‘House Arrest’ - Ordered by the court to be confined in your residence and only able to leave for medical or employment reasons.
Sure seemed like we were under 'House Arrest' because we were totally confined. We were locked INSIDE our Airbnb apartment. We could not get out and were not even able to leave for ‘tourist’ reasons.
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| Killarney Airbnb - 3rd Floor with Open Courtyard |
Have you ever locked yourself out of your house or your car? So frustrating, right? And, you try to figure out a way to get in without breaking a window. Or, you try to put your smallest child thru a window to unlock the door. Good luck with that!
We could not unlock the front door from the inside to get out!
Who? My girlfriend, Margery, and I.
When? The morning after we arrived in Killarney at our Airbnb.
Why? The house key would not unlock the front door from inside!
Back Door? Yes, but three flights off the ground with no stairs.
Windows to Climb Out? Not really, because the front windows only opened about 8”. Even I couldn't squeeze through that opening!
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| See the Small Windows on the Left? |
But, let’s start from the beginning. And, remember this is the Emerald Isle.
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| Emerald Isle - Dingle Peninsula |
Why so green? I think we all know the answer to that. It rains about 225 days a year in this southwest area of Ireland. So, our travel day is rainy, gray, cloudy, cool and windy as are many of our days in Ireland.
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| Dingle Peninsula |
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| Doolin Village |
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| Doolin |
First, the bus arriving into Doolin was about 30 minutes late. We had a 2.5 hour bus ride ahead of us over narrow, hilly, winding roads.
Therefore, we did not arrive in Ennis on time and had missed our connecting bus to Limerick.
Surely, there will be other buses from Ennis to Limerick.
We checked the bus schedules posted on the wall at the Bus Station.
Much to our dismay, we found that there were simply no other buses from Ennis thru Limerick to our FINAL destination of Killarney for the remainder of the day! This day just got longer!
We missed our only bus connection. Now what?
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| How Do We Get From Here to There? |
Our bus driver came over to us confirming our dilemma. Sorry, he said, but there are no more buses out of Ennis going to Limerick. Also, there was no ticket agent at this tiny bus/train station. Only a Ticket Machine which was not useful because we had already purchased our tickets.
However, the bus driver was most helpful because he spoke with the Train Master about our situation. Fortunately, most bus stations and train stations are located side-by-side in Ireland. Smart planning, right?
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| Train Station |
Our bus driver was able to persuade the Train Master to allow us to take the next train out of Ennis into Limerick without buying a train ticket.
Whew… Difficult situation avoided. So, we boarded the train which was nearly full and arrived in Limerick only a few hours later.
We quickly found our bus to Killarney. Again, because of the convenience of having the bus/train station combination. Two more hours on this bus and we arrived around 3 pm in Killarney (Irish Cill Airne, County Kerry).
Rainy and windy in Killarney! Time for the windbreaker and hood pulled over my head as we walked about 20 minutes from the train station out onto the slick, wet streets.
I had very detailed directions from our Airbnb host, so we easily arrived at our apartment.
But, this is when the fun begins!
First, there are two Key Code Pads on the front of the building. We were to use the lower keypad which needed a 4-digit code to open the main door. Done! We got into the building out of the rain and cold. Great!
Next, we took an elevator to the top floor - Level 2 (which is really the 3rd floor in Ireland). Remember, in other countries there is the Ground Floor (which is our 1st floor in the USA).
Then the 1st Floor (which is really the 2nd floor).
Finally, the 2nd Floor (which is actually the 3rd floor). Confused yet?
Here is where it gets tricky. Our Airbnb is on the 3rd floor which is on the top of the building and has a huge open courtyard with access to all of the apartments.
Guess what? Now, we are outside again and remember that it is still windy, cold and raining on us! Wet shoes and socks now.
Found the apartment. Next challenge…
Huge, black lock box about 9" x 9" with a keypad attached to the wall. It’s nearly dark, 49 degrees, very windy and still raining like crazy as I navigate the lock box which is where the house key is located.
Earlier that day, Sean, our Airbnb host, had texted me the 12 digit key code that included a small icon. Sounds easy enough, right?
