Belfast, Northern Ireland & The Troubles

After a 'much too short' journey across the Firth of Clyde, we arrived in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.  Remember that Northern Ireland, which includes Belfast, the largest city as well as some smaller ones, is part of the United Kingdom.

Because these students had not been born during the time of 'the struggles' and because most had not yet studied British history at all, we took some time for a bit of historical review before our city tour of Belfast.

We actually arrived in the evening, checked into our hotel, had dinner, and then took an evening walk. The light was pretty low, so nighttime photos of much quality were few and far between. It was also very cold and damp which meant that hands stayed in the pockets and not on the shutter!

Enjoy the quick tour of Belfast with us. Future posts will address the Murals, Belfast Cathedral, Parliament, and the Titanic.

Off to the hotel on our new touring bus. This one has no tables, but it surely is luxurious! We could also pull the drapes and block out the late afternoon sun.

Belfast had some of the most unusual sculptures, mostly very modern in style. They all have nicknames as well, so one statue can be known by many names. This one is actually the "Beacon of Hope" but is generally called "The Thing with the Ring." Made of steel and bronze, the ring is one of thanksgiving and the base is a globe which represents a universal theme of peace and harmony. (She is also called the Harmony Sculpture) She is actually a light silver color and is stunning when lit at night.

We found the people in Belfast to be quite friendly but were cautioned not to discuss religion. The tensions from the past still are like fresh wounds today, even though most of the population has 'moved on' to work in unity. "The Troubles" were not specifically about religion, but fear of discrimination if things changed seemed to be a huge factor in the strife. It was an interesting struggle, not easy to understand, but it was neat to learn that President Clinton had a lot to do with bringing the conflict to an end. Today Belfast is a calm and peaceful place and tourism is an important part of their economy.

Belfast at night. Overall it was a clean city. Most of what was old had been bombed over the years and much of the area had been replaced with new construction...new since the 1990's. Prior to that most of the building took place during the Edwardian and Victorian eras. Did I mention that the history of Belfast dates way on back to the BRONZE age....think, Vikings and such.  During the Victorian times, Belfast was a huge economic center with shipbuilding, rope manufacturing, and linen production being the main industries. 

By the time we hit our rooms in the evening, we were ready for some real sleep! Our hotel was a Premier Inn and we were so surprised to see from the internet connection that it was a 'Comfort Inn.' It was very modern, unlike the Edinburgh hotel, and had been recently refurbished. A double room turns into a quad like this! Gotta love the European way of travel!

This is the City Hall, both during the night and the day. It is the central piece of architecture in Belfast and everything seems to radiate outward around it. Donegall Square is the official name of the area. 

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This building is being protected and has a 'regeneration' plan. Belfast at one time was a huge economic powerhouse which generated great wealth, so the buildings of course represented that. During the time of "The Troubles' (1960's through the mid 1990's) so much damage was done to the buildings that they were taken down and replaced with that horrible, cheap way of building that was so famous in the 1970's and 80's. That's right...in Europe as well as in America, we had that 'throw it up fast and cheap' architecture that we still deal with today. After "The Troubles" had passed, the people began to realize how much of their great heritage had been lost and they created the Belfast Buildings Preservation Trust to handle the 'refurbishment' and 'regeneration' of many of these old buildings. 

Queen's University actually dates back to 1810 and is currently known as QUB or Queen's University Belfast. We enjoyed seeing the university students running to and from classes, not unlike we see in our own college towns. Queen's is a major research university. It was started as a way to offer higher education to Catholics and Presbyterians, and later to Anglicans. It has quite an interesting history, so click on the link if that kind of stuff interests you.

I love it when students have fun with photos. It helps me remember something about the building too! This is...you guessed it...Belfast Grand Opera House. (Do you see the Phantom?)  You just have to love the arts! The Europa Hotel is across the street (more about that later) and it was extensively bombed in during the Troubles, so of course, the residual effect from those bombings caused damage to the Opera House. It kept operating all the while, however and has now been extensively renovated. It dates back to 1895.
Our bus was parked on the corner and some of the kids received an invitation to step inside and enjoy some of the show while waiting on the bus to return. HOW SPECIAL!

Peace Lines ~ Peace Walls were some of the more interesting things we saw throughout the city. The saying goes that 'good fences make good neighbors' and I suppose that is what they were striving for. Though many of the fences still remain almost twenty years after the end of "The Troubles" there are openings in many places so that you can get in and out of all parts of Belfast. The separation barriers were placed between Catholic(mostly nationalist/Irish) and Protestant(mostly union/British) neighborhoods. This is such a hard concept for us to imagine.  As of 2012 there is now some conversation about removing walls, but it may be one of those things that will take place with 'the next generation.' All in all, it was interesting to see what can happen when people have differences and just can not seem to communicate with one another. 

