Why has it taken me so long to post anything in a week that's been chalk full of NOTHING?! I have no reasons other than I do not care too much. I hope you don't care to much either. This blog is just for me to talk to the computer and say silly things. If anyone's entertained by proxy, that's a bonus. Welp, here's what happened since I left Scotland.
I spent a week in Ireland, reorganizing my trip after discovering I could not actually drive around the country as I pleased, silly car rental company (who later refunded me for the misunderstanding, so actually, polite car rental company).WARNING: HISTORY LESSONS AHEAD
The First Bit: Belfast
Belfast is well known as the place that all the bad things happened during the late 60's-late 90's. I take a big interest in this kind of thing because it's a big history/political/social mash of neat/crazy/sad things. It's not well known in N. America, but Northern Ireland has an entrenched history of turmoil coming from religious and cultural differences that go way back. This was also my first time staying in a hostel for the trip, which resulted in multiple frands being made. For me, that was a HUGE boost to my travel experience. During the first half of the trip which was filled with quality hangs with my parents, I had looming doubts about my satisfaction travelling semi-alone and what it would mean when my parents were gone. So that was CHUFFING EXCELLENT.
<Svenja and Harri. They're Swiss, and very fun. Super friendly and didn't tire of me, which is an exceptional quality to have.
Hasty Historical Backgroud: The British (English really) have been in and about Ireland for centuries, disputing control of the country with the native Irish (even this is complicated), until it won its independence after the civil war in the early 20th century, with the exception of Northern Ireland (Ulster), which had a protestant majority and therefore remained part of the United Kingdom (whether that was a good decision is another area of heated debate between the Irish, Northern Irish and British). The Catholics (calling themselves Republicans or Nationalists) in N. Ireland were generally treated poorly, while the Protestants (calling themselves Loyalists or Unionists) enjoyed favoritism where most things were concerned (positions of status, superior housing conditions, better access to skilled employment & education, etc). This eventually led to escalated protests in the 1960's that erupted into a long period of violence known as 'The Troubles'. As Catholics & Protestants assaulted, shot at, & bombed each other for the next three decades, violence spilling over into Dublin, London & other places in the British Isles. Many innocent civilians were killed (far more than people who fought on either side), and the Troubles were worsened by Military & Law Enforcement agents involved in the struggle (I.E. British soldiers & Northern Irish police officers would join these paramilitary groups, commit acts against suspected opponents, and enjoy relative freedom from the arms of law). Recently, the violence has calmed down through negotiations and treaties, but visiting Belfast first hand, you can still feel the tension between the two groups. Sorry if I talk about this so much, but like I said, this kind of stuff really interests me, especially how these situations are resolved, as it usually takes an exceptional person or group of people to bring an end to these kinds of conflicts, and I think it can provide some relativity so some of the problems we have at home between perceived groups of people. Anyways, here's some of the pictures.
From the Royal Ulster Museum
(Interestingly, not called the Northern Irish Museum...)
We took a 'Black Cab Tour' of the areas affected by The Troubles. It was a REALLY great way to see the city (and pretty safe) and the history that involves both groups of peoples.
Murals are popular in Belfast. They pay homage to the people who protested during & brought to end the Troubles.
What's super neat is that they also use that memory of tragedy to raise awareness for current issues, like the unrest in the Gaza Strip. +5 points Mural People!
Bobby Sands. A neat guy who went on a hunger strike who thought that winning meant happy kids instead of dead Protestants. WHAT A NEAT IDEA >
A memorial. They are big on those here (on both sides). Personally, while it's good to remember past sacrifices, it's more important to learn from that progress to build a better future (oh boy, the blog is getting political...)
> That's one of the Peace Walls. They were constructed between Catholic and Protestant neighbourhoods to segregate people (this helped to maintain the level of violence and vandalism that would occur between groups). They sport large sets of gates that remain closed at night (sometimes as early as 6 pm). People who live next to the walls have had problems with their over-the-fence neighbours throwing rocks & bottles over the fences (what started with a 10 foot brick wall had to be extended multiple times for this reason), so they put the metal barriers you can see in the photo up to protect them from sharp objects & free flying pizza. Just now are they taking them down to see if they can live without a cage over their head. It's too bad people have to live like this (again, sorry for all the typing and the Debbie downer/History teacher attitude, but this is fucking neato for me).
