The Bogside

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Another part of the city I've been able to explore is the Bogside. This may sound familiar because this was a focal point of The Troubles in Derry over the last 35 years being it is an entirely Catholic area and at one time an IRA stronghold (still is depending on who you ask). This is also where Bloody Sunday happened in January of 1972 when 14 unarmed protestors were shot and killed by British troops (what the U2 song is describing). I was looking for a shortcut to get to the walls with a couple of friends when I accidently wandered into this area. This was probably the best mistake I've ever made. There are many enormous murals painted on the sides of the buildings depicting The Troubles which truly are breathtaking. I really am not doing the murals any justice so I will let the photos talk for themselves. Also another really cool thing was the gigantic "Free Derry" sign that is at the entrance of the Bogside. That's me and a couple friends in front of it. About a week after I explored the city I went back down to the Bogside and saw the Bloody Sunday Memorial March which really was amazing. Even though The Troubles are officially over it is still obviously a tense and uneasy situation between the two sides to say the least.

I'm getting details for my Spring Break sorted out and I should be booking my flights tonight. I am staying in Derry for St. Patrick's Day (seems appropriate). Then I am taking a bus with a few friends to Belfast and flying into Amsterdam. We will stay there for a couple days then we will work our way down to either Hamburg, Germany or Geneva, Switzerland where we will stay for a couple days. From there I'm saying goodbye to my friends and meeting my friend from home Alex Joyce in Nice, France. We will stay in Nice for a few days and go between there and Monte Carlo. From there we will take the train to Barcelona, Spain for the last few days of Spring Break. I'm really excited for it and even more excited now that I realized it's only 3 weeks away!

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