Belfast Works to Overcome its Image

Hello from Belfast, Northern Ireland, a city you probably don't think of as a tourist spot. The city's political strife and violence over the years has given it a bit of a black eye, but things have been relatively calm here since the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998, and Belfast is eager to show tourists that it's actually a great city to visit.

This morning we took a city tour by bus, with stops at Stormont House, where the Parliament used to meet (nowadays Northern Ireland is part of Great Britain, so it doesn't have its own Parliament anymore); the gorgeous Belfast Castle; and the Botanic Gardens; among other sites. Our cameras are getting a great workout. And we're learning a lot about the city's tumultuous history -- for example, political murals from both the Catholics and the Protestants can still be found on the outside walls of buildings in certain parts of town. We've also learned about Belfast's economic history. Two giant cranes near the River Lagan stand as almost a monument to the city's days as a shipbuilding center. At one time, 35,000 people were employed in shipbuilding; now the number is fewer than 100. Similarly, Belfast once was known for its linen mills, but the advent in the 1960s of human-made fabrics like polyester caused linen to lose its popularity, and now hardly anyone is employed in linen-making anymore.

On the subject of shipbuilding: Belfast is where the great ship Titanic was built. The city took enormous pride in that project, and mourned like crazy when the ship sank. A monument to the victims of the Titanic -- a number of whom were Belfast residents -- stands near City Hall.

Other sites we saw today include...

...the Europa Hotel, which was repeatedly targeted by car bombs during the worst of Northern Ireland's violence -- it is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most bombed hotel in Europe;

...the Palm House, a very nifty greenhouse within the Botanic Gardens;

...Queens University, with a huge and beautiful Victorian main structure;

...the Prince Albert Clock Tower, which has a pronounced lean to it, not unlike the Leaning Tower of Pisa (though not quite as noticeable). The local joke about it is that now it "not only has the time, but also the inclination."

After dinner tonight the ship will set off for Dublin. All of the stops on this cruise are so close that there seems to be no danger of getting seasick -- the ship just takes its time getting from one port-of-call to the next. It's almost as if it just floats gently to the next stop.