Exploring Europe

Where to start explaining my latest adventure...
We caught up with another Haggis tour on Thursday morning: this one took us to Northern Ireland (part of the UK). Tour guide for the trip was Jerome, and driver was Doogie (or Dougie, depending on your pronounciation).
Day One
On our way out of Dublin, we passed the infamous "Millennium Spire" -- finished in 2002 -- that actually serves no real purpose other than earning some colorful nicknames from the locals. Stop number one took us northwest of Dublin to Meath County: to Trim Castle. Ironically enough, some scenes from "Braveheart" (the Scottish movie) were filmed in and around this castle in Ireland, and the Irish Army also served as extras in the film. Our second stop were the ancient tombs in Loughcrew ("lock-crew"). We hiked up to the top of this huge hill (or tiny mountain) called Carnbane East, atop which was the 5000+ year old tomb. The carn in Irish literally means "pile of rocks" -- and that's exactly what this tomb looked like from the outside. A guide actually took us inside the ancient tomb (in groups of seven at a time because it was so small), to show us how intricately designed and engineered it was. The tomb was specially built to line up with the sun on the summer and winter solstices -- the sun would shine in from the opening and light up the rough carvings at the back of the tomb in a certain order. It's hard to explain, but it was amazing to see, and I hope that the pictures I took will help. We then drove through two towns after we passed the border from the Republic of Ireland into Northern Ireland (UK): Einskillen and Omagh. Both of which were cites of IRA bombings in the "modern troubles" that started in 1969. By the end of the day we made it to a city with two different names depending on who you talk to: Derry (the original name) and Londonderry (changed in honor of the English businessmen who came over and helped "establish" the city in the 18th Century). After checking into the hostel in the smaller college town by the river Foyle, we met a guide for an historical walking tour of the city. The Catholic-Protestant conflict is too complicated to get into, and I can promise I don't know nearly enough about it. But what we saw in this city was amazing -- and not in an inspiring way. Derry is one of the prime examples of a fully-walled European city. The English built this wall during their "plantation" to protect them from the Irish-Catholics that they were displacing. The wall still stands around the city, though the gates are open, but it serves as a constant reminder of the division between the two groups. The population living inside Derry is 97% Catholic, and just 3% Protestant (British Loyalists) -- whereas outside the wall it's nearly 50/50. As we walked on the wall, our guide showed us the Protestant section of the city, home to 300 people -- several city blocks with red, white, and blue painted curbs, the Union Jack flag flying, surrounded by a 30' high "peace wall" to segregate the groups. We also saw the local police station/compound (also surrounded by a huge wall) with a tower of CCTV cameras pointed every which way in the city -- which had been de-militarized just two days earlier. He also took us down the hill outside the wall to show us the "Free Derry Street Murals" commemorating the loss of innocent lives, protests, monuments that serve as daily reminders of the violence. Though I cannot adequately explain the feeling of being in such a historically turbulent and foreign environment, what I learned and saw moved me to tears.
Day Two
The second day of the tour was a lot less depressing, thankfully. After leaving Derry, we spent about an hour or two exploring Giant's Causeway -- or the 8th wonder of the world, as our guide explained. I thought that this crazy rock formation was much more amazing than what I saw at Stonehenge -- since it is nearly impossible to tell how it could come about. Pam was keen on finding the "Wishing Chair," and the three of us did get to make a wish. The guide there informed us that it would only come true if we followed the 5 rules:
1. Cannot wish for money
2. Cannot wish for love
3. Must wiggle your butt three times while wishing
4. Only allowed one wish per day
5. Cannot tell anyone what you wished for
We'll see if mine comes true
After this we had a more brief stop at White Bay Park -- which was a gorgeous white sand beach in the middle of the huge green cliffs. After that we headed over to the Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge. The bridge connected the mainland to an island just off the coast about 50' that the locals used to access the waters where the fishing was better. The challenge to walk across the swaying 56' long rope bridge was complicated by the height: 90' above the ocean below. I won't lie -- it scared the crap out of me -- and the deal was you actually had to cross it twice in order to get back home!!!! But I did manage to make it there and back without falling, throwing up, or passing out. We drove the rest of the way to stay in Belfast, Northern Ireland's capitol and largest city.
Day Three
We started the morning with a "Black Cab Tour" of the more historic streets in Belfast. We saw some murals in a Falls Road (Protestant area) neighborhood memorializing dead Protestant freedom fighters. They took us to Shankhill Road, where evidence of the previous night's conflict was still visible: remnants of broken glass bottles and rocks in the street, left from dueling youngsters. This was right near the huge peace wall dividing the Catholics from the Protestants: it had to be nearly 60' of cement, iron, and chain-links. On top of the murals on the walls were several coats of graffiti. On the other side of the wall, in the Catholic neighborhood, was a small monument dedicated to the members of the community who'd lost their lives (some killed by Protestant radicals, others by the police or British Army). One of the driver also showed us the rubber and plastic bullets that the soldiers were using (with government approval) to dissuade conflicts: all three of which have killed and maimed countless victims. The bullets, though, would not even fit all the way in my hand: I could wrap my fingers around it, but they would still stick out the sides -- in other words, these suckers were HUGE. And the Royal Army only uses them in Northern Ireland. Interesting. The Irish apparently used to refer to the police and soldiers as the "British Death Squads." This was another really enlightening part of the tour. After that, we stopped in a pretty sea-side town called Newcastle -- right next to the Mourne Mountain range. It was very pretty. And outside of Dublin we stopped at the Monasterboice to see the high celtic crosses that the monks built to help the Pagans understand Christianity -- I'm not exactly sure how they helped, but they were quite intricately designed. The last two stops really just paled in comparison to Derry and Belfast.
I would have to say that overall, this has been the most meaningful part of my trip. I'm so glad that we had the chance to come up to Northern Ireland, and I got so much out of the tour that I surely would have missed on my own. So that's another fact-filled update on the recent travels. We're off to Paris tomorrow, and who knows what after that. Wish me luck since I don't speak French!

Ok... quick update here...
Jenny, Pam and I started another 3-day Haggis tour dubbed "The Shamrocker" -- and we're currently in Northern Ireland: the city of Derry/Londonderry to be exact. This city is one of the prime examples of a completely walled city: meaning that a thick wall constructed around 600 AD (I think) surrounds the city. On the inside of the wall, the population is just 3% Protestant and 97% Catholic -- versus about 50/50 on the outside of the walls. The Protestant section of the city has red, white and blue painted curbs (the colors of the "Union Jack" or flag of England), as well as a "Peace Wall" surrounding it. There are some descriptive murals that I took pictures of, and the influence of Martin Luther King, Jr. is obvious in the Irish struggle for Civil Rights in the 60s and 70s. I cannot even begin to explain the amount of history and modern political tumult we're learning about. It's awesome to be here in the aftermath of the recent "agreement" between the UK and Ireland. I have some amazing pictures and more amazing photos to share. It's quite moving to see and tour such a town.
I am a bit more unarticulate than usual as we spent the better part of our evening in a few local pubs in the college city. Tomorrow we head for Belfast (capitol of Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK). I will be sure to follow up with you in greater detail then.