European Trip - Ireland

Next stop Belfast, Northern Ireland. My taxi picked me up at 7:30 in the morning from the camping site. I had said my goodbyes to everyone as I set off on my next adventure. I had a ferry boat to catch to the mainland of Scotland. A train was waiting at the station that I would take me a short distance to my next ferry boat. This ferry dropped me off 2 hours later at a small community 20 miles from Belfast. You guessed correctly. I caught another train. After arriving I walked about a mile to the hostel I had reserved. I settled in to rest and relax so I wouldn't spill my first pint of Guinness the next day. Ireland.....the land of Guinness.

Belfast is like any large American city. It has its' modern city center and neighborhoods and an older area called old town. My hostel was sandwiched between the two so it made it easy to explore the old and new. Sadly however there are areas in Belfast that can only be compared to Berlin, Germany before the wall came down. I took a tour called "Black taxi Tour". We passed a hotel downtown that has an unfortunate reputation of being the world's most often bombed hotel. Today it looks like any modern hotel. We then went through and walked around the Protestant area along the wall while our host told us about the bleak history going back to the 17th history. We then went through a gate to the Catholic side. The gate that closes each evening around 10:00. The evenings are still tense times to this day.

The following photos are similar to photos taken along the trip to here. The others are of the areas of Belfast that we should all pray one day see peace and all of Ireland becomes a single united nation at peace.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Some familiar architecture seen in earlier photos.

City Hall

A plate in remembrance of the potato famine. We all wonder how so many people starved because of the five year potato famine. Surely they had enough land to grow other foods. The truth was that they did not. Almost all of the land was owned by the English. They rented the land out to farmers and continued to make available smaller and smaller plots of land for rent so that they could collect more rent income among a larger number of people. The land available was so small that only potatoes could bare enough food to feed the family. Around 4 million people lived on the island at its peak. Following the famine the population fell to 2 million. The island still has not recovered.

It is time to get my first Guinness in Ireland. Does Guinness taste better here than anywhere else in the world? Stay tuned to find the answer.

These are murals and graffiti along the walls. I will allow each to speak for itself.

Homes next to the wall have screens to protect from things thrown over the wall.

Now to move onto more positive points of interest. I will also let this photo speak loudly for itself.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND.

Next stop is Dublin, Ireland. Yes indeed, another train ride and new Hostel. The highlight of the next stay is the world famous tour of the Guinness brewery. This is where man comes like Mecca to seek the truth. Does Guinness taste better in Dublin than anywhere else in the world?

Life in the Hostel

The largest free standing sculpture in the world. It was built to celebrate the beginning of the new millenium. It was finished in 2003. I was not the project manager. It would have been finished on time and on budget had I been there in charge. :)

A beautiful sight to behold. Here is how they pour a real Guinness. Fill the pint about two thirds full and let it sit for five minutes. Then fill it to about 90% capacity and again let it sit for a few more minutes. Last fill the glass and hand it to the customer who should let it sit another two minutes before taking that first wonderful sip. In a hurry? Buy a bottle of Coors Lite.

In memory of Oscar Wilde. Here sitting on a bench enjoying the day.

I took an all day tour to the southwestern coast to visit Galway and the cliffs of Moher.

One of the unique birds that can be found on the island.

And know the tour.

After drinking too much Guinness, you can stagger only a few feet to the church to ask for forgiveness.

A must stop when visiting Dublin.

Finally, let us not forget about Irish Whiskey. Here I discovered a new Irish whiskey. Power's. The 12 year old is perfect. Try it.

Well that is all. All four countries have been covered and my time there has been shared with you. I hope that some of you can visit these spots some day. I encourage everyone to use every opportunity they have to travel the world. It is truly an eye opening, learning and enjoyable experience that should not be missed.

Almost forgot. The jury is in and ready to report their findings. Does Guinness taste better in Ireland than anywhere else in the world? The answer is a positive YES!

Until next time, be safe out there. Tomorrow I return to my boat. What new adventures await me there?