Northern Ireland: Belfast and the coast of County Antrim

This past weekend, the wonderful people at IFSA-Butler took us north of the border to Belfast for Thanksgiving and loads of good craic.  I was in a pretty good mood to start this trip, mainly because it was the final week of lectures, meaning that I don’t need to listen to boring PhDs go on about their subject matters in a dry, uninteresting manner anymore.  However, my Thanksgiving started going downhill pretty early into the seven-hour bus ride, when I even got sick of playing Pokémon (blasphemy)!  We finally got to Belfast (map: http://bit.ly/giXlMt) around 6pm, where Thanksgiving dinner was waiting for us. 

Now, I would like to preface my next few thoughts by saying that I certainly appreciate everything IFSA-Butler has done for us study-abroad students in Ireland; they have helped make our transition into another country a smooth one and have been very generous in the trips and free food they have provided us.  However, they unfortunately have no idea what Thanksgiving dinner is.  They took us to what seemed like a five-star restaurant, which was nice, but those places always seem to jip you on the amount of food you actually get, and thus was the case here: we got three slivers of turkey, drenched in a raspberry sauce which overwhelmed the flavor of the turkey itself!  I wish I took a picture of this, because the skimpiness of the meal may make a true-blooded American weep tears of sorrow.  A friend sitting across from me got it right when he said, “If they just gave us a gift card to Supermac’s worth the same amount as they spent here, that would have been a much better Thanksgiving dinner.”

Alright, enough of the complaining; lots of good things happened around Belfast too!  The next day, we got on that same bus (ugh!) and headed further north in County Antrim.  Our first stop was the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, which is exactly what it sounds like:

Oh yeah, that looks stable.  It’s actually quite safe, just a little wobbly when it’s windy (or when the jerk in front of you is jumping up and down the entire time across).  But it led us to an island with some pretty good views of where the Irish Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean:

That last one actually has Scotland visible in the background (hey, I think I’ve been there!).  Then, after lasagna for lunch (which was way more filling than Thanksgiving dinner), we checked out nearby Dunluce Castle, a 13^th fort has been slowly decaying since its abandonment in 1690:

Legend has it that it was abandoned after a party when the kitchen crumbled all the way down into the sea, taking all of the kitchen staff down with it.  Sounds like a typical Irish party!  Anyway, the main focus of this trip was to check out the weird natural phenomenon that is the Giant’s Causeway (map: http://bit.ly/gkknCJ):

These hexagonal rocks (technically called basalt columns) are the result of volcanic eruptions fifty million years ago, where lava cooled and contracted against the nearby cliffs.  As you can see, you’re allowed to walk and climb all over the rocks as you please, which is pretty cool.  Also, for you Led Zep fans, you may recognize this place from the cover of the Houses of the Holy album:

That’s exactly what I was doing all over those rocks (with my blonde wig and nakedness).  Anyway, when we returned to the city there was a festival going on that night in front of Belfast City Hall:

I was a happy panda after I got my hands on a legit French crepe (from a legit French lady) with warm Nutella dripping out the sides.  Best £3 I’ve ever spent.  Possibly the worst £5 I’ve ever spent, however, was on this monstrosity at T.G.I. Fridays for lunch the next day:

The Jack Daniel’s Ultimate Bacon Burger.  It looks good until you’re about three bites in, and then you start feeling really bad for yourself and your past decisions.  I only went for it because I had a £10 gift card (courtesy of IFSA-Butler), and I was still trying to make up for the lackluster Thanksgiving dinner.  I think I have learned my lesson about getting food with the word “ultimate” in the title.  Much cooler than that (at least for me) was the Black Taxi tour of Belfast, which focuses on the landmarks and events of the Troubles.  We checked out a lot of the murals, which, unlike the ones in Derry that were more Catholic/Nationalist based, I found more Protestant/Loyalist ones in the dominantly-Protestant neighborhood of the Shankill:

