On the Train to Bangor

I’ve always enjoyed a bit of spontaneity.

Alright, maybe “always” is a stretch.  I usually like spontaneity, especially when I’m expecting it.  And last weekend, Jo and Miriam and I enjoyed a bit of well-planned spontaneity. 

We had decided that Saturday would be an excellent time for a day-trip, so we showed up at the Belfast Central Train Station with open minds, an Ireland for Dummies guide book, and no particular destination in mind.  After some awkward squinting at train timetables and covert glances at guide books, we decided to ask the man behind the ticket counter for suggestions.  In ten minutes, we found ourselves on the train headed for the nearby town of Bangor (pronounced bang-ger).  As you can see, it turned out to be quite a success:

Walking along the pier in Bangor.  We told ourselves that
the rain and wind just gave the place some extra flavor.

I may or may not have gotten splashed.  More than once.

Apparently, there is a park nearby with boats shaped like swans.
I thought that it might not be the right day to set sail in a swan.

Bangor Castle, finished in 1852.  The word "castle"
might be a bit of a stretch...but I mean that in the best
possible way.

View of Bangor from the castle.

Part of the castle grounds.

Inside the castle, Jo and Miriam were vastly entertained by
a movie on the history of Bangor as a holiday hotspot.

Bangor Abbey.  Although most of this present structure
was built in the mid-19th century, there has been an abbey
on this site since A.D. 558

The abbey may have been founded by St. Comgall, but
it still has the creepiest cemetery I've ever seen.  With all
the overturned and cracked gravestones, it was like there
had been a small resurrection of the dead.

Successfully spontaneous.