Belfast, Northern Ireland, and Giant's Causeway (British Isles Cruise)

Our next port on our cruise was lush green Northern Ireland:

The kids considered our day in Northern Ireland as tied for the best day on the cruise (the other #1 was Shetland Islands).  We went on an all-day bus tour that included Giant's Causeway and a little city tour of Belfast.  Giant's Causeway is an amazing UNESCO World Heritage site with spectacular, interlocking hexagonal basalt columns.  These stepping stones formed by ancient volcanic activity were so cool, and are reminiscent of Minecraft.

Our bus tour guide used to work for BBC Radio and she was so entertaining - we were all really impressed with her.  Here is a summary of the story she told us of how Giant's Causeway was formed: Irish legend tells of the giant Finn MacCool who built the causeway from Ireland to Scotland as a bridge to fight his rival, Benandonner, across the channel in Scotland. Unfortunately after building the causeway, Finn MacCool discovered that Benandonner was much larger than him so he ran back home in terror knowing he would lose the fight.  Finn's wife came up with a plan and dressed Finn as a baby. When the bigger giant Benandonner arrived, Finn's wife showed him her sleeping 'baby', which was really her husband.  Upon seeing the "infant," Benandonner fled in terror, imagining how big Finn must be if that was how large his baby was.  Benandonner ripped up the causeway as he fled back to Scotland which is why the columns disappear under the sea.

In the below photos, you can see how the causeway disappears into the water, instead of staying above the surface all the way to Scotland.    

Giant's Causeway was an impressive sight!

After the causeway we drove along the Antrim Coast Road, famous for dramatic cliffs and coastal views, but the weather was foggy and our dramatic views were dramatically impacted.  We did see some of the sites though like Dunluce Castle ruins from a castle originally built in the 13th century.

 

 

We stopped for photos at Carrickfergus Castle, built starting in 1177.

We also drove through the streets of Belfast as the guide told about the euphemistically termed 'Troubles' between the Protestants and Catholics at the turn of the last century.  The murals were fascinating, as is the sad history of Northern Ireland.  The Protestants are primarily proud to be part of the UK and their patriotic murals heavily featured the Union Jack UK flag, the British Monarchy, and other symbols. They also identify as Unionists because of their loyalty to the Union.  The Catholics have historically identified more with Ireland and their murals heavily featured martyrs and figures from their side who fought and often died during the Troubles.  They also identify as Nationalists.  Interestingly, following the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 that ostensibly ended the Troubles, residents of Northern Ireland are allowed to claim both Irish and UK citizenship (or either as they choose).  Our guide commented that even some of the fervent Unionists or Nationalists in Belfast took advantage of this by claiming dual citizenship and getting passports for both countries.

 

To this day, even though there has not been major violence in years, Belfast remains a segregated city by choice.  Protestants/Unionists and Catholics/Nationalists each live in their own sections of the city, often divided by so-called 'peace walls' that can be over 20 feet high like in the picture below.  While travel is unrestricted during the day, at night, gates close across the highways so the different communities can stay among their like-minded neighbors.  Our guide claimed that many residents of Belfast believed it would probably take another generation before the segregationist attitudes subside; the memories of the sectarian violence are still too fresh in people's minds.

 

The Titanic was built in Belfast and we drove through the shipping construction areas of the city too.  Northern Ireland was very beautiful, despite its troubled history.