Northern Ireland - Belfast
Original Post: October 24, 2018
When you think of a weekend vacation, the words ‘18 hour day’ probably do not come to mind.
It unfortunately didn’t come to our mind either, until the Sunday morning of October 14 at 5AM - when we were awoken by our alarm telling us that it was time to get ourselves together by 6:30AM in order to catch our bus to Northern Ireland.
We had stayed in Dublin the night before, as the Finn McCools Tours bus planned to take us from the Dublin City Gallery to Belfast, bright and early at 7AM. By 8:15AM, we were already across the border of Northern Ireland!
Our tour guide snapped us out of our morning nap by telling us about the history of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. She explained that ending within the past few decades, there was a strong border patrol that would complete a thorough passport check - holding people up for hours on end. Now, travelers are able to drive straight through the border without showing any form of identification. However, since the U.K. (Northern Ireland) is in the process of leaving the E.U. through Brexit - and the Republic of Ireland will remain in the E.U. - this informal open border may change once Brexit goes into effect.
By 9AM, we were driving through Belfast city, passing many statues, sculptures and buildings that incorporated the history of the ‘Troubles’ between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. We even drove past the ever-so-famous Europa Hotel in Belfast, which opened in 1971 - and has experienced 36 bombings throughout the ‘Troubles,’ making it the most bombed hotel in all of Europe.
The hotel became a place of politics; prime ministers, movie stars and politicians went to the hotel knowing they would receive publicity. Luckily, there were no issues when we drove past!
Our first stop was the Dunluce Castle, built and occupied in the early 16th century on a cliff stretching into the Atlantic Ocean. From here, at one of the most northern points in Ireland, we could see both the Republic of Ireland and Scotland. The castle’s cliff extends so far into the ocean that at one point when people were living in it, the kitchen of the castle fell off the cliff into the water.
The next two hours were spent at the ‘8th Wonder of the World,’ and the most visited tourist attraction in Northern Ireland - Giant’s Causeway. At this site, there are around 40,000 rocks stacked like puzzle pieces, formed almost 60 million years ago. The saying, “Was it Giants, or was it science, that created the Causeway?” developed the myth that the Giant’s Causeway was created by an Irish Giant named Finn McCool as a way to build a land bridge to Scotland. The views all around were unimaginable; the mountains appeared as though they touched both the sky and the sea.
Our tour continued with the Dark Hedges, a long path of trees that was originally put there as a driveway around 300 years ago. A major tourist attraction due to being featured on movies and TV shows - like the Game of Thrones - locals still use the road to walk and drive down daily.
The next stop for our long day was the Titanic Museum, built in the same spot as the original ship. The museum was five stories high and had attractions related to the making of the ship, how many died and survived, posters advertising the titanic, and much more.
One level had an interactive section that made participants feel as though they were on the deck of the ship moving with the waves - without the chance of getting sea sick - taking people through videos and replicas of artifacts from the ship.
A Myths and Reality section focused on how films have perceived the Titanic’s voyage and how they have made viewers feel about the events. It explained that visual illusions such as special effects have created different perceptions of what happened; other perceptions have been shown through relationships portrayed in films relating to wealth and poverty among those on the ship.
Our final stop was Belfast city. We spent an hour wandering around the city center, getting something to eat and strolling through the stores before our bus ride back to Dublin.
Although 18 hour days are typically not the most relaxing way to spend a weekend vacation, it was an incredible way to see and understand the history of Northern Ireland and that of the Republic of Ireland.