🍂 Pictiúirí Póca 🍂

The OH and I went for a short visit to Maastricht to visit a friend of mine. While we were there, we made the 1 hour bus journey to Aachen. What a wonderful city! It's dominated by the huge cathedral (like a lot of cities) and  there was a Christmas Market in full swing. My new boyfriend. He's sweet, he's silent and if he gives me any attitude I can bite his head off This meant - Glühwein, yay! Also, it seems that very other shop is a bakery selling the Aachen speciality - Aachener Printen. These are a type of lebkuchen (a kind of ginger bread) that is particular to Aachen. The window displays were amazing: Gingerbread reindeer - how cute is that? It seems that I am as distracted by nicely-presented baked goods as I am by shiny baubles - I had to stop at each and every window and ogle the goodies.  I want live in Aachen! However, maybe it's just as well I don't. I'd be as big as a house with all that gingerbread. Here are some more sights from the ...

...Some rabbits are created more equal than others

Milky, vanilla-y chewy sweets from China. I think Alice would approve.

Glendalough ( Gleann Dá Loch - Valley between 2 lakes ) is a Valley in County Wicklow.  It's the site of a medieval monastic settlement. Glenndalough was also a sacred place in pre-history, with farmers driving their cattle through the waters of the lakes at Bealtaine to keep them healthy for the rest of the year.   When it was in use, Glendalough was like a mini-village, with the community comprising of both ecclesiastical and lay people. There was a hospital and a farm. Manuscripts were written and copied here. Although the settlement was destroyed by english troops in 1398, it continued to be an important place of worship and pilgrimage. St. Kevin's Church Round Tower

Newgrange is located in  the Boyne Valley in County Meath. It's one of the most famous ancient monuments in Ireland, and is the largest and one of the most important in Europe. The very beautiful Boyne River Newgrange is a large passage tomb located in the Boyne Valley in County Meath. It dates from the Neolithic period, pre-dates the Pyramids in Egypt. It's just one of the monuments in the Brú na Bóinne complex. Brú na Bóinne (or the Archaeological Ensemble of the Bend of the Boyne) has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993. Newgrange was restored to its current state in the 1970s. It should be noted that this is an interpretation of how it may have appeared in the Neolithic period, and not necessarily how it actually looked.  The purpose of Newgrange is still a mystery, but it's believed to have had some religious significance. The opening of the tomb is aligned with the rising sun of the winter solstice. The light of the rising sun enters the tomb via...

The Piraeus Lion can be found at the Venetian Arsenal in Venice. It's a large marble lion that was once located in Piraeus in Greece. There is some evidence that it had been a fountain at one time. It was plundered by the Italians during the Turkish War and relocated to Venice sometime in the 17th century. If you look closely at the following photos, you'll see something interesting. Carved into the flanks and shoulders of the lion, there are Scandinavian runes. It's very difficult to make them out because the marble is heavily eroded (the inscriptions date from around the 11th century), but they are in the Lindworm (i.e dragon-headed scroll) form. Close up of the runic inscriptions. "Sven woz 'ere and I pillaged your village, ha ha" (or something like that) This isn't the only incident of ancient vandalism I have ever seen. Inside the chamber at Newgrange, some bright sparks have carved their names into the stones lining the chamber. Many of the ...