The last stretch to Cork is only about 12 kms. Rose thought that we should take the main road, but the traffic to Cork is very heavy, so we opted for the smaller road which is very steep. There is a lovely view at the top of the hill before going down to Cork.

We entered the city on a long down-hill stretch with the traffic growing more and more congested as we came closer to the city-centre. We ended up by the river finding a small hotel right across from the Tourist Office. Cork is a lovely old city, the third largest in Ireland, with a busy centre and several pedestrian streets abounding in nice shops and restaurants. We wandered around the city, visiting St. Finn Barre's Cathedral whose spires can be seen a long way off, and admiring the hilly streets with lovely old houses. On our way to locate the railway station we passed a small theatre and bought tickets for the evening's performance of 'The Importance of Being Earnest'. There was a full house and much enjoyment of Wilde's comedy.

Cork to Dublin

The next morning we arrived at the station and queued up for the train half an hour before departure. There was much pushing for position in this queue, two nuns being particularly active. Suddenly there was a change of platform, and everybody ran for the train, all semblance of order gone. We were lucky enough to find places, but the train was full, and many had to stand. We arrived in Dublin around 2 o'clock. We had booked a room near Dublin Airport at the Tourist Office in Kinsale where they told us that it was only 2 kms from the Airport, close enough for us to be there at 7,45 on Sunday morning. In the meantime we had acquired a map of Dublin which showed that there was at least 12 kms from the our accomodation to the Airport, so we decided to skip our booking and the 2 pounds it cost us and find something closer. This time we managed to get out of Dublin on small roads, and find a very nice B&B just half an hour's ride from the Airport.

Dublin to Copenhagen

The weather which had been consistently warm and sunny for the last week in Ireland kept fine when we landed at Kastrup. On the way home from the airport, we noticed that the traffic in Copenhagen is much more quiet than in Dublin, perhaps because it is a Sunday. If there is one lesson we have learned, it is to keep away from the main roads when you go bicycling anywhere, which means that good maps are essential. All things equal, the difference between a quiet country road and a busy main road is quite simply the difference between a wonderful experience of the landscape and the view and a continuous roar of traffic and distraction. As for accomodation, our experience tells us that booking in advance, however secure that may seem to you, is really a mistake. The wonderful feeling of freedom that comes over you when you can stop whenever and wherever you fancy is lost when there is a particular place you have to reach every day, and in Ireland, there is always another B&B around the next corner.