Northern Ireland

I'm going to attempt to catch up on a few trips I have taken over the past couple of years, starting with Northern Ireland.

My job necessitates that I travel to Dublin every now and then. Coincidentally in August 16, 2016, the week I had to be there for work, one of my best friends Leah and Joel (who just got engaged by the way -- so excited!!) and Leah's sister and husband (collectively, the Boudreau crew) were also on vacation in Ireland the same week. So I took advantage of the opportunity and flew out the weekend before so that we could explore Northern Ireland together.

I flew into Dublin and took the Aircoach bus to Belfast, it was a cheap and quick way to get from point A to B. After getting to Belfast, the Boudreau crew picked me up and we drove straight to the very top of Ireland, through remote little towns and green meadows (so many in Ireland!) to Giant's Causeway, which is a beach covered with hexagon-shaped rocks and bright green meadows. The rocks give the beach a very mysterious and beautiful feeling. These rocks formed 50 to 60 million years ago, when molten rock was forced up through fissures in the earth to form a lava plateau, erosion then led to the creation of the hexagon rock formations, known locally as 'giants eyes'. A similar type of phenomenon can be see on a much smaller and less dramatic scale when a puddle of mud dries up and cracks into hexagon shapes. We spent a lot of time meandering around the beach, taking pictures and examining the view from different vantage points.

It was so windy that day!

Thanks for letting me crash your weekend Boudreau girls!

After Giant's Causeway, we headed to our hostel, which unfortunately I would never recommend to any travelers due to its abundant mold, but hey -- its the company that matters. We entertained ourselves by playing card games in a nearby bar and drinking Guinness -- a perfectly Irish evening!

The next day, we drove back down to Belfast and took one of the common "taxi tours" through the city, but first let me explain the background here. Belfast was the perfect example for me of how travel expands your knowledge and perspective. Maybe I missed that day in history class in high school or didn't pay attention to that part of the news when I was younger, but I was essentially unaware until visiting Belfast of the long, violent crisis in Northern Ireland (referred to as 'The Troubles'). Here is a short history lesson:

Between 1969 and 1999 the world watched in despair as Northern Ireland was wracked by unrest and violence that bordered on civil war. This three decade period is euphemistically referred to as ‘the Troubles’. Trouble had in fact been brewing in Northern Ireland for generations. Conquered by the English and divided in 1920, Ireland’s historical wounds had never fully healed. Northern Ireland evolved into a self governing member of the United Kingdom. Its population, however, was strongly divided along political, economic and religious fault lines. On one side stood Unionists and Loyalists: Protestants who identified as British and were determined to maintain British sovereignty over Northern Ireland. On the other side were the Nationalists, a Catholic minority who had endured decades of political and economic discrimination. These sectarian divisions were a potent recipe for conflict and disaster.

The taxi tours in Belfast are guided by taxi drivers that were often involved in The Troubles in some way, and they bring you to various sites around the city to provide a day long history lesson of the city's troubled past: the protestant and catholic sides of town, the "peace walls" that are still in place today to separate the 2 sides, the murals paying homage to leaders of the conflict, or individuals who passed away as a result of some violence during these years. It was eye opening to learn about such a terrible time in Ireland's history that I was previously unaware of. The sad part is that although the crisis is largely considered over now, tensions are still 100% apparent and there are still 108 walls across Northern Ireland today. The topic of Brexit is also bringing new dynamics to old wounds.

In memory of some individuals who died during The Troubles, on the Irish side

Signing the Shankill Road peace wall in Berlin

 

After the taxi tour, I headed back to Dublin while the Boudreau crew journeyed elsewhere in Ireland. I spent the rest of the week at work, but managed to squeeze in a brief walk downtown to see some of the unique buildings in town. Until next time Dublin! I'm looking forward to exploring more of this country one day.

Eat: No where particular, but a trip to Ireland would not be complete without fish and chips and Guinness!

Stay: Definitely not the hostel we stayed at! But in downtown Dublin for work I have stayed at both the Marker and the InterContinental, both great, standard hotel options.

Play: Giant's Causeway, the taxi tour in Belfast, take a walk downtown into the Trinity College yards