Day 13: Entering the Country of Northern Ireland
The journey begins in London, England. We then proceed west through Southern England before crossing into Wales. The religion of England and Wales is Protestantism and the currency is the pound sterling.
We then take a boat west to enter Ireland. Ireland is a very independent nation where the main religion is Roman Catholicism. Their currency in Ireland is the EuroDollar. We travel through Ireland, including their capital city of Dublin.
We proceed north crossing into Northern Ireland, an important part of the United Kingdom where the primary religion is Protestantism and their currency is that of the United Kingdom which is the pound sterling.
We then travel by boat east to the Island of Great Britain (which is the countries of England, Wales and Scotland) back into England before proceeding north to Scotland. The religion in Scotland is Protestantism and their currency is the pound sterling.
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It took only one hour to travel from Donegal in Ireland to the border of the country Northern Ireland. However, though it is a different country with different currency and a different primary religion, there was no stop at the border, no check for passports. What a beautiful, green country to view along the way with, of course, more rain and cold wind today.
You can see below a box of 40 small photos. You can also see only 40 photos, but click on the #1 to #2 to view the next 40 photos. You can click on any photo to see it enlarged OR just click on the 1st photo and wait....it will present a slide show of all 40 photos that advances every 5 seconds.
Belfast in Northern Ireland is another city where there was the disagreement between the Catholics and Protestants in the 1970s and 80s. This city was a very successful trade city known for building ships, manufacturing linen, tobacco, etc. As a port city, it was launching site for the Titanic!
Londonderry
Giant's Causeway
Belfast, Northern Ireland
You can see below a box of 40 small photos. You can also see only 40 photos, but click on the #1 to #2 to view the next 40 photos. You can click on any photo to see it enlarged OR just click on the 1st photo and wait....it will present a slide show of all 40 photos that advances every 5 seconds.
Giant's Causeway
You can see below a box of 34 small photos. You can also see only 34 photos, but click on the #1 and #2 to view the next 34 photos. You can click on any photo to see it enlarged OR just click on the 1st photo and wait....it will present a slide show of all 34 photos that advances every 5 seconds.
Belfast, Northern Ireland
The official name of the first city we visited after entering Northern Ireland is Londonderry...named after London when the English took over. But the natives still call this city Derry.
The natives also continued the religion they accepted first...Roman Catholicity. In Londonderry, 47% are Roman Catholics while approx. 37% are Protestants. Even though the larger majority if Roman Catholic, it is part of England land where Anglicanism (Protestantism) is the main religion. Since it is ruled by England, the currency here is the English pound.
It is in Londonderry where many people have died in the 1970s and 80s about the acceptance of Catholicism vs. Anglicanism. We had a fantastic city tour today by a man whose parents are Chinese and English. Though I do remember how violent Londonderry (and Belfast, our next city) was in the 70's, I learned so much more about the cities then and today!
We walked along the wall and gates that were built by the English in the late 1790s and early 1800s when they took over the island of the Irish people. These walls and gates will be important for the civil fighting taking place between the Catholics and Protestants in the 1970s and 80s! A peace agreement was settled in 1998.
Londonderry...a city where I spent only one day. That just means I will add this city and country as a place I would like to visit again and spend more time to learn about their past.
Side note...I did find
a little ice cream
shop where I had the
flavor "buena" (a
chocolate) and KitKat!
See the collection of more photos of Londonderry below.
We next visited in Northern Ireland one of the most spectacular mother nature places I've ever seen, but I have never heard of it...it is Giant's Causeway. It starts with a long walk in an area of interlocking basalt columns, the result of ancient volcanic eruptions. It is famous for the filming of "Game of Thrones" at this site. On a clear day, on can look north and see Scotland!
Londonberry
Please see additional photos of this area down below.
St. Eugene's Roman Catholic Cathedral
There are lots more photos of
the Giant's Causeway that I took below.
Our first stop in our city tour of Belfast was a stop at Long's Fish & Chips!
I checked into the AC Hotel Marriot.
We started a walking tour of Belfast with our escort, Dee. Her stories confirmed many of the stories I teach my students about where certain words and phrases we use today originated during the Middle Ages. Our tour of the city included a stop at a typical pub to share some time with locals. This is another city I hope to visit sometimes in the future. What a great day in Northern Ireland!
