Our first excursion had us catching a 5:40 am bus to Dublin so we could make our tour that was leaving at 7 for Belfast and the Giant's Causeway. Our tour guide was this Irish treasure of an elderly woman who was filled with all sorts of jovial energy. She started our tour taking us through the ghost town that remained of the rapid expansion and decline of the Irish economy in Dublin telling us how she hates the banks because they are only made to rob and steal! She was wrought with little gems like these throughout our journey and was one of the best tour guides I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing.
The first stop we made was in Belfast at the home of the infamous Titanic. The Irish however will tell you that it was fine when it left their hands! It was rather impressive to see the huge cranes that were still standing (affectionately named Sampson and Goliath) which were the key construction tools for the great cruise ship. Even the building that the museum is designed to look like the Titanic. Pretty splendid looking architecture!
Once we left the Titanic museum we headed in to downtown Belfast. The city is in its 16th year of peace after the "Troubles in the North" where many loyal to the British Crown waged war against those who wanted a united Ireland. We could still see the abandoned military checkpoints in place where people were searched street by street. Walls were put up to divide the city by points of view. Although the brunt of the Troubles are done today, there are still protests on a semi regular basis. Unfortunately many people also left during the war to escape the violence and have yet to return. Here are some pictures from one of the walls that was eerily reminiscent of the Berlin wall.
Our tour guide lived in Belfast and was able to give us several first hand accounts of the horrors experienced during the Troubles. She remembers watching the news one day as the reporter sadly informed that a group of men, women, and children had been rounded up and shot by people impersonating police officers. These were people who had done nothing wrong and were simply going about their business but happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It amazed me how a conflict like this could be so new to me. I knew there were issues between the North and the Republic, but I never had any idea as to the magnitude of the problems. We continued motoring along until we were in downtown Belfast. Fortunately the city is in great condition and had numerous shops for us to stop in for lunch.
The next stop on our journey was Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge. This bridge is located on some spectacular looking cliffs, but also is what seems to be the world headquarters for wind. The bridge was closed due to these crazy winds but we were still able to walk about and see the cliffs. I can only imagine trying to cross that thing when there was only one handrail back in the day! The freezing wind bit through everything and at times made it difficult to make a normal face for pictures. However the view from atop these cliffs was amazing and you could even see Scotland off in the distance!
As we battled the wind back to the bus, we nearly toppled over before finally diving behind the bus for protection. Then it was off to Giant's Causeway. There is a bunch of Irish folklore about the causeway and giants such as Finn McCool, but basically what it is is a series of perfectly geometrically shaped rocks that stretch out into the sea. These were the result of volcanic activity hundreds of years ago that made these impressive structures. Upon arriving, we were told that because we didn't get to see the rope bridge, there would be a surprise in store for us. Nobody quite knew what it was, but Rachel and I, being the scholars we are, decided to read our tickets and saw were were given "member" tickets instead of general admission. This meant we could take the shuttle bus down to the causeway and skip the half mile walk through the cold weather. The rest of our group didn't seem to figure this out and ended up either paying for the shuttle or walking down themselves. Amateurs.
After a delightfully full day, it was time to head back to Dublin. When we arrived back in town we decided to go get dinner at a pub. When we walked in it couldn't have been a more stereotypical Irish pub. People were doing jigs and singing jovial tunes of all sorts as they drank their Guinness. Since there was no room on the first floor, we went up the back stairs to the second floor. A floor that was completely dark except for the Italians watching a futbol match in the corner. We grabbed a table and ordered our food as we began to people watch. We soon came to notice that a number of people wearing black were beginning to setup for what we were told was a private function. They told us we were more than welcome to stay if we chose to tho. Little did we know at that time, but we had been backhandedly invited to a goth party. I decided we should probably roll out before the festivities began so I downed both our Irish ciders and made quick work of my fries as we headed back to Maynooth to rest up for our next adventure.
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