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So I'm back from my Trip to Northern Ireland, Ireland, and Germany and wow, was it amazing!! I left the Philly int'l Airport at 6pm on Thursday the 16th and arrived in Frankfurt at 7am German time (1am US time). We didn't leave the airport as we had to catch our connecting flight to Dublin. Once in Dublin, we took a bus to Belfast and so got our first look at the Irish Countryside. It actually looks a lot like the PA countryside except it is way greener and there are thousands of sheep EVERYWHERE!!! That night, we got a walking tour of Belfast and ended up in a pub and i have to say that Guinness beer is incredible!
Saturday the 19th we took a taxi tour of Belfast, focusing on the Shankhill (protestant) and Catholic sections of the city. We saw all of the murals made by the various militias and political groups. Most of the Protestant (Ulster) murals depict pictures of guys in ski masks holding machine guns. The UFF (Ulster Freedom Fighters), UDA (Ulster Defense Army), UUP (Ulster Unionist Party), IRA (Irish Republican army), and Sinn Fein all have their murals, which originally were supposed to, and still do to an extent, threaten rival militias and mark territory, but now they are made for tourists. All sides realize that these murals attract the attention of tourists and so use them to their advantage. They're really beautiful pieces of art in their complexity and symbolism.
Then we went to (London)derry to see where Bloody Sunday took place. For those that haven't heard of it, on January 30th, 1972, Catholics marched for civil rights and British Paratroopers cordoned them off and fired up to 300 rounds into the marchers, killing a dozen. There are no memorials in the Protestant section (where it occured) but there is a nice one in the catholic section. After seeing the important sights in Derry, we had lunch and spent the rest of the day walking around the city.
Sunday, a few of us went to Dublin where we walked around the city. Dublin is a wonderful city, comparable to most large American cities. We saw trinity College where the Book of Kells is kept. That is an 8th Century Celtic manuscript of the New Testament. We also saw Yeats, and Oscar Wilde's house.
Monday, we went to a center outside of Belfast which works with people who were involved in the violence. This was by far the most depressing thing we did as we saw pictures kids made reflecting their feelings after one of their parents were killed. We also talked to some of the people there and they told us their stories. They're all really nice and committed to working for a better Northern Ireland. They are also interested in forming a partnership with our college.
Tuesday we bid the Emerald Isle farewell and arrived back in Germany. Our hotel happened to by a block away from the red light district, so that was pretty funny (no, we didn't partake). We spent the night walking around Frankfurt, going to a fancy resturant and few bars where I had the best tasting beer ever (binding lager).
Wednesday we bid Europe farewell and flew back to the United States. It was by far the best week of my life and I can't wait to go back.
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