Clifden Castle

From the famous Sky Road you can look down on the ruins of Clifden Castle, but this time we found a way to actually go into the ruins and see it up close! We set off down the trail to explore the castle ruins, from the crumbling old walls to the towering turret and the overgrown outbuildings!

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Achill Island and the Abandoned Village

Achill Island - Ireland’s largest island - sits just off the Mayo coast along the Wild Atlantic Way. A beautiful, natural spot with dramatic scenery and great history, we couldn’t wait to dig in! We stopped at a wild rocky beach, saw dramatic cliffs and crashing waves, climbed up a muddy mountain, and visited a famine-era abandoned village!

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St. Cavan on Inis Oirr

The Church of St Cavan is a ruin on the Irish island of Inis Oirr. Excavated from being mostly buried in the ground, St Cavan’s is an amazing site to see! The patron saint of the Aran Islands, St Cavan himself is buried alongside the old church. We ventured through the old stone archways to explore inside the ruins…

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Right is Left is Right is Wrong and Lucky

An Irish story for St. Patrick’s Day! On the edge of Counties Clare and Galway, a confusing wrong turn leads us deep into the rural countryside, where we stumbled on old ruins, emerald green fields, and a stroke of that old Irish luck!

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Girsberg Castle

Continuing on the hike from Saint-Ulrich Castle, we come to the second of the three castles of Ribeauville - Girsberg Castle! We climb to the ancient ruins, enjoy the incredible views of the valley, town, and Saint-Ulrich, and recount an old legend that centers on the people who once lived in these two stone fortresses…

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Saint Ulrich Castle

Saint Ulrich was one of three castles that stood on the mountain overlooking Ribeauville. We wandered through the walls, imagining the rooms we were walking through and how they once looked. We stood above the row of windows from the Salle des Chevaliers, and took in the fantastic view of Ribeauville, Castle Girsberg, and the mountains and valleys in the distance…

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Kintzheim

We found a castle ruin that housed a bird of prey sanctuary. After our hike up to the ruins, we found the most amazing birds all perched throughout. We wandered through the castle grounds and made our way to the show, where we were swooped over by vultures, amazed by hawks, walked on by a condor, and Beth even caught a falcon!

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The Romantic Road - Dinkelsbühl

We took the slow way down the Romantic Road to the absolutely beautiful town of Dinkelsbühl, which quickly became one of our favorites! We walked through the old streets lined with brilliantly colored buildings, trying to imagine a life here. We traveled further down the Romantic Road and found an old castle ruin, finishing our day in an interesting hotel in the mountain town of Fussen.

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