Just the thrill of something new: Belfast Trip

The last trip of the International Society this semester. Three days. Northern Ireland. Totally deserves its own post.

Day 1

On Saturday, we got up kinda early and the landlord gave us a lift to Lidl, where we were supposed to meet up at 9 with the others who started from the university with the bus, stopping at Lidl to stack up food for the weekend. The weather was exceptionally chilly and the pavements icy, so instead of walking to the entrance from the car in the parking lot, we basically ice-skated there with our stuffed bags and baggages hanging from both sides. Must have been a hilarious scene to watch.
By the time the bus finally arrived there, we were frozen through but the small shopping tour in Lidl warmed me up a bit and then we boarded the bus, took our seats around the back and were finally on our way to Belfast!
The road was surprisingly fun, all those long hours seemed to have been over in the blink of an eye, listening to music with the organizers, Stephen (or Stiofán), Colum, and Edward, chatting and all.
First we went to the hostel to leave our stuff in the rooms. As it was only the three of us Hungarian girls going together but the rooms all had two bunkbeds, we asked Hilson, a hilarious guy from Hong Kong to join us. We knew him from EFL classes but we never really talked more than a few sentences until the trip. However, during these three days, we spent most of the time together and got to be great friends with him - tho that is not really an achievement as everyone seems to be his best friend. :D
The first thing to check out in Belfast was the peace wall that used to separate the nationalists and the republicans to avoid strife. It is long, really tall, has graffitis on it, and the atmosphere all around it is so creepy. So very creepy. Especially as we got there just around sunset so by the time we walked along all its length, it got dark.
Then we walked to the Christmas Market, and on the way Stiofán told as the story of an almost-suicide; a drunken man wanted to step off the bridge we were wakling through last year when the International Society was there on the same trip and it was them who pulled the man back, basically. The weather was really cold and the Market seemed rather expensive so we left it pretty soon with Eszter and Veronika, deciding to check out the shopping street right beside it.
It was raining as well, after all, it's still Ireland, even if Norhern Ireland, so we tried to spend as much time inside as we could, checking out, among others, a shop that had Disney stuff - mostly toys-. Then we went to McDonald's and had some hot chocolate before walking back to the hostel.
After preparing and eating our dinner, we all took a quick shower and went down to the restaurant part of the hostel for pre-drinking and introductions. Generally, I hate introductions but this was not THAT horrible... and most people were really fun.
For the first night we went to a club called Limelight which has three rooms with different music but all of us ended up in the one that has simple club-music, techno shit and stuff. I don't really enjoy it but some of them I recognised from Stables and there were huuuge balloons bouncing above the crowd and everyone had fun and danced and I found some small change on the ground among all the jumping and dancing feet so it was not bad either, in spite of the crowd and the bad music (only good song they played was Dancing Queen).

We actually needed those sunglasses!
Cold but sunny is so much better than cold and rainy...

Part of the peace wall

Cute cup in McDonald's

Hilarious name for a restaurant

Day 2

On the second day, we started the day with going to the Giant's Causeway! The bus was fun again and when we got there and I coud actually look upon all that beauty, it really took my breath away. We walked along the coast and listened to the audio guide, gaping at the view. The iconic rocks were really slippery so I did not climb to all the seemingly wonderful spots but I could still take many nice pics. When the usual group pictures for the society were taken, it was up on a muddy-slippery hill and on a kinda high spot on the rocks so I rather skipped them and just watched as the others posed. Then some of us took a path up to the hill that took you back to the entrance but instead of the coast, it led along the edge of a cliff.
Then we took the bus to some castle that was, apparently, used for filming a few Game of Thrones scenes. By this time I got pretty tired (after all, I have travelled all week :D) and it was, of course, raining, so when we got to a fishing village and some people decided to walk to a bay (another scene for Game of Thrones), I stayed in the village and went to a restaurant with the lazy and less interested. I had a nice Ceasar salad and talked some with Colum and Sarah Joy, then joined Eszter and Veronika who arrived back by that time. I also had a nice chat with Edward who seems to have many talents and hobbies.
After getting back to the hostel in Belfast, we went to Tesco for some booze and sweets, then had a shower and started pre-drinking just as the previous evening. This time the place we went was called Filthy McNancy's, which sounds SO bad and good at the same time. It was a fancy-dress party so we all had some nice clothes on, shirts and ties and dresses and all, but it was an open club and the night was really cold so I ended up keeping my coat on, even though I had some liquid jacket as well ;) Nobody was dancing by the way and there was no music so I have no idea at all why we went there but we talked some to a lot of people and when the place closed, we went to KFC for a bite (though I did not want to spend money on food so I just watched them eating) and in the hostel we all gathered in Stiofán's room and just cuddled up together and talked about stuff. It was really good, the people were fun and nice and interesting, but then Edward and the other few who went to a club instead of KFC with us got home, and Edward was totally wasted and he was, well, let's say not so happy about the small crowd in his room. So he kind of kicked us out. Rudely and rather agressively.

Amazing nature at Giant's Causeway

Probably the best selfie I have ever taken

After climbing up from the shore

Clouds, fields, sheep and stone walls.... just Ireland

View from the castle

Fancy dress party requires even organizers to iron their shirts...

Day 3

In spite of not really sleeping more than a few short hours the previous three nights or so (a bit more for me, as I had to get up early for like a week or so in a row by this point), we ate breakfast pretty quick as we were told to be on the bus in time so that we wouldn't be late from the Titanic exhibition. In the end, we had to wait almost half an hour on the bus for the organizers, as it was only them who were not there on time. Pff.
At the Titanic Experience, which was basically an interactive museum, we learned more about the Titanic, its building and background and people on it and the accident, of course, and some more about survivors and the shipwreck and all. There was also a ship cold Nomadic and it was restored so we could board it and have a look around.
After we finished there, we went back to Belfast city center and walked some more around the Christmas Market, finding a place where they sold Hungarian lángos but the two people working there were not Hungarian, so we couldn't say hi, just had some nostalgia over the smells and signs. Then we went to Burger King and had lunch with Hilson, who wanted to buy shoes so we went to Primark afterwards, where I almost bought a Hogwarts hoodie but was strong and denied the urges. It was only 10 pounds and so great!
We didn't have much time left until we were to take off from Belfast so we walked back to the bus and then we were already on our way back to Limerick. On the bus, we sang songs and Stiofán played the guitar, as always, like a pro and Edward and Colum even did the Rattling Bog song which is soo Irish and they are sooo good at it, especially Edward. I think that's his favourite. Then Stiofán improvised some hits-medley on his guitar and it was just awesome.
Before arriving back to the university, a few prizes were distributed. Hilson got a hat for being simply hilarious - he was the unofficial clown of the trip -, and even us Hungarian girls got some chocolate for having my pálinka that totally fucked Colum up.
And suddenly, we were in Limerick again and the organizers each said their speeches about how great this was and how great we were and all. It was actually emotional and nice even though I hate speeches. I love these guys and they took us to the best trip ever and all of them are just awesome.
Then Tom drove us home from Stables and we basically fell into bed, exhausted but full of unforgettable memories.