Belfast is beautiful!
Like Dublin, Belfast has scores of fascinating, historic old pubs to crawl. One of the most famous is The Crown built in 1827. The art deco interior has ten snugs, which are private mahogany booths with doors, surrounded by stained glass and hand made tiles.
Belfast City Hall has an array of striking stained glass windows depicting important events in Irish history. This glass is dedicated to the two million souls who suffered and died in the Irish potato famine.
City Hall itself is an architectural gem. Built in 1898, it has a gorgeous grand staircase,
replete with a stunning interior dome and rotunda.
Belfast is a very fun city to explore, full of vibrant street art, interesting shops,
and, as cannot be emphasized enough, wonderful pubs! Kelly’s is another classic pub. It is the oldest licensed pub in Belfast, built in 1720.
Kelly’s is lovely inside and out, and full of some of your soon to be newest best friends!
Cheers to you from soulful Belfast~
Fantastic
Thank you!
Love your pics, globetrotting lady!
I love that you globe trot with me!
It certainly is beautiful! Lovely pics Cindy!
Thanks my sweet friend & cheers to you!
Cheers Cindy!
<3 <3
❤ ❤
I love it! I’m half Irish descent. …..it’s the ocean between keeps me from my dream of going there!
It’s just a bit of a pond. Can you bear the thought of cruising across it?
Eeek! The Titanic!!
Lol! One day, I hope to overcome this idiocy!
You don’t need to change anything about yourself. Stay in place and do what you do. You create amazing art with great gravitas of soul, and you are so lucky because you do it, and find it, without wandering too far from home. You rock Resa. Please don’t change a thing about you. <3 <3
Slainte!!!!
Sláinte & Sonas leat!
Absolutely beautiful shots again! Did you manage to try that fish and chips deal in the first picture? Reminds me a little of some old towns on the Northeast coast in the US.
Yes, of course I did. I ate the fish and chips and even the mushy peas! It is the ice cream and bakery items that I want to beam over now to eat though….
Ooh now that sounds amazing! Any particular flavor on your mind?
In terms of ice cream, I went basic. Vanilla, made with this full Irish non-homogenized cream. I stopped and stayed with vanilla, because it was like nothing I had ever tasted before, which is just another reason to go back to Ireland.
So many ice cream flavors, yet to explore.
What a great reason! Strangely enough, it seems the best ice cream is in the cold weather climates. The best I’ve ever had was actual in Anchorage Alaska!
Now that you mention it, it seems true. I had some amazing ice cream in Canada!
Strange haha! Good chat😁
<3
I loved Belfast – plus the combination of beauty, history, and tension is more than unique. Wish I would have gone into City Hall.
The City Hall is amazing. All of Belfast is and I am glad you visited. The people are the best part. Incredibly friendly and they interviewed me on TV as a tourist on the street asking how I navigated around the city. I told them the people in the pubs helped immensely. The best good will ambassadors on earth!
Glad you got to visit as well. Thanks for sharing your story … and a toast to the people! Clink!
Prost! <3
Good photos and Cheers to you too.
Thank you kindly.
Thanks for the glimpse into Belfast, Cindy.
Thank you more for looking.
Oh those snugs! So beautiful!
Alison
So hard to photograph because of light and shadow, and lots of people, but so beautiful!
Stunningly good interiors, Cindy. Love them all.
They have such charm and warmth and the people just add to this exponentially.
Indeed! But you have become expert at capturing dimly and unevenly lit interiors, large and small! Great pics.
Awww, you are a kind friend Peter.
Cheers indeed Cindy and bottoms up. When they look so beautiful on the outside you, of course, have to check out the inside
Right, plus my husband drinks the beer and we both chat up the locals. The people in Belfast are the friendliest I have encountered in Europe.
And I love their accent
Lilting and lovely~
😄
I suspect you two make other people friendly!
It is wonderful to meet people who want to know you in Irish pubs. There aren’t the walls that often are around people in other cultures, including my own.
Gorgeous windows! I had no idea that Belfast has so much to offer the tourist. Thanks for sharing, Cindy. 😃
I want to go back and spend more time in the region. It wasn’t heavily touristed and people welcome you in a very genuine way.
