Dunkeld and Birnam, Scotland

Earlier this month we went on vacation to Scotland! It was great to be back there, I really enjoy that every time there’s a change in my life I have to go to Scotland. Our plan was to go up to the Highlands for some rest first for about a week, and then to Edinburgh (which will be a future post). We took the train to Dunkeld and Birnam and stayed in a cute place there, it was really lovely!

Now Dunkeld and Birnam are technically two different towns, but they are connected by a short bridge so it doesn’t really matter. Over in Birnam there are less things for sure, but it’s still very cute. The main attraction is Birnam Arts with the Beatrix Potter experience. The story is that Ms. Potter spent her summers in Birnam when she was young, and her experiences with the wildlife there led to her writing all of these children’s stories. She also met the naturalist Charles MacIntosh there, and he is buried in a nearby cemetery. There’s a theory that his likeness is Mr. MacGregor in Peter Rabbit which is extremely adorable. Past the church, there’s the last tree from Birnam Wood, a medieval forest featured in the Shakespeare play “Macbeth”. It’s about 400-500 years old! Very cool to see, the tree itself is huge and well worth the visit. Other than that, there’s some cute cafes and coffee shops. We really liked the Birnam Wood Café and Birnam Books personally.

Over the bridge in Dunkeld, there’s a little more going on. Most restaurants and hotels are over here. There’s also the Dunkeld Cathedral which is super historic but in disrepair right now. They were collecting money in a few ways but also by holding free music concerts all summer which was so fun! We caught a Scottish folk music performance and a classical saxophone performance. There was a cute knit shop, a fish and chips place, a tea shop, a bakery, a clootie dumpling place (a baked treat), and more! We spent most days doing the 15 minute walk into town and then figuring out where we hadn’t eaten yet.

Just outside of town there are many trails for hiking and biking, we only did one. It’s the Hermitage walk and it’s known for not being too difficult so it’s relatively accessible for kids and older people. It was cool though to be out in the wilderness, so nice to get to see the woods and some wildlife.

So that was our trip to the Highlands! It was a lot of fun and really nice that it was on a train route for us. I would love to go back sometime for another relaxing vacation.

Top 10 Tips for Travellers

1. Water bottle and bandaids

Take care of yourself! That means bandaids for the blisters that you will probably get, as well as walking shoes to minimize the inevitable blisters. And a water bottle so that you always have water and then don’t have to pay for it as often. Most cities have plenty of public fountains that are perfectly clean, so take advantage of it!

2. Use public transportation

I know that some people get nervous when it comes to navigating public transportation, but it really isn’t that hard. Most subways are pretty similar, and ticket machines usually have an English option. If not, find a teller, they can help you out. You save so much money this way, and you can people watch a little.

3. Buy everything in advance

I know some people don’t book their hostel or whatever until the last minute, but just do it when you get your plane ticket. It’s definitely much cheaper that way, and you’ll be much more organized too. 

4. Use sites that compare prices but then book directly with the hostel

It’s always cheapest to book with the hostel, but those comparison sites are great to find what hostel to book with. I used HostelWorld, but there are plenty out there. Just remember to search the name of your chosen hostel to find their website and book through there.

5. Talk to people!

I am not a people person so this was pretty hard for me, but you’re travelling to learn about other cultures! Interact with people! Or hang out in the common area of the hostel and chat with other travelers, just put yourself out there!

6. Try to learn the local language

It’s super helpful to understand at least a little of the local language. Even if you only watch a few youtube videos, it makes everything much easier and at least a little familiar when you step off the train in the middle of a strange city.

7. Google “free things to do”, that’s how you find the cheap activities

Literally this is how I would plan my itinerary. Google this and you’ll probably get a list of quaint parks, amazing views, free museums, anything could pop up. But don’t search this and you’ll probably miss it.

8. Take free walking tours

The free walking tours are great! They run off of tips so the guides try to make them as interesting as possible, and you get to hear about the city from a local. They also usually include quite a bit of the history, which isn’t something that you’ll get just from walking around on your own. Try to tip!

9. Remember that eating is part of the experience

I usually packed some food with me so that I could pay less on food, but eating is still part of the culture. Save up on a few meals and then splurge a little on key places, it’s definitely worth it!

10. Pack really light

This probably goes without saying, but only bring what you need and can carry. You can also always buy things while traveling, you don’t need to take it all with you. Everything gets much easier when you have less stuff to drag around, and then sort through every time you want to find something.

But also have fun! You are on a vacation, enjoy yourself a little! Try not to be stressing out at every turn!

Mad Madrid

The final city (well we also went to London but I was already there so there’s no point in writing about it) was Madrid in Spain. Madrid feels much more city-like than the other places we went to, with much more people and stores around. It’s also very similar to Italy, with the siestas and the importance of eating as a social activity.

There’s also a lot of art around the city. Both the Prado Museum, the really big art museum, and the Reina Sofia, the modern art museum, have free entry for the last 2 hours that they’re open (6-8 for the Prado and 7-9 for the Reina Sofia). The Prado can get really crowded so get there early, but I didn’t have a problem with getting into the Reina Sofia. The main attraction for the Reina Sophia is Picasso’s “Guernica” which is a huge and spectacular painting! It’s worth it to go in just for that. There’s also the Caixa Forum, but I would just see the outside of that one during the day. It’s really cool.

