Northern Ireland: Belfast and the North Irish Coast

 

All three of our summer 2022 cruises had port stops in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, so we really got to explore here. For our first visit, we used the HOHO bus to get an overview and see some of the famous sites. As well, we spent some time visiting the city hall, which has a very nice museum. On our second visit, we ventured out on an all day tour of the gorgeous North Antrim Coast. On our final visit, we decided to have the Titanic Experience. I'm glad we had multiple stops here, because Belfast is a great city and the countryside is so beautiful. There is much to do and see here!

During undergrad, Emily had a class on Ireland (both Northern and the Republic), and we learned a good bit about The Troubles from her sharings, as well as from watching assigned films with her. In addition, we had our own memories of those times as young adults. However, our day exploring Belfast gave us an even deeper understanding, especially since our particular HOHO bus had a guide (as opposed to the typical audio) who lived during these times. 

Day 1: Belfast City Tour

On the HOHO tour, I was particularly interested in seeing the International Peace Wall and the murals for which this city is known. 

Sadly, to me, large portions of the Wall where stories and photos previously were found are now covered by graffiti that did not have any visible meaning to me. 

Some portions were more visible. The text on the mural of faces says: It is not those who can inflict the most but those who can endure the most who will conquer. 

Some of the graffiti I could appreciate. This one featured a window and door 'looking through' to the other side of the wall and included this quote from Gandolf in the Hobbit film: Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.

This mural was painted by artist Chris McGuiggan, who has an interesting story, if you'd like to explore further. What I was not expecting to see on top of a peace wall was a lot of protective fencing and barbed wire.

As we drove through the neighborhoods in the vicinity of the International Peace Wall, I was somewhat surprised to see signs of two very distinct communities. The Wall itself has gates which are crossed in order to pass from one community to another. Looking at the murals in the two communities, there was clearly a difference between Unionist and Republican neighborhoods. (Unionist generally aligns with those with Catholic beliefs, while Republican with those holding Protestant beliefs, but characterization as Catholic vs. Republican is a shallow one, not really reflecting the complexity of perspectives and issues within the groups.) 

Welcome to West Belfast tourist center had a very colorful building with murals reflecting traditional Irish culture. The mural I was most interested in seeing was that of Bobby Sands, which is found on the side wall of Sinn Féin headquarters.

Of all the films about the Troubles, the 2008 Steve McQueen film Hunger, starring Michael Fassbender, is the one that affected me the most. I highly recommend it. 

A couple other walls from this neighborhood.

Contrasting scenes from a nearby neighborhood.

As an outsider, it felt to me more like a truce than peace in this little microcosm of Northern Ireland. It must be extremely difficult for people on both 'sides' to move beyond the pain of lost loved ones, split families, and other tragedies. But what is the alternative? Sadly, I saw multiple parallels between trends and events in this history and those currently happening in the United States. I dread the thought of experiencing civil war and internal terrorism, particularly for our young people, and I never dreamed this would be a possibility in our democracy. 

Enough to ponder there and best to move on to less heavy sights and experiences in Belfast. 

As we approached and crossed the River Lagan, heading toward the Titanic Quarter, we saw two nice sculptures. Beacon of Hope, 2006, is found at Thanksgiving Square, at one end of the pretty Queen's Bridge (after Victoria, who visited Belfast and opened the bridge in the mid 1800s). It has become an iconic image for Belfast. Bigfish, 1999, is a mosaic sculpture commissioned to celebrate the regeneration of and return of salmon to the river. It has a time capsule inside!

Approaching this area, my eyes were drawn to the enormous H&W cranes in the shipyard, which are nicknamed Samson and Goliath. To give a sense of the scope, the Statue of Liberty could fit under either of them!

This area also had the impressive structure housing Titanic Experience (more on that later) and Titanic Studios. The latter is one of the largest film studios in Europe, and it is especially known for being a primary filming location for Game of Thrones. Northern Ireland is a hopping place for film and television production! 

Belfast has a great deal of beautiful architecture. Queen's College was gorgeous.

I also liked the contemporary, colorful Computer Science Building on the campus.

St. Paul's Catholic Church and St. Thomas Church (part of Church of Ireland)

I tried my best to get a shot of the big Anglican cathedral, St. Anne's, but all my attempts were thwarted. I did, however, get the most important shot I wanted - this Celtic cross is the largest in Northern Ireland.

The Europa is a 4-star hotel that has hosted dignitaries, celebrities and regular folk (Emily stayed there on her study abroad journey and said it's very fancy). It is also the hotel in Europe that has been bombed the most times, amazingly with not one death. 

A couple more architectural examples.

Belfast City Hall was a real beauty! The sun and warm temperatures brought a lot of locals out to enjoy picnics and sunbathing on the grounds. This public space also has a nice (free!) museum inside.

Inside there are several stained glass windows with different themes. The first example, The Dockers' Strike Centenary Window, commemorates this strike of 1907 where workers of different beliefs came together in unity, eventually resulting in the trade workers' union. The inscription captures the theme: Not as Catholics or Protestants, Not as Nationalists or Unionists, But as Belfast Workers Standing Together. The second example, The Famine Window, honors Belfast citizens who died between 1846-1848. 

A sampling of interesting items from the museum. Ceremonial Cinema Keys, granted when new "Picture Palaces" opened, of which there were many in Belfast. A cool connection from the past to the current in the arena of film! A time capsule that will be opened in a few years. A chess set whose pieces are various passengers that were on Titanic.

One final Belfast landmark we passed: The sculpture RISE. What I found amusing was its nicknames (due to its location near Falls Road and the A12 Westlink): Balls on the Falls, The Testes on the Westes, and Westicles. There's some local color!

