Belfast, Northern Ireland

 Friday, May 13th our ship docked at Belfast, Northern Ireland.  It was one of my least favorite ports.

It was cold and very windy.  We waited in a long queue for a taxi.  When we got to the front, a man and his wife (obviously from another country) jumped the queue and took the taxi from the people right by us.  There was a lot of screaming, cursing, and it almost came to fisticuffs . . .not a great start to the day. When we got to the front of the queue, the taxi driver said he wouldn't take a credit card. So, we had to wait in the cold and wind for a taxi that would.  A cute lady from Manchester, England in line behind us offered us some pounds(cash) so we could take a taxi.  I was profoundly impressed with her caring and generosity.  We didn't take her money, but it was so very kind for her to offer. After waiting a while longer, a taxi came that would take our credit card. We got our taxi and had it take us to the Titanic Belfast Museum.  Don and Ada came that far, then went elsewhere for the day.

The museum is a gorgeous building- an architectural wonder.

The museum was amazing- so well done.

As you walk through the comprehensive museum, it takes you through the entire Titanic story: from conception, ship building, launch, tour of the ship, accident, last moments, to it's horrible demise.  There is a virtual tour of the ship, done with a surround movie. It is difficult to describe, but you feel like you are inside the Titanic. There are displays of different rooms on the ship, etc.  At the end, there are movies, etc.  It is hard to describe, but it is amazing.

A detailed replica of the Titanic

This shows what a cabin on the ship would look like.  They project people in the rooms who move and look like they are conversing.

Honoring one of the musicians- Hartley who played while the ship sank.  They recovered his violin and it is displayed.  It sold at auction for a very high price- making it the most valuable artifact recovered from the Titanic.

This was where you could stand "inside" for a virtual tour of the Titanic.  It was impressive.

There were also displays of some of the rooms.  This was a 2nd class room, I think.  Very small.  You had to go to the bathroom and bathe right in the room- no privacy.

Reading these last messages and SOS was chilling.

This computer- generated graphic was chilling.  On a big screen, you watched the ship sink.  It was in a large room.  Actual recordings of survivors told of their experience: what they saw and heard. That played while you watched the ship sink.  It was most sobering.

A tribute to the Unsinkable Molly Brown.  I didn't realize that she was such a heroine.

This is a replica of one of the life boats.

It is a stunning piece of architecture.  Ken braved the extraordinary wind to get these pictures.

After touring the museum, we took a taxi back to the ship.  Later, Ken and Don went back out to go birding.  They found a wonderful place that they loved- a wildlife sanctuary-right near the ship.  Don got a lot of good bird pictures.  They were very happy, though they wished they could have had more time there.

Black-headed Gull

Shelduck