Driving to Letterkenny: Moving to Ireland by car

Dear readers,

It's been a while since I've posted, because yes, we have moved to Ireland and have now fully settled in Letterkenny!

I stil wanted to write something about our journey though, because it was all in all a very nice trip. I really enjoy writing but I just have to sit down and take some time for it, and I finally did :)

Part 1: Apeldoorn to Dunkerque
On sunday the 3rd of July, we left Apeldoorn at midday. The days before we had been busy packing and making sure that everything we needed fitted in the car. We had to repack and reconsider a few times, but in the end it worked out pretty well. Since I don't have my drivers licence, Jeroen was driving and I would be the navigator.

First we drove to Dunkerque, just on the border of Belgium and France. The trip took about 3,5 hours so we arrived in the late afternoon. We stayed at All Suites Appart Hotel Dunkerque , because it had the advantage of a private car parking, and we didn't want to leave the fully loaded car just out in the open.
It was a nice sunny day and we went to the beach to have some 'moules frites' and a nice cold beer. That night France won a match in the eu football championship so even in Dunkerque the streets were crazy with happy people, honking, shouting, and singing. Despite this, we did get a good night sleep and were fresh and ready the next morning, after a nice breakfast with harbour-view.

Part 2: Dunkerque to Cherbourg
The trip to Cherbourg would take a bit longer (4 to 5 hours), so we left early enough (about half past 9 in the morning). The trip went well and we had no delays, and there were some beautiful views along the way, and some pretty impressive descends and super high bridges, that did test Jeroen's fear of heights. He is my hero :)
We arrived well on time at the Cherbourg harbour and found our ferry, the Oscar Wilde. After we were checked in we had to wait about one hour until the ferry opened. When the car was safely parked on the car deck, we went to check out our room on the ferry.

waiting to get on the ferry...

On the ferry: Cherbourg to Rosslare
So when we (finally) got on the ferry we went to check out the cabin we had booked. It was a pretty decent cabin on deck 8, with two single beds, a small bathroom, and even a tv. We went to the upper deck to get some fresh air, and found the weather for our trip to be quite windy but calm.
Back on deck 7, where all the entertainment and restaurants are, we sat down at the bar and had our first pint. After that we went to get some dinner in the self-serve restaurant.

The further we got out to sea, the more the boat started swinging on the waves. It wasn't anything dramatic, but I still had some trouble adjusting to the constant movement. We soothed ourselves with some tea and sat down at the lounge at the front deck. That's when something awesome happened: a few dolphins were swimming next to the boat!! The first time in my life that I saw dolphins in the wild, and I must say it was truly magical. I instantly felt better.
                          After exploring the ship we went back to the front deck lounge and sat down at a comfy couch and had some drinks, staring at the horizon getting darker. Now sleeping on a ferry, thats another story. At night the waves got quite a bit bigger and the ferry was swinging up quite high and falling down again. We got a good enough night of sleep in the end, but I feel like I have been awake every hour trying to adjust to the rocking of the ship.

The next morning we went out to the deck first, to get some nice fresh morning air and enjoy the sea-view (and I have to admit I was still searching for more signs of dolphin-life amongst the waves). We had a full Irish breakfast in the fancy restaurant to get off to a good start. There was plenty of time (and wi-fi) to plan the exact route to Letterkenny and draw it out on the roadmap. We arrived in Rosslare harbour around 11.30 and were off the boat at about 12.

Rosslare to Letterkenny
In Rosslare, we easily got trough customs and were off to a good start. Driving on the left was a piece of cake for Jeroen! Plus it felt so much better and more adventurous to have an actual paper roadmap instead of f***ing around with navigation on a phone. In Wexford (close to Rosslare) we got some fresh farm strawberries from one of those road-side stands, and I have never tasted better!

The drive from Rosslare to Letterkenny is pretty long to do in one day (6 to 7 hours), but it was really enjoyable to drive trough Ireland and there was enough to see. We drove through beautiful scenic landscapes and adorable villages with colourful houses (and pubs). Time went by quite fast and everything went so smooth: we didn't take any wrong turns and we didn't fight over navigation. Because we are such a good team, off course :)
                          We stopped at Lough Arrow to take in the view, since it was literally on the way. We didn't make any other mentionable stops, since we were both comfortable in the car and just really wanted to get to Letterkenny. It was really impressive driving trough Sligo, with its impressive mountains and cliffs, and from there we got to do some parts of the Wild Atlantic Way already. We were really happy though, when we got to the first Letterkenny roundabout (that we remembered from our trip last year) with it's welcoming 'fáilte' signs and pretty flowers.

That night we slept in a very basic airbnb with no heating, but it was clean and we could park the car in front, so we were happy enough, and very very tired, so we slept like fair Irish roses (I don't know if that is a thing, I literally just made that up).

And that's where I'm gonna end this blogpost, since this concludes our trip from Apeldoorn to Letterkenny. I will write about our first week in Letterkenny (during which we were lucky enough to find a house and get everything settled) in a next post soon!

Cheers for now,

Love,

Leyla ;)

Planning our trip: moving to a different country

Dear reader,

As you may know, the day that Jeroen and I start our great trip to Ireland is coming closer and closer. On the 3rd of July (this sunday!!!), we will leave the city of Apeldoorn, and then, the Netherlands behind and drive to Letterkenny. This is now less then a week away, but we've started preparing waaaaayyyy back, when our plans were still dreams. I thought I'd take the opportunity to tell you about the planning we did: how did we prepare our moving to Ireland?

