Well, I finally made it into Belfast on Saturday and boy what a trip that was! Not that there were any issues mind you. I just made sure to arrive fairly early to the airport because I don't like to cut things too close. Needless to say, I got into the city and had some time to kill. I wandered around the Baker Street area and managed to stop into the London Beatles Store as well as the Sherlock Holmes Museum. A quick pint and an order of chips and I was on the bus headed to London Stansted Airport. This airport is smaller and is about an hour outside of London. It caters specifically to the budget airlines so I didn't really have much choice in the manner. After getting through security I wandered through the airport a bit and then settled down at a table for a few pints, some football on the telly, and I ended up scarfing down a delicious burger (6 oz steak burger on a fresh bun with lettuce, tomato, onion, bacon, onion rings, and melted Shropshire blue cheese....mmmmmmm.) When the gate finally came up on the board for my flight I headed over there and prepared to board.
The flight itself took almost no time at all. I barely had a moment to settle myself in and it felt like we were landing. I managed to drink a cup of coffee and read a bit of the paper and that was the duration of the flight. We actually arrive 20 min ahead of schedule! After touching down I grabbed my backpack and headed out into the terminal. Jeremy was already there waiting so we headed out to grab a bus for the 30 minute ride into Belfast itself. It was so great to see another familiar face after being over here for a month! Jeremy and I both had our stories to swap and our thoughts on living in the British Isles. We started planning what we would be doing this week as well until we got to his place.
Jer lives in a really nice flat that is actually a bunch of dorm rooms owned and operated by the university. It's almost like being in rez again!.....oh the memories. Needless to say, I dropped my stuff off pretty fast and we were out the door to the pub for a couple pints. We ended up going to a smaller pub called "Auntie Annie's" on Botanic Avenue. It was a nice little place, very typically British pub. I had a Guiness and a Magners cider (that's pretty much all there is really) and then we packed it up and headed to the dorms (he he he) to catch some shut eye.
Now, day two is really where the trip begins. We got up fairly early (8am) to make some breakfast and shower before heading out. The weather was absolutely BEAUTIFUL so we wanted to make sure we got the most out of the day. The first place we hit was Starbucks for a cuppa and then headed out south to walk around the university. The campus itself is not extremely big but the buildings inside are quite beautiful. We got some good photo ops walking around as well; especially through the Botanic Gardens. On the other side of the gardens is the Ulster Museum, which Jer had not been to yet, so we headed in there to check out some of the exhibits. There's a large chunk of the museum called the "History Zone" as well as some nature areas and an art gallery. Considering we wanted to make sure that we hit a lot of other things, the history zone was our only stop. This area detailed a lot of the history and development of Northern Ireland all the way from Viking and Roman times through to the present. There was also a well done exhibit on the Troubles. Jer was able to fill in a lot of information on this aspect (he's quite informed on the Troubles) to clarify some things for me. This pre-information would also come in handy later.
After leaving the museum we ran into a gentlemen doing a bit of cleaning for his vehicle and he clearly heard us talking to each other and recognized we weren't from around here. He gave us a great rundown on the best areas to hit and asked how long we were staying and whether Jer had been here or there. He was just a really great help in getting us set for some important sights to see. From here we headed north towards the City Centre and City Hall. As it was Sunday City Hall wasn't open but I got some great pictures of the outside of it. The architecture is quite beautiful all around this area of Belfast and it was really neat to see the hills and mountains in the distance as you're looking around. We made a quick stop into the Belfast Welcome Centre and ended up booking a Black Cab tour of West Belfast and all of the murals and sights in that area pertaining to the Troubles. Having a bit of time to kill we walked around some other areas (it was still early so a lot was not open...plus it was Sunday) and then headed back to Donegall Square (city hall) to wait for the cab. Unfortunately, finding exactly where the cab was going to pick us up was a wee bit of a problem. We wandered around for a little bit until we came across that guy we met up near the museum. It turns out he runs a cab tour and was willing to give us the same rate that the other cabbie as going to but with extra time uncharged as well! That worked out perfectly and we into the cab and on our way west.
First off let me say...this tour was definitely worth it and I highly recommend it to anyone who visits this city, regardless of what cab company you might go with. You can read a lot about the Troubles in books and online, but nothing really hits home more than standing in the areas where a lot of the violence took place. It's hard to fathom bombings, gun shots, and random attacks happening almost on a daily basis all over the West Belfast area...it seems like it's not something you would experience in a society looking so similar to our own. But, the hatred ran deep for many years (and still festers to a certain point) and it's quite eye-opening to see how far people take divisions in belief, both political and religious, and to defend their own. Jerry (the cab driver) was VERY knowledgeable on the Troubles and he was also old enough to remember a lot, if not all, of the major attacks and events throughout the forty or so years they occurred. He also told us that he was a Catholic himself so he knows what happened more from that perspective and you'd get the same thing from a Protestant driver as well. A memorable quotation from him "So I know about 50% of the story and a Protestant driver would know about 50% of the story and somewhere in the middle of all of that lies the truth."
Jerry took us to all of the major sites and these photos plus explanations can be found on my Facebook page. It's just too long to try and explain every little detail...you can always ask me too.
Once Jerry dropped us off back at Jeremy's place we saddled up and headed over the Lavery's Pub to have a couple pints of Guiness, some food, and to watch the matches on during the day. We managed to catch the end of the Man U match, and the first half of both the Liverpool and Arsenal matches. We headed over to a grocer to pick up some food for later days and then wandered over to the Student Union pub to finish off the matches. Oh...and during matches the Student Union pub (called The Speakeasy) serves ALL pints at 2 pounds apiece. Yes, that includes Guiness....ah-mazing.
After we were finished at the pub we headed back to Jer's so I could have a hilarious Skype with my family (who all happened to be in the same place at once for a change) and then went off to bed. We were making sure to get up early because we're making a trip up north to see Bushmills and the Giant's Causeway. More on that soon!
Cheers, Love, and Rock That World!!!
Erik (and Jer)
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