On May 16th we, the classes 6C and part of the 6B, accompanied by our teachers Mrs. Petritsch-Kolle, Mr. Köck and Mrs. Rauscher, headed for the airport in Treviso, Italy, to catch our flight to Dublin, Ireland. We eventually got there after three hours of being on the bus, checked-in our luggage and off we went! We were pretty lucky with the weather and as you can see: we didn’t crash and we are still alive! However, the first day was pretty exhausting for all of us and there was nothing really special about it, except for getting to know our host families and accommodation.

Our second day in Dun Laoghaire, which is situated in the south of Dublin, started off with morning classes from 9:00am-12:15pm and a little lunchbreak, where most of us could enjoy their sandwiches. After school had finished, we decided to go to the city centre to see the Kilmainham Gaol, which used to be a prison in the 18th century. In the evening our host mums prepared dinner for us, and one thing that I have noticed is, that we got chips or crisps to literally everything, even toast and pizza.

After school on Thursday it was time for us to go to the city to meet up with our lovely tourguide. First we went to see Trinity College, where a group of Japanese people took some pictures of us. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t because they had never seen Austrian people before, but because of our tour guide, aka the Ed Sheeran doppelgänger. Soon after, we made our way to Temple Bar, which isn’t only an area dotted with pubs but also a really well known pub itself. Speaking of pubs, as soon as we got back to Dun Laoghaire the teachers decided to take us to a pub, where some guys had gathered to play traditional Irish music and Luca was allowed to play along.

On the next day we set out for Dublin once again, but this time to see the renowned Book Of Kells at Trinity College, and after that to do some shopping on Grafton Street. Our English teacher had told us that Ireland had quite some amazing musicians and she was absolutely right. However, there weren’t only awesome buskers and artists on Grafton Street, but also at the Irish Dance Party which we joined that evening. To be honest with you, Irish dancing was harder than we thought it would be, but the guy gently playing his guitar in the background provided a really pleasant ambience.

Saturday meant halftime. This time we were actually able to have a lie-in at the weekend. A double-decker bus took us to Glendalough, also known as „The valley between the two lakes“, to see an outstanding Irish landmark, the famous Round Tower, and the two beautiful lakes that were only a ten-minute walk away.

The following day was pretty much the highlight of our stay in Dublin, because we made a Cliff Walk in Howth, which took us approximately three hours to accomplish. It was quite exhausting and windy up there but it was worth every single moment.

On Monday we went to see the famine ship, called Jeanie Johnston, on the river Liffey and had a guided tour which gave us an insight into what life was like on a ship like this. After that the teachers allowed us to walk around Dublin all alone, and that’s when we took the opportunity to try out Fish and Chips, but to be fairly honest, it wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Who has come up with the idea of putting vinegar on chips anyway?

On our last day in Dublin we said our goodbyes to our families and departed from the school at 11:00 am and got back safely after 10 hours of travelling.

On behalf of the 6C and 6B, I wanted to say thank you to our amazing teachers for having given us the opportunity to encounter the beautiful „Emerald Isle“ and gaining loads of experience which will definitely stick in our minds.