Matt's Blog

Even this early in the year, the Japanese Garden at the Powerscourt Garden was gorgeous!  I can only imagine how beautiful it must be when everything is in bloom.

No, we didn’t watch South Park in Ireland – but we did stop in Kilkenny to check out the castle.  While there, we got to meet our cousin Mary and her mom Carmel (pictured below)!  It was a blast, but I wish we had planned more time to visit more family while we were over there.

The first thing we saw when we arrived in Dublin, Ireland was the Book of Kells at Trinity College.  We couldn’t take any pictures inside, but the famous gospel manuscript was on display in the building pictured below.  The Old Library upstairs is also quite impressive.

We stopped in at the touristy Hofbräuhaus in Munich, Germany for a bite to eat.  These tasty wheat beers were mixed with lemonaid for a very refreshing treat!  I enjoyed a number of Dunkles (dark German beer) throughout Germany and Austria.

One of my favorite memories from Salzburg, Austria (and possibly the entire trip!) was the Mozart Dinner Concert in the Baroque Hall of the Stfitskeller St. Peter (said to be the oldest restaurant in Europe).  Between the delicious courses of the meal, local musicians would perform some of Mozart’s most famous works accompanied by two amazing opera singers.  Emphasis on the “amazing.”  Unfortunately we don’t have any pictures of the performers, but Megan snapped a few shots of the dessert.  Check out the cool cocoa silhouette of Mozart!