Ireland: Journey to Belfast

As you probably know, Chris goes over to Cork, Ireland for business at least a couple of times a year. I was lucky to go with him in 2015 and it was probably my favorite trip, even though I did almost all of the sightseeing by myself. Recently he found out he would be going again and we had accumulated enough airline miles, hotel points and rental car points to justify another trip for me to join him! We are extremely grateful to have my parents and Jamie and Drew, who are willing to take over for us on fairly short notice, chaffeuring the kids around and getting them to school. 

The first leg of our journey was a flight to Philadelphia that took off at 12:30 p.m. last Friday, May 4th. I spent the majority of that flight telling the boy behind me to stop kicking my seat while his mother was apparently having some kind of panic episode every time the plan hit the slightest turbulence. I was praying they would not be on our next flight! We had a long layover in Philly, during which we met an older couple from San Antonio who were also headed to Ireland. The next flight took off at 9:30 p.m. EST headed to Dublin, Ireland. Chris and I put our ear plugs in, our sleep masks on, donned our neck pillows and both passed out before the plane even took off! Unfortunately, though, that good sleep only lasted maybe an hour and a half. The rest of the flight I attempted to sleep, maybe dozed off some, but mostly tried to get comfortable in those awful economy seats. We landed just a little before 9:00 a.m. Ireland time, which is six hours ahead of us at home. We picked up our rental car, which was a stick shift because it was what our points would cover, so Chris had a bit of fun trying to get used to shifting left-handed while also focusing on driving on the opposite side of the road! 

Perhaps my planning was a bit ambitious, but nevertheless, we survived the two-hour drive north to Belfast jet-lagged and sleep-deprived. I still enjoyed the scenery and the novelty of entering Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland uses pounds instead of the euro, and they also measure by miles instead of kilometers. It is so strange to see the differences between two countries that, to Americans, are basically the same place.

Our drive Saturday morning up to Belfast

 We stayed in a Holiday Inn in the city centre of Belfast (because, free!) and they fortunately had a room ready for us. We set an alarm and got a nap, then decided to walk the two miles to the Titanic Belfast museum.

 

Chris pointed out the arena where the Belfast Giants ice hockey team plays

Titanic Belfast museum

 We bought our tickets and tried to enjoy the museum, but I would recommend against doing a museum while still overcoming jet lag. It was hard to get too excited about it, and my eyes didn't want to focus to read the information in the exhibits. Still, the unique perspective of seeing the origination of the famous ship was worth the trouble. A lot of the exhibits covered the shipbuilding process, and my favorite quote from back then is, "She was fine when she left here."

On our way back to the hotel, we looked at more sights and found a place to eat, the Irish copy of Chipotle, Boojum.

Harmony Statue represents peace, reconciliation and respect for diversity

Right next to our hotel was this mural of William of Orange, who passed through this area on his way to the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. 

The true significance of the mural, though, is that it was painted in 2012 to cover one of the most famous paramilitary murals in Northern Ireland. The wall used to portray a huge Ulster Freedom Fighters mural, a controversial sight since the UFF murdered more than 250 people during the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland.

The Troubles, or Northern Ireland conflict, began in the late 1960s and didn't end until the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. A key issue was the constitutional status of Northern Ireland: the Unionists/Loyalists, who were mostly Protestant, wanted Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK; the Irish nationalists, mostly Catholic, wanted Northern Ireland to leave the UK and become a united Republic of Ireland with the southern counties. Unfortunately, diplomacy was nonexistant and instead there were riots, British military involvement, police brutality, and the formation of paramilitaries on both sides. The violence led to segregation, the creation of no-go areas, and more than 3,500 casualties. 

Northern Ireland is peaceful now but you still see signs of their violent past. Citizens of the Republic of Ireland still aren't too fond of their northern neighbors but the border is open (no checkpoints or anything!) and people feel safe when traveling in either country. 

Chris and I liked Belfast, even though it felt "rough" with the graffiti and urban environment. Still, we were comfortable walking around the city and everyone we encountered was friendly.

Look for my next post about Sunday in Northern Ireland!