Belfast, Check!

I flew into Belfast early on a Sunday morning and walked to my hostel. It felt like a ghost town. I was too early to check in at my hostel so I dropped off my bags, got recommendations about what to do and then I was off walking again. I walked to the Botanical gardens. The sun was slowly waking up for the day. I walked through the greenhouse which was very warm and had a temperate section and a tropical section. The tulips and hyacinths were in bloom and smelled amazing! I decided to sit on a bench near them in the sun to read my book. It was Easter Sunday so families with young kids were coming to the park and people were walking around with their dogs. Although travelling alone is lonely at times, I find myself imagining myself with friends or families doing the same thing in places like that and I feel a little less lonely.

I continued for a walk along the Lagan River. I walked to a little restaurant called The Lock Keeper’s Inn. Had to charge my phone and had some lunch and a rest too! On my way to the restaurant, the sun was so bright and warm I was just wearing a T-shirt. The restaurant was busy! Lots of families again enjoying the sunny Easter Sunday! On my walk home, it was a little cooler and the walk seemed to go by faster.

I returned to the hostel to check-in. I got groceries for dinner and had a conversation with another woman staying in the hostel. It’s nice having conversations with people and then realizing that the reason why you both of you are travelling is similar. My mom says that your life is like a train and people get onboard and stay for a long time or are only on for short stops. When I meet people like that woman she feels like someone I was meant to meet for just a short time. That was day 1 in Belfast and day 24 overall!

The next day I went to the Titanic Museum! You either need to pre-book a ticket or buy it there, just for your information! Sometimes pre-booking is better because you can see when the busier times might be.

I have always been fascinated by the Titanic and there were still things I was learning at the Museum. For instance, I didn’t realize that the Titanic was built in Belfast. So the museum gradually made its way up to telling the story of the Titanic. It started small with Belfast’s import and export trade, it talked about shipbuilding and emigration, and then it got into mentioning the Titanic. The energy was also building. You could feel the excitement around the planning and execution of the Titanic, you could feel hope for the people just wanting to start a new life, visit friends and family, or even just sail on the Titanic! Then you can feel the panic and tragedy of the sinking ship. What followed was sadness, hopefulness, and the great gift of hindsight and all the safety precautions that were put in place as a result of the incident. It also told a story that maybe it wasn’t just the iceberg that was the problem. There were events leading up to and during that could have changed the fate of the Titanic. There was a really cool room toward the end of the museum, but I won’t spoil it for those of you who will make the trip to visit the museum! And the museum ended with sadness. They listed the lives of the people who died and the people who survived. They had a visual display of the number of people who survived from which class, the number of boats available, the number of people they could have saved vs. the number they did save, etc. It was sad, to say the least.

I had lunch in the cafe provided and met a woman who was in her 70s, from Kelowna, travelling alone, and living her best life. We had a nice conversation but I never caught her name! I toured the shipyard where the Titanic and the Olympic were built. It isn’t an active shipyard now but the surrounding area is! I walked the length of the yard and kind of got the idea of the size of the Titanic! Massive! And probably even more daunting in person! I heard there is significance to the architectural design of the museum itself but I didn’t take that tour. My emotions were fried, so I made my way back to the hostel. Because I compare everything I see to movies I’ve watched, I would say the Titanic movie is relatively accurate to the emotional building sensation, the first-class and third-class representation, the band playing on the deck during the sinking, and the current-day scenes in the movie where they were trying to locate the shipwreck. Obviously, Hollywood has a part to play with that one but it didn’t need to be exact to be a good movie!

For my last full day in Belfast, I went to the Giant Causeway with a girl from my hostel. There is public transit you can take to get there so you don’t need to book a tour if you don’t want to! Be mindful of holiday bus times though! I’m getting to a point in my travels when I’m doing the things I want to do and see but when it comes to the natural touristy stuff I get there and I’m like “Oh, that’s it?”. Which I know is gonna make me sound snobbish but you can blame Vancouver Island for not evening making it a competition! Under different circumstances, like if it was sunny and maybe the water was bluer, I could see the appeal. However, the professional photographs are very well done and the real thing is cool, but not booking a tour worthy! I felt that way about the Rope Bridge also! You can also bus there using public transit and only need to buy a ticket if you intend on crossing the bridge, but it’s anti-climatic so I would advise against it. Still, go to the bridge because the cliffside was cool! I’m sure a kayak trip to the crevices along the cliffside would be really cool! Our final stop was Dunluce Castle which looks pretty impressive from the side of the road! It was only €6 to get in, but we were short on time and pretty tired from the day! Overall it was a good day! We chatted lots and saw lots it was just a matter of my mood probably that changed the experience. I wouldn’t tell you not to visit the Giant Causeway because everyone’s experience is different but just be aware that you can make that trip and pay way less than the tourist fees.

I don’t think I would go back to Belfast. It wasn’t my favourite place. It felt very on par with Liverpool in fact! I’m sure if I did more research about the city before I went then I would understand the significance a bit more and be keen to do more history stuff. I had met another girl in my hostel who was so excited to be in Belfast and see more of the history. So it’s just based on what you know and are prepared to do that makes Belfast worth a visit! If you are going to go then I strongly recommend staying at Botanical Backpackers. It was a female-only hostel and very cozy. Under no circumstances should you be staying at Lagan Backpackers! EVER! DO NOT GO THERE! Travelers have been sexually harassed and bad people stay there and run it. I don’t care if it is the cheaper option, in this case, there is a reason WHY it’s the cheaper option! Stay safe out there!

Thanks for reading, I’ll see you at the next post!