We were woken up during the night by heavy rainfall. Still halfway in our sleep we mumbled goodbye to our hike in the Wicklow Mountains scheduled for this morning.

We went back to sleep and were surprised to see an almost clear blue sky when we looked out the window after getting up. Never ever trust the Irish weather forecast or how our host put it: "Four seasons in five minutes!"

Traditional Irish breakfast was served and it proved to be as delicious as I was told. A bit greasy and hot but surely the right stuff before starting a hike. We drove up to Glendalough and parked our car at the Visitor Center. Right behind it is the ancient monastery site, consisting of several ruins of a monastery involuntarily founded by someone named Kevin From there our hike took us past the first and smaller lake,  Lower Lake,  to a Waterfall, just a short but steep path above the eastern end of the Upper Lake. We then followed the white trail to the cliffs above the Upper Lake, passing the old Miners Village beneath us and descending back down to the Woodbridge. Now our trail brought us back down the valley passing right through the ruins of the Miners Village we saw from above before. During this hike we were only once hit aby a short but intense rain shower. It started just in a few seconds and disappeared only 60 seconds after it began. All in all it was just enough to get both of us wet After this, sunshine and clouds alternated about every 5 minutes. Oh, and before I forget, one of the few things I did not expect in Ireland happened to me: I got a slight sunburn, especially on the back of my neck. Yep, sunburn in Ireland, that's it.

Our hike was done in about 3 and a half hour, just like the guide told us. As we still had some time left we drove northwards to Enniskerry heading for the Powercourt Estate. The roads there were the narrowest we faced so far here in Ireland, it a mind-blowing experience, driving your car on the wrong side of the street that is only wide enough for 1 and a half car. Be prepared to move back once you face opposing traffic. At Powercourt Estate (we parked our car in front of the Ritz Carlton, bazinga!!) we were informed that they will close in 45 minutes and so we decided to take our chances at the nearby Powercourt Waterfall, the highest one in Ireland. Some more narrow roads later we arrived there and I have to say, the scenery was beautiful. We took pictures of each and help a local couple by taking pictures of them in front of the waterfall.

Back at the parking lot they asked us if we could give them a ride back to Dublin. We agreed to take them to Bray where they would take the bus back to Dublin. We had our first long conversation with them while driving to Bray and we enjoyed it very much. After dropping them of at the station we headed back to Arklow and went straight to the next Pub, drinking Cider. A good end for our first whole day here in Ireland I believe.

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