I was originally supposed to visit Ireland and Wales, but I ended up getting to see England and Northern Ireland as well! While my stereotype of northern Europe is frigid, distant people, I was pleasantly surprised by how warm and welcoming the people I met were.
I started my trip in Ireland. Dublin is great as a home base for exploring other parts of the country, but is kind of overrun with tourists (even during off season) and is not the most beautiful of cities. Even the Irish people I met in Ireland were the first to admit Dublin was not the crown jewel of the country.
That being said, if you go just a half hour outside of the capital city, you’ll find lush green countryside and adorable seaside villages. I spent a day in Malahide (where there’s a castle that had been owned by a gay Earl!) and Howth. The tour of Malahide Castle was lovely and the guide was full of interesting information. A small tour group – just me and a couple of Irish tourists from near Cork – we bantered and had a great time together. Then I wanted to go to Howth. I had wanted to see the views from the top of the cliffs or from a boat ride I was supposed to take but got cancelled due to the weather. But neither panned out.
My cab driver from Malahide to Howth was an elderly gentleman and was extremely friendly. He offered to take me to the top of a mountain overlooking the sea for some photographs. He kept apologizing since it would cost a few extra Euros – he was extremely polite – but the views were worth every penny. He then took me into the village to drop me off at the restaurant where I ate, but not before I got a chance to walk the pier towards the ocean and hear the rushing waves and see gorgeous views of the cliffs above.
One thing that I did really enjoy in Dublin was the Irish Jewish Museum. This gem, just two rooms in a small row house that I believe used to be a synagogue, is not so much in its artifacts (although there were some really cool ones, including a Yiddish theater poster for a production in Dublin!). It is in the volunteer tour guides who explain the artifacts to you. For free. For two hours! Irish people and Jews love to talk, so when you meet an Irish Jew, prepare for long, engaging, and free flowing stories.
I learned so much – about the relationship between Jews and Catholics (the latter having a long and storied history of anti-Semitism that continues to this day but is NOT universal), about the Lithuanian ancestry of most Dublin Jews (I am part Litvak so this was cool!), and about the ways in which Jews played a pivotal role in the development of modern Ireland. Far beyond their small numbers.
Given the modern-day anti-Semitism emanating from the Irish government, it gave me hope to hear that the museum offers tours to Irish schools to learn more about Jewish culture and civilization in their own country. I can’t recommend a visit to this museum highly enough – it may be small but it is worth every minute you spend here.
Having spent a couple days in the Dublin area, it was time to get out to the countryside. One thing few people know about me is that I LOVE rural areas. Although I grew up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. and live in that city now, I cherish green space, animals, and fresh air.
I did an organized day trip to Glendalough, the Wicklow Mountains, and Kilkenny. Glendalough is the site of a 6th century montastic settlement and cemetery, which are absolutely stunning. The nearby lakes and mountains form a spectacular backdrop for an Ireland few see. I even met some nice fellow travelers in my group, which made it more fun to explore and experience the country together.
Near Glendalough we also visited a sheep farm and learned the tricks of the trade from the Irish shepherd and his adorable sheep dog, who moved the sheep along in various patterns and formations. The highlight of this experience, without a doubt, was getting to hold a baby lamb in my arms. Needless to say, I will NOT be eating lamb anymore. When I held that lamb, my heart was full. These animals are just too cute!
Kilkenny, our last stop on the trip, is a beautiful medieval town, a 1500-year-old city. There, I saw a castle and a beautiful church. I also got a Kilkenny Gaelic Football jersey. It’s a sport I knew nothing about before this trip, but was founded in Ireland, and I look forward to learning more about now that I’m back.
Having had a great few days in Ireland, I headed back to Dublin to get ready to visit Wales, my other destination. My plan was to travel via ferry to Holyhead, but I got a notification that the ferry wouldn’t be running that morning. Apparently the Holyhead port had been damaged in a storm. Trips are never perfect and this would require some problem solving, as North Wales doesn’t have an airport.
I decided to fly into Manchester and then head to Chester, a city dating back to Roman times on the border of England and Wales. I spent a night there and then headed towards Caernarfon, Wales, where I’d be staying for a few days. Chester was beautiful both by day and by night (and had surprisingly good sushi!). The streets are lined with quaint shops and cafes and the cathedral is absolutely stunning. It was my first time in England and it didn’t disappoint.
