We're told religion may be the overt reason for the marches -- and for The Troubles or the Recent Unpleasantness, as the violence and civil unrest that tore the city, and Northern Ireland apart for so long is called -- but the real issues have more to do with prejudices that lead to people being denied jobs or housing. Amazing how often religion is used as a front for decidedly nonreligious actions.
We don't start with The Troubles. Best to see some of the more appealing -- and some of the more hopeful -- portions of the city to begin with.
First stop, Queen's University, a huge institution with beautiful architecture. We'll stop for a photo op there. This will be one of those times when our tour leader will be herding ducks. We have lots of photo enthusiasts who like to take lots of pictures. This will be a continuing issue, but by the middle of the tour we learn that when we hear the bus engine start, we need to wrap up and get on board. The city is full of photographic possibilities, and Sharon and I know we'll be walking about later taking pics of cool stuff we can barely see from bus.
We pass by the Albert Memorial clock tower, dedicated to Prince Albert, which leans about 4 feet off vertical. It's been dubbed The Leaning Tower of Belfast.
We drive along the River Lagan, the major river running through Belfast. The area along the tidal river has been revitalized, featuring several art installations, a river walk, shopping and some great, old buildings, including a ship's chandler and the customs house.
Once the river teemed with Atlantic salmon, then over the years the river declined, the salmon disappeared. Other fish species declined as well. Part of the renewal of the river involved reintroducing fish, including salmon, and the developers succeeded.
The bases of lamp posts on one of the main bridges over the river are adorned with fish. I haven't been able to determine how old the lamp posts are and what the purpose of the fish is, but I like to think they either recall the time when the river teemed with fish or celebrate their return.
Two really cool sculptures also adorn the street. One, the Beacon of Hope, towers above the river. It's a metal frame representation of a woman standing on an orb, arms outstretched and holding a ring. According to Wikipedia, the ring represents thanksgiving, and the orb is a globe representing peace, harmony and thanksgiving.
The other sculpture is the Big Fish, made of ceramic tiles. Each tile has some part of Belfast history, some with newspaper articles old and new, some with photos -- including, of course, the Titanic, which was built here -- some with drawings. One drawing, of a soldier, was produced by a child and is mentioned in several Web articles about the sculpture.
We travel through Cathedral Quarter, aptly named from the presence of St. Anne's cathedral, St. Patrick's church and other churches. St. Anne's is a Church of Ireland cathedral, whereas St. Patrick's is just a Catholic church, but it looks like a cathedral. A huge Celtic cross, constructed in modern times, dominates one side of St. Anne's and will become one of the objects of our afternoon photo quest.
While searching for the cross that afternoon, we wound up standing on a street corner with our city map from the hotel trying to figure out which way to go. An older gentleman came up and asked what we were trying to find. By that point, I'd come to think the cross was located at St. Patrick's, so I told the man we were trying to find that church. He made a face but gave us directions, While he was doing so, he kept stressing that we'd go past St. Anne's and then the church would be just down the street.
 |
| This tile on the Big Fish is taken from a period photo showing the Titanic being built at Harland & Wolff. |
But the cool thing was that after he gave us directions, and I'd repeated them, he walked off a short way, and stood at a crosswalk waiting to cross the road. When the light changed he walked off in the direction he'd told us to go, so I thought he was headed that way. When we reached the last turn onto the road that would take us to our destination, he turned, came back to us and told us to keep heading that way. Then he walked off in the direction we'd all come from. A couple of blocks later, we would see another resident take a poor, lost soul in tow. Nice folks, those Irish.
Back to the tour. We drive into the section of the city that saw most of the strife during the '70s and '80s. The walls that separated Catholic neighborhoods from Protestant still stand, but the checkpoints have been removed or rendered inoperative. Graffiti, from scribbles to sophisticated murals, decorates the walls now, and it's obvious that though the violence and terrorism have largely come to an end, prejudice and division live.
We head back toward the river, passing the SS Nomadic, the last remaining White Star Line ship. The Nomadic sailed until 1968, serving in both world wars and ending up as a tender for a couple of British cruise ships before being bought by a private party. Eventually a preservation group took ownership, restored it and made it into a museum.
Our last stop on the tour was Titanic Belfast. The Titanic was built in the Harland and Wolff shipyard here, so it's a major part of Belfast history. The center opened in time for the 100th anniversary of Titanic's demise. The exhibits are outstanding and even include an amusement park type ride through a replica part of the ship.
 |
| One of the many displays at Titanic Belfast. |
But the place is huge and requires a significant investment of time, far more time than was allotted us by the tour company, one of the shortcomings of doing a tour. We really hadn't caught on to our being able to tell the tour director that we wanted to stay and would make our way back to the hotel on our own. Still, we'd been through a fascinating Titanic exhibit at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, so we didn't really feel cheated. If you're ever in Belfast, block off a day and go. They really have a ton to see and do. And if you can't go, check out their website: http://www.titanicbelfast.com
Back at the hotel, we ask the concierge for a recommendation for a fish and chips place. He took us outside and pointed down the driveway to the corner and said he'd heard good things about the little shop down there.
We went and were not disappointed. The woman who helped us was very considerate to a couple of tourists and recommended that one of us get just fish and the other fish and chips. That would be cheapest, she said, and would be enough for the both of us. Was it ever. A huge filet of fish, probably most of the side of a fish, for each of us and a slew of what we would call steak fries. And it was one of the cheapest meals we had. The back of the shop opened onto a small dining area next to a combination farmer's market and flea market, where we wandered around after we finished our meal.
We purchased a couple of rhubarb bars from one of the vendors -- delicious if you like rhubarb -- and looked at all the offerings. We saw some really strange stuff -- pickled baby octopus, for one -- along with the fresh produce and fish on display. Plenty of food vendors offered a variety of menu selections, and I wondered just what their version of Mexican food was like but didn't try any. Still stuffed from lunch. That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.
Then we headed into the city, spending most of the rest of the afternoon taking pictures of the sights noted on the bus tour, checking out the shops, and having our encounter with the nice old man. From all the wandering about we'd done the night before, and with our handy map in hand, we'd learned enough to make it back to the hotel easily in time for supper. That night, while much of the rest of the tour group went pub crawling, we hung out next to the river for a while, trying to take some nice pictures. Without a tripod, though, I only managed to take a couple of shots that came out well. Then it was up to the room to watch a movie and off to bed, looking forward to another day of adventure.
No comments:
Post a Comment