There’s another popular walking tour of the old town of Madrid that meets in Plaza Mayor. It focuses more on the history of the city, which I thought was really cool. It covers the Madrid cathedral, which you should definitely see the inside of, and the Madrid palace. I went inside there (apparently there’s also free entry for that during the last two hours) and it’s absolutely beautiful. The Egyptian temple is pretty close to there as well, would definitely recommend seeing that. Check the hours though, they can be odd.

If you can get into the Bolsa (the stock exchange) definitely do it because it’s spectacular as well! There’s also the congress building, which is only open for 2 hours on Saturdays, so get there early if you want to see that.

The big park is El Retiro Park, and it’s insanely huge, so it’s a great place for a walk. Try to see the lake in the middle of it with the boats, and the Crystal Palace. The Crystal Palace is part of the Reina Sophia, so there’s an art exhibit inside that consists of fossils hung from the ceiling. Lovely building in a lovely park.

Good food in Spain includes croquettas (have them all day every day), fried squid sandwich (I had this and it was great), Spanish omelette (egg and potato), and paella (can take a while and be pricey but it’s worth it). The tapas are great but can be expensive so watch out. And if you’re doing lunch look for the menu del dia, the fixed price lunch of the day. And for churros the Chocolateria San Grimes next to Plaza Mayor is a must, get them with chocolate.

Spain was pretty cool, I didn’t totally love it because I don’t speak Spanish but it was still cool nonetheless.

Rainy Zurich

After Prague came Zurich. We brought food with us to Zurich since it’s so expensive there (definitely a good call). It reminded me of Brussels a little bit because the people here primarily speak Swiss German, but you also hear French, Italian, and English being spoken around town. And it definitely feels more metropolitan than Budapest or Prague, but we stuck to the old town part so it had a bit of a similar atmosphere.

There are a few main places to see in old town. First there’s the Lindenhof, a square with amazing views of the Limmat River and the city. Then there’s the 3 main churches: Grossmunster, Fraumunster, and St. Peter’s Kirche. Grossmunster has the two towers on its front and is the biggest. Fraumunster has one green steeple and has stained glass by Marc Chagall on the inside. St. Peter’s Kirche has the biggest clock face in Europe on it.

Then there’s also several museums. We went to the Beyer Watch Museum, or the Uhrenmuseum, which was a really interesting place. It’s not just watches, it’s a museum of ways that people kept track of time across history. Then there’s the Swiss National Museum, or the Landesmuseum. This was really interesting for me since I didn’t know much about Swiss history and that museum has everything in it!

Then we visited the opera house. It’s a really cool building, but tours in English are expensive so we didn’t do that. It’s across from the arboretum on Lake Zurich, which is a good place for a walk. Apparently the lake is great for swimming in summer, in January not so much. After that we went on a chocolate adventure! Sprungli and Teuscher are the two expensive Swiss brands, so definitely try them. And the hot chocolate is great as well, skip the Starbucks and find a local place.

If you go out to eat, try to find the cheapest place. Then splurge and get a fondue or a raclette (30 francs each) one night. Fondue is melted cheese, raclette is similar but you melt it yourself with various veggies or meats and scrape it onto potatoes that come with it. A great way to consume carbs and cheese!

Zurich was lovely, I just wish that it wasn’t so expensive! Definitely a good stop to make though.

Pretty Prague

After Budapest came Prague, one of my favorite cities that I’ve visited. The Vltava River flows through it, similar to Budapest and the Danube. First thing we did was walk down to see the Dancing House, which looks cool if nothing else. And the view of the Prague Castle from across the river at night is beautiful.

There’s another free walking tour that meets in the Old Town Square that’s really good, this one is by Sandeman’s new Europe tours or something like that. It’s long, but it’s really informative and takes you to all of the main places on the east side of the river. After that we went back to the Old Town Square to see the astronomical clock go off (it’s disappointing) and go into the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn. It’s gorgeous on the inside, and apparently the outside inspired Disney’s Sleeping Beauty castle. The National Gallery is also on this square, but it’s much smaller than I expected.

The next day was dedicated to the west side of the river. We started off by crossing the Charles Bridge, it’s really pretty and a must see for sure. After that was the John Lennon Wall, an absolute necessity for me. It’s a really cool place because of all the art and love that manifests here, but you can also see it change over time if you look up older photos of it. It’s a living breathing monument, which you don’t see all the time. Then Klampa park, which is actually a small island right next to the bank of the river.

After that we went to the Museum of Music which is such a cool place! There’s all sorts of instruments across time and space in there, including one that Mozart played while he was there. The people of Prague love Mozart, the Estates Theatre in the Old Town is where “Don Giovanni” premiered and has a statue of a character from the opera outside of it now.

Then there’s the Prague Castle. You can enter the collection of buildings for free, and even get into the lobby of St. Giles Cathedral without paying! You need to pay if you want to see the exhibits or go farther into the Cathedral though. I was fine with just wandering around. You also get a really nice view of the city since the castle is so high up on a hill.

