamy little town is more than just a gateway to the Alpine region. It is a charming, vibrant little town with colorful townhouses and cobblestoned alleys which was thankfully left unscathed by the World War II destruction that left most of Germany in shambles.

One of the prettiest market squares we’ve seen

We visited Memmigen on a sudden whim; decided to make the slight detour on our way back home from Füssen. So, with no list of things to do and places to see, we decided to just walk around this medieval town for a few hours and see what little surprises were in store. And, we were not disappointed! At every corner, we ran into one wondrous thing or the other – a historic building, a brightly painted house, a pretty stream, an interesting sculpture, a beautiful little chapel… we were simply delighted at every turn.

We started at the Marktplatz, the city centre, which is generally the best place to start at in any town. But this market place was unlike any others we’d seen. Colorful buildings adorn this little square and most of this little town. You’ll see these brightly painted buildings all around town.

This intricately painted building you see in the pictures below is Memmingen’s Steuerhaus (tax house). It takes up most of the market square.

It was a bright sunny day and we basked in the warm spring sunshine

Right next to the Steuerhaus is the Rathaus (town hall).

IMG_7440 (2) — We quite liked the dome design of the Rathaus, especially the centre dome with its shuttered windows

We continued walking towards the other end of the square.. just next to the Steuerhaus is the St. Johann church.

A closer look at the artwork on this church

And just around the corner from here, is the Blaue Saul, the blue (corner) column.

We walked on straight ahead from the blue column, toward the Sankt Martinskirche (St. Martin’s church).

The church was unfortunately closed.. so we walked back down the street, toward the little stream that we’d seen opposite the blue column. The Stadtbach (town brook) runs through most of this little town making the little place all the more magical.

IMG_7499 (2) — We just followed the stream admiring the hurriedly swimming fish

Interesting building art at Weber am Bach, a historic 700-year old hotel

An interesting equestrian statue of Welf VI

Welf VI was a 12th century Lord of Memmingen and Duke of Bavaria. The sculpture is quite an interesting portrayal of the Bavarian lord – you can see him riding with a globe under his horse’s hoof and his naked wife on the palm of his hand.

We continued walking around the Altstadt (old town) area. We came across an interesting historic gate. Apparently, there are ten such gates/towers and about 2 kilometers of wall around the Altstadt from several centuries ago that is still preserved.

We then arrived at the Fischerbrunnen at the Schrannenplatz.

Bet there’s an interesting story behind the fisherman’s expression…

The beautiful red building in the background is the **Goldener Lowe (Golden Lion),**

the city’s oldest wine tavern

The Schrannenplatz was brimming with locals – kids frolicking in one of the other fountains in the square, people sitting around the little cafes sipping on their evening coffees, and some others cooling off the hot day with some ice-cream.

We took a right in one of these little lanes, again just following the stream..

IMG_7532 (2) — It was nearly 8 PM and it was still so bright outside; just love spring!

IMG_7535 (2) — The little canals and the bikes around took us briefly back to Amsterdam

It is such a picturesque, fascinating little town. We walked on at a lazy pace, reveling in the beauty that surrounded us.

IMG_7542 (2) — Oh what we would give, to live in one of these cozy houses by the stream

Memmingen reminded us so much of Ulm (where we currently live). Little streams flow through Ulm as well and the city centres are quite similar, although more half-timbered and less colorful buildings in Ulm and definitely lesser crowds in Memmingen, even for a Saturday evening.

IMG_7538 (2) — The Frauenkirche, Church of our Lady

Dusk was slowly settling in and flocks of birds were headed home high above the Frauenkirche. In front of the church was a cozy little park.

After a short break in the park, we slowly traced our steps back to the town center, taking a different route.

This fun gang of girls excitedly posed for us

We ran into another gang of girls on our way

Not so fun though; these girls appeared to be engrossed in some serious conversation

Now, with all that walking, we had worked up a nice appetite and were ready to check out the local food and brews. We just walked around the block that had a whole bunch of restaurants and ended up at the Moritz Memmingen. It was a lovely restaurant – good food and good local beer.

8149079040683272233-account_id=2 (2) — When in Memmingen, drink a Memminger

We’d had the Memminger Weizen before, when we had first arrived in Ulm. It’s a delicious wheat beer!

We would have loved to spend more time in this charming little town but it was time to hit the road. We were so glad we had decided to make this impromptu stopover for a short few hours in Memmingen. We were thrilled to discover this little treasure not too far from home.

