Posted by Jason
*The city goes by two names: Derry and Londonderry. Centuries of conflict between the British and the Irish resulted in the name of the city bouncing back and forth a few times. Now it is recognized as both. For the sake of simplicity and my laziness, we will refer to it as Derry for the blog.
After passing through about 30 roundabouts on the highway, we finally made it from the Giant's Causeway to Derry in late afternoon of the 16th. Our Airbnb host was unable to vacate the room we booked so he gave us a complimentary upgrade to another one of his properties – a riverfront modern apartment overlooking River Foyle, all to ourselves!
As soon as we got settled into our apartment, we went for a walk along the river to the nearest Tesco to pick up some groceries. We called it an early night since I was tired from a whole day of driving and Karbo was mentally exhausted from holding on for dear life in the car.
Derry was voted UK City of Culture 2013, so we couldn't wait to see what it has to offer! After breakfast on the 17th, we walked to the city centre where we joined a walking tour of the city. Derry is the only Irish city with its original city walls still 100% intact, which is why it is also nicknamed “The Walled City” and “The Maiden City (because the walls have never been breached, despite many attempts).” Derry has a fascinating history in war, thanks to its geographic advantage as the United Kingdom’s westernmost port. During WWII, more than 20,000 Royal Navy, 10,000 Royal Canadian Navy, and 6,000 American Navy personnel were stationed in Derry's ports along River Foyle.
On the 18th, we visited the Free Derry Museum to learn about the Troubles, the civil rights movement, and specifically the event that took place on January 30, 1972 known as Bloody Sunday. This was the day when 14 unarmed civilians were shot to death (some at point blank) by British paratroopers during a civil rights march. The museum experience was surreal, especially when we saw a jacket with a bullet hole through it, and right next to the jacket is the picture of the victim wearing it seconds before he was shot to death.
After the museum we walked around Bogside, where Bloody Sunday happened, and admired the many fascinating murals painted by 3 artists known as the Bogside Artists.
We had lunch at Primrose Café where I had a chicken chorizo sandwich, which I think this is still the best sandwich I’ve had on this trip so far (and when you're in the UK, you eat a lot of sandwiches). After lunch we walked across the Peace Bridge, built in 2011, to St. Columb’s Park, where we did some miniature zip-lining.
Derry is a city well worth visiting. It has historical charm, modern infrastructure, a university, lots of restaurants and bars, and nice walks along both sides of the river. Definitely an ideal city for some low-key, slow-paced sight seeing, and if you are interested in the history of Northern Ireland.