That’s everything to do in Prague, but then there’s also the food. Beer is very popular there, as are dumplings. Not the dumplings like in Chinese food, more like they took the dough from the pork buns you can get in dim sum, balled it up, and cut into slices. They’re delicious! Potato pancakes are also very common, as is Prague ham (it’s overpriced on the streets though).

The general atmosphere of Prague is amazing, every building looks so pretty and even the sidewalks are a work of art. The people are all passionate and care about their country and are very nice when it comes to foreigners. I loved it there so much, and fully intent to return for longer as soon as I get the chance!

My Hostel in Budapest

(Note: the title is a play on that George Ezra song, this post is about Budapest not specifically my hostel.)

First stop on my January adventures across Europe was Budapest! Another gorgeous city! The people here speak Hungarian, but most know English as well, so that’s not too big of a problem. Also the currency used is the forint, and not many places take credit cards, so make sure you grab some.

I arrived kind of late, so the first thing I did was get dinner and then check out a ruin bar. Ruin bars are essentially old buildings that get converted into bars without any refurbishment. The decorations are usually repurposed from elsewhere, and each one has its own atmosphere. Most of them are in the Jewish Quarter near the Grand Synagogue. The best one, in my opinion, is Szimpla, which is pretty close to the synagogue itself. All of the decorations are repurposed, and there are plenty of tables and chairs in every room. There’s even a tub you can sit in! Tons of events take place inside, including live music and screenings.

The next day we did a free walking tour from Hostel Culture, which was really good despite the freezing cold. (It started snowing pretty heavily in the middle of the tour.) They show you the main sites on both the Pest (east) side of the Danube River, and the Buda (west) side of the Danube. This includes St. Stephen’s church with the holy Right Hand (I saw it, it was strange), Vorosmarty Ter with the food market, the Chain Bridge, and Castle Hill. Afterwards I explored more of the Pest side, including food from Vorosmarty Ter (the fried dough and chimney cakes are a favorite), the inside of St. Stephen’s (beautiful), and the Parliament building. There are tours of the Parliament building, and they’re pretty cheap so I’d recommend doing that. I’d also recommend seeing the Parliament building at night while walking along the Danube. They turn the outside lights on and make it even more beautiful, if you can believe it.

The next day was an exploration of the Buda side. Thankfully it was clearer, so we could easily see the Citadel from the banks of the Danube with the statue at the top. Then there’s the Hungarian National Gallery, located within Buda Castle on Castle Hill. The collection is really cool, there’s everything from medieval art to modern Hungarian works. There’s also the Square of the Holy Trinity, right next to Castle Hill with the great views from the Fisherman’s Bastion and the Matthias church.

Another great place to eat is in the Central Market, south of Vorosmarty Ter. They have some cheap street food and souvenirs on the first floor, while the ground floor has more produce and meats.

One other thing about Budapest, there are a ton of statues everywhere of many different people. There’s an artist painting along the Danube promenade, and leaders on horseback near the different historical sites. Find your favorites!

And that was my taste of Budapest. It’s a beautiful city, I hope that I can return there someday.

Christmas in Italy

After departing from my French friend, I headed down to Rome to meet my family for the holidays. Italy is a much more laid-back country compared to the UK. Things move at a slower pace and shops are usually closed during the siesta time around 1-4 pm. It’s still a gorgeous country, and the food is amazing, which is really all that matters.

The important points to see are Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps of course. Make sure you get some tortufo (chocolate gelato) at Piazza Navona, and find Raphael’s grave within the Pantheon! Also at Piazza Navona is the church of St. Agnes in Agone and the interior is absolutely stunning, definitely stop by there. When I was there the Spanish Steps were mostly boarded off for cleaning, but apparently they just finished doing the same thing to the Trevi Fountain and it’s gorgeous now!

There’s also a great food and clothes market in the Campo del Fiore if you’re into that, I’d recommend trying the limoncello since it’s a regional specialty. Oh and the pasta of course!

There is so much more to see, just not within walking distance like those other stops. This trip was the first time that I’d seen the Borghese gallery, which is a beautiful collection. The building that it’s housed in it gorgeous as well. The collection isn’t huge, but it features a lot of Greco-Roman works and I’d highly recommend it. There’s also the Coliseum, get there early even if you bought your tickets online because the line is always very long. The Roman Forum and the Circus Maximus are nearby, but there isn’t too much to see there, you can just drive by it.

Having said all that, I really couldn’t enjoy hanging out in any of these places that I mentioned because they’re all tourist-y areas and therefore there are guys everywhere practically shoving selfie sticks into your hands and trying to make you buy them. It’s incredibly aggravating. However, if you cross the Tiber River and walk around in the Trastevere area, it’s more residential and no one is trying to get you to buy anything. It’s lovely.

If you cross the Tiber in a westerly direction, you’ll head towards the Vatican. Of course since it was Christmas time and it’s a special jubilee this year it was packed when I went, so that meant more selfie stick hassle. This was also the first time I saw the Vatican museum, and I would highly recommend it. I saw the Greco-Roman works, the hall of tapestries, and the hall of maps (this section was particularly interesting), but there’s so much more than that, I’ll have to go back again! And of course the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica with the Pieta are always amazing.

