Dear Dreamer,
I have not written you in so long and I'm sorry. Actually, I kinda did write to you, but I never sent it, which is worse. So what I'm about to post is from when I went to Belfast, Northern Ireland on February 17th. It has been too long.
[Dear Dreamer,
Authentic. That was the experience that I had last night. I have no pictures to show where I was, no sounds to take in the moment. It would have felt wrong for me even to try.
Yesterday afternoon I went to the market. There was a man named Ludwig there who sounded amazing and I loved his songs. He said that he would later be playing at an Irish pub. Dreamer, I don't want to share the name, because it is such a special and small place and it should stay so, though if I ever have the pleasure of travelling with you to Belfast, then I will take you there on a Saturday night so that you too may enjoy the moments there. When Ludwig told me where he would be playing, I was very intent on going to see him play. Live music is something that can't be replaced by another experience.
A group of about 12 people left our Hostel, Global Village Belfast, which I highly recommend, at around 9:30pm. We went to a place called Laverdy's where I sipped only the second beer of my life, an Irish ale called Smithwicks.
Quick side note, since those of you who know me know that Carter Daubenspeck does not drink. The day I got to Ireland I decided that since I was in Ireland I was going to have an Irish brew. So I went to a pub around 2pm so that I wouldn't be pressured or anything and sat there with a Guiness Burger and a Guiness beer and sipped it for a really long time to see what effect it would have on my body. Seriously felt nothing at all except that I thought the Guiness was gross. I had a huge meal to counteract the effects if there were to be any. So that was my first beer experience.
Basically, I wanted to just have fun and soak in the culture here, so I went out with some friends and slowly sipped my Smithwicks. After that though, we finally went to see Ludwig at the Irish pub. It was a bit of a journey and only about five of us went, and one person met us there. Ludwig was there playing loud and live downstairs, the man I'd come to see.
But this is where authentic began. Around 11pm and without having even finished the first song, I ventured to find seating upstairs, only to find seating and true, genuine, live Irish music. There was a group of ten people who joined together improvising and just having fun. I later learned that two of the men there were famous in Ireland for their music, and here they were in a tiny Irish pub with only twenty people upstairs in audience, singing and playing in a corner with no aid of microphones or speakers to interfere in the beauty. When one of the two men, or a woman who had an equally lovely voice who had walked over, started to sing, the entire pub would be silenced so as to be able to hear.
So I sat upstairs and ever so slowly sipped my third ever beer in my life, a Northern Irish brew, Harp, sat in the lowlight with a few friends, and listened to the group in the corner play their beautiful melodies. It sounded so beautiful, and my words cannot do it justice. Everyone was so friendly, so engulfed in the moment, so enriched in culture, so... Irish. I could not help but sit there with a smile. I asked the bar tender if I could buy the glass I was drinking from, he said yes and gave me two more, so I went home with a Harp glass, a Guinness glass, and a Carlsberg glass all for free. On top of that, he was ashamed that I'd not had a proper Guinness from a proper pub, and he declared to have the best Guinness in Belfast, so he gave me half a pint of Guinness for free as well. He was right, it was much better than the Guinness I'd had the previous day. I took a few sips though and gave it to a friend, because I was not willing to test my limits.
But my point is, that man was so kind, everyone in the pub was so kind. The people here are so kind. I watched a peaceful protest earlier in the day. The people here have a history with a bad reputation, but they are genuinely so kind and they stand for what they believe in. I did not even know where the pub was, so I asked a woman on the way there. All over the world I have asked for directions and have not gotten such a loving response. She said, "I do, let me show you, that's the easiest way for me to tell you." She told the men she was with to hold on for a moment, walked us part of the way there, and then gave us simple directions to get around the corner. This is not just an uncommon trait here that this woman had, it is something characteristic of so many people here in Belfast. They have been so kind and so genuine.
Now Dreamer, I don't know if my ranting is making any sense, but I can't really explain what it was like to sit there silently in that little Irish pub and listen to the most beautiful Irish music I've ever heard being played right there in front of me while I sipped an Irish Brew. It is a moment though that, if I ever have the pleasure of being in Belfast with you on a Saturday night, I will share with you. There is nothing like it.