Night falls over the **Kreuzherrenkloster**

as we say goodbye to beautiful Memmingen

The little towns of Germany continue to delight us leaving us with beautiful memories that will be lovingly cherished for a long time.

Krabi – a special place

On May 31, 2015March 17, 2017 By ourhoppytravelsIn AsiaLeave a comment

I have always been in love with the sun and the sand… walking on the beach and feeling the sand squish between my toes and watching the sun go down in the deep blue sea are some of my happiest moments.

Krabi, Thailand is a paradise with beautiful beaches, pretty little islands, delicious food and just gorgeous blue waters of the Andaman sea. We wanted to stay in a place that was relatively less busy and crowded compared to Phuket. Most of Thailand is swarming with tourists anyways and for good reason.. It is a gorgeous country!

We were in Krabi to celebrate my niece’s 18th birthday. We were there for a short four days but we had such an amazing time and such wonderful experiences in this brief period. We stayed in a resort close to the Ao Nang beach in Krabi. It was a pretty resort surrounded by little hills and the rooms were partially built on stilts and we were surrounded by beautiful water everywhere in the resort. You could kayak your way through the resort.

On our first day, we did the 7 island sunset tour which lasted 6 hours.We started a little after mid-day and cruised the Krabi waters in a long-tail boat and occasionally a speed boat.

Long-tail boat, traditional boats of Thailand

Our first stop was the Phra Nang Cave that is near the well-known Railay beach. This limestone cave is full of stalactites and stalagmites. The cave is probably more well-known for its “Phallus Shrine” which is full of a strange variety of offerings to the symbolic phallus of Shiva or the Lingam – I was surprised to learn what the lingam actually represented (I had no idea what I was worshiping as I was dragged through temple after temple in my younger years – remember I mentioned in one of my earlier posts I was born a Hindu). Anyways, bizarre yet interesting revelation this was.

Phra Nang Cave

Smaller phallus shrine around the cave

We then headed out to Koh Tan Ming where we did some snorkeling. After a bit, we hopped over to Koh Si island where the snorkeling was so much better and we had more time. The water was so clear and the underwater life so pretty!

You see the chicken-like head sticking out? That’s the Chicken Island, Krabi

We then hovered around the Chicken island for a bit before heading over to the Tup and Mor islands where we just walked around the beach, collected shells and lounged in the warm waters. Finally, we halt at Koh Poda, where we had a Thai buffet. As the sun went down, one of the crew members entertained us with a fire dance.

Finally, the island hops are done and we head back. On the way back though, we have one more stop in the middle of the sea for more snorkeling and swimming with bio-luminescent plankton. It was a great experience to hop through all those pretty islands but it just seemed like too short a time at each of the stops and we felt rushed. We did the Hong islands the next day which was SO much better and just what we needed.

Gorgeous blue water at Hong Island,Krabi

It was again a full-day island tour where we stopped at a couple of great snorkeling spots. The tour took us to the rock island of Koh Daeng, Koh Lahding, and finally on to Koh Hong. The water in the Hong Islands especially the Koh Lahding or Paradise Island is amazingly clear and you can see marine life right near the shore without even getting your snorkeling gear on. You venture a little further into the water and you can see the most stunning variety of fish and corals. You simply cannot pull away from the water. And the beaches are beautiful white sand beaches.

img_20150521_163447 — Cruising through beautiful Krabi islands

The next day we just hung around Krabi town, shopping for junk jewellery and indulging in local delights. Thai food is simply heavenly – the satays, the curries, just divine.. we binged on some lip-smacking dishes! We sampled some interesting local Thai spirits and chugged lots of Thai beer (the usual lager variety – not very exciting but definitely refreshing in Krabi’s humid weather). Singha and Chang dominate the local beer scene. Back when we visited Krabi, we didn’t research much on local craft beer and may have missed out on a couple of good places. We’ve heard that the Full Moon Brewworks may be worth a shot.

We also enjoyed some great live music from one of the local bands (unfortunately we cannot remember the name of this wonderful band) at a cosy little restaurant in the main street (and we cannot remember the name of this restaurant either – we had had one too many beers and shots).

img_20150522_224045 — A Krabi local band playing some great music

It was the most wonderful 4 days in Krabi – we relaxed, swam, lay on pretty beaches, drank lots, ate lots, danced some, laughed hysterically (and cried some tears of joy), and had loads of fun!

Krabi will always be special for many reasons and we’ll make our way back there again someday to reignite these beautiful memories.

(Most of the pictures in this post were taken by my niece, a very talented photographer. Check out some of her cool pics here.)