After doing all that in Rome, my family headed to Sorrento to relax for a bit. There’s less to do here, but the Amalfi coast is gorgeous (if you’re courageous enough to drive down it, haha) and the food is amazing.

We also went to see Pompeii, which was cool but not as cool as you’d expect it honestly. The people are all in a museum, and you really have to know what you’re looking for to fully appreciate it. It’s also a little hard to walk around because the roads are in such bad shape. Still a cool way to spend a day though.

And that was my grand Italy adventure with my family! That country still has the best food anywhere, despite all the tourists.

Friends in Aix-en-Provence

Back in December, I visited my friend in Aix-en-Provence in France. This was probably one of my favorite trips, since I was able to see her family and her neighborhood, a rare enough occurrence among my college friends back home, let alone ones abroad. And it meant that she could show me around, which meant that I could take a backseat on planning for once.

Provencal France is really pretty, there are those classic old, European stucco houses and narrow streets everywhere. It was kind of amusing that electric cars would drive by and since they’re silent you often wouldn’t realize that you were in their way until they were right behind you.

While I was there, there was a Christmas market of course, but also a market dedicated entirely to sandon which are nativity figurines. They’re of characters from provencal folklore, which means that they’re almost exclusively in Victorian era clothing which is sometimes juxtaposed with the ancient holy family in some sets I saw. They can be doing anything from carting off a drunk in a wheelbarrow to playing cards, so there’s a ton of variety.

In town there’s also the public library which has these giant book sculptures incorporated into the architecture that I really liked. There are also many fountains that are covered in moss or some sort of plant, which I thought were cute. It’s a very green city in general, lots of trees and plants around and incorporated into the decoration.

There’s also a mountain nearby that Cezanne painted, and he was also from the area, so there are a ton of random shops and restaurants named after him or other painters, which is probably the most French thing I’ve ever heard. I went for a hike up the mountain to a small hermitage with my friend’s family, which was a ton of fun and resulted in some really incredible views.

That’s my only France experience for this trip. I was in Paris a few years ago so I’m not too bothered by it, and honestly this trip was so enjoyable that I’m fine leaving it at that!

Travelling Solo During the Holidays Kinda Sucks

Since today is Christmas, here’s a depressing post about what it’s like travelling during the holidays.

I don’t usually get the holiday blues. In fact, my usual attitude towards Christmas is a mix of Scrooge and Linus; I don’t like all the hype that surrounds it. But this year it kind of got to me, for various reasons.

First of all, the holiday season is all about being happy and with family and all that nonsense. I’m solitary by nature and not really given to that kind of sentimentality. This year I think it pushed me over the edge.

I think the main reason was the fact that I was alone for the majority of the time. I’ve been travelling solo, which is great because you can do what you want, but it sometimes does get lonely. As a result, I’m not that close to people here, and my home friends are together and far away from me. And then there’s also my family, but they’re pretty far as well. And on top of all that, I just said goodbye to my friends in Scotland and am missing them a lot.

I’m stuck in a kind of limbo where I don’t want to leave my friends here, but I really want to see my friends back home. It makes it pretty hard to be alone because then I’m missing both groups, and with anyone because I’m missing someone.

And it’s starting to hit me that it’s going to be a while until I am home again, since I’m travelling in January. Which is sad, because that’s where I really want to be now.

Having said all that, I know that this is also a passing thing that will leave once the holidays are over. I’d be surprised if I don’t get my energy back and get back into the swing of things past New Years, it’s hard to be sad when you know that there’s a whole world out there to see.

So merry Christmas and happy holidays in your respective language/culture, but also pour one out for those poor souls that are alone and feel pressured to be happy when they aren’t. Because you’re never alone. <3

This is Iceland

I took a couple days after finals to go on my last solo trip. This time it was to Reykjavik, Iceland. What would have been a more cost-effective way to go about this would have been to do one of the free stopovers that Icelandair offers on the journey home. Unfortunately, my dad already got a non-refundable return ticket for my sister, and my parents weren’t about to let me ditch her and stop at Iceland by myself on the way back from our January adventures, so I had to fly solo and on my own time for this one. I didn’t mind, I’ve come to really enjoy travelling by myself.

Iceland is an amazing, beautiful country. It’s one of the top places that I’ve visited so far, and one of the few where I could actually see myself living there. I’m not quite sure why, a mixture of the people being so friendly and the culture being fascinating I guess. I’d love to go back and spend more time and money there, haha.

I flew out from Glasgow last Sunday, and arrived in Reykjavik around 6. Navigating my way from the BSI bus terminal to my hostel was interesting, but I managed. Transportation in Reykjavik is a little different as there isn’t a subway system, it’s just buses. So if you have the money and the need, renting a car is probably the most convenient way to go. (However you can make it just by walking, as I will describe shortly.) Since vehicles are the most common mode of transport, it often seems like you’re just walking along the side of a highway instead of in a city, which can be a little strange. Stuff is also really expensive in Iceland, similar to other Scandinavian countries. Thankfully most places take credit cards, and you can find dinner for around $20 if you know where to look.

