First days in Derry

If I could name the last few days, they would be called the days of walking tours. That's basically all we've done around our little town of Derry. Yesterday, we started the morning with a walking tour of the walled city of Derry. The city has a very rich historical background, but in short, the wall was built by the British Protestants when they entered the city in the 1600's. It was a very important city to have control over because of it's port on the River Foyle. The river is very deep, making it easy for large ships to enter and dock. It is also the westernmost port in the UK, often called the "backdoor to England." There were many famous battles held here, the Siege of Derry between the former King James and the King at the time, I believe it was King William of Orange. Derry was also a major site in the political and civil rights movements in the 1970's, referred to as "The Troubles."

After our walking tour, we had time to explore the walled city, so our group split into a few smaller groups. My group went to a few shops, then came back to the dorms. I was about to lay down for a nap when a few other friends knocked on my door. They were going walking to try to see more of the town, so I decided to go with them. We walked in the direction opposite the downtown area, and walked by some residential areas. It wasn't very exciting or a good place for pictures, so we headed back into the town and bought some groceries. It was evening by this point, so we headed back to clean up for dinner and going out to the pubs. We ate at a restaurant called "Badgers," which was very good. We thought it was funny though, that on their menu they had typical restaurant entrees, but they also offered a few Chinese food dishes, and some Mexican food dishes, all on the same menu. Then, we headed out to the pubs, and since it was later in the evening, most of them were packed with people on a Friday night. We went to our favorite pub, called Paeder's. It is made up of two bars, that are connected by a doorway, and each had a live band. One had traditional Irish music with a fiddle, guitar and bagpipes. The other bar had a rock band that was playing American classic rock music. It was really fun to walk back and forth, in one pub you felt like you were really in Ireland, and the other you knew all the words to the songs they were playing. Overall, it was a very fun night and I had a great time socializing with my friends and a few locals!

This morning (Saturday), we were up and ready to go by 10:00. We hopped on a bus that took us on a tour of the side of Derry called, "Waterside." Derry is split into two sides by the River Foyle. The side we are staying on, with the downtown area, is called the "Bogside" and is mostly made up of Irish Catholics, and some Protestants. On the other side of the river is a majority of British Protestants, and mainly residential. There was not as much history on this side, as most of the conflict took place in the Bogside, but there were some very interesting murals. Also, all the street curbs are painted red, white and blue: the colors of the Union Jack flag. There has been so much conflict in the past, but our tour guides have all pointed out symbols of change as well, and have stressed that the past four years have been the most peaceful they have ever known. Our bus tour dropped us off at the Tower Museum, where we took another tour that was an indoor museum that told the story of Derry and Northern Ireland. Much of it was a review of the past few tours, but many of the artifacts were real, and there were some new stories added in. I feel that I have a much better understanding of the history of the city now that I've heard it a few times. And each time I've learned something new! After that tour, our group got lunch and split up to do more sightseeing. I walked around with my friend Kevin. Our goal for the day was to walk the entire wall around the city. We were taking pictures and stopping at landmarks along the way, but we did it! It's not very long, only about a mile and a half. I just got back to my room to get a snack and clean up a bit before going back out to the city! Every day is extremely busy, but relaxing at the same time, since we have lots of free time to explore, and there is so much to look at and learn.