April 8th +April 9th Belfast

 April 9th: Afternoon  Town Hall visit  + Bus ride in Queen’s Island and evening 

 by Henrik, Niels Peter and Mikkel

We walked on foot to Belfast City Hall where we were picked up by a bus. It took us to different destinations which each were a big part of the building of Titanic. First we saw some statues – for example the creator of Titanic. Afterwards we saw the buildings where the blueprints were drawn, and later we saw the place where Titanic was painted, and then we drove to a deserted place where Titanic was set to slide into the ocean for the first time. In the end we saw the place where Titanic was prepared for its maiden voyage.

We drove back to City Hall where a bald man – called a guide – took us into the building and showed us around. There was a big chandelier in the ceiling in top of the dome. We saw the rest of the room including the meeting room of the town council and the room rentable for parties and marriages.

The rest of the evening and the rest of our pounds were spent in several pubs in downtown Belfast.

Northern Ireland, the Hostel, morning walk in Sandy Row area via Donegal Pass into the City Centre  and to the Harbour
 The first morning when we woke up, we were all very excited to see the city. Because of our late arrival we were all very tired. We started out with breakfast at the Hostel at 7.30 am that consisted of coffee, yoghurt, juice, cereal and a croissant, and then we went for a walk in the nearby neighborhood, Sandy Row. The houses on Sandy Row were small terraced houses with a very small garden in front of the house. We quickly saw that the Protestants would do about anything to protect their houses with fences and walls everywhere, often with barbed wire on the top.

Besides being told that Protestants lived on this road, you could some places see it on the British colored curb. On the walk we saw plenty of large Murals painted on the house walls, telling different stories and taking political stands.  

On our walk we also saw the University of Belfast. It was an old and very beautiful building – it was very different compared to the small, simple terraced houses in Sandy Row. After that we continued our walk, and we walked through a park with flowers everywhere, and we felt like we were in a fantasy world. Here we took a quick break and enjoyed the lovely weather. It was very exciting to see the differences in the different areas of Belfast, and we think that we all learned a lot.

by Line and Henrikke

 08-04-2011 Arriving in Belfast and settling in

After a long day travelling we finally arrived at our Hostel, Hostelling International Northern Ireland Belfast.   We were tired and hungry but the thought that we were now  in Northern Ireland was too exciting, and we immediately went into the Queen’s University area after unpacking. There were a lot of young people near our hostel and the nightlife was full of music and youth at the nightclubs and pubs. It was Friday night and people were celebrating a rugby match, Tigers VS. Leinster. We were met with joyful people, and it was a huge visual and auditory impression with all the lights and noise and music that were mixed all together like a blast. 

Walking around in the city during the night was confusing. People were a little bit drunk, but we were lucky to catch a young red haired man who gave us some advice and tips about proper places to eat. There were many dirty and grubby places and the smell of deep fat was hanging like a cloud above us.  Yet, some of us were lucky to find a restaurant with proper non junk food.

After a look at the city we went back to our hostel where all the girls including Wivian slept together in a nice and cozy room with bunk beds. Despite  the hectic but great day it was nice to spend the first evening in Belfast with the girls from the class. 

Josephine and Mai 2.ab

Departure from Hobro Railway Station at 6.10, then to Copenhagen  and delayed departure by plane to Dublin at 5.30 pm.