First step, I had to place my hand on or over the keypad to activate it. Then, once the keypad lights up, I had to enter the 12 digit key code to open the lock box to retrieve the apartment key.
Keypad lights up… I entered the code… I tried to pull the lockbox open from the top down to retrieve the house key. Nope! Didn’t work…
I must have tried the 12 digit key code at least half a dozen times. Margery also tried the code. It’s getting darker and darker. We are getting wetter and colder. We are also getting frustrated with this key code situation!
I'm now fantasizing about an ice cold, freshly poured Guinness!
Finally, I looked closely at the instructions and at the keypad to understand the icon. Guess what?
The icon was a picture of the ‘lock’ which I should also have been pressing! I thought it merely indicated that the lock box would actually pop open.
But, no… I missed one symbol and that was the most important part of the code. Finally, I was able to pull the handle, open the lock box and retrieve the very important key to the door.
Thank goodness! Here we go… But, not so fast! I put the key into the door lock, turned it appropriately, pushed the door to open it, but it would not budge. I tried the key several more times. Margery tried her luck with the key, the lock, and the door to no avail.
We simply cannot unlock the door to our Airbnb. Now, we are tired, wet, hungry, cold and super frustrated! I called Sean, our Airbnb host, to let him know that we could not get into the apartment. He was super understanding. Said that he was 5 minutes away and would be there quickly.
Sean arrived, put the key into the lock and opened the door easily! What’s the trick? So, he told us that when the key feels as though it won’t turn any more, pull the door handle up and push the door open.
What? Did we not try that too? Guess not. So, we finally were in the apartment and out of the cold and pouring rain.
We dried off, left our small carry-on luggage in our rooms and went out to find some fish and chips at one of the many cozy, warm pubs in Killarney.
Happy ending to this seemingly endless day!
Tomorrow we will enjoy all that Killarney has to offer.
We planned to tour the Muckross Abbey, Muckross House, Killarney National Park, shops, pubs and all things Irish, including the Jaunting Cars.
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| Killarney - Jaunting Car |
Jaunting Cars are light two-wheeled carriages for a single horse with a seat in front for the driver.
Most commonly, the back has seats for two or four people and is covered from the weather.
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| Killarney - Jaunting Car |
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| Muckross House, Killarney National Park |
New morning, new day...
Should be easy to unlock the front door and leave the apartment. Sounds simple, right? Well, not so easy or fast.
In most European countries, your house key is used to unlock the front door from the outside, but also to lock the front door from the inside. We had a bit of difficulty with a few locks in France and Switzerland last year.
But, we are experienced travelers and know how these keys and locks work. Or, so we thought.
Now we are ready to leave the apartment. I inserted the key into the inside lock to unlock the front door so we can head out for a wonderful day.
But, the key will not turn in the lock. I tried several times to unlock the door so we could get on with our day. There must be a chocolate croissant somewhere close by in a bakery! I really want that croissant, now!
We simply cannot unlock the door. We cannot get OUT! Can’t get in, can’t get out! Really?
So, this is how we are going to spend our day in Killarney? Under ‘House Arrest’ because we literally cannot get out of this place? I am fit to be tied and not a happy camper at this point.
Once again, I called our buddy, Sean. Bad news though, turns out that he is NOT in Killarney that day. He cannot get us out of the apartment! Excuse me?
But, he said he would call his locksmith to see if he could come and take care of the problem. Sean called us back in 10 minutes to let us know that Peter, the locksmith, will be at the apartment in about 30 minutes.
Great… Time for a cup of tea. At least, we have a full kitchen with tea bags, etc.
Finally the locksmith arrived with his tool bag. We handed him the keys through the front window (you know, the window that we can’t squeeze through even if there was a fire).
Well, Peter, the good looking locksmith with his charming Irish accent, quickly put the key in the door, click-click, and opened the front door! We were free at last. But, as he then tried to show us how to unlock and lock the door, he also had some trouble.
Turns out that the lock needed some adjustments. He had to remove the door lock, replace the cylinder and work on the door jam section to shave this and that, clean things, lubricate the lock, etc.
So, we had not been doing anything wrong, the lock and key were not exactly in sync with one another.
