Kategorie: Belfast

Ireland – First Impressions

Arriving at Dublin the capital of Ireland already proofed that this really is a cloudy country but still I was not going to judge this country by its nasty weather but more by its people and lifestyle. After a bus trip which already gave us some good impressions what life looks like on the countryside and divided our group into their different headings a small part of the AFIB after around 6 hours finally arrived at Belfast.

We were picked up by our agency Intern Europe and met our landlord a couple of cab minutes later who showed us around the flats we‘ll be living in for the next two months. With a smile on everyones faces we had our first very good impression about how life could be throughout our internship.

Now a couple of days later I can say that this changed much faster than expected…

Exploring Belfast

On Wednesday we again went to the language school. It was pretty interesting as we talked about regular illnesses and what you can do against them. Also we’ve been taught how to express emotions in sentences and had several talks with different people. After the school we’ve had 1 hour free time where we took our lunch and prepared for the walk to the „Crumlin Road Gaol“. Our walk started at the international house in the University Street and took about 30 minutes. It was quite interesting to see the other parts of the city, which I haven’t explored yet. We arrived around 2.30pm and the group consisted of several students from Spain, Germany and some locals which took also part of the tour. It took a few minutes and we were introduced to the history of the prison. The prison itself was a big complex where up to about 1.400 people were held in custody. Today the locals say it’s haunted and it is an akward feeling to access the ground floors after 0am. The guide was very kind and told us many facts about the past time. We also where shown photos of arrested persons. After one and a half hour the tour ended and we were taken to the entry again where our group split up. After a little walk to the city center we entered TK-Maxx which is a company where you can buy expensive clothing for reduced prices. I buyed some clothes and when we were finished we went to few another shops and strolled around the city. Around 5 o’clock we went back to our homes and enjoyed the evening.

First few days

On Saturday the 3th May at 12.00am MESZ our plane lifted off from the german ground and headed towards Dublin Airport. The flight took about 2 hours and I spend the most time sleeping in a comfortable seat. Around 1pm we arrived at the airport and after picking up the luggage we went to the bus stop. The bus to Belfast departed a few minutes before we got there so we had to wait about 1 hour for the next one. The view on the bus ride was awesome and it was a nice example for the rich countryside the Island of Ireland has to offer.

When we arrived on the bus stop we called Colin from Intern Europe to announce that we are now in Belfast. After a little talk with Ruth Baxter from Intern Europe we were told where to head and we took cabs to our apartments in the University Street. The land lord already awaited us and we were shown our flats. They are pretty new and well equipped.

We took a walk to TESCO and bought the most important stuff. On Tuesday we had our first day in the international house which is a language school for persons from different countries to improve their english skills. They offer courses for each skill level and prepare for language examinations as well.

At first we had to take a skill assessment including a little talk to rate our current level of english and on the second half of the day we went to our classes. We introduced ourselves to our teacher and were taught a few things about common english usage. When the school was over we went back to our apartments and had lunch. On 2pm we met our coordinator for the school and she offered us a few events which we could participate in the next few weeks. After signing in for some of those activities we went for a walk through Belfast where we were shown a few great places to go and sights that are worth a visit. Later that day we met again at the Intern Europe building and had a talk with a few associates to exchange our first experiences. We also spoke about the next days and our work placements, the people were very nice and offered us their help on any kind of problems that may occur. After all I could already feel that I will enjoy the next two months in Belfast a lot.

The Prison in Belfast

Hello everyone,

now it`s time to write a post.
We arrived in Belfast at Saturday and it starts to rain and the weather doesn`t change the whole time. It rains 8 times a day and it’s very rare to see the sun.

The food is very expensive here and it’s incomparable to Germany.
The apartment is very good and we have everything that we need.

Yesterday we visit a prison and it was very interesting. The tour guide told us there was a time when 30 people need to share one single cell and they show us how they got killed.
It’s stated that the prison is a hotspot for paranormal activitiy.

The prisoners got a rope on their neck and then a trapdoor has open but the keeper which stand beside the prisoner must then hold on a rope so that they don`t fall too.Cell in the Prison

 

Belfast’s different

Hi there!