Day 2: Northern Ireland Coast and Giant's Causeway

We really wanted to see the Coast and Giant's Causeway, but since we booked the trip pretty late, the ship excursions were all full. Just as well, as we were able to find a group to join for a small, private tour that was less than the cost of ship excursion. Yay! So six of us joined local guide Keiron for a fantastic "Game of Thrones" tour. GoT has many filming locations in Northern Ireland, and while we know nothing about the show, we didn't feel having that as a focus would be an issue. In fact, it was fun to watch the other two couples be so thrilled with every place we were visiting -  all beautiful! 

Our group in GoT garb. Costumes and props! At Barbican Gate to Glenarm Castle.

In addition to tours and other taxi services, Keiron spends a good deal of his time as a driver for film and television productions. He was a driver for one of the GoT stars, so his knowledge and personal photos (sorry, can't share those) were fantastic. Keiron was also a driver for our favorite show filmed in Northern Ireland, Derry Girls! He was excited that we were big fans, had some great photos and stories, and told us there was a surprise for us in Season 4, which just released on US Netflix and we recently watched. He was right!

Just a tad off topic, but I had to share my favourite Derry Girls moment ... Rock the Boat! A line dance to one of the best disco songs! I wasn't at all familiar with this, but have since checked with my UK friends. They confirm that this was a popular event dance, although some recall it being "danced" to Oops Upside Your Head. I really want to do this line dance!

First Stop: Carrickfergus Castle, c. mid 1100s, is an imposing Norman castle that has been besieged by many different countries. It is considered one of the best preserved medieval structures in Ireland.

 

Ballygally Castle is a 17th century structure that now serves as a spa and hotel. I couldn't get a good exterior shot, so a few details in photos above. (Up the stairs is a haunted room!) The castle has a beautiful view of Ballygally Bay.

Ballygally is home to one of the GoT doors. It depicts the House Stark vs. House Bolton Battle of the Bastards. I didn't really understand the significance of the doors until later in the tour, but it was very pretty with beautiful workmanship. 

Next, a short scenic drive to our next destination, Steensons, makers of fine jewelry for 40 years, and jewelry makers for GoT. Inside one can see several pieces from the show, as well as watch the craftspeople at work. John was especially interested in the latter, as the jewelry-making is very similar to the production of dental prosthetics. When he said he was a former dental technician, one of the jewelry-makers said, "Me too!" and came out to chat with him.

Do any GoT fans recognize the jewelry pieces?

Glenarm Castle, Barbican Gate. A very scenic place for photos.

Onward to the charming fishing village of Carnlough. Keiron had a local food specialty for us to sample, dulse, a high-protein edible seaweed. This food helped coastal people survive during the potato famine.

We also learned about avian war hero, Paddy, which was a nice linkage back to our trip to Normandy earlier in the year. Very interesting!

For the GoT fans, this is the spot where Arya Stark scrambles up the harbour steps and escapes into Braavos after having been attacked by the Waif. Do you recognize it?

More gorgeous landscapes, including a photo stop at filming location for GoT Runestone.

Next, we approach Ballintoy Harbour, another magnificent vista, and an important GoT filming location.

Hauling the props for our photo shoot, LOL!

Do GoT fans recognize the vistas?

A quick pop by the Fullterton Arms to see Door 6: Drogon. 

Ballintoy Beach aka The Iron Islands

And we made it to Giant's Causeway! This natural wonder is Northern Ireland's sole UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

I don't know what John and I were thinking? We decided to walk down, instead of taking the shuttle. While this made for some nice photos along the way, by the time we got to the basalt columns, we were exhausted. Definitely took the shuttle back!

Emily visited here in January 2014 and ventured out onto the columns and to the Wishing Chair. Oh to be able to experience these places as a young person, very fortunate!

En route to our final destination, we had a  brief photo stop at Dunluce Castle. This medieval castle has been home to many clans, and it serves in GoT as Seat of House Greyjoy, the great castle of Pyke.

Our last tour stop, and my favorite, was the Dark Hedges. This is an avenue of beech trees that form a tunnel. Keiron dropped us off at one end, where we were able to walk through and enjoy all the beautiful scenery. This location serves as Kingsroad in GoT. In 2016, many of the trees were destroyed in a storm. Wood from these trees were used to create the doors (two of which we saw on the tour) representing actions from season 6 of the series. This was a really lovely spot to end our tour.

Day 3: Titanic Experience

This was John's choice, and I was lukewarm about it. However, it turned out to be really interesting! 

Everything is on a grand scale here. Can you find us in the photos?

It's called an 'experience' rather than a museum, I think because there are a lot of interactive parts. I liked how certain real people were highlighted throughout the exhibit, and then you discover at the end whether or not they survived. There were also stories about famous people. These made the story of Titanic more personal. 

Stories of heroes and a lifeboat example.

This woman had tickets to watch the departure. She kept her ticket stub and made notes related to Titanic's voyage and tragedy.

These were sobering to explore. There were also audio recordings in this area.

There is a ride that takes one through the construction of the ship. Here you can get a sense of the scope of building, as well as what the conditions must have been like.

Samples of life on board.

More info on Samson & Goliath, and a nice view from upstairs.

The area behind me is where Titanic was launched.

There is a great display and film about the exploration efforts on the wreckage. Robert Ballard, a marine archaeologist and oceanographer, discovered the Titanic wreckage in 1985. 

At the end of the experience, an analysis of the causes. As in many tragedies, greed and cowardice lead to more lives lost than necessary. You can research some of the names mentioned for more insight.

We were supposed to meet up with our friends Roberta and John in Belfast during our failed 2020 trip. They are, in fact, right now in Northern Ireland as I complete this blog. I am glad that we all eventually got to make this trip, and I hope to return and visit more of this lovely area in the future!