Another hour or so went by. Finally he determined that the lock and key should work for us. He also showed us the trick about how to turn the key, lift the handle, pull or push the door. Why can’t this be easier? Whew…
Wasted a couple of hours with this craziness, but hopefully we can get in and out tonight and tomorrow without much difficulty. Fingers crossed! No more ‘House Arrest’!
As I said, in Europe it seems that the locks and keys are tricky. Last year we had an apartment in Thun, Switzerland that had the most intricate method of unlocking the door from the outside, then another entirely secret method to lock it from the inside.
But, remember, you also must be able to unlock the door from the inside every morning. And, finally, one needs to lock the door from the outside upon departing for the day. It's complicated, to be sure.
I had a full page of instructions from the Airbnb host on how to do these FOUR things to get us in and out of our Thun apartment. And, every single time I used the key, I had to refer to this set of instructions.
In the US, I have one key to my house and it simply unlocks my door. Then, from the inside I merely turn the button to lock it.
Why is it so complicated in other countries?
The story does have a happy ending though. We thoroughly enjoyed Killarney including touring the Muckross House (built between 1839 - 1843), the ancient Muckross Abbey founded in 1448 as a Franciscan friary, and Lough Leane (Lake Leane) which are all in The Killarney National Park.
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| Muckross Abbey - 1448 |
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| Muckross Abbey with Yew Tree |
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| Muckross Abbey |
We also took a bus tour of the Dingle Peninsula and Slea Head Drive which was incredibly stunning with spectacular vistas around each curve on the one way road which our bus drove clockwise (the only direction you can travel).
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| Gallarus Oratory, Dingle Peninsula |
But, one of my favorite things to do in every town was to go into as many pubs that I could as I walked around. I totally loved to just have a look at the old beautifully carved wood interiors including the back bars, fireplaces, original bookcases, interesting tables with chairs that hardly every matched.
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| Cats Love Pubs! Too many pints for him! |
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| Pub in Killarney |
And, there are so, so many pubs here. As you know, pub is short for ‘public house’ and they are seriously just like an extended living room.
People pop in to enjoy a pint, read the newspaper and have a conversation with the barkeep and friends. There are often several different connecting rooms in pubs with additional bars and cozy, comfy, private seating.
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| Newspaper, Whiskey and Water |
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| Kilkenny Pub - Beautiful Woodwork! |
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| Pub in Kilkenny - Tin Ceilings & Leather Barstools |
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| Singing & Playing - O'Connor's Pub |
There is occasionally a small bandstand for the musicians. Typically though, the musicians just sit at a large table in the middle of one of the rooms.
Everyone else sits at nearby tables eating, drinking or standing to watch and listen to the trad music.
I saw as many as seven musicians around one large table at O’Connor’s Pub in Doolin on a raucous Saturday night!
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| Gus O'Connor's Pub - Doolin |
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| Musicians at O'Connor's Pub, Doolin |
Despite some rain, wind and cool temps, we enjoyed several old pubs and listened to some wonderful musicians playing the best traditional Irish music.
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| Kilkenny - Matt The Millers Pub |
The shops were filled with the most beautiful Irish sweaters, Aran Island patterned sweaters, wool and cashmere throws and shawls, Newsboy hats, tweed jackets, rain slickers, and colorful Wellies (boots which everyone wears).
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| Newsboy Caps |
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| Colorful Wellies in Dingle |
Ireland also had some of the most delicious seafood chowder I've ever tasted.
In addition, I feasted on lightly battered, yet crisp, Fish ‘n’ Chips, excellent Steak & Guinness pie, and Cottage Pie.
But the very best menu item was the Guinness Bread and the traditional Soda Bread with creamy, salted butter. Doesn't get any better than that! I could eat that bread all day long!
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| Alex - The Barkeep at 'The Hole in the Wall' Pub |
Last, my travel experience was highlighted by truly friendly Irish people with their lilting, charming accents along with the best tasting Guinness in the pubs!!!
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| 'Hole in the Wall' Pub - Kilkenny |
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| Pubs in Belfast - Commercial Alley |
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| Kytelers Pub - Kilkenny |
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| Belfast Pub |
