It’s Not Londonderry!

Bogside outside Derry

I decided to come to Derry at the last minute and am extremely glad I did. I stayed with a CS’er, Darren, and we literally spent the entire two days without much separation. There may or may not have been a few breaks for showers… He introduced me to a few of his friends, showed me the diversity of the Derry nightlife, provided an impressive amount of Irish history as we toured the murals at the bogside, rocked out a bit on his new electric, and we even had a cup of tea (Two in fact) at 2am from the Christian Society outside the Student Union.

I'd hate to see this place crowded

Though I ended up not seeing Giant’s Causeway, I’m not that disappointed. After talking with Darren, I’d like to see it in the middle of winter after a light snowfall anyway. You can probably explore Derry on a day trip from Belfast and be satisfied, but I would love to go back and spend a summer there. I found the history of Derry to be much more impacting than that of Belfast. That’s probably because Belfast is a large city and Derry remains a fairly small town. From The Walls, you can really get a sense of what it was like to be there. It is complimented by a very small city center that erupts every night with all kinds of live music from traditional Irish to rock cover bands that remind me of Blue Beet back home (Can I get some Sweet Caroline!). It’s not often when you go out on a Tuesday night and are arm to arm in every place you go. Then someone tells you it’s a really quiet night…

You do what you gotta do! (Darren)

2011 Europe - Derry