Once we had decided to travel to Ireland, we ran into a challenge of how we wanted to organize our visit. Would this be a trip of getting a car and doing a two week driving loop around the country? Would we focus on one or two places? Should this be a trip where we were frequently on the move or one where we caught our breath and spent longer stretches in a place? Regardless of the answers to those as we were planning, we knew that we wanted to visit somewhere in Northern Ireland. As our planning took shape and Galway and County Donegal looked to be the prime locations for a slower paced visit, we decided on a day trip from Dublin to Belfast for our first ever visit to the UK.

After our train to Belfast broke down (conveniently, in the station at Newry where we could take some cover from the rain), we weren’t sure what of our plans we’d be able to continue with. Luckily, a replacement train was along in not too much time and our day was unaffected. With a bit of good luck under our belts, we stopped for breakfast at a cafe in Belfast then made our way onto a tour bus for a sightseeing trip around the city.

Our limited time in Belfast made this a great way to get a sense of the city and see its main sights. The day’s downpour had started to taper off (more good luck for us!) as we passed the Titanic Belfast museum and its beautiful architecture.

We were both interested to see and listen to the tour guide’s narratives around “The Troubles”. We drove past many sites like this, whether they were gardens, public art and murals, or gravesites that were dedicated to all of those whose lives were lost.

A striking visual was a stop at one of the peace walls. These walls were constructed throughout the city to separate Protestant and Catholic neighbourhoods in close proximity to each other. On the tour we saw some walls that had been recently taken down and also drove through walls that are open during the day but still close each night.

On the tour before and after the stop at the peace wall there were a number of striking murals. This part of the tour, and the day overall for both of us, was a striking reminder that the scars from these times are still there. Even in relatively light hearted conversations we had over our two week stay in Ireland with a few folks from Belfast, you could hear mention of one side or the other and sense how deeply and long held the feelings are.

The bus tour wrapped up by returning back to the city centre, and what a beautiful centre it is with the combination of old and new mixing in harmony for my aesthetic tastes.

Belfast City Hall was where we got off the bus to continue on with the rest of the day. The sun was coming out and the clouds were pulling away to leave the city under blue skies.

After wrapping up the tour, our next stop was for some liquid refreshment as we were both excited to visit a couple of pubs before heading back to Dublin. The first stop was the Duke of York pub, recommended by a friend in Saskatoon. It had a wonderful alleyway entrance with decorative umbrellas and some cheeky public art…

I chose a pint of Beamish once we were inside. Truth be told, I think I ended the two weeks preferring Beamish to Guinness but that would be splitting hairs. I didn’t have a bad pint of stout the entire time.

My wife and I decided to have our Northern Ireland Yahtzee championship while enjoying a couple of drinks in this lavishly decorated pub that had a great vibe. I came out on top and will be defending Northern Ireland and UK champion until we make a return visit someday.

After filling up on stout, it was time for some food, and Fish City was a restaurant we were looking forward to. My wife in her scouting of this place had picked it for the range of gluten free options including what turned out to be an incredible fish pie. I went for a seafood chowder, brown bread, an order of chips (they were heavenly!) and a stout from a local craft brewery. All outstanding!

Our last stop before heading back to Dublin was a great one – we visited the Crown Bar (also know as the Crown Liquor Saloon), a classic and historic pub in Belfast. The ornate ceiling, red granite bar top, polished brass, and stained glass windows (meant to keep outside prying eyes off of you while you enjoyed your drink) gave this place a cozy feeling.

My wife managed to grab us a snug. After a conversation with a couple visiting from England, we had this to ourselves for the rest of the time before we left to catch our train back to Dublin. A couple of whisky sours for her and a couple of pints of dark beer for me, this one, a crazy delicious Timothy Taylor’s Landlord Dark. This was a perfect cap to a quick visit to Belfast and we toasted a lovely day and a hope to return.