Mallory DeClement is a student at Montclair State University and an ISA Featured Blogger. She studied abroad with ISA in Limerick, Ireland.
Just like most American Universities, the University of Limerick has a paths for its students to walk on. Unlike most American Universities, however, the University of Limerick has forest like trails, the occasional horse, a plethora of dogs, a ton of swans, cows, and a couple of abandoned castles.
The abandoned castles that are on campus are easy to get to by taking the scenic paths provided around the University, and many people will climb to the top of what is left of the old castles. I was much more comfortable admiring them from the ground. What can I say? I’m terrified of heights. For those of you who are brave enough to climb up there, I hear the view is amazing.
While walking around UL most people will cross one of two bridges that the University has to get across the Shannon River. If you are walking across the main campus bridge, the living bridge, and feel like it’s moving… you aren’t crazy. It actually is moving. The bridge is 350 meters long which makes it the longest walking bridge in Ireland. Often times you will see swans swimming below this bridge.
One of my favorite things about walking around the campus is the apartments that the study abroad students were placed in, Cappavilla apartments, have cows behind them… talk about awesome. These gentle creatures are out in the pastures behind the apartments grazing and towards the end of my stay I was lucky enough to see that one of them had had a new baby.
One thing that I can say with confidence is between the campuses I saw in Ireland and the campuses I have seen in America the University of Limerick absolutely takes the cake for the prettiest grounds to walk around on.
The world awaits…discover it.
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