After two days of being sick and missing the epic museum, I briefly checked back in for the middle to the end of our lecture, on the 11th day. After a good night’s sleep, I hopped on the bus for Belfast! After we drove for about an hour, we briefly stepped into the Titanic Museum. It felt odd stepping into a place so commercialized by a tragedy, but oh well. We then got to see the room where the plans for the Titanic and some of her sister ships were drafted that was neat
After a quick stop at this lovely place called St. George’s Market in central Belfast. After that, we started our tour and went first to Divis flats, where some of the first deaths of the Troubles happened, one of which was a 9-year-old. Soon after, we went to where some of the first shots of the IRA were fired on the rooftop of a school building at a protestant mob that had gathered to burn down buildings. Following that, we saw the art wall, which was full of pro-Palestine artwork and remembering some of the IRA fallen and those who are still behind bars. We then went to the Garden of Remembrance. After that, we went to the Bobby Sands mural. Who was one of the first people to die during the hunger strikes he also technically founded the Sein Fien party.
After that, we went to the Catholic side of the peace wall, specifically Bombay Street, which was burned down at the start of the troubles, leading to the first erection of the peace walls. We crossed the border to the other side, and the difference was night and day. I’d always heard it was jarring going to the other side, but I never realized how surreal it was. We walked through some other memorials and important locations to the troubles before going back to the center of the city. After getting dinner with a few friends. We packed back into the bus for another fun day of adventures! Belfast was quite a different tone from the rest the trip however I’d love to go again to learn more!
