City Post: Belfast

"Hello my name is Loka, and I'm a special pug. I live in Belfast, Ireland, and me favourite thing is a hug" - Loka the Pug on YouTube. Also Jo randomly singing throughout The Great Gallivanting.

We got into Belfast at a decent hour for once, and made our way to the hostel. We were staying near Queen's University Belfast, about a 20-30 minute walk from the city center. We didn't do much that afternoon, because we were heading out to the Giant's Causeway early the next day.

The Giant's Causeway is a causeway between Ireland and Scotland. It is about two hours via public transport (via the train to Derry and a bus to Ballycastle) from Belfast through beautiful green countryside. Legend has it the giant Banandonner from Scotland challenged the giant Finn McCool from Ireland to a fight, and Finn built the causeway linking Ireland and Scotland so that the two could meet. Various rock formations are nicknamed after Finn, like Finn's Organ and Finn's Chimneys. The causeway is home to the windiest spot in Ireland, and it certainly lives up to its name. We spent all day hiking the cliffs out next to the raging sea (seriously, the waves were violent). It was such beautiful scenery on a clear, albeit windy, day. When we got back that evening, we hit up a nearby pub for a couple of pints (when in Ireland, they say).

The next day we did a free walking tour we found in the city. Our tour guide grew up in the city during The Troubles on the Catholic side of the divide, and it was extremely interesting to get some local insight into the city's history. She told us of her mother working in the linen mills that used to be all over the city, what it was like raising her kids in the times after the Good Friday Agreement, and showed us some of the quirky things about Northern Irish culture. We also learned a bit about the Titanic. Neither of us knew that it was actually built in Belfast, and there is a good memorial for the victims of the tragedy on the grounds of city hall. Our tour guide had an extremely positive view of Belfast and its future after how she grew up, which was really cool to see.

We split up after lunch. Jo went shopping and Jack went to a political tour (which he will go into detail about on the "Reflections" page here). Later that night, we met up with Annie, who we met at the walking tour, for a couple of pints at a pub. We had a flight to Newcastle Upon Tyne the next day, so we did laundry that morning before heading off to the airport for our first (and only) flight on EasyJet.

Where We Stayed: Vagabond's Hostel

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