The famous Europa Hotel does not look like a bombed out mess, but only the lower part of the facade remains today. It is known as the 'most bombed hotel in the world' for having survived 28 bombings during "The Troubles."  Short history for those who are interested... it opened in 1971 on the site of the old Great Northern Railway station. Reporters, dignitaries, etc stayed here when reporting on the trouble in Belfast, so it was a great target for bombings, mostly by the IRA. President Clinton stayed here in 1993. Later that year it was bombed so badly that it was closed and sold for around 4 million pounds (not much money at that time)....the hotel was purchased by the Hastings Hotels Group who spent 8 million pounds on the restoration and reopened it in 1994. In late 1995, President Clinton (and entourage) stayed in 110 rooms and today the suite used by the Clintons is called the Clinton Suite. I am ok with that because he had a lot to do with settling things down over there. :)
In 2008 they updated again and added that 12 story tower and many renovations, keeping only the original facade. I love that they found the old buildings wonderful enough to save...and maybe it can serve to take the people back to a time before The Troubles. 

The kids are helping me to remember the story of this hotel. There were not really any bombs, but I LOVE their improvisations!

Recognize this, anyone? And we thought this was only going on in America. NO....worldwide.

The positive is that they do have freedom of expression - whether you agree with their approach or not.  The kids had different views, but I am not certain that they really have a full understanding of what is going on and why. You kind of have to reach a point where you are paying all of your own bills to totally understand the economics of it all. But....that is another story for another day.
For now
Something lighthearted after all of this heavy thinking

SHOPPING

This will likely not make any sense to anyone except Matt and his friends! I think it was a shop or a business of some sort. I saw several photos but never saw the real thing. 

This looks vaguely like Marks and Spencer which is also called M&S...a store I came to love when in London. We had some serious shoppers on this trip. Thank goodness our numbers were small, or we could never have handled all of the very large suitcases! Though I never promise shopping on these adventures, we always have ladies who make the most of the little free time we give them!

Cheers for POUNDWORLD which is the UK version of Dollar Tree. Everything is ONE POUND! It was a GREAT find!  (Now, that pound was actually $1.60 USDollars)

Yes they invested will in the Northern Ireland economy!

Disney is worldwide too! Disney Store Belfast has fun online ads too!
The kids played dress up in this store.

Government Health Care. Need I say more?

This was fun. Look way into the background and you will see a movie crew. This young man was the 'guard' who was keeping people from walking down the street in front of the cameras. Of course I thought of TMA Alum, Hans Hernke when we saw this action, but I also love it when the kids interact with the locals, and they generally do because they love the accents. (Though no one things they have one, they think WE have one)
I think the movie short was called "About A Man' and it might have been about homelessness. 

Incredible Irish Linens could be found in this store. Lovely!

These are our GPS Girls. They were the youngest in the group, yet they never got lost, always showed up on time, and could go on a short adventure and get back without causing us worry or stress. Your attention to detail, girls, even made 'darts' tolerable !

I am not sure who shot this but my guess is that it was somewhere in the area where we spotted the Occupy tents. Celtic Cross...the Christian Cross with the Circle. I will explain that later. 

Thanks again ladies for the improv! I mean, this is a school trip, so this is quite an appropriate photo....and the end of our brief tour of Belfast. Though the driving tour with the guide was so informational, I think we would all agree that the best way to see any city is to get out and walk it. For future tours, I will include a lot more walking. I recall walking all over London, in the freezing snow and ice, and though I will never forget how frozen feet feel, I could go back to London today and find my way around.
Maybe it is the muscle memory at work!

Today's thought should probably be to communicate clearly. Most people don't mind if you have a different point of view as long as you are willing to listen to their point of view if you want to be heard. I have to remember this with politics all the time! It is easy to truly believe what you believe, but often hard to have somebody bombarding you with 'the other side'....when in reality....they can't see your way any more than you can see theirs. In times like that...just agree to disagree and don't let it ruin a friendship.
This old lady has learned that their are relatively few things in life that are worth the loss of a friendship. While it is true that some friendships might not be the best thing for you if poor life choices are being made, it is also a wise thing to help your brother but be sure that you are working from a firm foundation in your own life.  (Otherwise, like a lot of the buildings we saw, you can be seriously damaged, even if you are not totally destroyed...but total destruction can happen too without a strong foundation.)

Jesus is that kind of friend.
Closer than a brother.
There through thick and thin.
Loves you even if you have trouble loving yourself.
He really has it all....and He gave his own life so that we can live with him eternally.
The Northern Ireland Troubles lasted about two decades.....but eternity.........
.just think about it...eternity with no troubles.
Thank you, Jesus!
John 3:16