Down Ireland, back to Holland, coming full circle.

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September 18th 2008

Published: September 25th 2008

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GrantH5185

Where the Titanic launched

It is built over now but about mid way through the picture on the barely visible gray cinder block ramp the Titanic slid into the water.

After Portstewart I took a bus into Belfast, a fascinating city. With it's recent history of terrorism and conflict I was excited to get a feel for the city. While there was still plenty of visible evidence of the past troubles I felt safe the majority of the time I was there (well the hostel was a bit dodgy, and after I booked it I heard some stories about theft, but all was well). As I arrived and eventually tracked down a cafe with wireless internet access I was able to assess the damage down to my bank account by the Pound Sterling's worth against the dollar. The damage was substantial and I decided to make my final plans and prepare for a return to Denver. I booked a flight out of Brussels (so I could see another city before wrapping up this adventure) into Dublin and still found a great price on the flight from Dublin to Denver. Since I only had a day and a half in Belfast I decided to spend the money and take a hop on hop off bus tour, so I could get a good overview of the city as well as some history about

The Thompson Dry Dock

This is where the Titanic received the finishing touches before heading out to meet an ice berg.

the conflicts, but still be able to wander at my own pace. It turned out to be a good move for several reasons, but the first one was getting out to see the actual launching spot of the Titanic! (It wasn't really impressive or well preserved actually, it was just a large cinder block ramp in the distance, but class nonetheless). More impressive was the dry dock where the Titanic had its motors and anchors installed and received its final coat of paint. Belfast was at the time and still is home to the worlds largest dry dock, and its shipbuilding history is storied and rich. As we entered and left the ship yards one of the main sights were two enormous shipyard cranes, named Goliath and Sampson. Now historically preserved monuments the bus guide was quite funny in lamenting that instead of the Eiffel tower or Brandenburg gates or Westminster abbey he has two massive yellow cranes. From there the bus ventured a good ways outside of the city center to see the Parliament building called Stormont. This made the price of the bus tour ticket absolutely worth it as I would have never been able to reach this

Sampson and Goliath

The two massive cranes spanning the world largest dry dock, protected monuments of Belfast. While I was there they were being used to assemble huge wind power generators. You can almost see the turbine blades in the bottom of the picture.

site by foot. There were lovely grounds and an the building was beautiful, but surrounding the building was a very large area of magically beautiful and fairly dense forest with walking trails meandering throughout. After I took the tour full circle of the bus tour I stayed on the next departure and got out and wandered around these forest for several hours. The rest of the tour was an overload of rapid information on terrorist attacks and players from the catholic and protestant factions. We passed impressive wall murals, some commemorating people killed in the horrific exchange of bombs and bullets, and some very worldly and politically themed. I struggled to follow the stories and keep up with history and wished I had more previous knowledge of the situation and events. Later that night and the next day before I left for Dublin I wandered down the two roads most notorious for the warfare, Falls Road and Shankill Road. I found more murals and was truly in awe at the incredible fear and devastation that these people lived with for so long, and marveled at how comfortable I felt in what was once essentially a war zone. As darkness fell

Stormont

A beautiful building perched on a hill outside the city.

I continued to wander into the city center and underneath a brightly lit up ferris wheel glowing over the city hall I heard some enchanting music floating through the air. It turned out to be a BBC sponsored concert and I paused and lingered to listen and watch a boy who couldn't have been more then 13 masterfully play a trombone accompanied by an orchestra. As I slowly left the enchanting music I wandered through a newly developed, incredibly modern semi-outdoor mall, and it was very apparent that Belfast was an up and coming city with a vibrant and rather posh center (still a lot of work to really get things cleaned up, but they are well on their way in Northern Ireland).

