Belfast

Northern Ireland is our next stop. It took me quite awhile to realize that Northern Ireland is a completely different country from Ireland. Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom while Ireland is not.

We didn’t dock until 11am today—very unusual. I think it was probably because of the tides. Anyway, we had a free shuttle to take us into town and we hopped on to the hop-on/hop-off bus. The primo-position for picture-taking on the bus is up on the top deck back in the open air. But when it’s cold and raining—not so primo!

The Belfast tour was pretty long. The beauty of the land was apparent as we got near the Parliament. It was very green & the houses were very expensive looking. As we went to another spot the view changed. We saw the huge “peace” walls that separated the Protestants from the Catholics. We saw the big yellow gate that still closes every evening around 7:00 PM locking residents in or out. We saw the murals that fill the walls of Shankill Road. These murals are filled with Unionist symbols or in memory of bombing victims of the past. With the cold wind, the dark clouds overhead it was a very, gloomy and depressing drive. We couldn’t wait to depart from the bus!

The bus did a lot of “flying” down the highway—brrrrrrrr. But much of the tour and much of the commentary was about the “Troubles” they have had here. We drove by many parking lots only to realize that they once were buildings. We saw the Hotel Europa that has the glory of being the most bombed hotel in Europe. Lots of sad places and lots of sad stories. But their main message today is that they have moved beyond all of that. But with segregated schools (Catholic or Protestant) it would be hard to see how this could happen. Or at least they are hoping they have moved beyond that.

Europa Hotel-most bombed in Europe

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