Cultra, a picnic, the Aquarium and a quick trip back

So avid blog readers, I know we must have left you hanging there... oh, you arrived in Ireland, but, oh, what then? Well, I must say this must have been one of the most technology-free trips home in a long time. I didn't manage to blog, but did manage to use the cable receiver to watch a classic Blackadder episode (The one with Bob, brought back memories of university). Apart from that we spent a lot of time outside, the weather was unbelievably beautiful, and I could have happily stayed longer. But in the interests of completeness and not forgetting these valuable times spent back 'home', here's a lightning-speed recap of what we got up to.

Day 1
We went sightseeing in the fascinating city of Lisburn. Lisburn has lots of things to offer, like Smyth Patterson Ltd., which may hold the record for the greatest variance in ceiling height of any shop in the UK. New to me is the coffee shop, which was really, really good (meaning that they had gluten free cake). Much of the afternoon was spent exploring the new sand pit that I assume was purchased specially for Ronja's visit. Either that or my sister wanted to recreate that Malaga feeling in the back garden.

Day 2
OK. Enough hanging around - time to go and see something exciting. Like a museum. But not just any museum, this one's good even for almost-two-year-olds. I'm talking of course of the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum. I was last there so long ago, that it was like I'd never been there, and it was really fascinating, especially how houses used to be built and how trains and trams used to be a more important part of Irish life.

Day 3
It was off to the big city of Belfast for a picnic with Matt's Aunty Mona on the lawn of the city hall. Yes, a picnic, in Belfast! Ronja received some brilliant books from her cousin. We sampled Belfast's shops and coffee, and headed back to Lisburn to see another of Matt's relatives who's set up his own company and recently opened his own premises there where they were working on all sorts of exciting things. In the evening we saw Matt's sister's new apartment and tried to reduce the amount of unassembled IKEA furniture.

 

All DIY projects in the UK require a cup of tea to be on hand, of course

Day 4
This was perhaps the highlight - all of us headed for the Aquarium in Portaferry. Now, before you say "how, naff", I remind you that we had a nearly-two year old with us. And what I learned is also that the Aquarium as originally opened had much less stuff, so if you haven't been in a while it might be worth a visit. We had a good old fashioned cafe-lunch, enjoyed the sun for a bit, and then braved Belfast traffic just so that we could be dropped off for a coffee with old friends, but that was of course worth it. A quick train ride home, last minute sand-playing and packing and already it was time to head home.

UPDATE! They want to close the Aquarium!!! Sign a petition to keep it open here.

This photo is mostly here to prove that we really do get good weather...!

The journey back...
... was uneventful. The boat made it, all trains were caught, we had a lovely breakfast with an old university friend of Matt's in Chester while some pub grub in London for lunch left Birgit unimpressed. We had quite a bit of time in Cologne, which was nice but also a bit underwhelming (once you get over how big the Cathedral is). And the night train was more or less on time too.

Belfast-Liverpool-Chester-London-Brussels-Cologne-Munich

One tip from the journey there and back: the Exki way round at the end of corridor beyond the Eurostar checkin. They have simple, vaguely healthy, great tasting food, coffee, wine and gluten free cake. And really nice chairs.