That last one is particularly creepy, since the barrel of the gun is pointing at you, no matter where you’re standing to look at it.  Many are dedicated to the Ulster Defense Association (UDA), a Loyalist paramilitary group who often battled with the IRA throughout the 1970s and 1980s.  Because of this, Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods in Belfast are divided by a wall, which has become the longest wall in Europe since the destruction of the Berlin Wall in 1989:

Much of the wall has been painted on, and it is customary for visitors to sign the wall and leave a message for peace between the two communities.  Past signers have included Bill Clinton and Bono, and now Brian Schmidt of Tannersville, Pennsylvania has a message for the people of Northern Ireland, and in turn people around the world:

I think that gets the point across.  Anyway, me and a few friends wanted to turn away from destructive violence and check out some controlled, exciting violence, so we went to a hockey game between the Belfast Giants and the Sheffield Steelers:

British hockey!  Now, most of the players are Canadians and Americans that couldn’t quite cut it in the NHL (or the AHL or any of the many other leagues in North America), so it wasn’t exactly the sharpest game of hockey in the world, but it was still a great atmosphere to be around (especially since the Giants are the defending champs and are 17-3 so far this season).  We mostly picked on this one Sheffield guy by the last name of Campbell (mainly because he body checked the Belfast goalie early in the game), saying things like, “Hey, Campbell’s Chunky Soup!” or “That’s why you couldn’t make it in the big leagues!” or even, “Even your mom’s embarrassed by you right now!”  It was even better when he picked a fight with one of Belfast’s largest players and got knocked down to the ice after fifteen seconds:

Anyway, the G-Men won 4-2, including an empty netter and a strange one-timer that ricocheted off the Sheffield goalie’s own stick and went right through his five-hole.  The British have a thing or two to learn about good hockey (even the zamboni driver missed a few spots between periods), but it was still a lot of great craic.  I hope it will be just as much fun during the football (soccer) match I’ll be at when I’m in Leeds, England next weekend.  Anyway, that’s what I have left for me here: an adventure in England, then five exams in two weeks, then my flight back home.  I guess that means I have just a couple more blog entries left in me, so keep on reading!

Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe, Earth, Milky Way, Universe

April 5, 1603.  King James VI of Scotland prepares to leave his lifelong home of Edinburgh to head southward to the city of London.  Less than two weeks before, Queen Elizabeth I of England died childless (she was a “virgin” after all), and it was James, her first cousin twice removed, who was her closest living relative.  Now styled James VI of Scotland and James I of England, he was required to leave Edinburgh to take up residence in London since England was larger and more profitable than Scotland.  However, as his carriage was about to pull out the gates of Edinburgh Castle, James promised the Scottish people that he would return to his homeland one out of every three years.  Obviously he failed to keep that promise, since I have now been to Edinburgh just as many times as James did during the 22 years of his joint English-Scottish rule.

I arrived in Edinburgh (map: http://bit.ly/aZEiPG) at eight in the morning on Thursday after a sleepless night in Dublin Airport.  I checked into my hostel soon thereafter, but I wasn’t allowed to enter my room (or more importantly, my bed) until two that afternoon.  Obviously, I needed something to do to occupy my time and keep me awake, and what better to do than check out Edinburgh Castle:

Oh yeah, that’ll wake you up.  Edinburgh Castle was the home of the Scottish Royal Family from the 12^th century until James VI’s non-return trip to England in 1603, but evidence shows that people had been living atop the rock within Edinburgh since the 9^th century BC!  It’s a good camping spot, I guess (especially after looking at the view):

Anyway, Edinburgh Castle is now more-or-less a complex of a bunch of different museums, such as the Scottish National War Museum, along with the castle itself.  I saw the royal crown and scepter that the Scottish monarchy used during their time in Edinburgh, I stood in the room where Mary, Queen of Scots gave birth to James VI in 1567, I checked out the dungeons where the British actually kept American POWs during the Revolutionary War.  There was certainly enough there to keep me functioning in my sleep-deprived state, and I was awake enough to check out nearby Calton Hill, home of Scotland’s National Monument:

If it looks like it’s not finished, that’s because it isn’t!  The idea was that, after the Napoleonic Wars, the British wanted to build a mini-version of the Parthenon to honor those who died in the two decades of bloodshed.  Construction began in 1826, and by 1829 they ran out of money for it!  It has sat in its current state for 181 years, and has over time earned the nickname of “Edinburgh’s disgrace.”  Funny enough, when a proposal was made in 2004 to finally complete the monument, the people of Edinburgh were thoroughly against it, arguing that its incompleteness is what makes it special and noteworthy!  That’s certainly what made me take notice of it, and allowed me to write this paragraph of my blog about it (so maybe they have a point)!

Finally, I was able to crawl into bed and take a six hour nap, waking up just in time for me to get ready for the midnight premiere of…

Hells yeah!  I actually really liked this one, even though I was on edge the whole time as to when exactly they were going to cut the book in half (and it actually wasn’t at the part I was expecting).  Anyway, I’m not going to talk much about it in case there are any of you who haven’t seen it yet (what are you waiting for?!), but something I found strange happened when the credits started to roll: everyone got up to leave!  In the States, for a largely-anticipated movie like this, hardly anyone leaves until the credits are over, just in case there’s a little teaser at the end!  Even though there hasn’t been anything at the end of the Harry Potter films (and granted this one was no different), I thought maybe since this one was in two parts that there would be something, and I was shocked that the Scottish didn’t think twice about staying to the end!  The only people who stayed were me and three girls with American accents behind me (California, to be precise), and we talked about how we refused to leave for other multi-chapter movies in the past, such as Spider-man or Pirates of the Caribbean.  Europeans are weird (though they probably think we’re crazy, sitting through the boring credits)!

Anyway, the next day I decided to check out Holyrood Park.  You’re probably thinking, “Oh, that’s nice.  He explored a quaint little park with fountains and a few statues and trees that are indigenous to other regions around the world.  Sounds like a jolly good time!”  False!  This is Holyrood Park:

It’s a freaking dormant volcano in the middle of the freaking city!  Holy crap (or should I say Holyrood?)!  It was quite a hike, but my reward was a view of the city from atop the peak, which is known as Arthur’s Seat:

Unfortunately, the peak should be called “Annoying-tourists-who-talk-really-loudly-in-their-native-languages-and-hog-up-all-the-good-scenic-viewpoints’ Seat,” since the place was full of them.  Eventually I found a secluded spot so I can hang out and play some Pokémon for a bit, when this guy flew within three feet of me:

I named him Eddy, the Super-Territorial Edinburgh Crow!  The entire time while I was there, this crow walked around me in a circle, stopping every now and then to puff out his feathers and caw at me three times.  I didn’t know whether he wanted to eat me or mate with me!  Finally, when I got fed up and left that spot, I looked back and noticed that Eddy was standing right where I was sitting, looking all proud and cocky.  I thought that was rather weird, until I saw a sign pinpointing that spot where I was:

I was sitting atop of Crow Hill!  I guess that explains that!  Anyway, other than wander around the city and pick up some souvenirs, that was basically what I did in Edinburgh.  I sort of wish I decided to spend another day in Scotland; maybe I would have taken a bus trip up to Loch Ness to not see some sort of monster, but maybe now I have an excuse to come back someday!  Also, I think the brisk air brought out some more of my No-Shave November beard:

Certainly not bushy or anything, but defined I believe is the right word, if I say so myself (plus, I got my newly-acquired Scottish flag in the back of that picture!).  I’m definitely getting rid of it the first day of December; I’m not so fond of the itchiness and scruffiness, but I’ll be loyal to the No-Shave November credo until then!  My next trip will be Thanksgiving in Belfast, the capital and largest city in Northern Ireland, along with my friends within the Butler organization, so I’m looking forward to that (especially the free dinner!).  My poll of who my audience is will be back up for the next week, so make sure to vote if you haven’t already.  As they say around here, thanks a mill!

