Still at Kilmore, the train to Waterford

Or Vetrfjord ,Weather-fjord, as the Vikings named their settlement by the River Suir, back in the 900's.

And weather there is plenty of today,too. Splashy rain everywhere. A good day to spend in "Waterford Museum of Treasures", a modern and entertaining historical museum. The Vikings get a lot of attention. In one breath they are marauding pirates, in the next, founding fathers. Of Ireland's first urban settlement: Waterford!

We do a walking-tour of Waterford, too. Slightly less rain now.
There we learn about a Waterford man of varying fortunes, Thomas Francis Meagher. As a young man he champions the cause for an independent Ireland. It is he who designs the Irish flag. For his efforts he is sentenced to hanging, drawn and quartering. Then he is pardoned. And sent in exile to Tasmania. Four years later he escapes. He then finds his way to America where he eventually becomes a brigadier general and is highty decorated in the Civil War. He leads the "Fighting Irish" for Abraham Lincoln. Meagher survives the war to become the Govenor of Montana.
A long way from Waterford to Helena.

Waterford has a good looking waterfront. Just two weeks ago it was host for the "Tall Ships". It has a pleasant, re-cobbled town center, too. The two main cathedrals, the Catholic, Ireland's oldest, and the Protestant one were both drawn by the same architect.

"Waterford Crystal" is world renowned, so we took a bus out to the factory and had an hours tour seeing blowing, cutting, engraving, of designs, all done by hand. Fabulous creations, first class! In fact no seconds are sold. The enormous chandeliers, at a slightly lower "visitor's center" rate, were not bargain-basement prices. Well, unfortunately, the "Babette" is rather unsuitable for shipping crystal to Flekkfjord.
Via the Caribbean. Sigh.