From Belfast I caught a quick train down to Dublin, another vibrant bustling city. As I sat in the hostel common area waiting to be able to check into my room a started talking with a group of blokes from Essex, some boys in for a weekend of Irish drinking. We hit it off and I tagged along with them to a pub crawl through the storied Temple Bar after wandering around O'Connel Street with the

Some of the grounds

My camera was being very difficult so I don't have better pictures of the trails, but all around the grounds were great forested areas to roam.

huge Spire and seeing Trinity College and Dublin Castle. There is a 'Temple Bar' but when I say Temple Bar it is referring to more of a pedestrian district with loads of traditional pubs where you can see great traditional Irish dancing and music. We soaked in the culture with some creamy Guinness as we bounced from crowded pub to crowded pub. Usually I get overwhelmed with large crowds but this was a great night. The next day I had quite the scare as I thought I had left my camera sitting out on the table of the hostel. I woke up groggy from the night before and didn't realize I had securely stuffed the camera deep in my bag. I spent half of the day looking under beds and asking people, and even reported it stolen and gave my information to the Garda (a police officer had been called already because money was taken out of several women's purses and I assumed my 'crime' might be related. After acquiescing to the disappearance of hundreds of pictures I began to ready my pack for the plain flight to Holland early the next day, and as I repacked the camera appeared!

Wall Murals

These were along Falls Road, the Catholic Area of Belfast. Mostly politically and worldly charged meanings, very thought provoking.

What a relief (the last blog post would have been terribly boring without all those pictures, especially the Causeway, it is hard to just describe something like that).

I was up early and got to Holland to see Ross and Maruja one last time before I returned to America, and we had an excellent week of laughs and hanging out. I made it to the nice city of Tilburg, and checked out the University there which I am considering enrollment in their graduate program for Economics and Business Administration next year. I really got a good feel from the campus and right now it is definitely my top choice school with its fairly prestigious reputation and connections to the European Union and International Monetary Fund and World Bank (all of which I have potential, if not distant, aspirations to possibly be involved in). The week went quickly as Ross and Maruja's hospitality was again superb. I lingered for some time on Sunday and had one last chat with Luis and Els, Maruja's parents, before catching a train to Brussels for the night. I walked around Brussels after getting off at the wrong stop and wasting some time in a

The old court house

An example of some of the raw feeling that much of the city still had to it as aftermath of the long conflict.

train station outside of the city, and I had neglected to fully charge my camera batteries, so unfortunately I took very few pictures after leaving Dublin. But Brussels was a grand city with very impressive architecture which was aglow from display lights in a misty air that permeated an almost ghostly yet comforting feel. I bought a few Belgium chocolates and a cone of Belgium fries and took as much as could of the last new city I would be seeing on this adventure.

As I returned to my hostel and drifted to sleep a feeling of calm and contentment came over me as it seemed like everything had come together, and I felt fuller and confident, and ready to return to my parents and a few of the comforts that home offers. An early morning and the full day of check ins, layovers, air port security and small airplane seats (totally lucked out on the trans-Atlantic flight, no one in the seat next to me, score! So it was actually very pleasant travels, and plenty of time to bask in the glow and memories of all the experiences and friends I had been privileged to come across) brought

More wall murals

This was along Shankill Road, the protestant area, where the murals had more chilling themes.

my back to Denver. I did a little skip as I stepped off of the plane into my native land, and my heart jumped when I saw Mom and Pop waiting there for me as I ascended up the escalator from the concourse trains. It was a real treat to have my Dad there at the airport, we had really connected before I left, and it meant so much to me for him to be there to welcome me back (especially since he had to be up at four in the morning the next day for work! What a great dad!). That night after getting home and having some peaches and cream with the whole family (including sister yay!) my bed felt exceptionally soft, warm, and huge. No longer was I in a rickety, small IKEA bunk bed held together with Allen screws, nor would I have to worry about any lights being turned on, or drunken co-hostelers stumbling in at all hours. I do lament not being out on the road from time to time, seeing incredible new and different things. But home is undeniably nice, and I feel right being where I am. I have learned not to

Powerful murals

There were so many murals through the neighborhoods and on the sides of houses.

try and force the future and have learned to appreciate the present much more, and am excited about the possibilities that lay on the horizon. So I set forth to seize the day and live fully, and I think I am much more prepared to do that now thanks to amazing travels which I will remember and treasure for a lifetime.

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