On the first day, I emerged from my apartment with the fat backpack I'd prepared the night before, spent a good 10 minutes double checking passport, money, electricity off, water off, room inspection-ready and nothing going to explode, and satisfied, starry-eyed, headed off to Aras Na Mac Leinn under 6 layers of clothing and a rush of adrenaline to meet my two fellow adventurers on the prime morning of our departure. Free Bird Wymana, finally taking off.
It takes us about 6 hours bus time to travel the length of the island, Cork to Derry. I don't really believe that this trip is happening until we get to Derry, and even then I'm still dubious. Our hostel is called Derry City Independent Hostel, by far the best hostel of our entire trip. Not only do we have a super-chill hostess, but we also have one of the 2 super-chill houses to ourselves. The two sitting rooms have paraphernalia from all over the world decorating the walls. One has comfy couches and a bookshelf. The other has Jenga, in which anonymous masters played one of the world's longest and most intense Jenga games that ever was played (and this girl did not lose).
Since we didn't get in until about 10 pm, most restaurants were closed. Starved without knowing it, we end up in Swanky Franky's, a small fish & chips + southern fried chicken joint with historic Derry photos lining the walls. Chips w/ curry and Heart Attack on a Plate + a very groovy radio station = full satisfaction. An exclusive reading of 'Royal Assassin' in the hostel sitting room only made the evening better, in which our lovesick hero recounts his pathetic childhood attempts to woo the lovely Molly in his hometown of Buttkeep and a very extensive prologue.
Day 2
Derry is one of those cities which is often paired with Belfast on Northern Ireland tours because the impact of the Troubles is very evident: it was a critical point in the Irish civil rights movement. You have the Bogside murals, depicting stages in the Irish civil rights movement. You have the ancient city walls, within which only Protestants could live at one time. You have the Peace Bridge, joining the majority-Catholic and majority-Protestant sides of the river. And you have the Museum of Free Derry, which charts key events in the progression of the civil rights movements.
Derry (as is preferred by the south and the Northern Ireland Catholic population) or Londonderry (as is preferred by the unionist population) was the site of Bloody Sunday (1972), where 13 Irish civil rights protesters were shot and killed by British soldiers. This is regarded as a current event--and many of the people who give the tours around the Bogside (and many people in general) have direct connections to those directly affected by the events. On our way into Derry, it was interesting to see the 'London' part of some of the road signs with 'Londonderry' scribbled out. Tensions can still get quite high across Northern Ireland, particularly in marching season when majority unionist (mainly Protestants supporting British rule) parades occur in July and August.
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