Northern Ireland - Belfast - Part 2 of 2

What an incredible day we had in Belfast on May 28th.  Despite Belfast's troubled and extremely violent past, Belfast is taking great strides to better itself and capitalize on the rarities that make Belfast unique.

Our day touring around was full of surprises that exceeded any expectations we had.  Our plan for the day was simply to check out the docks where Titanic was built - that was it for our agenda.  What we were in for was so much more. Read on to find out what happened!

The Titanic Quarter, which houses many of the docks is beautiful. It is surrounded by new development - business and residental. As we walked through the Titanic Quarter, we read all of the information panels which described Belfast's involvement in Titanic.  Titanic was built in Belfast by Harland & Wolff Shipyard and the ship itself was operated by White Star Line. Titanic set sail from Belfast to Southampton, it's first stop to pick up passangers for the ill-fated ship.

While in Belfast, it also happened to be the 100th anniversary of when Titanic left Belfast's shipyards (May 31st), so Belfast was gearing up for a big ceremony and celebration to mark Belfast's connection to the ship. Until just recently, people in Belfast did not discuss the Titanic at all.  Despite being built in Belfast by its working people, Belfast felt ashamed after Titanic sunk. Shock that the ship cited as "unsinkable" did in fact sink, shame and embarassment were emotions felt by those in Belfast until just recently.  They realized that the rest of the world was fascinated by Titanic and how they were missing out on sharing their side of the story.  Their story is not one of despair, but rather it capitalizes on innovation and pride in the workmanship of the boat. What was unfortunate was what happened to Titanic - it hit a giant ice berg which resulted in the ship's sinking and over 1,500 people losing their lives - but Belfast's role in the ship building was something to be pleased with and something to celebrate.  They are now just embracing this - 100 years later.

While walking around the Titanic Quarter, we came upon the former Harland & Wolff building which was currently used to display some minor information on Titanic for its 100th anniversary.  It contained lots of Titanic artwork from local schools and a few panels of information telling stories of those involved in Titanic's craftmanship.

The exterior of the H&W building

The inside - as you can see, it's been severely neglected!

The middle photo shows the former drawing room of H&W, where Titanic was literally created on paper!  The photo below shows the drawing room as it appears today.

While in the drawing room area, reading the information panels, we met a lady who worked there.  She was talking to us quite a bit and loved that we were from Canada. She asked if we had signed up for the Titanic tour and we replied, "No, we are just doing our own tour around town".  She responded that we must take the tour - it's great and there is so much to learn.  She proceeded to find someone who might be able to get us on the tour for 4pm.  The process is that you need to go to the Tourist Office which was about a 45 min walk away to register & pay.  Short end of the story is that she talked to this guy (who we later learned was a Trustee for the Belfast Titanic Committee and in charge of the S.S. Nomadic Restoration) who told us to come back at 3:45pm and he'd get us on the tour.

We didn't really know what the tour was about or what it entailed, but we were on board for it.  In the interim, we were told to walk further down the docks to check out the Pump House and dock where Titanic was build. 

Pump House

Dock where Titanic was built

This picture does not do the size of the dock justice - it was massive!

After walking around the dock and checking out the Pump House, we proceeded back to the H&W building to await this mystery tour. We met up with the Trustee and he guided us over to a tent which looked like it was housing a boat under construction. Turned out we were going on a tour of the S.S. Nomadic - a sister ship of Titanic. It was used as a tender ship to ferry 1st and 2nd class passangers from Cherbourg Port to Titanic.  The ship continued to be used after Titanic's voyage as a tender, troopship and even was a floating restaurant for a period of time.  In 2006, the Nomadic returned to Belfast and is now the last floating link to Titanic and the White Star Line.  The ship itself still has many of the original features that were handcrafted by the workmen of the shipyard and incorporated into the designs of Titanic and it's other sister ship, the RMS Olympic.

Under construction

We had to put on hard hats and bright green vests since we were on a construction site - so official!

S.S. Nomadic

S.S. Nomadic 

Stairs on the S.S. Nomadic

Information panel with lots of information on S.S. Nomadic's history

Our day in Belfast was particularly memorable - mainly because it unplanned and what we ended up doing was unique. We met some amazing and kind people throughout the day that provided us with a wealth of information and got us onto this private tour of the S.S. Nomadic for free! The S.S. Nomadic will not be open to the public for at least another year.  The plan is to have it ready in time for the Titanic Building's opening next year - April 2012.  The Titanic Building looks spectacular and I would have loved for it to have been open while we were there.  The top floor is a banquet hall that will replicate the dining area on the Titanic.  The objective of the building is to allow its visitors to re-live the entire Titanic story from its birth in Belfast to its fateful maiden voyage.
 

The Titanic Building is on the left - the building that looks like a boat!

Since we paid nothing for the tour, I bought a souvenier from the S.S. Nomadic restoration project.  It was a Titanic postcard with an 1912 penny - the year Titanic was constructed.  I tossed the postcard but I kept the penny - it will always remind me of my wonderful experience in Belfast!