Travel Update

Over the past week I found some time to get away from Belfast to do some traveling. During a five day trip I went to Germany and Prague with a particular interest in seeing Berlin post-wall (Cold War - 1991) and Dresden post-bombing (WWII - 1945). I am currently uploading the resulting photographs to my Flickr account and will write about my experience in the coming days (whenever I find time to get away from my assignments).

Road Trip – Giant’s Causeway, Carrick-A-Rede, & Bushmills

Yesterday, I went on a road trip to the north coast of the island to some of the most famous sites that Northern Ireland has to offer. The excursion began at the Giant’s Causeway where hexagonal-shaped basalt columns formed during the rapid cooling of molten lava in the area over 60 million years ago. The more interesting story is that Irish mythological giant Finn McCool who got into an argument with a Scottish giant (Fingal) across the Irish Sea. After hurling massive rocks at each other but falling short, the not-so-strong swimmer, McCool began to construct stepping stones across the Irish Sea to Scotland. Either story results in a landscape of repeating yet irregular columns that seemingly continue endlessly into the sea. 

The journey continued to the Carrick-A-Rede where a rope bridge has connected Carrick island to the mainland of Scotland for nearly 350 years. The brige itself has of course been replaced and re-replaced since its original establishment, but at 100 feet above the crashing sea through a channel of high winds it is a unique way to experience the Irish coast alongside high cliffs.

The day ended in Bushmills which is home to the famous Irish whiskey distillery named after the town. Bushmills whiskey has been distilled continuously since 1608 and is transported all over the world today.

Meanwhile Project

A UK wide project entitled "Meanwhile" has begun during the current recession to open up vacant store fronts to be reused by community groups, organizations, and churches at no cost until a new renter is found. This is an important initiative to keep the public realm alive during an economic downturn by encouraging positive community use in areas experiencing high vacancy rates.

The first example of this in Belfast is an organization that I became acquainted with a few weeks ago. The Dock is a non-denominational Christian community and prayer group that are located in the "Titanic Quarter" of Belfast. Development of the Titanic Quarter began just before the recession went into full swing and as a result only a small number of buildings were ever completed. A series of high-end high rise apartment buildings were completed but, unfortunately vacancy rates are still high in the residential units and the commercial ground floor is completely empty. In a place like Belfast where religion has drawn the line between two groups of segregated people for much of their history this non-denominational group is essential to encouraging activity from Catholic, protestant and visitor populations in an area that is defining its own destiny in the coming years. It is hoped that the international/cosmopolitan nature of the Titanic Quarter as a new residential, cultural, and commercial center will provide a shared space for people of all backgrounds to live and interact despite this city's history. Here is a video from the leader of the group sharing his excitement:

Much of the grand plans of the quarter were put on hold due to the economic downturn but the apartments seen above and the signature building, the Titanic Visitor Centre, went forward. The Visitor Centre is due to open at the end of next month with galleries and banquet halls focusing on the history of the Titanic and the importance of shipbuilding in the rise of Belfast. The project is situated immediately adjacent to the original drawing office where White Star lines drew all the plans for their ships which were subsequently constructed in the nearby docks.

Additional videos and renderings of the proposed quarter can be found at the architect's, Eric Kuhne & Associates, website

Although the Harland & Wolf cranes are the most noticeable monuments of the shipbuilding age in Belfast, these are relatively modern supports of the shipbuilding heritage here and they had no part of the early greatness of the White Star Lines. However, as you walk further down the docks area remnants of the original building site of the Titanic still remain as does a war ship from WWII (HMS Caroline) and some infrastructure. 

Before the sun completely set I snapped a photograph of the Thomson dry dock which was the site of the construction for the Titanic. You see it today as it was 100 years ago with the same gate holding sea water out. To give you a sense of scale, the Samson and Goliath cranes are approximately 348 ft. and 315 ft. tall respectively, and the small figure in the left third and bottom of this picture is 6 ft. tall... The titanic would have spanned the complete width across the dock, from end to end, and from the floor of the dry dock to the top of the White Star Lines building in the distant middle. It's impossible to get a true sense of scale from the photograph but it is absolutely massive!