Sounds just perfect. 🙂
I loved Belfast <3
Incredibly beautiful.
Yes, Ireland and her people are.
colourful..
Yes. Ireland is full of wonderful color.
Incredible photos! I think stained glass was the right medium to depict the potato famine. My eye expected to glance over a religious subject until I realized what I was actually looking at.
Heartbreaking to even think of. Many of the stained glass pieces in the City Hall depict events that were hard to read about. An estimated 1 million people died during the potato famine, and 1 million starving people emigrated.
Cindy, Love the photos of Belfast. Brings back found memories of my wonderful time visiting there, even though my visit was during the time that there was much tension between the Catholic and Protestant religions. Despite all that was going on, I found the people on both sides warm and friendly.
Yes. The charms of the city are beguiling enough, but the warmth of the people makes it truly special to visit.
PS- I am so glad you were there, and only the best to you.
Wow, Cindy, entertainment and culture so close together. This can only be Ireland! I love those pubs with live music every night on the weekend!
Ireland makes culture fun, and every night a weekend!
It feels like a warm, friendly place! Beautiful locations that can inspire…love the windows!
So glad you noticed those windows! Thank you.
Reblogged this on Musings on Life & Experience and commented:
Stunning pictures of Belfast from Cindy Knoke.
Love to you sweet friend <3
I want to sit in a snug in The Crown!
I want to beam over and join you!
I absolutely love the atmosphere you create with your pictures!:)
I am honored you look at them, thank you.
Nice glimpse of Belfast. My favorite is the stained glass in The Crown. Such beautiful artwork.
That bar is simply gorgeous, inside and out.
Most enticing photography
Very kind and much appreciated Derrick.
Eine sehr schöne Fotoserie, gefällt mir sehr gut.
Vielen Dank Werner.
I live in Donegal and Belfast is my favourite city to visit. I much prefer it to Dublin.
I now know exactly why you feel this way. I want to go back <3
herrliche Bilder, danke, liebe Cindy, hoffe, du bist gut in die Woche gestartet?
Vielen danke und frohe Woche! <3
Great photos! 🙂
Thank you kindly Lynette.
Enjoy your visit, Cindy! These pub shots are delightful to see, both indoors and out. So fun to imagine what it was like to be there centuries ago! I was in Oxford, England, years ago for a conference, and a highlight was visiting the old pubs.
I lived outside of Oxford for a summer after grad school. It is so lovely.
Yes, it was a real treat. Also visited my son who was studying in Bristol, and I was able to go on some little side tours around Oxford.
Beautiful part of Britain.
Yes, I loved the ride through the very scenic countryside. I was glued to the window the whole way (…. I forget if I went by bus or train)
It says a lot doesn’t it, that you can’t remember your mode of travel, but you clearly remember what you saw.
Yes, so true!
<3
A very welcoming place.
Indeed <3
How lovely to see such rich traditions, architecture, and creativity in public spaces. I’m not much of a bar person, but those snugs look wonderful! Thanks for sharing your passion for travel and culture Cindy!
You can always do what I do, which is eat, while my husband has his beer!
Good solution. Those bars looked very appealing.
<3 <3
Beautiful architecture and details. I’ve heard the friendliness of the Irish is legendary!
It encourages to linger longer!
Cindy, thanks so much for this wonderful exploration of Belfast – I loved it!!
I am so pleased you joined me Sheila. You make the experience richer.
Thank you Cindy. You have such an eye. Your pictures help take me places I want to go but just can’t afford it yet lol! The last picture of Kelly’s seemed so familiar to me for some reason. You are awesome!
Awww, so are you! And thank you for the beautifully kind comment <3
I’ll have to go back to Belfast. We sort of drove through as we were exploring the countryside but what an interesting city.
It is less touristed too, unlike Dublin, which makes for a more rewarding travel experience.
Belfast, where I grew up, is still one of the best cities I know – in spite of the walls that still segregate communities.
I was left with a very strong desire to return and spend more time in Northern Ireland. It’s the genuine welcoming warmth of the people that left the greatest impression.
