Churches

I didn't at all expect this - maybe I should have, but I didn't - but I saw more churches in Belfast in one day than I saw in Dublin in my first month. Why?

I'm not sure why I saw more. Truthfully, it could just be that Belfast is a smaller city than Dublin, so all the churches are closer together. I also haven't really looked for churches so much in Dublin. But in Belfast, everywhere you looked, you could see a tower or spiral from a Cathedral. Here are some:

These are from Sinclair Seamen's Church, which specialized in ministering to sailors who came into port in Belfast. We weren't allowed in, but I got some shots of the outside:

These are from St. Anne's Cathedral, which was large and beautiful, but not in the way the Medici and other Italian chapels were:

This is the inside. Notice that there are no frescoes, the stones are not as exquisite as the Italian cathedrals, and the ceiling is made of wood with a sunhole in the roof:

Notice the British flags? I'll get to those.

I think this is the lectern, where the scripture lessons are read.

We got to hear the choir practice, and I got one of their cd's for my Dad (sh - I know he doesn't read this, so he doesn't know yet!)

I think this was the only fresco in the cathedral. It depicts St. Patrick.

And this is none other than St. Vincent de Paul himself.

These next ones are from St. Patrick's Cathedral. There were people inside who were actually praying, and it seemed disrespectful to snap photos like a tourist, so I only got one of the inside. I will say, however, that I think St. Patrick's is the most artlessly beautiful cathedral I have ever seen. Really, it is magnificent and artless inside:

This is the inside. The picture doesn't do it justice, but I'm still quite pleased with this shot. Notice the purple cloth draped at the front, because it is Lent. 

In between churches, we saw the below mural of none other than Martin Luther. This is something I probably should have expected, since there is a higher number of Protestants in Northern Ireland than in Ireland, but it was still surprising to come across:

This is Luther's famous quote - "Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me."

I'm fairly sure it was actually Augsburg where he said that, but this is still really cool.
Edit: I reread this and thought to myself, "What on earth was I thinking? It was definitely Worms!"

More churches - I don't remember all their names:

This was kind of amazing.

It was freezing cold and I didn't have my gloves, so I only used my camera to snap photos of churches I thought were particularly beautiful. There were many, many more that we passed by.