Exploring Europe: Part 1- Wales

Sunday I went to Wales, but first a quick recap of my week since my last post:

Thursday I had a field trip to Dáil Éireann, the Assembly of Ireland, which is the lower house of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature).  The building a nice architecture, but it wasn't as impressive at Stormont was in Northern Ireland (probably because of the British influence).

On Fridays this half of the semester I have no class, so I just had a very relaxing day.  I slept in for the first time in a few weeks, which was really nice.  My friend and I then planned our trip to Holyhead, Wales.

We decided to go the next day, but because we used the same computer to buy both of our ferry tickets, for some reason the computer system combined them.  So, after getting up at 6:45 am Saturday to catch the ferry, we find out that not only did we miss the ferry (my conformation email didn't say we had to get there 30 min early), but that my reservation didn't exist.  So we changed out reservations to the next day.

I was really tired after that, but I knew I had some shopping to do for my internship, which starts right after I get back from Italy and France.  So I went into the City Centre and boought a few things from Penneys (aka Primark, aka the greatest store ever- I just found out the only Primark in the US is in Boston.  I am so freaking excited), and Easons (a bookstore- I bought a lunchbox and container with an ice pack so I can bring lunch to work).  Later, I got Japanese food and ice cream with my friend.

Sunday, I got up even earlier and this time we made the ferry! And our reservations were all good.
For whatever reason they made us get first class on the way there, so we got complimentary food and drinks.  The ferry is about two hours from Dublin port to Holyhead, which is on the Isle of Anglesey, and I slept a good portion of the way.

When we got to Wales, we took a taxi to South Stack, which is a small island off the coast of Anglesey.  It is famous for its lighthouse, which unfortunately is closed this time of year.  We hiked on the Anglesey Coastal Path, which took us to around the island, giving us really nice views of Holyhead.  We also went to Elin's Tower, a landmark near the lighthouse.  We hiked up and down a really tall mountain.  Because I dressed in layers, by the end I had 3 jackets/fleeces tied around my waist.  I clearly blended in well with the locals (#American).

Lighthouse in the background.

Elin's Tower

The mountain we hiked up.

Me at the top.

View of Holyhead from the Summit.

Then we looked at these really old circular settlements.  They're called the Tŷ Mawr Hut Circles, and date from the 3rd and 4th centuries.

One of the Tŷ Mawr Hut Circles.

We then went to a nearby farm (maybe trespassing?) to try to get near some sheep (the sheep are like they are in Ireland- everywhere!), but they ran away from us and made loud baaa-ing noises.  We also went to a beach, but it wasn't very accessible.  It was pretty, though.

The beach

We then left South Stack to go back to Holyhead to catch our return ferry.  We were only in Wales for a few hours, but I still had a really nice time.  I hadn't planned on going to Wales while I was here, but I'm glad I did.  Also, this was my first time in Great Britain (and second time in the UK)!
By the time I leave Europe in December, I'll have gone to all 4 countries in the UK.

I have two finals this week- my Ethics in Healthcare class tomorrow and Contemporary Irish Society class on Thursday.  I then have my mid-semester break!  So this will likely be my last post before I leave for Italy and France.  I'm so excited!

Exploring Ireland: Part 3- Northern Ireland!

Last Thursday, we had an academic field trip to Northern Ireland, which, while geographically connected to the Republic of Ireland, is part of the United Kingdom.  We left fairly early in the morning (or early for me, at least.  I had to get up at like 7).  We got to Belfast, the capitol of NI, and went on a walking mural tour.  In Belfast, the Catholics and the Protestants work, eat, and drink at the same places, but live on opposite sides of the city, separated by a physical wall because they don't trust each other.

One of the murals in Shankill, a  Loyalist (Ulster) neighborhood of Belfast.

Northern Ireland is famous for their political murals, which are put up by both sides: the Loyalists (generally speaking, Protestants; they want to remain a part of the UK), and the Nationalists (generally speaking, Catholics; they want a united Ireland).  Some of the murals are tributes to famous Loyalist terrorists or Nationalist (IRA- Irish Republican Army) terrorists.

Dedicated to those on the Nationalist side who died- some civilians who died were only 4 years old.

This is supposedly one of the most famous murals in Belfast.

I knew about the Troubles in Northern Ireland, but I was unaware of how bad things still are there.
Bombings are not uncommon, and they have recently started crucifying again.  There are currently 14 terrorist groups between the two sides; our tour guide I believe is a former political prisoner (I think on the Loyalist side- he didn't give much personal info for obvious reasons).  We also went to and signed the Belfast peace wall, which physically separates the two groups.  Unlike the Berlin wall, the people of Belfast want their wall to remain standing.

Me signing the wall.

After the tour, we got lunch, and departed for Stormont, the Parliament building of NI.  We met some politicians and then toured the building.  It's interesting that NI has many political parties, while the US has only two main parties.  I will be going to the Dail tomorrow, which is the Republic of Ireland's Parliament.

The outside of Stormont- a very impressive building.

We then checked into our hotel, and then had the night free in Belfast.  I got a yummy pizza for dinner, and then we went to a bar and I had the most amazing drink: Kopparberg's, which is a really good cider.  I like the strawberry and lime flavor.  It's delicious, doesn't even taste like alcohol (which could be a not so good thing, I know).  We then went to another bar, and then to the basement of that bar, where they had karaoke.  Yes I did karaoke.  I was not very good.

The next day we went to the Giant's Causeway, which an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of a volcanic eruption.  It's really cool.  We had a little tour- there's one place where you stick a coin into the crevices of the rocks for good luck- some coins have been there for 300 years.  I wanted to stick a US coin into the rock, but I didn't have any so I used a 20 cent Euro.

Awesome.

Me on a cool rock.

The gold coin kind of towards the top is the one I stuck in.

We made a quick stop at Dunluce Castle, where some of Game of Thrones is filmed!

Dunluce Castle

We then traveled to the walled city of Derry (or Londonderry, if you're a Loyalist).  It used to be that only the Protestants could live inside the walls; Catholics were forced to live outside.  It is still fairly segregated today- the Peace Bridge crosses the river to where the Catholics live.

Some of the wall with cannons.

We toured the city a little, and saw some of its murals.  We also saw the "Free Derry" monument, where the Battle of the Bogside broke out in 1969 and Bloody Sunday occurred in 1972.

Free Derry- the quote on the bottom changes to reflect current political issues.

Some murals in Derry.

That night, we went out for dinner and cocktails at a yummy place (I had chicken carbonara), and then went to a bar.

On Saturday, we spent the morning in Derry.  We walked across the Peace Bridge and went into some churches and markets.  We then started the (fairly long) drive home, stopping at Monasterboice, a monastic settlement similar to Glendalough.  It is known for its Celtic crosses (it also has a round tower, but it's not as nice as the one in Glendalough), with Muiredach's High Cross regarded as the finest high cross in all of Ireland.

The Peace Bridge

Muiredach's High Cross.

Overall I really enjoyed my trip to Northern Ireland.  One of my professors said that you can't fully understand Ireland until you visit NI, and now I can see he was right.  It's a beautiful country, but it made me sad to see the violence and strife everywhere.  There are so many issues there, but clearly it's a lot better and safer than it used to be.  I do recommend going to NI: to Belfast to see the political divide, the Giant's Causeway because it's awesome, and Derry (which I liked better than Belfast) for another example of a physical political divide.