A surprising turn of events
Door: Anne van Wijhe
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Anne
14 April 2017 | Verenigd Koninkrijk, Belfast
So, this past week I got to know the healthcare system in Belfast a bit and I have seen how great it is that it actually pays off to be insured. Let me explain what happened.
To give you a bit of an introduction, my parents came to visit me on Thursday. They were supposed to stay for a few days. When they arrived we enjoyed a lovely meal and planned what I was going to show my parents on every day of their stay. I have been reviewing different activities in the past couple of months and decided to take my parents to the best ones in Belfast. A few of these were, St. George’s market, the Titanic museum, some of the best pubs in town, Cave Hill, and we took a black taxi tour.
The tour was actually something I had not done before. This is a taxi tour that takes you to some of the most important murals about the dynamic history of the city of Belfast. The tour guide talks about the past and uses his own experiences and thoughts to try to explain what happened in this part of the world. The separation of the people in two parts of the town. Known to many, as the catholic side and the protestant side. The separation of the people by a wall, the gates that still close at night and some of them are permanently closed. This prevents the people from fighting each other over the troubles that started in the late 1960s. The conflict we probably have all heard of. Northern Ireland or the north of Ireland (depending on the side of the wall you are from) is part of the United Kingdom which means that British as well as Irish people live here. And to say the least, they do not really like each other. Even though it is not as dangerous as it used to be, there are still people looking for some sort of revenge. On both sides of the wall.
This tour is one of the most interesting things I have done here in Belfast. The guide explained what had happened and helped us understand what was going on. I still don’t know half of it.
After this tour it seemed to be a good idea to walk up Cave Hill. It was a warm and sunny day and I wanted to show my parents the whole of Belfast. Long story short. We didn’t walk all the way up the hill and my father decided to break his leg on the way down. This was a surprising and unfortunate turn of events. However terrible this was, it was very fascinating to see how they were going to take my father to the hospital to get his leg fixed. My dad and I were kind of hoping for a helicopter. Instead, a team of 10 people came up the hill with a stretcher and a wheelbarrow like cart to put the stretcher (and my dad) on.
This accident made me wonder how many times accidents like this happen and how often the rescue team has to go up to save someone. It turned out that they were up there twice last week. Similar accidents happen quite regularly.
It was strange to see that many people taking one man down a hill. Better safe than sorry I guess. They took him down and put him in the ambulance. My dream of riding in the back of an ambulance finally came true! After making an x-ray, the doctor found out that the problem was more serious than it looked. They needed to operate on the leg. The trip is extended with a few days already and my parents are here for a week now. With my dad staying in one of the best hotels, the Royal Hospital. Let’s hope they can go home soon!
Greetings to you all from the hospital!
To give you a bit of an introduction, my parents came to visit me on Thursday. They were supposed to stay for a few days. When they arrived we enjoyed a lovely meal and planned what I was going to show my parents on every day of their stay. I have been reviewing different activities in the past couple of months and decided to take my parents to the best ones in Belfast. A few of these were, St. George’s market, the Titanic museum, some of the best pubs in town, Cave Hill, and we took a black taxi tour.
The tour was actually something I had not done before. This is a taxi tour that takes you to some of the most important murals about the dynamic history of the city of Belfast. The tour guide talks about the past and uses his own experiences and thoughts to try to explain what happened in this part of the world. The separation of the people in two parts of the town. Known to many, as the catholic side and the protestant side. The separation of the people by a wall, the gates that still close at night and some of them are permanently closed. This prevents the people from fighting each other over the troubles that started in the late 1960s. The conflict we probably have all heard of. Northern Ireland or the north of Ireland (depending on the side of the wall you are from) is part of the United Kingdom which means that British as well as Irish people live here. And to say the least, they do not really like each other. Even though it is not as dangerous as it used to be, there are still people looking for some sort of revenge. On both sides of the wall.
This tour is one of the most interesting things I have done here in Belfast. The guide explained what had happened and helped us understand what was going on. I still don’t know half of it.
After this tour it seemed to be a good idea to walk up Cave Hill. It was a warm and sunny day and I wanted to show my parents the whole of Belfast. Long story short. We didn’t walk all the way up the hill and my father decided to break his leg on the way down. This was a surprising and unfortunate turn of events. However terrible this was, it was very fascinating to see how they were going to take my father to the hospital to get his leg fixed. My dad and I were kind of hoping for a helicopter. Instead, a team of 10 people came up the hill with a stretcher and a wheelbarrow like cart to put the stretcher (and my dad) on.
This accident made me wonder how many times accidents like this happen and how often the rescue team has to go up to save someone. It turned out that they were up there twice last week. Similar accidents happen quite regularly.
It was strange to see that many people taking one man down a hill. Better safe than sorry I guess. They took him down and put him in the ambulance. My dream of riding in the back of an ambulance finally came true! After making an x-ray, the doctor found out that the problem was more serious than it looked. They needed to operate on the leg. The trip is extended with a few days already and my parents are here for a week now. With my dad staying in one of the best hotels, the Royal Hospital. Let’s hope they can go home soon!
Greetings to you all from the hospital!
Reageer op dit reisverslag
Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
