After four days at sea, a cold and windy crossing, we arrived in Cobh (pronounced Cove), Ireland. Cobh is the port for County Cork. The city of Cork is about 1/2 hour from here. The commuter train station is at our dock and runs every hour, making the trip into the city very easy.
Ireland is every bit as green and beautiful as the travel guides describe it. Taking the train into Cork, we were able to see a bit of the countryside and passed through several scenic villages.
The city of Cork is the second largest in Ireland. With a population of about 120,000 it is much smaller than Dublin (population over 1,000,000) but every bit as interesting. With pubs, classic churches, museums, a modern city center, art galleries, etc. There is much to see and do.
We spent most of our visit wandering. Sometimes a random stroll is the perfect way to spend the day. Especially after several days at sea. We did visit St. Fin Barre’s Cathedral, Church of Ireland. The cathedral was built in 1865 in a French gothic style. The midday prayer service was starting when we arrived, so our visit was enhanced with some food for the soul.
From there we visited the English market, a wonderful covered market where you can buy everything needed for a memorable home cooked meal – meat, vegetables, bread and dessert. Almost made me wish we were cooking for ourselves tonight.
Lunch was Irish stew and fish and chips at a pub. The local brew, Beamish, a lighter stout than Guiness, was very good.
Highlight (?) was a stop at the Butter Museum. The craft fair we were looking for was closed, so the nearby museum was the next best option. Very small, but well done, telling the story of how Irish butter and cheese came to be marketed world wide. Yes, that Kerrygold butter you see at the grocery store is from Ireland. Dairy farmers here own a large cooperative that is a marketing success story.
Tomorrow we are off to Waterford.