On Monday I started my day by visiting Hallgrimskirkja, Reykjavik’s most impressive church. (Note: the sun doesn’t really rise in Reykjavik in December until around 11 am so 9 am looks pretty similar to 12 pm.) The inside didn’t impress me as much as the outside, but there is a pretty cool organ. You can pay to get up to the top of the tower, but I wasn’t interested in that. There’s a free way to get a pretty good view of Reykjavik from high up that I’ll describe later. After that I headed into the city center, and walked along Tjornin Lake/Reykjavik Pond (I saw it called both) for a bit. The lake (or pond) was frozen over, but there’s one corner near city hall that didn’t have ice, and that’s where all the geese and swans congregated for bread. Quite the sight. I walked past that to the University Library, which is a really cool building before you even go in. There’s a small moat-like thing around it, and the inside is nice with a pretty good view as well. Then I walked back to the Parliament building for the free CityWalk walking tour done by local history students. I can’t recommend this enough, it’s a great tour, Eric was a great guide and very friendly! Definitely do this if you’re in Reykjavik! After that I walked past the Yule town nearby. It’s tiny and cute, you can go ice skating for a small fee. In addition to this, there are a few Christmas creatures hidden around the city. They’re the Yule Lads, or Iceland’s 13 Santa Claus equivalents, one for each day of advent. There’s 5 hidden around the city, and spotting them wasn’t hard but a lot of fun. I then checked out the Reykjavik Art Museum, which is spread out between 3 buildings. It’s not that expansive of a collection, and the buildings are kind of far if you’re walking, but was a neat way to spend the afternoon (and admission isn’t too bad either). There’s also the photography collection in the city library next to the art museum that’s free!

The next day I started off by going to one of the public pools in the city, Sundhollin. This one is the oldest in Reykjavik, but also only has outdoors hot tubs with an indoor pool. Still a cool experience, and they’re building an outdoors pool so that will soon change. It was essentially me and a bunch of locals going for a dip before work, which was really interesting. There was also a small device to dry your bathing suit and a hair dryer! A really great way to start the day! (You can go to the Blue Lagoon, but this is a fraction of the cost and essentially the same, all of the pools are geothermally heated and everything. Only difference is that Blue Lagoon is natural while these are manmade.) Afterwards I went to the Saga Museum because Vikings. This was a neat museum, although I might have gotten more out of it if I already knew more about Icelandic history. Essentially they built statues and models to illustrate the more important and exciting parts of Iceland’s history, which looks really cool, but is kind of disjointed if you don’t already have a general sense of what Iceland’s history is. Afterwards you can dress up as a Viking, which I did (got a few strange looks too, but I don’t care). Another museum I checked out is the Einar Jonsson Museum. The museum itself costs money, but the sculpture garden is open 24/7 and looks really cool, so I walked around that for a bit. Finally I went on a long walk to Perlan, a restaurant a little outside the city. The food itself is expensive, but it has a 365 degree view around it, and on a clear day you can see mountains and all the buildings and it is absolutely gorgeous. I was stunned. Having finished that long walk, I took an even longer one to Ellidaardalur, a park even farther outside the city. It has gorgeous waterfalls and rivers, but it was really ice-y so I couldn’t walk around too much.

That night the Northern Lights were supposed to be pretty active, so I thought I’d try my luck at seeing them on my own. I walked down to the Grotto lighthouse, in the Seltjarnes area. I didn’t see anything that night, but I talked to others who did. I don’t know, try it if you get the chance! I also did one of the bus tours (with Sterna) the next night, had similar luck, but I don’t think there’s huge difference between the two. The nice thing about the tour was that I didn’t have to walk far, and they take you farther away from the city so the sky has less light pollution. Try a bus tour early on in your trip, since you get a free voucher for another one if you don’t see the Northern Lights.

Wednesday was my third and last full day, so I had already booked a glacier walk with Icelandic Mountain Guides. It was a great way to spend the day, the bus picks you up at your lodgings and takes you out to the glacier. The driver tells some tales along the way, to keep you awake and interested, and the guides at the glacier were incredibly friendly. I didn’t have hiking boots or waterproof pants with me, and I was fine, they didn’t charge me extra to borrow boots or anything. And you get some awesome pictures, the views are spectacular from the glacier. (Literally if you like the Scottish highlands you will love this.) Our guide said that it’s estimated that the glaciers in Iceland will have melted in 150 years at the rate that they’re going, so check your energy consumption and try to see one as soon as you can! There were even two stops on the way back at some waterfalls that had a magnificent view of the sunset.