Blessings,
Carter]
I have not written you in so long and I'm sorry. Actually, I kinda did write to you, but I never sent it, which is worse. So what I'm about to post is from when I went to Belfast, Northern Ireland on February 17th. It has been too long.
[Dear Dreamer,
Authentic. That was the experience that I had last night. I have no pictures to show where I was, no sounds to take in the moment. It would have felt wrong for me even to try.
Yesterday afternoon I went to the market. There was a man named Ludwig there who sounded amazing and I loved his songs. He said that he would later be playing at an Irish pub. Dreamer, I don't want to share the name, because it is such a special and small place and it should stay so, though if I ever have the pleasure of travelling with you to Belfast, then I will take you there on a Saturday night so that you too may enjoy the moments there. When Ludwig told me where he would be playing, I was very intent on going to see him play. Live music is something that can't be replaced by another experience.
A group of about 12 people left our Hostel, Global Village Belfast, which I highly recommend, at around 9:30pm. We went to a place called Laverdy's where I sipped only the second beer of my life, an Irish ale called Smithwicks.
Quick side note, since those of you who know me know that Carter Daubenspeck does not drink. The day I got to Ireland I decided that since I was in Ireland I was going to have an Irish brew. So I went to a pub around 2pm so that I wouldn't be pressured or anything and sat there with a Guiness Burger and a Guiness beer and sipped it for a really long time to see what effect it would have on my body. Seriously felt nothing at all except that I thought the Guiness was gross. I had a huge meal to counteract the effects if there were to be any. So that was my first beer experience.
Basically, I wanted to just have fun and soak in the culture here, so I went out with some friends and slowly sipped my Smithwicks. After that though, we finally went to see Ludwig at the Irish pub. It was a bit of a journey and only about five of us went, and one person met us there. Ludwig was there playing loud and live downstairs, the man I'd come to see.
But this is where authentic began. Around 11pm and without having even finished the first song, I ventured to find seating upstairs, only to find seating and true, genuine, live Irish music. There was a group of ten people who joined together improvising and just having fun. I later learned that two of the men there were famous in Ireland for their music, and here they were in a tiny Irish pub with only twenty people upstairs in audience, singing and playing in a corner with no aid of microphones or speakers to interfere in the beauty. When one of the two men, or a woman who had an equally lovely voice who had walked over, started to sing, the entire pub would be silenced so as to be able to hear.
So I sat upstairs and ever so slowly sipped my third ever beer in my life, a Northern Irish brew, Harp, sat in the lowlight with a few friends, and listened to the group in the corner play their beautiful melodies. It sounded so beautiful, and my words cannot do it justice. Everyone was so friendly, so engulfed in the moment, so enriched in culture, so... Irish. I could not help but sit there with a smile. I asked the bar tender if I could buy the glass I was drinking from, he said yes and gave me two more, so I went home with a Harp glass, a Guinness glass, and a Carlsberg glass all for free. On top of that, he was ashamed that I'd not had a proper Guinness from a proper pub, and he declared to have the best Guinness in Belfast, so he gave me half a pint of Guinness for free as well. He was right, it was much better than the Guinness I'd had the previous day. I took a few sips though and gave it to a friend, because I was not willing to test my limits.
But my point is, that man was so kind, everyone in the pub was so kind. The people here are so kind. I watched a peaceful protest earlier in the day. The people here have a history with a bad reputation, but they are genuinely so kind and they stand for what they believe in. I did not even know where the pub was, so I asked a woman on the way there. All over the world I have asked for directions and have not gotten such a loving response. She said, "I do, let me show you, that's the easiest way for me to tell you." She told the men she was with to hold on for a moment, walked us part of the way there, and then gave us simple directions to get around the corner. This is not just an uncommon trait here that this woman had, it is something characteristic of so many people here in Belfast. They have been so kind and so genuine.
Now Dreamer, I don't know if my ranting is making any sense, but I can't really explain what it was like to sit there silently in that little Irish pub and listen to the most beautiful Irish music I've ever heard being played right there in front of me while I sipped an Irish Brew. It is a moment though that, if I ever have the pleasure of being in Belfast with you on a Saturday night, I will share with you. There is nothing like it.
Blessings,
Carter]
P.S. Here is a picture of my first meal with a Guiness!