It was with great sadness that we bade goodbye to Ballyliffin, Michael and Levi, and it seemed that the weather was grieving too...
But we had arrangements in Belfast, so all we could do was to dry our tears, shove all our stuff unto the bus that would take us to Buncrana (where we would take a bus to Derry, where the bus to Belfast would be going from...and I thought the bussystem here was tricky) and look forward to the adventures that would be awaiting us.
Once more I had managed to wander straight into a turbulent time in Northern Ireland (we came there on the 1st July). Last summer I had arrived on 12th of July, which is perhaps one of the most important days in the marchingseason, and a day that has a rather bloody history. We knew that there was rioting going on in the eastern parts of Belfast, but luckily we would couchsurf in the southern part.
We were going to stay with a girl named Ursula who was living in Ebor drive, a 100% neighbourhood (protestant that is). We got there in the evening after a long day on the bus, and it felt so good to put down our rucksacks and just have a cup of tea. The evening passed quickly, and since we were going exploring the next day, we went early to bed.
Oh what a sunny and warm day we got for our excursion. We got on the bus downtown, and the first plan was to find something for breakfast. So we ended up outside the cityhall with some sushi's, sandwiches and juice. And there we sat in the sun with no definitive plans for the day, except a vague idea about some museums.Or maybe not...
Outside the city hall there were some strange objects, an artproject about environmentally awareness. A tree made of tires, soles and shoes as the strange, hanging fruit. And all around the hall I found treasures, like a dinosaur, a fish and an earth in the cruel grip of a robot. I'll once more let the pictures speak for themselves
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| A modern fossil |
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| The fish of bottles |
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| The grip of used technology |
Makes you think, don't it?
After eating our breakfast we went exploring, pretending to be anything but tourists. If I remember correctly we got lost a couple of times, but in the end we found what we were looking for: Kelly's
Yep, a pub.....but a pub with a long, crooked and intriguing history. It was reputedly one of the meetingplace of the United Irishmen lead by Henry Joy McCracken and Theobald Wolftone, some of those who played a crucial role in the rebellion of 1798. So before going home to Ursula, we sat down for a while, had a pint and just enjoyed the histories that seemed to seep through the walls.
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| A good advice I would say |
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| Maybe the wish of many? |
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| a little tradsession |
The sun shone down upon us when we walked back home, and tomorrow there would be museums...
*next day*
Exploring Belfast on my own became a fascinating experience, and as I am a habitual person I went straight for the botanical garden and Ulster Museum which I visited last summer.
And what a garden! How could I miss it last year? The greenhouses were in the same style as in Dublin, and they were filled with exotical trees and flowers...and on a sunny day like this: extremely hot to walk around in.
And then I found the rosegarden...few words can describe the colorful sight in front of me, only the song "Red is the rose" sneaks into my mind.
Red is the rose that in yonder garden grows
Fair is the lily of the valley
Clear is the water that flows from the Boyne
But my love is fairer than any
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| Not red, but still a rose |
I even found a rose called "Peer Gynt", named after one of Henrik Ibsen plays....
And just to mention it: my favourite among the roses aren't the bloodred one, but the fragile twocolored one in the picture above...
The perfect contrast to the rosegarden became the cool, white Ulster museum which has wide reputation for its historical exhibitions. But the museum also contains almost everything else, from owls to dinosaurs, paintings and artefacts from around the globe.
At the end of this day my feet hurt a bit from all the walking (I even got lost at one point), but I had seen so much...and was about to see even more.
Because that very evening when we had sat down to watch a movie and talk about our experiences, we were interrupted by some loud noises from the street. Of course we had forgot the whole marchingseason!
To see this take place made me feel somewhat uneasy, but still fascinated as history were being shown right before my very eyes.
So as soon as this was over we quickly retreated back to the couch to watch "An Everlasting Piece"
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