March 27th - Trip Day 28 - Belfast Day 1

Bus to Belfast > AirBnB > Another Aborted Tour > Relaxing

There is apparently a lot of competition for buses to Belfast. I saw at least 3 private companies and the NATIONAL Ireland Government Bus company as well. A lot of people fly into Dublin then take the bus to Belfast. It was about a 2.5 hour trip and was quite pleasant. 

The AirBnB is quite nice, a block from the River Lagan which I can see out my bedroom window.

Belfast is not like Dublin. There aren't hordes of tourists running around, though maybe it was just the area I was at (kind of a new part of town called the City Centre.) 

I had booked a private walking tour and the guide didn't show up. I had just received a confirmation email so I emailed them and they too couldn't get in touch with the guide. Of course, the company is in Toronto, so they had as much success at calling the guide as I had, namely none.

I did a bit of shopping and had some BFC - Belfast Fried Chicken. Wasn't bad, but wasn't the Colonel's. 

I went to the AirBnB and relaxed with decaf coffee and ginger cookies.

March 28th - Trip Day 29 - Belfast Day 2

Titanic Belfast

Going to Belfast was always a dream of mine because the Titanic was built here. I read a lot about the Titanic and its construction, so this exhibit was a reinforcement of that information. It starts with the building, launching, outfitting, the loading of passengers in Southhampton, Cherbourg, and Queenstown (originally Cobh) in Ireland, the sinking, aftermath, and then the discovery by Bob Ballard. 

They even had a mini-Disney type ride down into the "bowels" of the ship to watch the shipbuilding activities while a recording in the car (choice of languages) presented the recreated voices of those who built the ship and explained how the millions of rivets were heated, thrown up, caught, stuck in the hole, then hammered by 2 guys. Hearing damage was a common side-effect of the work.

The most moving part for me was that Ballard said that at first they were so joyous finding the boiler and were cheering then realized they were cheering over the deathsite of 1500 people and turned to a moment of silence instead. They showed a video in the floor of the discovered ship combined with the music that the band played at the very end (Nearer, My God to Thee - it was in The Titanic movie).

Of course, there were rude assholey tourists as usual who pushed in line to be first. I took it easy and was courteous and held doors open for older folks (YES! There are folks OLDER THAN ME!!!)

I was nice, I promise! I gave the folks who joined me in ride vehicle the front or back and the language (they chose the back and English, which is exactly what I wanted, but it worked out perfectly.)

Was it worth it? Well, unlike Alhambra, which I still have to write about and finished in 14 minutes, I stayed for almost 90 minutes, which is great for this architecture, church, museum hater, so I would say yeah.

March 29th - Trip Day 30 - Belfast Day 3 - Part 1

Troubles Tour - With a Local

This is hard to write because it's very confusing and upsetting. We don't hear a lot about Northern Ireland, the IRA, and the conflict with the British Government in the States. As far as I knew, it was all over. 

With Ireland (the country with Dublin), it's over because the English handed it over in 1922 to the Irish, but the English kept a bunch of counties up north including Belfast, which became part of the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland. 

Today, I had my first tour with Arthur Magee of Experience Belfast https://www.facebook.com/arthur.magee.1

The foundation of the troubles started earlier than this, but it's kind of agreed on to be 1968. They lasted until 1998, but the Good Friday Agreement just laid the groundwork to end it. There is still some conflict, but it's not like it was with the bombs and terror (not just in Belfast but all over the world.) 

Arthur ended it with a positive message, but it's not over - it's a work in progress - pretty much people got tired of all the violence. The English are still not loved by the Irish and there's still a lot of antagonism.

It was a very eye-opening tour, but this is something I would have to spend a lot of time studying to understand even a fraction of the situation. And as I said at the start, to me this is very upsetting.

March 29th - Trip Day 30 - Belfast Day 3 - Part 2

Belfast Like a Local - Customized Private Tour

This was a private tour and Jason was my guide. He took me to other areas of Belfast - West Belfast being mainly Catholic, East Belfast Protestant, South Belfast business and wealthier, and North Belfast where Catholics and Protestants live, usually street by street. This was where the main conflicts occurred (but not only), because the factions encountered each other on a daily basis.

Per Jason, this area is still somewhat troubled, but not only here. We hung across the street from a former IRA pub and were soon being watched - Jason said it would be prudent to move on. This pub had a cage that patrons had to go through. The inside door would only open once the outside door was closed so that someone couldn't throw a bomb into the pub. He did offer some comedy relief (pic.)

The history is confusing and it is not a closed story. It could be that integration and young people may make the difference one day, but there is still resentment on both sides.

Belfast Final Thoughts

Belfast folks are extremely hard workers, yet they have a lightness of heart that belies the troubles of this city.

I didn't see the happy-go-lucky of Dublin. There are pubs but they seem more uninviting than welcoming. Perhaps it's because they only want one kind of clientele. There are fewer tourists about other than at the Titanic Exhibition. Downtown Belfast (or City Center) seems very new and pleasant, though there too were remnants of the checkpoints from the Troubles. Being searched was a matter of course back then and Arthur told us of when he went to England and wanted to go in a department store, he put his hands up for a search and realized they didn't do that in England.

My first day in Belfast gave me the impression of a lackluster city, but after the last day, I realize that there is an unspoken tension in the air, like any moment it could be over. An expectant, yet hoping it won't happen, feeling.

Ireland (Dublin side) has had just over 100 years to adapt to their independence. It's possible that it may take until 2098 for Northern Ireland to get there too. It also mainly just be Belfast and other cities, because outside of the city, things are quieter.

In any case, there is hope for the future, but there most likely will be bad spots along the way. I could be reading this all wrong. I don’t live here after all.

Belfast Itinerary - Monday, March 27 - Wednesday, March 29