After our shinny game Rainer and myself said our goodbyes and i jumped into Nate's car , we ended up going out for some pasta in this nice little Italian joint in Alberhausen then called it a night . The next morning Nate was gone to work or school and i was left alone with Nate's amazing grandparents ( that don't speak English LOL) . Sorry Nate i really wish i knew their names ....that day i had to get on a plane to Ireland ! Nate's grandfather drove me to Stuttgart and i was off . I have to mention that unfortunately Nate's grandfather passed away within the year after this trip :( he was a really nice guy and i appreciated his and Nate's grandmothers hospitality . At the airport , with my bag and sticks and my backpack ....and my broken nose and black eyes. Of course i get asked if i am a fighter at the airport by random strangers . The attendants at the airport were very helpful in Stuttgart and i had no problems with my bags . This is my main concern when travelling , i am constantly worried about my gear and having to pay for overweight or oversize .
Let me fill you in on how and why i am going to Ireland .....this same year earlier in the year i was in Thailand and met some girls from Ireland ( i was with my girlfriend ) , well one of them had a roommate that was a hockey player in Ireland so she put us in touch . Also through Facebook i found a long lost friend named Jen Plummer , she was living in Dublin and invited me to come stay with her and her roommates there . So i had a place to stay and a place to play hockey ....i am so there ! Arriving in Dublin i jump into a taxi with this couple i met on the flight from London as i had a crazy connection ( in London the plane was also delayed as there was ice on the planes wings !)
Getting out the taxi i really had a vague description of where Jen lived. And the taxi driver was a bit confused as well , but i found the place . Soon enough Jen had me drinking a pint of Guinness and settled me in. Jen had this apartment in a part of Dublin called Ranelagh . Really cool little area with some great restaurants and all the amenities needed ( transit ,etc...) Jennifer's roommates were really nice , none of them complained about the smell of my equipment that wafted through their house for the week i was there :) 
So the ice rink i was going to was in Dundalk , about an hours drive from where i was . Jen drove me ( thank -you ) out there and met her boyfriend ( at the time , they are now married ) and his brothers and sisters , so i kinda had a cheering section LOL. I mentioned earlier that i was put in touch with a fellow that played hockey there named Martin Robinson , unfortunately he was in Toronto at the time ! But he put me in touch with some fellows and told them i would be coming to practise on this date , so i knew when and where to be , but i was late for the practise for the A team . SHIT ....drove all this way and i am not gonna get onto the ice . Good thing that the guys from the B team were practising right after , as i met a couple guys hanging around the rink ( Shane Muldoon and Graeme Barrett ) .So i am on the ice in Ireland with the Dundalk Bulls B team , they were pretty good ...most of the guys were quite young and a few of the A team guys stuck around particularly Jan Prusa . Jan is a fighter and for some reason i really get along with team fighters , for me fighting is a part of the intimidation game and this guy was intimidating ! Pretty sure that Jan is now playing in the U.S.A. for the Park City Pioneers , check out his fights online there are a few of them if you like that stuff :). The practise was odd with some really weird drills i have not seen since i was a child and some drills that just don't make sense like having 5 pucks in play at the same time ???? This is not the first time that i have seen weird drills and wanted to shake the coach and ask what are you doing , but i did not as i am a guest LOL. All the guys were really amazing and in the dressing room after we had allot of laughs , i really wish i had more time to spend with these guys but unfortunately pubs were closed as it was late at night , we stretched out my stay as long as i could as the girls wanted to leave . In the parking lot i got to say my goodbyes to those guys and we drove back to Ranelagh .... what a great experience ! Now today unfortunately these guys do not have a rink to play ice hockey in as the Dundalk Ice Dome has been closed for some time due to financial difficulties apparently ....PLEASE OPEN THE RINK FOR THESE GUYS THEY DESERVE IT !
The rest of my stay in Ireland was grand to say the least with visits to the Guinness Brewery and Jameson's , and no i did not get really drunk . My trip after Ireland was planned very loosely and while i was in Ireland i was beginning to miss my girlfriend being with 5 women in a house in Ireland ...pretty much all of them had boyfriends so i felt kinda lonely , so we planned to meet in Malta . Finding some cheap flights i booked the rest of my 2 weeks to kill as my only other flight was from London to Toronto . Booked a cheap flight to Malta and began making plans with Kathleen . My next stop though was in London where i will be meeting Snowy ( Kathleen's brother in-law? ) where i will be staying in Ringwood and hopefully finding a rink to play in there !
oh i almost forgot to mention that during my stay in Ireland i got to experience Halloween .....people basically burn EVERYTHING and become vandals running wild in Dublin . We went to visit Shane and his friends up in Cavan County and had a quiet night of drinking . Got to meet some awesome people there too ! Thanks for letting me stay at your place Stephen ! Can't forget that i saw Jenny's house before it was built as well , hope it is finished by now ? 
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