There is something beautiful – and in no way melancholic, despite itself – about being alone, in a bar, in a foreign country (because yes, it is foreign, even if the flags fly the same and the words sound the same), drinking and listening to to not only the Irish country songs on the speakers but the conversation of the sitters, the locals with Domino’s pizza boxes piled high and pints of Guinness, Jamieson, flutes (they’re not glasses) of wine.
Something almost humorous about the stuffed animals that line the bar, the walls, because they are outliers to the décor – stuffed foxes with binoculars and hunting rifles the devil’s own goat, amongst wood panelling and LCD advertising, black and white pictures of Irish natives and framed maps of the land, painting replicas- a tin cast of the Irish blessing, Murphy’s Law.
Apprehension of being a lone English(wo)man in a northern Ireland bar is non-existent – perhaps, because, of my solitary disposition. A taxi driver (£44!) who boasted of his recent trip to the Berlin zoo, his favourite animals the hippopotamus – a rhino who is “nothin’ more than an armoured cow”, and a black mamba that’s as black as tar and a strike-and-you’re-dead, son. A group of girlfriends on their usual Saturday night out in Belfast city, living out Dreams of Long Ago.
Back in July, I did something I haven’t done for a long while – a solo holiday ✈️. I spent 48 hours in Belfast, a city I’d always dreamed of visiting but the timing never quite working out as I wished it would. This was my second attempt at visiting in 2024, as my first was cancelled 12-hours prior by the arrival of Storm Kathleen – and I spent the entire weekend just relaxing. Exploring. Taking photos and visiting museums and walking through parks, sitting in pubs and music gardens, markets and just pretending that, for 48 hours, I didn’t have anywhere to be or anything to do.
What was truly stunning were the various wall murals around the city, in the suburbs. I stopped and read every single one I passed. I also saw gooseberries for the first time.
When I originally planned my trip, I was going to watch the Belfast Giants and take a day trip for the Game of Thrones Studio Tour – neither of which I could fit into this trip, sadly. For that reason, I’m excited to visit again – although I would like to go further remote, see Giant’s Causeway, Derry/Londonderry, and some lush green landscapes.
The reason I have always wanted to go to Belfast in particular, was for the Titanic Museum. The whole disaster is just one of those historic events that has stayed with me since learning about it – and now, working for a company that has such strong ties to not only the ocean liner itself, but the vessel that came to the Titanic’s rescue, that interest has only grown. I definitely cannot give the museum justice; not only is the building a very interesting design shape, but the exhibition was on another level.
From interactive stands, to a full on cable car ride through an exhibit of the lives of those heavily involved in the manufacturing of the Titanic, to a wall of the drowned, recovered artefacts of the sea floor and a (deeply moving) glass floor that lets you float (tethered yet free flowing) above the wreckage itself.
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