SCT: Glasgow & the Grand Tour

It seems to be a recurring theme that Canada is the place to meet Scottish people.

Why this is a thing, I do not know. But it’s been very helpful for this trip so far.

I made the journey west from Edinburgh to Glasgow. From one big city to another.

Don’t get me wrong, as far as  urban cities go I very much liked it. In amongst the disgustingly modern and tall buildings were some real gems (of which we shall get on to in a second).

I must say, my welcome to Glasgow was rather… Unexpected. It’s a short journey from Edinburgh, and due to some strange miracle, it was – again – sunny when I arrived!

I walked for about thirty minutes to go meet my friend, which I always think is a good way to explore a new city. Then I was met by this building.

Now, I won’t lie. The only reason I went in was because I needed the toiler. Judge me all you like, but an art gallery is one of my least favourite things, especially if the weather outside is so wonderful. However, by some lucky chance I had chosen the hour where an organ rehearsal (recital?) was taking place.

Apparently Kelvingrove organ is a famous one (as far as organs can be), and I have to admit it was a unique experience. I ended up sitting in the Hall for a good twenty minutes, waiting for my friend and listening/watching the organist go. It’s a very strange instrument.

 

One of the other more impressive buildings in Glasgow (yes, a lot of my pictures for this trip revolve around architecture) is, of course, the university.

Similar to Scott’s Monument in certain ways, it’s safe to say I was a fan. Luckily my friend is a student at the university, so they gave me a nice little tour around campus… which wasn’t very exciting, but at least the buildings were nice to look at?

Sadly we got rained on later that day. See those nice blue skies in earlier pictures? Yeah, it was quickly replaced by this.

 

But not to worry, the following day proved a more enjoyable mixture of weather.

We took a walk along the waterfront and, apparently, that building is the “tallest revolving tower in the world”. Whatever that means. I feel they’re clutching at straws here.

A more notable landmark, is the statue of the Duke of Wellington in the city centre.

This is about as Scottish as it gets (I should probably say Glaswegian, lest I get in trouble). See those traffic cones? It is now a permanent feature of the statue. If someone does decide to take it (usually a cocky drunkard) then it is replaced with a new one the following. Scottish culture for you.

 

The Necropolis has to be mentioned. When it was recommended that I go see the big graveyard whilst there because it is “a lovely spot”, I was more than a little sceptical. I will happily admit to being proved wrong.

I’m sure the weather helped but it was a very pretty graveyard. Incredible mausoleums and monuments built on top of a hill overlooking the entire city? Quite a sight to behold.

 

The picture above brings us conveniently on to the cathedral, which shall be the final talking point of Glasgow.

Again, it was one of those buildings that stands out amongst the urban setting.

As always, I am more impressed by buildings from the outside than within, but I did manage to snap a satisfying picture of the structure from the inside, too, eve in amongst all the tourists.

 

And that will do for Glasgow.

I would apologise for the excessive architecture but… that seems to be almost exclusively what I took pictures of whilst in Edinburgh and Glasgow. There is one more Scottish post coming – from a few days in Stirling. Which, unsurprisingly, will heavily feature the castle.

SCT: Edinburgh& The Endless Walking

It has taken me twenty-three years to cross the border north into Scotland. Twenty-three. Given that it only takes about three hours on a train, this astounds me.

And yet, I will happily jet off to New Zealand or Canada, basically as far away from  home as possible. There’s something wrong there.

At least now I can finally say I have explored more of my own country (kind of country. There this big word “BREXIT” looming over the time I’m writing this, but we shall ignore). One of the benefits to travelling to far-flung places: the meeting of new people.

For example, in Edinburgh (the first stop on my Scotland trip), I stayed with two friends I met in Canada.

The story of how we met? They were camping in the Rockies the same time I was, in the plot next to ours. We spoke only a few times and in the end I sold them our tent, as we no longer needed it.

A year and a half later, I am staying in their house for a few days, and having a fantastic guided tour of the city.

A note on the weather: somehow, by the grace of the Scottish Gods (?), I have travelled with sunshine. Naturally there has been rain, but for the most part during the days – when most of the tourism has occurred – it has stayed remarkably dry, even with a few spots of sunshine!

I was greeted by this view as soon as I stepped out of the train station in Edinburgh. It is now my favourite building in the world.

Scott’s Monument – built in 1844 to honour the Scottish author Sir Walter Scott – it stands out amongst even the historic old buildings of a place like Edinburgh. The Gothic style is just stunning. Not only that, the views from the top are spectacular.

 

I will admit, quite a lot of the rest of my time in Edinburgh was spent day-drinking.

This isn’t to say that we didn’t do plenty of sightseeing, too. In fact, being a tourist is a great way of sobering up in between pubs.

Google has kindly calculated that I walked about twenty-five miles during my three days there. Interspersed with the pubs, of course.

