Belfast (Northern Ireland) | Titanic Quarter - Day 28

This is the first morning I've had since my issues with my legs where I step out of bed and can move right away. My tendons still feel sore this morning. I have no problems placing my weight on my legs and moving about this morning. I need to stretch to increase my mobility and flexibility. Yesterday's massage seems to have helped. What a great way to start the morning!

For the first time in weeks, I check the weather. A bit unsettled today. Highs in 50 F (12-15 C), windy, and rain is expected. Perfect day to visit the Titanic Quarter. Through the years, I've grown very fond of the story of the Titanic. I have watched nearly every documentary on the ill-fated voyage, how the ship sank, and the recent 3D digital recreation of the wreck site. I even visited the Unsinkable Molly Brown's house in Denver, Colorado. A magnificent building. Margaret "Molly" Brown was an American socialite and philanthropist with an intriguing story. Molly was also aboard the SS Nomadic (below), in addition to surviving the sinking of the Titanic. She immediately used her status to help less-fortunate survivors of the wreck. Molly Brown was a fascinating woman. I encourage you to read up on her via the link. Below is the harbor at the Titanic Quarter.

The Titanic Quarter is located northeast of the city center of Belfast. I take the short train ride, which leaves me about 0.5 mi (0.7 km) from the Titanic Quarter. I can see the iconic Titanic Belfast off in the distance towering above the surrounding buildings (see below). 

The Titanic Experience within the Titanic Belfast cost 20 quids. The self-guided tour takes about 3 hours to complete. This is what I'm looking for. Backstories of the people, the community, and the times that coalesced into the building of the Olympic Class ships. RMS Titanic was one of three Olympic Class Ships built by Harland & Wolff for White Star Line in Belfast. The other two ships were RMS Olympic and RMS Britannic. Follow the link to a short write-up on Titanic and her sister ships. More details follow in the other links. Titanic was actually the 2nd of the three ships. Brittanic, the last to be built and considered the safest, was retrofitted in 1915 as a floating hospital. Britannic operated in the Aegean Sea and never saw civilian service. Less than a year into service, she struck a mine during WWI and sank in less than 1 hour. This time nearly all passengers were saved due to lessons learned from Titanic. Olympic, old reliable, was the largest cruise liner in civilian operation between 1911-1935. She was commissioned as an Atlantic troop transfer ship and repainted in 1915 during WWI. In 1919, she returned to civilian service until 1935, when she was decommissioned and sold for scrap. The RMS Queen Mary cruise liner began service in 1936. She replaced Brittanic as the largest ship and successful cruise liner. When I was a kid in California, I had the pleasure of visiting RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach Harbor, where she is permanently moored. 

The Titanic Belfast is quite a place. I spend 3 hours walking through the world-class exhibit, wandering my way through. The stories lead me through the various levels of the building. I progress through not like in the traditional museums. I move up and down through sections of the exhibit as I follow the stories. I enter the shipyard. Here I begin at one level. Then, I am invited to take an elevator to the top,  where I can look below. I progress to a ride that moves through the various levels of the shipyard. Here  I watch and listen to stories of young Irish men on the riveting crew and share their experiences assembling the Titanic. The Titanic Experience, the official name of the exhibit, captures my imagination and makes me empathize with the Irish people while helping me understand the struggles of the time. 

Below is the only picture I take from inside Titanic Belfast. The photo overlooks the two slipways that were used by Howard & Wolff to build the Olympic Class Ships. The one on the left was used for the Titanic. The slipways are now encased in concrete and are part of the historic site.

Below is the SS Nomadic. A tender ship that operated as part of the White Star Line and the only surviving ship of the era. The SS Nomadic was built to transfer passengers and mail to the larger Olympic Class ships. Molly Brown used this service from Cherbourg, France, to get aboard the RMS Titanic in 1911.

Interior of the SS Nomadic, where 1st and 2nd Class passengers stayed during the transfer. SS Nomadic did not transfer 3rd class passengers. A 3rd class ticket aboard the Titanic would cost approximately 1,200 pounds in today's market.

I make it through the entire day with little to no rest. When I arrive back in Belfast, I head out to grab dinner. Around the corner from the hostel is Nico's Pizza and Pasta. I am tired from all the walking, so Nico's is perfect. I reward myself for the great day of walking by ordering Penne pasta with chorizo sausage Bolognese sauce, cheesy garlic bread (pizza-looking pieces in the bowl), a small bowl of olives, and a pornstar Martini. I earned it today! The progress feels damn good! What a delicious meal. The bolognese sauce has mild spice and a rich texture that is complemented by the olives and acidity of the passion fruit martini. 

Sometime around 9 pm, I return to the hostel, grab my laptop, and head down to the lounge, where I find a strawberry blond man in his early 30s. Alex is from Australia and is also here on holiday. We strike up a  conversation. He spent the day on a tour bus visiting the north coast of the UK where I just came from. He has an ambitious agenda, 30 cities in Europe in 4 months. This isn't Alex's first trip abroad. He was most recently living and working in England. He's trying to stretch his funding as long as he can. "I take advantage of the Tesco deals (Tesco is a local grocery store). A sandwich, chips, and drink for 3 quids. Then I take advantage of free breakfasts during my stays. Today I ate continental breakfast here. Then I grabbed some fruit to go with lunch for the tour," says Alex.

We spend the next 20 minutes talking about easy it is to blow money in a foreign city by drinking it away. "Things I can do at home. Easy to spend 20 quids or more per night drinking. As the years wear on, I can't recall where I had pints. Makes for an empty trip. I'd rather spend my money on quality experiences," he continues. I agree. Excessive drinking becomes an escape. A way to numb yourself from your experience. Not something you and I want to partake in. We want to connect to our experiences. Plus, we are mindful about where we spend money. "I rarely spend more than three days in any city. When I do, I find I become lethargic. I start sleeping in and do fewer things" as Alex shares his agenda on his phone with me. He tells me he already has all of these accommodations booked. This is where Alex and I differ. I will not plan everything out like that. In fact, I've learned I can't. I enjoy living in the moment too much and letting the day unfold. [I hope to explore this approach to my trip further in a future post]

After a while, a gal walks in and joins Alex and me. Gemma is also in her 30s and most recently from England, where she worked as a paramedic. Gemma is a Kiwi. The three of us continue the conversation for another 45 minutes. We discuss different air routes we've taken when traveling. We conclude that airlines likely try to reduce the amount of time spent over oceans whenever possible. We share our plans for tomorrow before calling it a night. Gemma mentions she booked the Troubles: Conflicting Walking Tour for 230 pm. Oh man, that's my plan too. I tried to book that tour today for tomorrow but ran into problems with the website. What website did you use? "I used this web address. If you use the coupon [Spring2022], you save 10%," Gemma says. Fantastic, that is a different website. I'm on it. Good night, we can make plans to leave around 2-ish tomorrow. The two leave me to wrap up a few things on my laptop.