kimberly.: Newgrange and Drogheda

September 28th, 2008….

Newgrange

Today we took a bus to Drogheda and explored the town a little bit. It was built around the same time as Dublin and was quite similar. It was less crowded though, and didn’t have as much of a touristy feel to it. It was about an hour north of Dublin. The bus ride was grand; we went through the countryside, the green rolling hills, fields of sheep, everything Ireland is in the postcards. It was beautiful! Then after exploring the town a bit we headed to Newgrange. It is a burial mound built in 3200 B.C., making it 500 years older than the pyramids in Egypt and 1000 years older than Stonehenge in England. It was really lovely, it was in the middle of the country. Nothing big nearby. Very peaceful. The mound was really cool. The stones it was made out of were collected from three different places; the closest being 30 kilometers away, and to transport that much stone from that far would’ve been quite the task back in the day. The people who built it were believed to have worshiped the sun. While in the mound they turned all the lights out and showed us what the mound looked like without light. It was pitch black. Then they did a replication of the winter solstice. It was so cool. The entry way is lined up with the horizon and a small sliver of light comes in at first, then a little more making the inside of the cave glow just a bit and then after ten minutes all the light is gone. It was really neat. Great ending to a wonderful weekend. And once again, the pictures just don't cut it, but they give you an idea. the greens are so green and bright they glow. It's gorgeous!

Countryside from the bus

Michelle and me on the bus to Newgrange

The Boyne River

Boyne River with cow's drinking out of it

Michelle and I in Newgrange