BRACE YOURSELF: MORE TEXT AND OPINIONS AHEAD
On the day I was there, there happened to be some parades happening in Belfast. I don't mean cheery parades, I mean a kind of ethnic-pride sort of parade. These happen on the 13th/14th of July (whichever isn't a Sunday) every year, and celebrate the English Protestant victory over an English Catholic king over 300 years ago (see the Nine Years war. Or don't. Hey I read up this stuff on wikipedia like crazy LIKE IT SO SHUT UP). Because it's not really common to celebrate military victories of obscure wars hundreds of years ago, what I think it really is is just an opportunity for the Protestants to stick it to the Catholics and say "we beat u guise yur weak n dum". These parades were put on by (and largely attended by) heavily tatooed, scowly, drinking-while-smoking-while-cursing people. Did I mention that these parades are preceeded by huge bonfires (huge as in they burn 80-foot piles of wooden pallets with Irish flags on them), usually paired with lots of drinking and some friendly scuffing & vandalism? Despite all that, there was a sense of camaraderie & community between these people. Many people watching would call out marching friend's names, and I would never have expected a lanky pale Belfast-ian to be so proficient with a baton (and he through it darn high too). TL;DR: There are still a lot of people who need to let the whole US vs THEM struggle go. I know I didn't grow up with that in my life, so maybe I'm being a little biased, but that's my impression of it.
That aside, the Titanic Museum (right) was one of my favourite museums in all of Europe. I was a huge Titanic buff when I was younger (and I still am to a large extent) so this was history-dorkporn drugs NEAT CITY. Here's a video I took of a video (huhuh videoception) of the layout of the neat ship that was the Titanic.
< Stories of the people who were heading to the New World for stuff N things
A history of Belfast as a shipbuilding city>
< The Titanic was built on the left slipway. The Olympic (the Titanic's twin sister ship) was built on the right. Cement means death, grass means life. NEAT
<Svenja and Harri. They're Swiss, and very fun. Super friendly and didn't tire of me, which is an exceptional quality to have.
Hasty Historical Backgroud: The British (English really) have been in and about Ireland for centuries, disputing control of the country with the native Irish (even this is complicated), until it won its independence after the civil war in the early 20th century, with the exception of Northern Ireland (Ulster), which had a protestant majority and therefore remained part of the United Kingdom (whether that was a good decision is another area of heated debate between the Irish, Northern Irish and British). The Catholics (calling themselves Republicans or Nationalists) in N. Ireland were generally treated poorly, while the Protestants (calling themselves Loyalists or Unionists) enjoyed favoritism where most things were concerned (positions of status, superior housing conditions, better access to skilled employment & education, etc). This eventually led to escalated protests in the 1960's that erupted into a long period of violence known as 'The Troubles'. As Catholics & Protestants assaulted, shot at, & bombed each other for the next three decades, violence spilling over into Dublin, London & other places in the British Isles. Many innocent civilians were killed (far more than people who fought on either side), and the Troubles were worsened by Military & Law Enforcement agents involved in the struggle (I.E. British soldiers & Northern Irish police officers would join these paramilitary groups, commit acts against suspected opponents, and enjoy relative freedom from the arms of law). Recently, the violence has calmed down through negotiations and treaties, but visiting Belfast first hand, you can still feel the tension between the two groups. Sorry if I talk about this so much, but like I said, this kind of stuff really interests me, especially how these situations are resolved, as it usually takes an exceptional person or group of people to bring an end to these kinds of conflicts, and I think it can provide some relativity so some of the problems we have at home between perceived groups of people. Anyways, here's some of the pictures.
From the Royal Ulster Museum(Interestingly, not called the Northern Irish Museum...)
We took a 'Black Cab Tour' of the areas affected by The Troubles. It was a REALLY great way to see the city (and pretty safe) and the history that involves both groups of peoples. 
Murals are popular in Belfast. They pay homage to the people who protested during & brought to end the Troubles. What's super neat is that they also use that memory of tragedy to raise awareness for current issues, like the unrest in the Gaza Strip. +5 points Mural People!
Bobby Sands. A neat guy who went on a hunger strike who thought that winning meant happy kids instead of dead Protestants. WHAT A NEAT IDEA >
A memorial. They are big on those here (on both sides). Personally, while it's good to remember past sacrifices, it's more important to learn from that progress to build a better future (oh boy, the blog is getting political...)
> That's one of the Peace Walls. They were constructed between Catholic and Protestant neighbourhoods to segregate people (this helped to maintain the level of violence and vandalism that would occur between groups). They sport large sets of gates that remain closed at night (sometimes as early as 6 pm). People who live next to the walls have had problems with their over-the-fence neighbours throwing rocks & bottles over the fences (what started with a 10 foot brick wall had to be extended multiple times for this reason), so they put the metal barriers you can see in the photo up to protect them from sharp objects & free flying pizza. Just now are they taking them down to see if they can live without a cage over their head. It's too bad people have to live like this (again, sorry for all the typing and the Debbie downer/History teacher attitude, but this is fucking neato for me).