From Chester, I headed to North Wales. There, I visited Caernarfon, Llanberis, Betys-a-Coed, Pen-y-Pass, and Conwy. It is a land dotted with castles and mountains. The people are incredibly friendly. While the people, if I had to generalize, were a bit more distant in Chester, just across the border in Wales, people had a similar warmth and talkativity to the Irish.
The towns are also largely Welsh speaking. And people are proud of their language and culture. After all, theirs is the most widely-spoken Celtic language in the world. A surprising number of Irish people did tell me they spoke Irish, contrary to the popular belief that nobody speaks it in Ireland anymore. That being said, Welsh is dominant in North Wales in a way the local language is not in Ireland and is not even in South Wales. I had taken a few lessons and the people were appreciative of my efforts to speak the language, with one woman even giving me a pin that indicated I spoke Welsh! I even said “thank you very much” in Welsh to one shopkeeper and she stood silently. I asked her coworker if I had said it right and she said “yes, she’s just in shock that you said it in Welsh!”
I did some hiking in Wales too on Mount Snowdon and its environs. The scenery is stunning and I managed to walk a bit at a pretty significant altitude despite my fear of heights. I was very proud of myself and I would like to make even more progress on this front so I can enjoy more and more of what nature has to offer.
While hiking, I even got to meet a lovely man named Stefan who runs a little traveler’s café near Llanberis. We talked in his café for an hour or two over a pot of tea and bara brith, the traditional sweet raisin bread. Turns out, Stefan is also gay and his partner and dog live with him up on the top of the mountain. He told me that he feels well accepted in the villages and rural areas. Just goes to show that we are truly everywhere, even in rural Wales!
Wales also has stunning castles dating back to the English campaigns to subdue their culture, language, and way of life. The castles are stunning – and the Welsh are still here! One cab driver, who was kind enough to give me his rundown of Welsh history, played a folk song for me that has become popular at sporting events – “Yma o Hyd”. It means “we are still here”. Seeing the castles and the vibrant Welsh culture – its language on every street sign and on the lips of hundreds of thousands of its inhabitants – is a reminder of the importance of preserving our heritage. It rang true for me as a Jew as well at a time when so many would try to erase us. Much like the message of the Chanukah season we are currently enjoying.
While I had planned to take the ferry back from Wales to Ireland, the port was still broken, so I decided to spend a night in Liverpool and fly from there to Dublin. I had never been there before and it is such a cool town! I got to take a picture with The Beatles and see the outside of the Cavern Club where they gained popularity. I got to see a bombed-out church. Liverpool had amazing sushi – remember, this is a seaside port so good fish abounds! And, most excitingly, I got to visit the Everton Football Club’s Goodison Park and do a tour. I grew up playing soccer and this is my new favorite team – one I had watched a documentary about on the plane – so it was “beshert” or “meant to be” that I got to visit their stadium! I look forward to following them and my favorite player, Séamus Coleman, in the years to come.
Interesting side note – Liverpudlians are extremely friendly. Contrary, again, to the stereotype of uptight English people, Liverpool is filled with talkative, outgoing people. Their accent is fascinating – with a lot of final “k” sounds becoming like a Hebrew “ch”. I would love to visit this city again!
Last but not least, after arriving back in Dublin, I had one last day to explore. I visited Belfast. I only spent a half a day there (I’d really like to go back!), but I visited the Cathedral, an amazing used bookstore, Belfast City Hall, ate more sushi (sense a theme?), and visited the Discover Ulster-Scots Centre, where I even met a docent from Baltimore! There is so much to experience in this fabulous city (which, yes, is more fabulous than Dublin, sorry!) – and not just conflict tourism.
All in all, no trip is perfect. There was rain every single day. It was chilly. My ferry was cancelled in both directions. Of course sometimes you meet people who aren’t as friendly or fail to meet your expectations for hospitality. And yet, overall, this trip was fabulous. Over ninety percent of the people I met were friendly and kind. The sights were incredible. The nature was stunning. The history was palpable and ancient.
If you haven’t yet had the chance to go, I highly recommend a trip to this part of the world. You might just be surprised at how at ease you’ll feel and find yourself sipping tea with in a café on a Welsh mountaintop with a gay man just as I did. In this Celtic and British wonderland.
Planting Roots Bearing Fruits 
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