Destination #31 - Belfast, Northern Ireland

I must say Belfast wasn't really on my radar before coming over to the UK and I became even more disinterested when my friend Robyn visited the city and told me about it. However, I have always wanted to see the Giant's Causeway which is on the northern coast of Northern Ireland. It wasn't until my good friend Sarah invited me up to Dublin for a couple of days that I had the idea to go to Belfast afterwards.

Friday afternoon and I was on a bus towards the city where the Titanic was born. I had just spent an amazing couple of days in Dublin with a few friends from the wonderful city of Vancouver and a few Irish beauties. I had local to show me around this time so it was very different to the last time I was in Dublin. I arrived in Belfast in the late afternoon and would have to wait until later that night to receive Nicole, Sasha, and Dan.

After checking into the hostel, I took a long walk over to one of Northern Ireland's Peace Walls.
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A brief history of Belfast & Northern Ireland

From what I understand there has always been a great deal of conflict between those wanting Northern Ireland to be part of the Republic of Ireland (normally Catholics) and those wanting Northern Ireland to remain with the United Kingdom (normally Protestants). A period called "The Troubles" lasted from the late 1960's to 1998 where an insane amount of violence between both sides took place. Even though an agreement has been made as of 1998, there is still some lingering violence. To prevent some of the violence, peace walls were constructed to separate neighbourhoods of loyalists and republicans.

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It was getting dark and as I turned onto the road where this peace wall began, I almost started walking back. It appeared I had to pass two large barbed wire fences to continue on this road. Both were open but I felt like I was entering a prison. Once I passed them, I started to walk along the massive wall. Like the Berlin Wall, it was covered in some cool graffiti and artwork but unlike the Berlin Wall, it was still active. On my right was a neighbourhood which I realise now would've been the Protestant British side of Belfast. It was extremely eerie and I definitely felt out of place here. I think luckily I was on a main road so there was lots of cars driving by but at this point, it was dark and I decided to head back. Even though it was sketchy, I like to think it was part of the Belfast experience!

On Saturday - now joined by the other three - we took a tour over to the Giant's Causeway, my main point of interest. Our bus driver/tour guide was quite informative and made sure to keep us interested (awake rather) the entire journey. Additionally, we stopped at Bushmill's Whiskey Distillery, Dunluce Castle, and the Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge. Even though it was cold and windy, we got super lucky with the weather. The Giant's Causeway was stunning and I would definitely recommend it to anyone. After all, it is one of the natural wonders of the world! That night, we went to one of the oldest pubs in Belfast and enjoyed a few pints of Guinness.

The next day, we got up early and ventured over to the Titanic museum. I'll admit, it wasn't that worth it, especially for the steep price to pay to get in. Afterwards, we got some brunch at this trendy restaurant. Our main reason for stopping was to get some Irish coffees.

Sasha: "4 Irish coffees please!"
*Waitress writes it down and walks away*
*Waiter brings tray of 4 Irish coffees and starts setting them down*
Waiter: "Can tell you guys aren't from here." *laughs*
Me: "Why do you say that?"
Waiter: "Because nobody from Northern Ireland orders Irish coffees."

So everyone drinks Guinness here but nobody drinks Irish coffee!? I can see the identity crisis clearly now Northern Ireland.

Before heading back to London, I took the three over to the peace wall I saw on Friday. This is how you know the wall is still active: the gates were shut because it was Sunday. We did take another route though so they got to see it after all.

Confusing as it should be, Northern Ireland had it's mix of Irish and British. In my opinion, it should be with the rest of Ireland. I am astonished that in the year 2016, these peace walls are still standing. How can a conflict that originated over 40 years ago still be a conflict? Because of this, I found Belfast extremely fascinating with it's history still being current news. I most likely wouldn't visit again but that is not to say I wouldn't recommend it. I enjoyed my time and I think it is an interesting visit. The city needs to get with the times though.

Giant's Causeway

Peace Wall, Belfast