Day 13 – Belfast, Northern Ireland

Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, suffered the worst of “The Troubles,” the well-known conflict between the Protestants and Catholics in Ireland. Over several decades, more than 3000 people from both sides died. To the outsider, the animosity between the two groups is not seen, but to older Belfast residents, the causes remain just under the surface. At the time of the so-called ceasefire, a wall was constructed between the Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods. One section, over 1,000 feet long, is called the Peace Wall and is covered with dozens of hand-painted murals, one of the main attractions for tourists. Another landmark of The Troubles is the Hotel Europa, arguably the most-bombed building in the world, the victim of nearly 40 explosions over the years.

Prosperity seems to be everywhere, with cranes visible all over the city and all phases of construction evident. The Victorian tower with the copper spire is the hallmark of a new indoor shopping mall. The newest and best sit side-by-side with 18th Century beauties like Queen Victoria’s Opera House below. The tallest Celtic Cross in the world is on a church, with a modern stainless steel spire just as tall as the cross. And, yet, other salvageable and historic buildings in the city wait for someone to care about them and re-build.

While we waited downtown for a tour bus, a Catholic parade scheduled for mid-morning generated an enormous amount of police presence to counter any Protestant violence that might erupt. In all, around 40 marchers and 10 protesters showed up, outnumbered several times by police and anti-terrorism forces.

Since you are free viagra online nothing but a collection of beliefs, they better are well formed. With the help of viagra prescription amerikabulteni.com the knowledge gained from this study, he aims at curing sexual disorders and dysfunctions. These diseases include stroke, Alzeimer, sclerosis etc. order cialis overnight http://amerikabulteni.com/tag/new-york-jets/ The medicine is also made for enhancing the erection and long term duration of the period as there are high chances that the medicine causes positive purchase cialis online Check Out Your drugshop level erection for a period of 4 to 5 hours.
In an earlier post from Galway, I mentioned the “Euro and a half” store, similar to our dollar stores. Not to be outdone, the Belfasters have their own version, poundworld.

If you haven’t noticed yet, we love castles! Belfast was no exception, and had a beautiful castle and an attached garden that rivals some of the best in the world.

Tomorrow is a travel day between Belfast and Dublin, and nothing looks too exciting on the maps, so probably no big assortment of pictures. After a day wandering around Dublin, though, I’m sure we’ll have something to show you. The day after that, we’re off to London! Stay tuned!