A Swiss family in Ireland: 'Some drivers are rude'

The Stoy family are visiting Ireland for two weeks. Here, they compare their experiences of Dublin, Cork and Kerry

ON DRIVING

Guido: On Tuesday, we decided to drive the Ring of Beara and we were rewarded with mostly very nice weather. Driving got more and more challenging because the roads became extremely narrow.

Passing cars were sometimes a real adventure, but we managed to survive even a big tractor. Driving those curvy roads with high hedges on both sides, listening to the music of the Dubliners, made me really feel that I am in Ireland.

Maria: We could not see what was behind a curve because of the hedges, and many roads were narrow. I was holding my breath as a co-driver, and I could almost feel the bushes in my face. Some of the drivers are rude, especially the big cars. But most of them are okay.

You don’t see many cyclists in Ireland. I wonder how cyclists and pedestrians survive on the roads. But maybe you don’t walk or cycle so much because of the rain?

Enya: The Dubliners’ music is kind of fun. It’s not music I would listen to at home, but now we have heard the CD a couple of times and sometimes we all sing along.

THE IRISH LANDSCAPE

Maria: We loved the colourful houses in Eyeries. As a psychologist, I wonder what kind of people live in these. They definitely must be friendly and likeable. And it probably helps prevent depression during the dark winter months. It creates a lovely, happy atmosphere.

Andrej: The Healy Pass was a great experience. We have roads like this a lot in Switzerland that are often even more impressive, but we never use them because there are tunnels and highways that are much faster and easier, but you miss out on the view. Driving on these narrow, curvy roads is a lot of fun.

Bea: On Wednesday we took a boat to Garinish Island. On the way there we saw a lot of seals. I envied them a bit because they were lying there doing nothing. In the boat, a woman recognised us from the newspaper.

Enya: Today we found a lovely, sandy beach. We had a lot of fun on the sand and bathing our feet in the cold water. It was too cold to go swimming. I’m looking forward to our last hotel because we will have a pool there – and I miss going swimming.

DUBLIN, CORK AND KERRY

Guido: On Thursday we drove around the Ring of Kerry. It was much faster because the roads are wider, but the Ring of Beara was more impressive and the landscape rougher. We were slightly disappointed in the Ring of Kerry. I thought it would be more spectacular.

The people in Cork are even more open and helpful than in Dublin. There is a lovely atmosphere here in the Sheep’s Head peninsula, which is not too touristic. If we overhear people talking in a Cork accent, it can be hard to understand, but if they are talking to us I think they switch to standard English.

Killarney is very nice and neat, but of course it has lots of tourists. You get the feeling that you are in a theme park a little bit.