Cobh (pronounced as "Cove") in Ireland

The first place I visited in Ireland (besides Cork) is Cobh (pronounced as "Cove"). Cobh is a town at the harbour, 20 minutes train ride from Cork. Cobh is famous for being the last departure point of Titanic before she sank.

The train in Ireland is rather old. I was slightly disappointed because I was expecting something grander and modern. Ireland is a developed country after all! But it turned out to be just like our old KTM trains.

The weather in Ireland was quite cooling and windy. The trains were not air conditioned. Instead the windows were slid opened to allow the river breeze to ventilate the train. Tickets could be obtained at ticket counters but most people buy it from the train conductor, who goes around the train checking tickets just like the bus conductors in Malaysia.

View from the train. The river eventually becomes a muddy flow when it gets further from Cork.

We arrived in Cobh in the evening. A minute walk lead us to the riverside. Seats and fountains were placed beside the river. Many laughing couples, chit chatting friends and jogging locals filled the area. Bars and B&Bs were situated facing the riverside. One of the Bars was putting on a loud music which filled the air with more life.

Cobh is a little town. A place where people spend a quiet evening drinking in the pub or at the riverside. Life here seems pretty simple. No hectic traffic jams. No complicated office politics. Everything looks serene and peaceful, except for some occasional loud music banging from some old junk car.

Shop houses look exactly the same everywhere in Ireland and London. Small and cosy. Interesting to see at first but they get quite boring after awhile.

The big church on the hill looks exceptionally grand and magnificent in a little town of Cobh.

I didn't know why the roads had zig zag stripes till Bf told me it serves as a yellow line.

The true "Menglish" (Malaysian English) is in Cobh!

The wind was rather strong that day. I loved the breeze but I would prefer if it also has the salty smell that sea breeze brings. There were a few boats and yachts gliding gracefully on the river. There's not much activities in Cobh but there were quite a number of attractions in the area mainly chuches, museums and gardens. We did not visit most of them because we arrived there late and most of them closes at 5pm. But Cobh itself is quite a decent town to explore.

Statue of Annie Moore the first emigrant during the Great Famine in Ireland.

The riverside

The peaceful town of Cobh

Just to prove I was at Cobh.

It was a long walk up the steep slope to St Coleman's Cathedral on the hill. The wind was strong and chilly. It is a landmark of Cobh and its magnificent structure stands in contrast with the little town of Cobh, making it even more spectacular. The view of the harbour from St Coleman's Cathedral was breathe taking, overseeing the town of Cobh and the river. The quiet church gave a serene and pleasant aura as we stood on the grass patch taking in the view.

Where are the gargoyles?

The old wooden door reminds me of Harry Potter! It seems magical.

The good thing about churches in Ireland is that most of them are open to public for FREE. Let's go!

Peek-a-Boo!

The altar

9 out of 10 churches look almost the same in Ireland. They all have grand altars, big pipe organs, plenty of statues and they portrayed just how rich the church used to be back then. The churches in Malaysia are far from how they look like in Ireland but our churches have more life and passion!

Even the ceiling is made out from expensive wood material and look at their walls and pillars!

One of the twelve stations of the cross. It's a statue!

This is something special, a place where the readings are made. It is placed in the right hand side near the altar. Entirely made out from wood.

My favourite: Pipe Organ! The sound it produces is magnificent!

The next place we visited was the Bible Garden, another 10 minutes walk from St Coleman's Cathedral. The scenery of the garden depicts certain significant occasions in the Bible. It sounded like an interesting place but turned out to be quite a disappointment. I expected something bigger and nicer. Nonetheless, the flowers were beautiful. Plants grow very well during the summer in Ireland. Even lilies were grown simply in gardens, imagine how much they'll cost in Malaysia!

On the way to Bible Garden

Entrance to the Bible Garden. Feels like I'm heading to a Secret Garden.

Told you, the flowers were pretty.

A fake well signifying an incident where Jesus asked for a drink from a Samaritan lady. There was a big spider web near the handle :(

This statue of Mother Mary was located at a corner of the garden where trees hid it from the sun and some birds were croaking nearby so it was a bit creepy.

This was the first thing that welcomed our arrival. I have no idea what it's supposed to mean.

Cobh is also famous because of Titanic. Cobh was the last port of Titanic before it sank. There's a Titanic Trail for tourist but because we arrived late, we missed it :(

Titanic Trail plate

Anyhow, I took some pictures that has something to do with Titanic just to wrap up the visit to Cobh.

This actually leads to a pub (I think)