The hidden milestones of a year abroad

New Year's Eve, your birthday, anniversary dates: these are always a good time to think back on the previous year, evaluate it, or compare it to the previous one. It is the time where we assess where we are in life and what we have accomplished so far.

These are the obvious moments to do so in a year. While going through my pictures to illustrate the blog, I realised that in the same way, some places or days take importance in your stay there without you necessarily noticing at that very moment. It becomes obvious only later on.

One place in particular in Ireland caught my attention in the hundreds of pictures I have from my time there. This place is Glendalough. Located about an hour away from Dublin, in County Wicklow, this glacial valley offers fantastic landscapes, with lakes, forests, and hills. It also hosts an early medieval monastic settlement which bestows it with a sense of sacredness and an eerie atmosphere. You can take the bus from Dublin on Sundays to get there, and spend a day hiking and discovering the beautiful and varied landscapes this valley has to offer.

We first decided with a friend to get there in October, a month after we arrived in Dublin when the student's union organised a little day trip to this location. On the way, the weather kept getting worse, with dark clouds gathering above our heads, about to burst. And they did burst once we arrived. The wind was raging in all directions, and my small Parisian rain jacket proved to be useless under the Irish weather. We had fun though. This did not change my mood in any way, as it became an incredibly bonding moment with my friend. We tried to find shelter in a nearby hotel restaurant and miserably sat down, wringing the water out of our socks and trying to dry up a little.

The visit stopped as fast as it started, we went back to the bus and we arrived back in Dublin still soaking wet, only to be welcomed by cold gushes of wind. Glendalough became in my mind a sort of faraway land, a true experience of Irish storms. It became also associated with laughter and was a perfect reflection of how I felt in Ireland then. I had arrived in Dublin only a month before and these kinds of unexpected events made my stay there more interesting. I felt almost carefree and I was eager to discover and build strong friendships on the way. The next time I went to Glendalough was in March. This time I went there with two other friends and we started hiking in the beautiful forest around the lake. The colours had changed, from the grey and deep dark green of September, the trees were now displaying a range of completely different shades. There was still gray in the sky but the grass was offering a breathtaking mix of pale yellow, maroon bushes, and green grass.

My pictures do not do justice to it. The atmosphere in the valley was quiet and kind of mystical. And this walk was what I needed then. I was not happy with where I was in life and needed to make serious decisions about my future and relationships. My wise friends and their advice, the peaceful nostalgia of the surroundings, the physical effort of hiking, and the lack of a phone network enabled me to put some peace in my mind and to take time off the everyday questions. The hike in Glendalough was as much an inner trip as it was a trip in the wilderness of Wicklow. It did put perspective on what was troubling me, and the bittersweet shades of the landscape will stay in my mind as a perfect reflection of what I was feeling then. I was looking back with some nostalgia towards the previous time I was there, and how far way it felt. The last time I went to Glendalough was in June of that year, and this time under the sun! The place felt completely different at first, feeling the warmth of the sun while walking towards the lake was something I did not expect could happen there. The place looked friendly, and this time I felt like I could truly enjoy it for what it was, without too much to think about or storms in the way. I had then decided that I would stay in Dublin, that I was happy with my part-time job and my relationships. I had taken the decision that needed taking, and I was getting happier after a breakup. I did feel some kind of melancholy though, and at that time I did not understand why. Thinking back on it, I believe it was because this place had become a sort of milestone, and reminded me of how different my life had been on the past two occasions. The forever-changing landscapes of Glendalough were the reflection of my feelings at different times in my stay abroad and contributed to turning them into beautiful memories.

I am now looking forward to the next time I will end up there, and what I will feel then!