Oh, the stories that are held in these buildings. Every step holds a narrative. Fabulous photos.
We are just another soul stopping by…….
Another item for my Bucket List — love that staircase and rotunda!
Good! A bucket list is an affirmation of life.
Reblogged this on charles french words reading and writing and commented:
Here are beautiful photographs of Belfast from Cindy Knoke!
Cindy, these photographs are beautiful!
You are much more beautiful. Thank you for your kindness.
Brilliant, again. Ireland has been on my list for as long as I can remember. It produced one of my favorite authors. Who but a seventeenth-century Irishman could write A Modest Proposal? I can only imagine what Jonathan Swift would have to say now… Thanks Cindy.
Oh my God! Life gives us so many clues. As soon as you said, one of your favorite authors, I knew it was Swft. How could that be? I just admire him so much. He saw through all of us.
A Modest Proposal is, hands down, the best thing I ever read. Thank you Cindy, I wholeheartedly agree.
This probably explains a good bit of why we connect. Irrespective of our mutual career choice. Life is wonderful, isn’t it. It keeps surprising you.
You just may be onto something there… <3
<3
What gorgeous pubs! Another city to add to the list for visiting.
Yes. Please. Visit. Enjoy yourself <3
A few years ago, we spent an incredibly enjoyable evening in one of the snugs at The Crown. We met some fascinating people (complete strangers invited us to join them; apparently this is a tradition) and we shared our life stories for hours. I would go back to The Crown (and Belfast) in a hearbeat, if the chance arises…
Well, before you said this, I knew for a fact, you are a wise man.
These photos contain some of the most charming architecture I’ve ever seen. I think Ireland is a country I could easily fall in love with.
You could. But your heart is where the wild things are, and I love you for this <3
I know, but a trip or two to Ireland wouldn’t hurt; we’ll see what the future brings.
Good! I hope you go.
Beautiful pictures filled with history. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you more Beverly for what you do.
Reblogged this on The Reluctant Poet.
Honored. Thank you for caring about Belfast.
Wish I were there in a snug with My Dear. Second best, being there here.
Lucky you! And your dear <3
How lovely to have a snug in a pub!
It is a creative concept isn’t it, a snug in a pub. I wish more people could be encouraged to be creative like this.
Glorious <3 love it, Cindy. Thank you for yet another feast to my eyes.
Thank you my brilliant friend <3 <3
Great! Thank you Cinday for the wonderful insight into Ireland most known cities. Have a beautiful day! Michael
Thank you for such a thoughtful comment & cheers to you!
You too, Cindy! Reading your postings and watching the famous images always refreshing my mind. Have a good weekend. Michael
You too my friend and thank you!
:-))
PHOTOGRAPHS WERE FANTASTIC CINDY, CHINA
Go raibh maith agat!
Reblogged this on LIVING THE DREAM.
Thank you kindly for your thoughtfulness!
Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
Simply beautiful … just what I needed now!! Softness and amazing beauty!!
What a thoughtful and lovely comment! Thank you & cheers to you~
Most welcome!! Peace … cheers back!! 🙂
<3 <3
I am a teetotaler, but Kelly’s makes me want to have a sip or two. Beautiful photos and looks like the Belfast I always thought it was.
Belfast is a soulful city and you definitely do not need to drink in the pubs. I don’t, but the food is good!
I absolutely love the booths with doors, how cool is that? 🙂 We had a Johnny Carinos here in Simi for a bit and I love it because the booths had curtains. 🙂
Yeah, amazing concept isn’t it, just go in for a pub crawl, maybe a bite to eat, get a private snug of your own, surrounded by art deco glass, mahogany and these handmade, visually different tiles, and you get to close the door, for as long as you want to stay. I think I would like to go back in time,
You know I wrestle with that….on so many levels going back in time would be awesome, but then I think of all the advancements we’ve made, and going back in time would be hard on a woman, and I settle back into current with gratitude. LOL I do want to one day visit somewhere that has snugs. 🙂
If you time traveled you would have magic, obviously, right? You could right the wrongs, bring antibiotics and hand sanitizer, all that kind of stuff……laughing! Do visit a snug, it’s the magic of time travel without all that pesky reality!