BRACE YOURSELF: MORE TEXT AND OPINIONS AHEAD
On the day I was there, there happened to be some parades happening in Belfast. I don't mean cheery parades, I mean a kind of ethnic-pride sort of parade. These happen on the 13th/14th of July (whichever isn't a Sunday) every year, and celebrate the English Protestant victory over an English Catholic king over 300 years ago (see the Nine Years war. Or don't. Hey I read up this stuff on wikipedia like crazy LIKE IT SO SHUT UP). Because it's not really common to celebrate military victories of obscure wars hundreds of years ago, what I think it really is is just an opportunity for the Protestants to stick it to the Catholics and say "we beat u guise yur weak n dum". These parades were put on by (and largely attended by) heavily tatooed, scowly, drinking-while-smoking-while-cursing people. Did I mention that these parades are preceeded by huge bonfires (huge as in they burn 80-foot piles of wooden pallets with Irish flags on them), usually paired with lots of drinking and some friendly scuffing & vandalism? Despite all that, there was a sense of camaraderie & community between these people. Many people watching would call out marching friend's names, and I would never have expected a lanky pale Belfast-ian to be so proficient with a baton (and he through it darn high too). TL;DR: There are still a lot of people who need to let the whole US vs THEM struggle go. I know I didn't grow up with that in my life, so maybe I'm being a little biased, but that's my impression of it. 
That aside, the Titanic Museum (right) was one of my favourite museums in all of Europe. I was a huge Titanic buff when I was younger (and I still am to a large extent) so this was history-dork
< Stories of the people who were heading to the New World for stuff N thingsA history of Belfast as a shipbuilding city>
< The Titanic was built on the left slipway. The Olympic (the Titanic's twin sister ship) was built on the right. Cement means death, grass means life. NEAT
The Second Bit: The Giant's Causeway
The Giants' (Giant's? Giants? Gy-Aunts?) Causeway is a geological formation that happened because science and nature. The result of a volcano doing cool things is neat hexagonal shaped rocks that fit into each other like a puzzle. Not only that, but they come up in perfectly straight shafts from the ground. How did it happen? A mystery that only Bill Nye could uncover, but until that day, I will say NEAT and show you some pictures. It was our last day together, Harri and Svenja & I had a short stop at Belfast Castle, known for absolutely nothing, BUT THEY HAVE A CAT PATIO. HOW NEAT IS THAT!?
And then THIS happened. Brendan is a drummer from Humber college. I am a saxophone player from Humber college. We went to Humber college at the same time, for 5 years. To see him in Belfast leading tour groups at a place I had just happened to stop at kind of made me freeze. In this picture I was still laughing in disbelief that this actually happened. We didn't have much time to chat, and I was leaving the city afterwards, but WOW WAS THAT EVER NEAT. Belfast was a neat city, I recommend it to people who graduated Humber and people who like neat things including the Titanic.
AND A VIDEO
"Wow Stuart you are so generous with all the media. You sure a cool nice guy and I should definitely come to Asia and visit you because I would definitely have a good time and think the money was really well spent because I really need a trip to Asia to see good and fun friends"Yup I think so too.
After that trip, I said goodbye to pals Harry and Svenja, and took the train back to Belfast for my last night there.
The Third Bit: Dublin
Dublin is a place known for alcohol, lively music, and alcohol. Unfortunately (as I found out later), most bars close at 11:30 (in the EVENING). How Un-Irish! This was made up in the fact that there is some fantastic live music. 
< The hostel I stayed at. A neat place by all means
< The Irish whiskey museum was a place. I went there and enjoyed the.... sights...Dublin is a super neat in the fact that there are great restaurants and pubs almost everywhere. A super great city for eating out >
< I went to the Guiness Factory, and it was an enourmous tourist trap. The Guiness was... okay...
Yes. I went to the zoo. The Tigers were my favourite. 
Here you can get to know a little more about Whitney and Steve (who were on their honeymoon no less)
+ Points
>Fun
>Got the band to play Molly Malone in one of the bars we were at
>Talked about all the neat things
>Went to subway together (drunk) and got ourselves some nice subs and met some more people (they also shared their chocolate and whiskey)
>Were a really great hang
- Points
>Didn't post the picture I took of them that they said was 'really good'. I have aspirations as a professional photographer and I need some goddamn references
>Dropped a Leffe Blonde beer in the bar and wasted precious Leffe Blonde
Spending my last night pub hopping with friends in Dublin was a blast. I even taught a group of French, Mexican and Austrian travelers Dutch Blitz for a night of fun games before they started to get good and so I packed it in for a nap before my early flight to Scotland.
Dublin was my last stop in Ireland before I departed for the mystical land of Sweden. Oooooooooohhhh Sweden. A very special place where even more special things happened.
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