DocAndersen
Today we are enjoying a trip to the Emerald Isle. I first went with my parents, later a couple of times to Dublin for work. Due to the nature of the work visit, I was landing on Sunday, heading to the hotel, and then staying until the following week on Saturday morning. That meant I had an entire weekend between the work weeks to sight see in Dublin. Workwise, the first week of heavy on meetings with one customer with the provision that the team was having me go to Belfast on Friday spending the day with the Northern Ireland team. The thing I remember most about that trip to going to Belfast. First off, because that is a city that frankly had been in the news most of my life, the bombings and anger were often on the US national news.
I enjoyed the train ride from Dublin Metro to Belfast along the Irish coast. I ended up going up early Friday morning, the first meeting in Belfast was at 10 am. I don’t mind getting up early. The train ride was amazing. For whatever reason my guess because I was a yank; they booked the first class there and back ticket for me. First-class on the train was an amazing experience. Looking out the window as we wandered the Irish Countryside made me relaxed and happy. Belfast was an interesting place. It hasn’t had the violence (at least by then it still hasn’t) in a long time. The Northern Irish team picked me up, and we zipped off to the first customer meeting.
We then stopped for lunch hit the second customer meeting, and then wandered to the office. We are normally going to an office as well, mundane. This time was different. The difference was apparent as we drove the long road to the office. We passed by the building built to draw the plans for the Titanic. That was cool, and my guide pointed that out. Then we arrived at the office. There was a huge, empty dry dock behind the office. I asked my co-worker what it was; it had not been used in many years. He said “that is the dry dock where they built the Titanic and the Britania (Titanic’s sister ship). I ended up walking around the dry dock, imagining what it had been like (nearly 100 years before by the time I was there).