Then the next day I had to get up and get back to BSI to catch my plane. And that was the end of my arctic adventure. The weather really put Glasgow in perspective, at least I wasn’t slipping on ice everywhere in Scotland. I loved it in Iceland, it’s a gorgeous place and the people are great. The literacy and education rates are ridiculous, and I didn’t see anyone on the streets during my entire time there. It’s also a very feminist and liberal country, with gender equality much better than many other places in the western world and a huge pride festival in August. I loved it. The different language is also fascinating to listen to, Icelandic sounds musical and lovely. And nearly everyone there speaks Icelandic, English, and Danish, which seems ridiculous to my American only-English-speaking brain. And the ability to hear Icelandic while still interacting with people in English is remarkable.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about the food a little. The candy in Iceland is really different and cool! Icelandic people really like licorice and chocolate, so it’s pretty common to get a random candy bar that includes both. There’s also Skyr, the not-yogurt-but-no-one-cares snack in Iceland. It has ridiculous levels of protein and no fat or something like that. Tasted pretty similar to yogurt to me. The main delicacies of the country are fish and lamb. The fish of course is always freshly caught and delicious, especially the salmon. Then there’s the more traditional dish of fermented shark. I tried a little, it didn’t taste too bad, expect for the funny aftertaste. (For people worried about the environmental impact, as far as I know Iceland is pretty good about stuff like that, but it doesn’t hurt to do your research beforehand! Investigate the restaurant and the fishing practices before buying!) The lamb is also very special in Iceland because they roam around the farmland freely, eating any plants or herbs that happen to be around. This means that they’re essentially marinating their entire lives, and gives them a unique taste. The more traditional dishes include half a sheep head and ram’s testicles. I didn’t have the testicles, but the café in BSI is apparently the only place in Reykjavik where you can get the sheep’s head, so I had that and is was definitely an experience. Tasted pretty good, but the fact that you were cutting the meat off of an animal’s face was interesting. Also Scandinavia seems to have a fascination with hot dogs? Reykjavik has the famous hot dog stand near the harbor, but you can also get more fancy ones in most restaurants. I had both, and they were both delicious!

So that’s Iceland, essentially real life Berk. I don’t know why, but I really jived with the place, definitely want to return again someday, hopefully for longer. I can see why people want to leave, there are tourists everywhere and it’s just an island in the middle of the Atlantic. But it has an amazing, fascinating culture, great people, and tons of things to do and see. I personally couldn’t get enough of it, and fully intend to return and experience more of it.

Fighting Terrorists in Belgium

So last weekend my roommate and I travelled to Brussels, Belgium and kicked the crap out of a few terrorists. Just kidding, we had a fairly uneventful weekend really. My parents were freaking out though.

I got in on Friday night and walked around a little, checked out the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula, which is a neat looking cathedral. It was also raining a little, so I headed to my hostel pretty quick. 

The next day I walked through Le Botanique, which is really pretty, I would highly recommend it. You wouldn’t expect it to be so nice since it’s in the middle of a city, but I just walked around the garden and was pretty happy. Then I looked at the inside of the cathedral, which was also very nice. Nothing incredibly special, but a good-looking church. After that, I met up with my roommate in Brussels Park, which is a small but quaint park, and we walked down to Parc du Cinquentenaire. It’s a pretty long walk, and it was raining/snowing the whole way so we arrived cold and wet. We got lunch while we were there, didn’t go into any of the museums beyond the lobby of the car one though. Get the hot chocolate, they serve it as hot milk with chocolate on a stick, it’s great.

Afterwards, we walked back and saw the Galleries St. Hubert. We managed to find decently priced macaroons and speculoos, a Belgium biscuit, inside. Then we did the rounds of the peeing stature, Jeanneke Pis, Zinneke Pis, and Mannekin Pis. There are a ton of waffle places near Mannekin Pis, it’s great.

Then we decided to take the train into Brugges. This was a nice contrast, Brugges is known as “the Venice of the North” because of its narrow streets and canals. We got there while the Christmas concert was happening, so we were very happy and got fries and fried bananas. The stalls also had some really nice trinkets for sale. Other highlights are the City Theatre with its statue of Papageno out front, and the Minnewater Park.

The next day we wanted to go to the Musical Instrument Museum, but all the museums were closed due to the threats going on. So we wandered around Grand Place instead, and bought a ton of chocolate to bring back with us. Then we headed back to Scotland.

I really liked Belgium, it has very nice food which is always a plus. And people told me that since Brussels is a political city it isn’t that interesting, but I liked wandering around checking out all the comic strip themed public art. Pairing it with Brugges was a great idea because it gave a bit of contrast as well.

That’s my last trip for a while, as I need to get through finals now. Ugh.

Munich: Beer and Currywurst

Last weekend I went on a short trip to Munich! It was my first time going to Germany, and I was freaking out a little about the language barrier and all that. It ended up fine though, most people know at least a little English, so with my few phrases that I learned from a YouTube video before flying out I made it along just fine!

I got to Munich late on Friday, and then on Saturday had a full day of touristy things planned. First I went to the Frauenkirche, Munich’s most iconic church. I quite liked the outside, with the towers in front. The inside was mostly meh though. To contrast, there’s the Asamkirche, right down the road from the Marienplatz, or the center of town. It looks like it’s just part of the road, but when you enter there are intricate statues and marble everywhere! It’s a gorgeous church, and I like it much more than the Frauenkirche. After that I went back to the Marienplatz to see the glockenspiel go off around midday. I went up to the top of the bookstore across the street, which gave me a really nice view. The glockenspiel mimes two stories from Germany’s history, the first one is where this couple are getting married, and involves two knights jousting (the Bavarian one wins of course). The second is based on a story how way back in the day during the plague men would dance down the street to cheer up the locals. It’s reenacted every seven years or so (I think the next one is in 2019). That was crowded, but well worth it since the glockenspiel was pretty cool to watch!