I guess if someone travels to an other country, it’s impossible to not compare the surroundings to your home country. That’s why I can say: Belfast is definitely different than Berlin. The left-hand driving aside, the first things I’ve noticed were some differences related to the traffic here in Belfast. First of all, the traffic lights here have 3 phases, one phase for each direction of motorized traffic and one phase whereby all pedestrian lights are green. I haven’t decided yet, if that’s a benefit, or not. Then, the most crossroads here have an extra area for bicyles, so if the green light goes on, the cyclists can start at first.

The next thing I’ve noticed were these kerbstones. Thanks to the high number of openings the possibility of a clogged drain is much lower. I think thats brilliant.

At the end one picture I made yesterday. „The irish weather is coming.“ And yes, it CAME! 🙁

Crumlin Road Gaol

Yesterday, after we finished school we went to a local prison called „Crumlin Road Gaol“ which is closed since 1996.Our tour started in front of our language school we walked for about 30-40 minutes through belfast before we reached the prison itself. Jane who is responsible for the social actitivies at our school organized this trip and also showed us the way to the prison.
After we arrived at the prison each of us bought a ticket (7£ each students price) and waited for our tour guide.
The tour started at the entrance where every prisoner arrives, afterwards we walked halfway trough the tunnel, that connects the prison with the old court house sadly we weren’t able to go in the old court house due to its bad conditions. We continued our journey at the main entrance that connects all 4 cell blocks, which were able to hold 500 prisoners, at peak there were 1400 prisoners in the prison. We moved on through cell block C where we could see all different kinds of cells starting at a normal cell that was designed for one prisoner(Child/Adult) (Yeah they also put childs in the prison, the youngest kid was about 7). In 1860 they introduced a new law preventing prisoners under 14 to serve their full sentence in a adult prison, but childs could still be sent to the prison for a short amout of time to ’scare them straight‘. Our second to last stop was the condemned cell where the condemned lived together with 2 guards 24/7. He also lived right next to the execution room but he was totally unaware of it since he was 24/7 in his cell. If you’re sentenced to death it happened by hanging. The procedure wasn’t longer than 3 minutes but the body remained there for 45-60 minutes before they pulled it down and put it into a coffin. The bodys (17 in total) were buried in a unmarked grave within the prison walls. Our last stop was the prison wall the place where they buried all the bodys you’re still able to see 2 stones engraved with the initials of two prisoners that were hanged.

Start in School Life

Hello There!

Today we had our first school day. After getting up and eat some breakfast we got on our way to the international house, the place where we have our language classes. At the house we met the some people from the other classes from our school and we met some new people. It started with a introduction presentation and get to know the others. After that Leo and I got seperated from the other because we were the better speaker. The class itself were quite boring because there was nothing really new but it was fun talking to the guys from spain.

At 1:00 pm we were free to go but just until  2:00 pm where we had to go back for a social activity. Jane were introduced to us and she told us a bit about the nightlife of Belfast and where we could go for a drink. She took us made some pictures with us and the we went for a little walk in Belfast. It was quite intresting and Jane is a super nice person but we had to cut the trip of because we had a termin at 3:00 pm regarding our work placements.

Later that evening Leo and I went to this pub Jane invited us to go, the „Dirty Onion“. We met Jane and the the guys from spain again. Leo bought me a Guinness and I got into a nice conversation with one of the spains regarding our internship here and how the apprenticeship system works in germany. In the middle of the talk we were interrupted by that guy who teaches „Bodhrán“. He asked us if we are intrested in learning how to play that instrument, what is a drum like instrument, and we glady accepted his offer. After one our of playing I noticed that I have no feel for rythms or that kind of stuff, but it was still fun to play and to try it out. We decided to get home after that because it was already late and we have to get up early in the morning.

After all it was a fun day and I am looking foward to all the things we will see and learn.

 

Grocery shopping and a little bit of sightseeing

Today we went to the Belfast City Centre to pickup a prepaid Sim card, so we can call each other without paying anything. We chose O² as a provider since our colleagues from Dublin also got it so we can call/text them for free. Afterwards we did a little bit of ‘sightseeing’, although we basically just walked trough the town to see what Belfast has to offer and hell its a lot, even though its a rather small city compared to Berlin. You can find everything within a few meters, multiple places to eat, pubs and grocery stores.

Afterwards we did some grocery shopping to get the basics we need for at least a few days. The closest grocery store is a tesco express, it’s a 5-10 minute walk but its only a small version of tesco so you can’t get everything there you want. On Tuesday we’re going to a normal Tesco to buy more supplies for our stay.