How it started
It was as early as spring 2015, that we started dreaming about Ireland. I had to start thinking about what kind of study minor I wanted to do, and where. My university gives it's students the opportunity to study abroad, at one of it's so called 'partner universities' all around the globe. I knew back then, that I wanted to specialise in animation, and I got a list of universities that offered a minor in that field. When I saw Letterkenny on that list, I secretly knew right away that I wanted to go to Ireland. It just felt so right. The country, the people, the culture. So I proposed the idea to Jeroen, and hoped he'd feel as excited as me and would want to go with me. Luckily he did.

Meeting Letterkenny
After a lot of thinking and dreaming, we already started to prepare for our big step. We flew to Dublin, and after a few days of wandering around in that lovely city (really, it should be on your list!), and drinking quite a few pints, we took the bus to Letterkenny. Luckily there are a few bus companies that offer a direct connections, and the mcGinley coach brought us to the north within about 4 hours. It was a lovely ride and we got to see quite a lot of the beautiful country.
                          We spent about a week in Letterkenny, to discover the town and it's surroundings, and to see if it would be a place that we could feel at home. After only two days, Jeroen told me he already felt quite at home, and I did too!

Planning, planning, planning
After we came back, we started making plans, and lists with everything we had to take care of. Things like insurances, storing/selling furniture, booking ferry tickets, getting the erasmus funding etc. I won't bore you with all the details, but if you are curious or you are planning a trip of your own, I'll be happy to share the specifics with you ;) This is a little look into our planning book:

Moving house
We were living in an apartment in the city center, and our contract ended March this year, so we had to cover the last months before moving to Ireland. Luckily, my parent's neighbour and friend Germaine was such a darling to let us stay in her lovely house while she was away on a trip herself. It has been absolutely perfect and it gave us the opportunity to plan our trip in a peaceful house that we've had to our own the last 4 months.
                    Since our temporary house is fully furnished, we already decided what we wanted to store and what we wanted to take to Ireland by March. Some of our furniture is stored at family members who had a little room to spare for us, and some things we sold. The houses in Ireland are usually fully furnished, so we don't have to take any of our own. Right now we are just about done with packing the things we do need (like clothing, kitchenware, deco items, bedding etc).

A new car
Now for planning how to get to Ireland, our plans have switched from here to there. In te end we decided to buy a right hand driven car with enough storage space here, and drive to Ireland with it. This way we don't have to think about the luggage rules and regulations on a plane, and we'll already have a car that is suitable for driving around Ireland safely. So we said goodbye to Jeroen's first baby, the rumblin' red Mazda, and welcomed a very convenient and probably boring station car into our lives. It's not the most flashy car, but it's perfect for us as it has a lot of space, plus it drives like a ray of sunshine! And it's still a red car :p

How to get there
So, on Sunday the 3rd of July, we will drive to Dunkerque (in France) first. We booked a hotel there so we'll have a more relaxed journey. The next day we will drive to Cherbourg, from where the ferry to Ireland leaves. That evening and night we are travelling with the luxurious ship called Oscar Wilde, and the next morning we will be in Rosslare, in the south of Ireland. From there we will drive to Letterkenny and arrive somewhere in the evening.
                        We booked a few nights trough Airbnb (bed&breakfast), and we already have 2 house viewings on the next day. If we like what we see we could move in right away, otherwise we can stay a bit longer in the bed&breakfast, until we find something nice. Off course I'm going to keep you updated if we agree on a house.

That's it for this blogpost! We are going to document our trip, so make sure you keep an eye out for a new post! :)

See you next time!

Love,

Leyla

A little bit about Letterkenny: the city we will be calling our home

Dear reader,

I wanted to take this opportunity and tell you a bit about the town that Jeroen and I will be moving to this summer.

 <--Letterkenny's coat of arms: Ubique Urbem Reminiscar, which means "Remember the town wherever I am"

Some facts about Letterkenny:
Letterkenny is a town in county Donegal, in the very north of Ireland (note, not Northern Ireland, the North of Ireland). Yep, we're going "north of the wall" ^^

Letterkenny, what an odd name for a town! Well, the English name is derived from the Irish name Leitir Ceanainn, which means "Hillside of the O'Cannons". The O'Cannons were the last of the ancient chieftains of Tyrconnell (which was a political state in northwest Ireland until 1601).

Letterkenny is the biggest town in Donegal, located on the River Swilly. Together with the nearby city Derry, it forms the major economic core of the north-west of Ireland. In Letterkenny you'll find Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT), which is were I will be studying from september 2016.




Our trip to Letterkenny last summer:

Last summer we already visited the lovely town, to get to know the place we will be calling our home soon. I'd like to share some pictures with you so you get an impression of where we are going (and why you should come visit us!)

Eating at Mr. Chippy's, the famous fish 'n chips shop where you get off if you take the bus from Dublin to Letterkenny.

An impression of Letterkenny's beautiful town center.


The impressive St. Eunan's Cathedral.

And of course we had to investigate the pubs in Letterkenny.... :)

Letterkenny's surroundings:

Not only the town itself worth visiting, Letterkenny is situated in the most beautiful landscape. When we were taking the bus from Dublin I couldn't stop looking out the window. Here are just a few of the highlights that we already visited in Donegal. Of course we are going to explore much more of the beautiful surroundings soon (and I will be blogging about it ;)


Glenveagh National Park

Derry (walking the city walls)


Dunfanaghy beach

So, that was it for my short introduction to Letterkenny!
I hope you have a bit of a picture of the lovely city and beautiful country, but to be honest you should just come and visit us when we are there, to see for yourself! :)

Till the next post!

Kisses,

Leyla