After that I headed down the road to the Viktualienmarkt, the local food market. People said that it was pricey, but I shopped around a little and managed to find some cheap eats. I would definitely recommend grabbing some currywurst (basically a hot dog with sauce and fries), a bretzel (German pretzel), and a beer in the biergarten. Once I finished lunch, I walked down to see the Munich Residentz, the royal palace. It costs money to enter, so I didn’t, but the garden behind it is very nice and the building is pretty impressive. After that I went to the Alte Pinakothek, an art museum. When I went half of it was being renovated, which was a bit of a letdown, but the ticket was cheaper so that’s nice. It has mostly works by old European masters, which was interesting but not really my style so much. Still, it’s a nice museum.

Then I walked through the English garden. It’s a gorgeous place, and enormous! There’s also people surfing at this permanent wave formed by a bridge in Eingang, very neat to watch. Then I crossed the River Isar to see the Angle of Peace, a stunning statue. I had heard that there was another food market at Wienerplatz, but it was a bit of a disappointment because only one shop was open. Maybe I went on a slow day or something, but don’t expect anything like the Viktualienmarkt. I headed back to the hostel after that, stopping for some schnitzel (basically a chicken cutlet) and a doner kebap (a sandwich with Middle Eastern influences). Both were delicious, I was very happy!

I then had to leave the next morning, which was sad as I didn’t get the chance to see the Dauchau concentration camp just outside of town. But Munich was lovely, the streets are all quaint and gorgeous, and just being in Germany listening to people speak a language I didn’t understand was incredible! I am very glad that I went. 

(I Am)sterdam

Last weekend I went to Amsterdam! It was incredible! Despite the fact that I adore the UK and Scotland, I fell in love with that city. The way my travels worked out included taking an 8 am flight back to Scotland on Monday morning, so I had the Monday from hell and didn’t have time to write about it last weekend. (Seriously my Monday involved quietly getting out of the hostel at 4:30 am and then taking a train, plane, and a bus back to Glasgow in time for class where I had to act like my life was together enough to be dissecting a cadaver in anatomy. It was the longest Monday I think I’ve ever had.)

Anyways so I got to Amsterdam on Friday night, and it was an incredible first impression. I got a little lost in the Red Light District, but surprisingly enough no one bothered me at all. And it was interesting to see that side of the city as well. I eventually made it to De Oude Kerk, and then from there to the National Monument and Royal Palace. From there it was pretty easy to find my hostel. After checking in, I decided to check out the nightlife. Turns out that where I was staying (Amsterdam Hostel Orfeo) is right in the middle of a pretty bustling area since it’s next to the Liedseplein, a square with a bunch of shops in it. There’s a really cool jazz club, Jazz Café Alto, right down the road that I’d recommend.

Oh yes and the coffeeshops. That’s where you can buy marijuana really easily. You can get pre-rolled joints or by the gram. If you go for the pre-rolled, then there’s either ones with tobacco or a “pure weed” joint. Be careful, weed there is stronger than in the states. There’s also space cakes, pro tip, don’t eat the whole damn thing, those take a few hours to go through your system and you don’t want to overdo it. It’s a pretty cool atmosphere inside the coffeeshops though, maybe check one out just for that.

Another pro tip: bikers are everywhere, watch out while you’re walking! (Especially after visiting a coffeeshop.)

Then on Saturday I started off my going to the Max Euplein square, which also has some nifty shops. Afterwards I walked to Begijnhof, which is this tiny square that dates from the 18^th century and is a great place to get away from the bustle of the city. It’s also free to walk around in! Then I headed to the Bloemenmarkt, a floating flower market! There weren’t any flowers in bloom, since it’s November, but it was still a pretty sight. After that I walked to the Hotel Droog, this quirky interior design store. From what I understand, there are Droogs all over Amsterdam where you can look at the furniture, they’re pretty cool. Another market in the area is the Waterlooplein market. This one is mostly clothes, objects, and food, a great place to wander around. One other tourist destination is the Magere Brug, or the skinny bridge. I didn’t think it was that special, the canals and bridges look gorgeous all over the city. Finally there’s the Albert Cryup market, in the southern part of the city. Also clothes and food, this one seemed a bit more lively than the Waterlooplein market, but they’re both excellent really. And that’s just down the road from Vondelpark, a gorgeous and huge park that’s wonderful to walk around in.

Sunday then started off with the Anne Frank Huis. You have to pay for all of the museums in Amsterdam, so I decided to just go for one. (The Van Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum look excellent as well.) Get there early as the queue can get very long. Other than that, it’s a wonderful museum, really brings a different perspective to Anne Frank and her story. The Anne Frank Huis is just next door to the Jordaan district, which is filled with interesting little artsy shops and beautiful houses. I then spent the afternoon in Noord Amsterdam, since taking the ferry behind Centraal Station is free! There’s not much in Noord Amsterdam besides the Eye film museum, but still nice to see a more residential area. Also they say that you have to pay to get into the Eye museum, but if you walk in and go downstairs you don’t need to pay to see their 360 degree theater and video pods down there.