Ah, The Crown. What a thing of beauty! I think I might have visited it many many years ago. I love old fashioned pubs with “snugs” like that.
I love everything about these old pubs, the beauty, the charm, the history, and most of all the living, contemporary reality, of watching my husband order some sort of beer, and get in a heartfelt conversation that moved him to no end, with someone he just met.
We don’t have this in the US and we are lesser for it.
Tolle Bilder, wow…
Ahhhh, vielen dank Ernst!
Wow! Never been to Belfast but it looks lovely! Time for Wolfie to take a closer look I think!
Wolfie would get you an entire snug to yourself in Belfast!
Cheers to you, Cindy. The pub with the mahogany booths was the best!
Yep. It creates semi-privacy in public, surrounded gobsmacking gorgeous design, and it is old.
Gobsmacking gorgeous- I love that!
Thank you & cheers too!
You’re most welcome, Cindy!
<3
wow 🙂
<3 <3
You’re making me antsy for our trip to Ireland next fall!
Oh Congratulations! A wonderful thing to look forward too.
Beautiful pictures. Thank you for posting.
Thank you more for appreciating them!
Amazing glass work.🙂
A beautiful collection.
Thank you & cheers to you!
Breathtaking architecture and glorious colors. Cindy, you brought this seemingly eclectic combination together beautifully. Hugs on the wing.
Hope you are having an awesome time & thank you Teagan <3
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Where in the world is Cindy now?? Belfast looks wonderful! How long will you be there? Are you visiting other cities as well? Have a great time.
Laughing…..I am home at The Holler for TG now. We were in Belfast in September. It is odd when I stay parked. It doesn’t feel quite right!
Great photos of such a fascinating city. Ireland is so beautiful but I have yet to visit the North.
I hadn’t either. Now I am trying to figure out when I can go back.
Your pictures are so wonderful!
I am honored and touched by your kindness. Thank you.
An amazing place.
What a colorful, charming city Cindy! The pub pics are my favorites– would love to be there, settled in to a table with friends and good conversation. Fun post– love seeing your travels! xox
You are a remarkable person Rhonda. I know it. Love to you.
Magnificent images of the city hall! Such a charming city. 🙂
Thank you, Belfast is a city filled with soul, (s).
I get an opportunity to visit Dublin for the first time in January, very excited by all your photos of Ireland, I wonder if I will have time to pop over to Belfast too, I hope so.
Belfast has a beautiful art deco Opera House. I almost included photos of it, but I have to limit myself. I hope you do go. The city is uniquely special and the people are truly warm and welcoming.
Thank you for taking me on a virtual tour each time I read your post.
Ahhh, thank you more for traveling with me!
All of your pictures are worthy of comment, but I will limit myself to Irish city halls. Boston has large populations of people of Irish and Italian heritage, and after seeing the Belfast City Hall and unavoidably knowing of Italian architectural skills, I cringed when thinking of the relatively recent construction of Boston City Hall. Built during the energy crisis, it is a large concrete structure with rooms vast in empty space needing heat. If ever this way, visit and photograph it. I don’t know who designed it, but, in its simplicity, the power of government is evident.
I am not a fan of modern concrete block buildings, or tall glass box buildings either. It seems the more we progress, the more we lose of our souls. Thank you for your very kind comments.
Wow! I’ve always wanted to go there. I would love to do a pub crawl and find a place so beautiful as Kelly’s. Those stained glass windows are gorgeous and sad all in the same breath. Then to build such stunning architecture later shows that someone had money during those hard times. Thanks for the armchair tour. You are the best. Merry Christmas, Cindy.
Ireland is a soulful and beautiful country. I look forward to spending 2019 with you Marlene & Wish You a Happy New Year! 🍸<3
I’ve just come across this lovely post you did, Cindy. Really enjoyed, thank you.
Thank you more for taking the time to tell me & cheers to you <3
Great post! Lovely city which I’ve always wanted to visit and although I am so close by I never have…thanks for such beautiful posts!