Pulau Ublin: day 70

As mentioned in my last post, I went up to Belfast on Thusday. It was interesting because many Dubs seem to mystify the North a bit as a strange and dangerous Otherland. Even my landlady and her husband, who have travelled the world, say they've never been there. It's understandable. I suppose the memory of the Troubles there still persists.

The questions I was asked about it amused me too: "What was it like? Were people friendly? Did you feel safe? ..." It's almost ironic how they asked so earnestly about a country that is so similar (on the surface).

But in case you're wondering, yes it was a nice place, and the people were friendly.

The sun makes everything look nice

Great great grandfather clock

Belfast didn't give a very good first impression though. It rained on me when I first arrived, and it felt like winter in Dublin again. Good thing it warmed up later in the afternoon, if not I wouldn't have walked through the city at all.

One of the first things I noticed was that Belfast was a lot more visitor friendly. There were many signs and maps along the streets. Not to much here in Dublin. I suppose having a history with the Titanic does make a big different for them.

Belfast had a different vibe from Dublin too. The architecture felt more English.. or European. But features like red brick, green copper domes and elaborate gothic facades reminded me of places like Liverpool and Hungary.

I also thought the city felt more spread out than Dublin, but maybe that might have been because it's small, and it was off peak hours.

The atas shopping square in Belfast

How can there by student who call this their university?

The English influence was also apparent in the way people spoke. I heard a few British-like accents along the way, although there were many other variations too.

That's about as much as I managed to glean from my walk through town really. It would be interesting to spend more time there to see how they perceive Dublin.

So, the travels continued on Saturday. Jamie and I took a trip to Dun Laoghaire (Excuse the Irish spelling. It's pronounced as "don leary"). It's a harbour town just South of Dublin. Nothing really stood out about the place though. It felt like being in a small and sleepy version of Dublin.

We walked along the coast to the next town, Dalkey. That was like a rich man's village. Everyone there drove fancy cars and lived like five minutes from the coast. The museum there marketed Dalkey as the home of some famous writers like James Joyce.

The fancy streets of Dalkey

A farmer's market though not many farmers

The town had a lot more character than Dun Laoghaire for sure. There were many artisan shops and cafes. Even their supermarkets looked fancy. The who place was felt very expensive and almost hipster.

But I think it was the walk between the two towns that took the cake. The ice cream cones we ate along the way might have something to do with that. But the view was really nice, the sun was out, and who could complain about the sea?