Irish Blitz: Killarney, Kilkenny, Dingle, Blarney, and Cork

Alright, a lot to cover here, so no screwing around.

Aw, look at the little puppies!  Look at their floppy ears!  They’re so cute!

Ah, no screwing around, I said!  Sorry, got distracted there.  Well, I was fortunate enough to have members of my family come and visit me for the past week!  Last Saturday, my mom, my Aunt Annie, and my cousin Karen arrived in Ireland, happy, peppy, and full of jetlag.  Then the next day we caught up with my Uncle Johnny and Aunt Sue over in Killarney (map: http://bit.ly/b9XGwU), practically making it a family reunion (well, for the Hudacs’s, maybe 1/5^th of one).  Killarney in County Kerry is an interesting town because it’s nestled around Killarney National Park, the largest national park in Ireland, which in turn is centered around the Lough Leane (lough being Irish for “lake”):

There are a lot of hiking trails around the park, including one to the magnificent Torc Waterfall:

Rickett’s Glen, eat your heart out!  There were many other sights to be been, such as the Muckross House, a Victorian mansion owned by the Herbert family which was actually visited by Queen Victoria herself in 1861:

Also there’s Ross Castle, a 15^th century estate for the Earls of Kenmare situated right on the Lough Leane (unfortunately the inside was closed for the winter, but you can do silly stuff with the outside like I did in the last picture):

My family then took me to a pub for dinner, when Uncle Johnny told the waitress that it was my birthday a few days prior (I was unfortunately in the bathroom, so I couldn’t stop him).  Soon enough, the lights were dimmed, and the staff came out to sing “Happy Birthday” to me and present me with cake and ice cream on top a chocolate-drizzled message:

I guess I had it coming.  Anyway, on Thursday my mom, aunt, cousin, and I journeyed eastward to the city of Kilkenny (map: http://bit.ly/duo0q8).  Kilkenny is often called Ireland’s medieval city because the city’s layout, as well as many of the buildings, has remained unchanged since the middle ages.  The embodiment of this is the late 12^th century Kilkenny Castle:

A fort turned mansion for the Butler family in the 15^th century, its eastern wall was destroyed by (who else) Oliver Cromwell in 1650, giving it its current “C” shape.  The insides are furnished to look like it did in the early 19^th century, with swanky portraits and libraries and dining halls (I’d show you pictures, but we weren’t allowed to take any, and I’m not that stealthy).  Another interesting building was St. Canice’s Cathedral, built in the 13^th century:

I really liked the graveyard; many of the graves are so old that the engraving has completely eroded away.  Apparently, one of the graves is for John Kearney, who was a bishop until his death in 1813, and just so happens to be the great-great-grand uncle of Barack Obama.  Funny how that works out.

Next on the Irish Blitz is Dingle, an ocean town on the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry (map: http://bit.ly/drtQoi).  Dingle is a very popular tourist town, and we were lucky enough to visit it in the offseason without the crowds (unfortunately that meant we couldn’t swim with Fungie, the Dingle Dolphin).  But we got to see boats and the ocean and stuff:

And I got my hand bitten off by a statue of Fungie:

My mom and I even ventured to the aquarium, where we got to see zebra fish, sharks being feed, and I got to touch a super friendly sting ray (it was practically jumping out of the water to say, “Hello!”).  On the way out, we took the scenic route known as Connor Pass, and (after some dangerously narrow roads down the edge of a cliff) pulled over to take in the sights:

Yeah, I think I can live up here.  Anyway, I had a lot of fun with my family, and I was very sad to see them go (along with their rental car, which gave me a nice vacation from stupid buses).  But the adventure just doesn’t stop for me!  The next day, the International Office set up a bus trip down to Blarney and Cork just to ensure that I remain traveling and sleep-deprived.  Blarney (map: http://bit.ly/b87VsB) is of course famous for the Blarney Castle:

