20260407 Viking Vela Northern Lights and British Isles - Day 23/32

Viking Vela In Search of the Northern Lights and British Isles Explorer Cruise Day 23/32 – Ullapool in the Scottish Highlands

We didn't drop anchor until after noon today, so it was a sailing morning. Where are we sailing, exactly?

We left Belfast around 6:30 last night and arrived at Ullapool about 12:30 this afternoon

This area is called the Scottish Highlands. We didn't know what to expect, but it wasn't this.

Snowcapped peaks

Rugged mountains

It just kept getting prettier the farther we sailed

To make things even better, the high temperature today approached 60°F, so that was a huge improvement from the mid-40s and strong winds we've had the last few days. Another oddity, especially in Scotland, was the unusual blue color and the bright yellow ball shining in the sky. It was going to be a good day. The one usual thing was the intense Scottish breeze, which was blowing intensely.

After breakfast, we went up to the Explorers Bar for a panoramic view of the scenic approach to Ullapool

We dropped anchor just outside the city - a five-minute tender ride away

We took the tender into town around 12:45 to join the included tour, Explore Picturesque Ullapool. It was a walking tour that lasted about one hour.

Our first glimpse of the Saltire, or St. Andrew's Cross - the Scottish national flag, marking our 115th country visited

The yellow flag featuring a red lion is the Lion Rampant, or Royal Banner of the Royal Arms of Scotland

The main street in Ullapool

Typical construction

Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland

The Latheron Building

Lochbroom Free Church

Sir John Fowler Memorial Clock, the most photographed clock in the Highlands, was erected in 1899 in the middle of the road, and it was relocated here in the mid-1960s

Fowler, a famous civil engineer known for designing the Forth Rail Bridge 

The Caledonian Hotel, one of the oldest hotels in Ullapool, was built in the early 1900s

More homes

One interesting thing we learned is that the local school supports an area of more than 100 miles, due to the relatively low population of the area. Because of that, most students are housed in hostels during the week and only go home for the weekend, returning Sunday night.

Street names in English and Gaelic

Telford Church from the 1880s, now the Ullapool Museum

The cemetery went around the building

The Caley Inn

An outdoor barometer and thermometer

We did a little shopping in the few shops in town and took the tender back to the ship. Since it was already 3:00, we split a burger from the pool grill.

Arlona noticed this small waterfall off in the distance

We enjoyed cocktails in the Explorers Bar. Arlona checked on outside activities and saw that we were still waiting to load tenders back on the ship.

 Eventually, we sailed away from Ullapool, departing around 6:30 pm. We bid farewell to the Scottish Highlands and set sail for Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands of Scotland.

Since we ate such a late lunch, we weren't terribly hungry for dinner. We did see that the World Café offered escargot tonight, so Arlona hatched a plan. We went to Manfredi's and grabbed three of their absolutely delicious garlic rolls. Then, we went up to the World Café and each grabbed escargot. We used the garlic rolls to sop up the garlic butter from the escargot. Yes, we ate tremendously healthy tonight.

Yesterday, I mentioned that it would be nice if they had mint chocolate chip gelato more often. Once again, one day after I suggest it, mint chocolate chip gelato appears in the World Café.

They were showing a movie under the stars on the pool deck tonight, so that means popcorn. We grabbed some and returned to the room for the perfect finish to our gourmet evening.

Arlona checked the Aurora forecast, and there is a potential that the Northern Lights may be visible where we are tonight. Unfortunately, clouds rolled in before we sailed, and it looks like they will continue through the night. Perhaps we'll get lucky tomorrow night.

Our Scottish adventure continues tomorrow.

20260406 Viking Vela Northern Lights and British Isles - Day 22/32

Viking Vela In Search of the Northern Lights and British Isles Explorer Cruise Day 22/32 – Belfast and Northern Ireland make 114

We were still approaching Belfast when we got up this morning. We docked right on schedule for a day in our 114th country, Northern Ireland.

We were greeted by the iconic Samson and Goliath gantry cranes at the Harland and Wolff shipyard

Good to have boots on the ground in another new country

Our tour, Viking's included tour, Historic Belfast City, was a panoramic bus tour with just a few photo stops. That meant another day of trying to capture useful images through the window of a moving bus.

Belfast city proper has a population of roughly 345,000–352,000. The Greater Belfast metropolitan area has approximately 650,000–700,000 people, and the total population of Northern Ireland is estimated to be over 1.92 million. Lucky for us, today was Easter Monday, a holiday, so the streets were mostly empty.

Our guide, Eugene, told us a lot about Belfast's rocky and violent past. He seemed quite passionate about it. More on that later.

The old Provincial Bank of Ireland building

Our first stop was at the Parliament Buildings, commonly known as Stormont.

The statue of Sir Edward Carson, depicting the Unionist leader delivering an oratorical flourish

We continued on our tour.