It is very much my kind of city. Old and beautiful, small enough you can walk everywhere (if you’re willing and the weather is kind). Lots and lots to do, too, not just as a tourist.

 

The castle is, of course, worth mentioning.

It is as spectacular and as overrun with tourists as expected. I did not go inside, seeing as the swarms of tourists is often enough to dissuade me, not to mention the price seeming extortionate when I can happily admire it from the outside.

 

What I did do, though, seeing as I had to do at least one extremely touristy activity, was descend into Mary King’s Close.

Sadly pictures weren’t allowed but I can, at least, provide a small history lesson based off what I can remember being told (with a generous amount of help from Google).

The city of Edinburgh we now know (and love) is in fact built on top of another city, or at least more streets. Access to Mary King’s Close was closed off in 1645 when the Great Plague hit. Probably didn’t help that all the residents were living in disease and squalor already…

 

There is also a lovely viewpoint called Calton Hill, just outside the city centre.

Featured on this hill, is the “National Monument of Scotland”. It is also known as “Edinburgh’s Disgrace”. Modelled upon the Pathenon in Athens, It is Scotland’s attempt at a memorial to honour those who died during the Napoleonic Wars. Sadly, the Scots run out of funding and it was never finished… Hence the entertaining name.

 

I’m sure there’s plenty more I did in Edinburgh (I could, for instance, try to list all the pubs I went to. Not sure this would make for very interesting reading, though), but these are the things that have lingered as favourites on my mind.

Besides, the Scotland trip is not over yet…

SE: Sweden & the City by the Sea

Confession time: I did a big roadtrip through most of Europe and completely forgot to write about it.

I would go back and write about it now but… I fear it has been too long and my memory will be somewhat hazy. Of both the order and the activities. I have pictures to back these things up, of course, but somehow I still manage to mess things up (case and point: Mexico).

So, a quick surmise of the roadtrip:

• Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein
• Unsuccessful camping
• Lots and lots of castles (including Lichtenstein Castle which is not in Liechtenstein the Country. And also spelt differently, something I’ve only recently learnt)
• New Zealand reunions

And here, have a picture. Don’t say I don’t spoil you.

 

So, speaking of reunions, the purpose of the subject of this post was to visit my friend currently living in Sweden. Niels, my Dutch friend, who I met in New Zealand, and now lives in Sweden… it does get a little confusing.

Now, I could probably split this into two posts, but due to time constraints (meaning I have more travels to post about), it shall be condensed down to one. Onwards and upwards, James!

 

My friend lives in Gothenburg, southwest Sweden. Naturally I spent most of my time there, with a few trips out. There were several viewpoints we visited within the city/just outside.

The city itself is my kind of city. Walkable, with a lovely mixture of urban and greenery. You walk for five minutes from the centre and you can be in a huge, sprawling park (with a small zoo-type thing in it… unexpected).

 

A lot of the trip was weather-dependent. Several days were spent hiding inside due to an unfortunate amount of rain. We did have one very nice day, where we took a trip out to a small fishing town called Fjällbacka.

It is mostly known as a summer tourist destination, but there were plenty of lovely spots, including a hike that took us up on to the big rock that dominants the centre of the “village”. Naturally, this provided exceptional views.

 

Another daytrip was out to Styrsö Island, one of the (many) Gothenburg archipelagos.

This, I must say, was a very cute experience. Again, mostly a summer destination for a lot of tourists, it was nice to see the place in the quiet season. This is generally a theme in my travels (intentional, before you question that).

The only way for the locals to get to and from the city is by ferry, and without a car. This leads to a very peaceful environment to wander. Plenty of hiking trails to keep you occupied, too.

My favourite thing about it though is that there are no cars. Admittedly we did see a few, but they were all workmen (how they got their vans on to the island I still have no idea). But instead of cars, the locals mostly have bikes with biiiig trays on the front to carry things around with.

OR, in even more spectacular fashion, they ride around in these things:

How cool would that be?! My kind of place.

 

The last thing of major note that I did in Sweden, would be a lovely kayak trip along the river that curves through Gothenburg.

I have to count myself as lucky, for my friend works for the kayak rental place so I got to go for free, wahey!

I feel I got very lucky with the weather as well. Mostly blue skies for my whole trip (for that day, at least). Other tourists loved the idea of a lone kayaker traversing the city. Pretty sure I’m famous across many countries, now.

There are a lot of strange sights along the banks of Gothenburg, most notably a place called the Feskekôrka. The literal translation of this odd building is: “Fish Church”.

That’s right, my friends, Gothenburg is home to a faux-church which is actually a fish market. They have a strange humour, I won’t lie. But, it does at least mean that it has some charm.

 

 

That about sums Sweden up, in a very condensed fashion. A very enjoyable trip, one that has managed to make it on to the blog (unlike the Europe roadtrip, that was arguably bigger and better).

As I write this, I am currently in Scotland. So, I’m sure (/really hoping) there will also be a post about this in the near future.