And the even more famous Blarney Stone (stock photo provided because I couldn’t get a picture of it myself without paying €10):

Now, I made up my mind a while ago that I wasn’t going to kiss the stone.  Firstly, I’m one of those boring people that don’t believe in superstitions (the “gift of gab” seems pretty stupid and annoying anyway).  Also, my grandmother told me not to kiss the stone on her deathbed because (and I’m quoting here), “People pee on it.”  So I was planning on doing something else, like blow the stone a kiss or tell the stone that it wouldn’t be right to kiss because I didn’t think this relationship was going anywhere.  But then I gave into peer pressure (stupid cute French girls), and ended up kissing it after all (once again, no photo because I wasn’t paying €10).  It’s a rather nerve-wracking experience, because you have to lay down on a yoga mat and lean backwards under the castle’s battlements while holding onto these rails for dear life (even though there’s a safety cage underneath it as well).  To give you some perspective, here’s a zoomed-in picture from the ground, and the Blarney Stone is located just on the other side of where those handrails are:

Who thought of this tradition anyway?  After that fun time, the bus continued to the Republic of Ireland’s second largest city, Cork (map: http://bit.ly/cdAkQ4).  People from Cork seem to have a bit of a reputation in Ireland.  They happily call themselves “The Rebels,” a name they also give to their football and hurling teams.  Due to the county’s more socialist leanings, there are many signs and t-shirts saying that they are in the “People’s Republic of Cork.”  However, people outside of Cork seem to look at them like people in the United States look at people from New Jersey: self-centered and arrogant people who think their county is the only one that matters when it actuality it is quite overrated (hmm, I may have just lost friends thanks to that last sentence, from New Jersey and Cork).  Also, Cork parallels New Jersey with its bad drivers; as my family discovered driving around Ireland, anytime another driver does something stupid, like cut you off or pass you on a no-passing road, they almost always have Corcaigh (the original Irish name for Cork) on their license plate telling you where they’re from.

Well, now that I’m done bashing the hell out of Cork, let me tell you of my experiences there.  Unfortunately, we were only allowed three hours in the city, but that was enough to hit all the major points.  The coolest thing I saw was Saint Finbarre’s Cathedral, built only in 1879, but still pretty cool:

The entire outside of the cathedral is covered in statues and friezes, including some biblical figures outside of the doors:

From left to right, they are Philip, Bartholomew, Simon, John the Baptist, Andrew, James, Thomas, and Matthias.  Also interesting is the golden Angel of the Resurrection located on top of the sanctuary roof:

Legend has it that if the angel either falls or begins to play his horns, then the apocalypse is nigh!  Great, another thing we can blame on Cork!  Also in Cork are the English markets, where local produce, souvenir, and candy sellers entice tourists with their lower-than-average prices.  I also spent a great deal of time in the Crawford Art Gallary, which has a lot of portraits and replicas of marble statues in the Vatican:

So that was Cork and the Irish Blitz.  If you can’t tell, all this traveling is starting to wear me out, and I think I’m going to take a little bit of a break.  This will allow me some relaxation time for my beard to grow out for No-Shave November.  Here it is after the first week:

Little scruffy, but it’s getting there.  Anyway, I think I’m pretty much done exploring the Republic of Ireland.  I’ve now hit all the major points that I wanted to: Dublin, Galway, Cork, Kilkenny, Killarney, Dingle, Wexford, Cashel, Drogheda, Newgrange, Cliffs of Moher, and of course, good old Limerick.  I think I’m now down to three more adventures, all within the United Kingdom: (1) Edinburgh, Scotland possibly in two weeks, followed by (2) the capital of Northern Ireland, Belfast, with the Butler program for Thanksgiving, and then (3) a trip to Liverpool, England sometime in December (with a possible stop on the Isle of Man on the way back).  Of course, I’ll update my blog following these adventures, so keep reading like you guys always do.  A new poll is up, which is basically me just trying to figure out who my audience is, so please vote!  As always, thanks for reading!