St. Patrick's Church of Ireland

Political murals on a wall in East Belfast

The Yardmen sculpture

Royal Courts of Justice - the solid wall was erected as a deterrent to car bombs during the IRA conflict

It was the the main venue for the High Court, Court of Appeal, and Crown Court

Thanks, bus...

Belfast City Hall

The Baroque Revival-style building was completed in 1906

Queen's University

War Memorial Statue located in front of the Lanyon Building at Queen's University

Elmwood Hall

Duncairn Centre for Culture & Arts

Fisherwick Presbyterian Church

Entrance to the Botanic Gardens

The former Shaftesbury Square Hospital from 1867

The Crown Liquor Saloon, also known as The Crown Bar, is an iconic bar

Robinsons Bar, right next door

Assembly Buildings from 1905

More political murals on the  International Wall in Belfast are dedicated to the imprisoned Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti

Belfast remains a politically-charged community

A mural dedicated to the Commonwealth soldiers who fought for Britain during World War I

This mural commemorates the 36th (Ulster) Division and its actions during World War I

St. Luke's Church of Ireland

Peace Walls, specifically the barrier located along Cupar Way

These walls were first erected in 1969 to separate predominantly Catholic/Nationalist communities from Protestant/Unionist communities during "The Troubles"

 The wall is approximately 45 feet high

This mural commemorates Bobby Sands, an Irish republican who died during a 1981 hunger strike while imprisoned

Clonard Monastery (Church of the Most Holy Redeemer), a Catholic church and monastery

It opened in 1890 and was completed in 1911

A political mural that serves as a historical monument commemorating the conflict known as The Troubles

A loyalist mural on the Shankill Road, depicting King Charles III 

Our guide, Eugene, got a little personal at this next stop

This is the  Crumlin Road Courthouse, where Eugene was sentenced to 14 years in prison for his role as a member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in his youth

Crumlin Road Gaol, opened in 1845 and closed in 1996 - Eugene was imprisoned here for seven years until his release

Orange Hall from 1885

Ulster Banner, commonly known as the flag of Northern Ireland

 The entrance to St. Patrick's Cathedral from 1191, one of the oldest in Belfast

 Palm House, located in the Botanic Gardens - similar to the Palm House we saw yesterday in Dublin

Robinson & Cleaver building is located opposite City Hall

We stopped at City Hall for a visit.

The coat of arms of the city of Belfast

City Hall, completed in 1906

Queen Victoria Monument

Monument to the Earl of Belfast

Inside City Hall

The dome

Some of the decorative glass

Jeunesse, a bronze sculpture by French artist Henri-Michel-Antoine Chapu

A Titanic memorial is located right next to City Hall on its grounds

The memorial statue

South African (Boer) War Memorial, also on the grounds

We saw these in a gift shop...

Ulster Bank Headquarters, across the street from City Hall

Albert Memorial Clock - it has a distinct lean to it

The Big Fish, or The Salmon of Knowledge

SSE Arena, home of Northern Ireland's only professional hockey team

The community voted to name them the Belfast Bombers, but common sense ruled, and they went with the Belfast Giants

SS Nomadic, the last remaining vessel from The White Star Line

Titanic Belfast, a museum dedicated to the RMS Titanic that was built here at the Harland and Wolff Shipyards

Titanic Hotel, it originally served as the headquarters and drawing offices for Harland & Wolff

The shape is designed to evoke the bow of the Titanic

Titanic Slipways, the exact spot where the RMS Titanic and her sister ship, RMS Olympic, were built and launched

In the distance in the photo above, you can see Titanic Studios, where much of Game of Thrones and other films were shot.

With that final look at Titanic Belfast, we return to our ship for lunch and a workout in the gym. That led to drinks in the Explorers Bar and dinner in the World Café. We returned to the Explorers Bar for trivia. While we waited for trivia to start, we were treated to a nice sunset in the north Atlantic.

We were by ourselves for trivia, so we asked another couple if they wanted to team up. They did, and we got to chatting. We did the usual, names, home, and so on, standard background questions. She said that she was raised in Hancock, Michigan. We told her that we graduated from Michigan Tech. She said that she and her husband also graduated from Michigan Tech. What a small world!

We did well, but not well enough, as we missed out on a tie for first by one question. Our misses:

• What 1982 hit movie was based on a novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? 
• We guessed, I, Robot. It was Bladerunner - dang, I knew that but couldn't come up with it
• What element was also known as brimstone?
• We guessed magnesium as it is so flammable, but it was sulfur
• How many sides does a tetradecagon have?
• I mistakenly thought tetra meant 5, so 15, but tetra means 4, so 14 was correct

We still had a great time and spent the next hour sharing Michigan Tech and travel stories with Beth and Russ.

Beth, Garry, Russ, Arlona

It was an unexpected bonus at the end of an already great day. We're sailing north to the Scottish Highlands. We will anchor in River Broom tomorrow just after noon and spend the day in Ullapool, Scotland.