Friday, March 19, 2010

Belfast

Belfast is a city of two viewpoints: Irish and British.

Belfast even feels like a different world from the rest of Ireland. You move from the rolling hills and greenery to a mini-London, complete with a leaning clocktower named after a king and dozens of double-decker buses. Victorian architecture pervades the entire city.

Belfast is where many of issues between the nationalists and loyalists took root. Political murals are all over the city, as are monuments to those who lost their lives in the "troubles." Americans get to see the familiar face of Frederick Douglass on one of the main nationalist walls. The peace wall still exists in Belfast as well. This divided those with the Irish viewpoint from those with the British. It is a fittingly ugly wall that is apparently taller in some places than the Berlin wall was.
On one side of the wall you will see the Irish flag flying, while the other has the Union Jack. Our tourguide was quick to assure us that the "troubles" were long over and it was not about Catholicism or Lutheranism, but about the predujiced treatment in terms of employment and housing. One of the hotels in Belfast has been bombed 42 times because of the "troubles" and WWII.

Belfast was also home to one of my favorite authors, C.S. Lewis. It has a very cool monument to him standing next to a wardrobe. That was one of the highlights of my trip.

Now that I've bored you with a history lesson, this is what I learned: I am completely ignorant when it comes to European history, and it is way more effective to learn it while you are in the cities where such things take place. Second lesson: I am so thankful to live in a country where different viewpoints are for the most part respected, and the chance of being bombed by your neighbor is low.

No comments:

Post a Comment