Spotlight - 13.2019

32 Spotlight 13/2019 TRAVEL

Fotos: Paul Wheatley; Kida/Shutterstock.com

Along with Manus Hingerty, location

manager on many of O’Sullivan’s films,

we tour the stunning Lough Tay, a valley

and lake familiar to even the most recent

fans of the Vikings TV series. The whole

area belongs to the Guinness family of

brewery fame, and visitors usually get to

see it only from the top of the valley. With

Hingerty and O’Sullivan, it’s open access.

I accompany the two men on a tour of

Ashford Studios that lasts several hours.

I’m astonished at the detail in the Viking

village. Hingerty delights in picking up

a huge boulder that looks impossible

to lift, and bending Viking swords and

shields that look... unbendable. Pots, pans,

handmade clothes and antler chandeliers

are just the start. I’m genuinely shocked

when he emerges from a door with a cou-

ple of severed heads (from fight scenes)

that look, well, frighteningly human.

A f ine farewell

On my final day, I’m up early for a quick

morning visit to EPIC, Dublin’s Irish Em-

igration Museum, which is devoted to a

central part of Ireland’s identity. I hurry

next to the National Museum of Ireland

(the one in Kildare Street). It’s free to en-

ter, and the Viking Ireland exhibition is a

good way to round off my Viking-inspired

trip. (Next time, I’ll visit Dublinia, an ex-

citing interactive museum about Dublin

in the Viking and medieval eras.) The

replica longboat I find in the exhibition,

although less impressive, transports me

back to Waterford, the windy fjord, and

its Vikings. For most people, a trip to

Ireland centres on Dublin, the country’s

capital and largest city, but it doesn’t have

to. Starting in Waterford with its Vikings

and taking in the green landscapes of Ire-

land’s south-east coast is a wonderful way

to go. My tip: be sure to plan in more than

three days.

Note for viewers

The final season of Vikings is expected to

air in late November in Germany and the

UK on Amazon Prime and in the US on

the History Channel.

antler [(ÄntlE]

, Geweih

astonished: be ~ at sth.

[E(stQnISt]

, über etw. staunen

boulder [(bEUldE]

, Fe l s b ro c ke n

brewery [(bru:Eri]

, Brauerei

chandelier [)SÄndE(lIE]

, Kronleuchter

delight in doing sth.

[di)laIt In (du:IN]

, etw. mit Vergnügen tun

devote [di(vEUt]

, widmen

emerge [i(m§:dZ]

, auftauchen, erscheinen

farewell [)feE(wel]

, Mach’s gut!, Abschied

genuinely [(dZenjuInli]

, echt, aufrichtig

last [lA:st]

, andauern

round off [raUnd (Qf]

, abrunden

severed [(sevEd]

, abgetrennt, abgeschla-

gen; hier: geköpft

stunning [(stVnIN]

, atemberaubend,

umwerfend

If you go...

Getting there

Fly to Dublin with Aer Lingus and

hire a car.

Stay

Dooley’s, Waterford

http://www.dooleys-hotel.ie

Eat and drink

The Reg, Waterford

Five bars, award-winning cocktails

and the excellent Suas restaurant

http://www.thereg.ie

Delahunt, Dublin

Victorian setting and one of the best

for modern Irish cuisine

http://www.delahunt.ie

The Stag’s Head, Dublin

More Victorian charm: order a

Guinness in a traditional Irish pub

http://www.stagshead.ie

See and do

House of Waterford Cr ystal,

Waterford

http://www.waterfordvisitorcentre.com

Reginald’s Tower, Waterford

http://www.waterfordtreasures.com/

reginalds-tower

King of the Vikings, Waterford

http://www.kingofthevikings.com

Dunbrody Famine Ship Experience

and Restaurant, New Ross

http://www.dunbrody.com

National Museum of Ireland,

Dublin

http://www.museum.ie

Dublinia, Dublin

http://www.dublinia.ie

More information

http://www.ireland.com

The Dublin

Docklands on the

River Liffey