Blogs from County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, Europe - page 5

Leaving Derry, we headed north up to the coast. Our first stop was the Giant’s Causeway where Susie, Brooke, Sam and I took the scenic route along the cliff for some amazing views. The Causeway is actually a set of rocks all shaped hexagonally that originally stretched all the way to Scotland until the seas rose leaving Ireland as an island apart from Britain. This has given rise to several myths about how the Causeway was created. The main one being there were two 'champions'. One of Scotland and one from Ireland. Finn McCool, a 6 foot 2 man from Ireland and a 10 foot giant from Scotland, both who couldn't be defeated by anyone in their own countries. So when the Scottish giant heard of Finn, he built the causeway across to Ireland to find ... read more

I haven't done a whole lot of traveling yet (that is changing very soon) but one of the places I did get to go was the city of Belfast. The city was different than I expected given it reminded me so much of an American city. The city still had plenty of sites and history (which is almost more important to me) but it still came off as extremely modern and American. This trip was also the first time I stayed in a youth hostel. Now I wasn't expecting 1st class accomodations (there weren't any) but overall I enjoyed the experience. For 9 pounds ($18) a night you can't complain about too much. Although one of the girls who traveled with us is not used to those kind of accomodations and ended up being very entertaining ... read more

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 ... read more

I cannot believe it. Well, it has been a little more than a month since I left Nashville and arrived in Derry, Northern Ireland. Now, I have started this blog to share my experiences and photos. Hopefully, I will update this blog regularly. Enjoy, my photos from the past month. Photos include my time in Belfast, my second trip to Belfast, Derry, Portrush, the Causeway coast, and one night in Coleraine. Enjoy.... read more

I had not planned an posting another entry to this blog until Thursday or Friday of this week. However, due to some recent events here in Northern Ireland I felt it necessary to share with you what has happened over the past couple of days. Monday morning I awoke to my usual cup of coffee and reading of the BBC news on its website. I was taken aback when I found a report of unrest in Derry. This caught my eye as I was there only two weeks ago. In the early hours of Sunday rioting broke out in the city center. It was eventually put down by the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland). It is quite interesting as the news services here have yet to give a detailed account of what happened, so what ... read more