Last Sunday a group of us decided to head down to a coastal town called Cobh (which is really pronounced cove). One of the main reasons we decided to visit was because this was the last port where the Titanic picked up passengers on its way to America. 123 passengers boarded the ship in Cobh which at that time was named Queenstown, and around 77 of them actually survived.
We set out for the train station and it was pouring rain, by the time we had made the 30 minute walk we were all soaked, except for under our raincoats. We got our tickets and got on the train for the 20 minute ride. Once we got there, we were still wet, and now the rain was blowing sideways at us because of the strong winds off the water. We did eventually figure out where we were going and made it to "The Titanic Experience".
This building which houses "The Titanic Experience" was the old ticket building for White Star Line so it is the actual building that the passengers would have passed through. When we got inside, we were given a card with a person's name and information on it, and it looked like what they would have received as their ticket. The unique thing about these cards was that they were all passengers that boarded the ship in Cobh specifically as opposed to any of the passengers. We then watched a few movies, saw the dock that the people launched off of to get to the Titanic (we ran through this part because it was still pouring and the walkway was outside). We then entered a third class cabin and then moved to a first class cabin to see what the different living arrangements would be like. The Third class cabin was like staying in a hostel now days, while the first class cabin was more like a five star hotel. We then watched one more movie, and moved to the exhibition room where we were able to read everything at our own pace. This was also where we found out if we lived or died. In our group of 7 people, we had 6 females who were third class passengers and 1 male who was a second class passenger. All but one of the females survived, while one female and the one male did not survive.
Pictures from around town
All these houses are connected and lead from almost the top of the hill down to the water
Same houses from a different angle
The street right along the water
Flowers in January!?!?!
Shipyard
Stephanie, Emily, and I on steps leading to the water
We then ran across the street (still raining) to a little cafe to have lunch. I had a nice chicken panini. By the time we were done eating the sun was coming out and we decided to explore the city a bit. We starting walking up the hill the cafe was on and as we wandered, we found our way to a big cathedral, St. Coleman's cathedral. It was beautiful inside and I probably took about 100 pictures, but I'll try to pick out the best for the blog.
The Organ with Stained Glass Above It
These are their stations of the Cross, and they are outside of the church, each with its own little cubbyhole
After that we walked around Cobh a bit more, visited the visitors center and walked along the coast. We found a nice little park area next to "The Titanic Experience" and wandered around there. We got a better view of the outside of the building and the pier.
This pier is nicknamed "Heartbreak Pier" because so many people left their families from here to go other places like America and they either knew or expected that they would never return home.
Then we took the train back and went our separate ways for the evening to make dinner.
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