Then Monday was just get up and go, so that was my weekend in Amsterdam.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the food though. The Dutch cheese is amazing, seriously if you need a snack walk into a cheese shop and sample a few. I mean, if you’re spending a ton of time there then buy something, but it’s cool to just walk in and sample a few and then leave. The pancakes are also amazing! Buy a ton of their mini pancakes, poffertjes, since they are the best thing I ate all weekend. And raw herring is a bit of a specialty, so grab some of that in a market. Stroofwaffles are also a specialty, they’re two waffles with caramel between them and sometimes chocolate spread on top. There are also these stores called FEBO all over the city. It’s similar to a vending machine, and most of the options are basically fried gravy. It’s an interesting experience, if nothing else.

I would definitely 2195678463% recommend visiting Amsterdam, it was an amazing weekend for me and I fell in love with the canals, people, and food there. Ugh, I want to go back so badly, but on to the next adventure!

The Empowerment of Travel

I was pretty freaked out before travelling on my own. It was my first time taking a plane by myself, and my first time staying in a hostel. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I thought that I had done all of the preparation that I could. All that was left was to see what would happen.

And it ended up being fine! I did good! Not everything was perfect, obviously things go wrong when you travel, but I dealt with it well and it all turned out ok.

It was a huge confidence boost, because here I am, really and truly out on my own, and managing to deal with everything. And it was all so much easier than I expected. You think that without someone else, that little safety net of having a second opinion, that you would fall apart somewhere and get hopelessly derailed. But really, all of life is preparation for doing things like this. And if something goes wrong, there is always a reasonable solution that is logical. It isn’t that hard to figure out where you’re going on a foreign subway system, and strangers are usually helpful and can point you in the right direction.

Another aspect of it is the fact that I was backpacking for a weekend. You always think “oh I need to bring this with me, and that’s essential it has to come too” but when it comes down to it, you really don’t need any of those things. You can literally stuff the 5-6 most important things in a bag, and just get up and go anywhere. That realization is pretty powerful, because after that you don’t have an excuse to not be travelling wherever you want. It opens so many doors.

So those are realizations that I came to, but I can’t just tell you and you’ll understand them, you have to go out and experience it for yourself to really internalize it. So go, get up and out that door! It doesn’t have to be anywhere special, take the bus to the next town over and stay a night. It’s empowering and such a nice change from the everyday.

Haha, I think I’ve got the travel bug now. Here we go!

Posting Pictures on Facebook is Really Annoying

I’ve never exactly been the kind of person that posts excessively on Facebook. I really only ever post when I want to do the yearly update of my profile picture to keep up appearances, or when I’m in a show and have to do the obligatory “come see me!” post. Other than that the internet gets nothing from me.

But now that I’m abroad I feel obliged to post some pictures of my adventures, if only so that my mom gets off my back about whether I’m making the most of this trip or not. And I’m finding it really annoying. It’s not so much the posting of the pictures, that I don’t care about, it’s the choosing which pictures to post that’s starting to get to me. I’m finding myself going through photos that were all lovingly taken, and only selecting ones that I think will get likes. Or going through and not putting up any pictures with me in it, since I don’t want to seem too narcissistic. Or going through and thinking “is this important enough to put up on Facebook?” and then discarding all of the ones not of famous monuments.

I guess we’ve hit that point where everything is now under inspection from other people, even our own memories. Because honestly, if I’m not sticking it on Facebook, I’m not going to show the photos to anyone else. Which is sad, because that means that I’m only showing what I think that other people will like instead of what I like about my trip.

Not that it’s that much different from other aspects of life. I’m probably not going to tell that many people about aspects of my trip that I don’t think they’ll enjoy, but it’s still strange to see that manifest in yet another part of our lives. Because you always think that the parts of your life that you like would take priority over what other people like about your trip, and here’s the proof that it’s really the other way around.

Anyways, that’s my rant about the awkwardness of Facebook over with. I guess this just proves that I should be posting on Facebook less often and need to return to my original game plan. Just once I stick this last batch up so that Mom knows I made it to London…

London Calling

Apologies again for the late post, but this weekend I went to London! What a fun time.

It’s really cheap to get to London from Glasgow with Ryanair, my flight cost like 40 pounds I think (I bought it a while ago so I don’t fully remember). And once you land there’s a Stanstead express to get you from the airport to the city center. Kind of pricey, but probably the best way to go. Also a word about the London Underground, the stations are split into zones numbered 1-9. If you only want to take one ride on the subway, use the select destination option on the machine. If not, then get an off-peak day pass. Or get an oyster card, because it’s much cheaper to use an oyster card than anything else in London. It’s a pretty strange subway system, I didn’t fully understand it my first time and got the wrong ticket.

The first thing I did was head to Abbey Road to see the crosswalk and the studios. The studios themselves are pretty cool, not much to see other than the wall with graffiti all over it. The crosswalk is in the middle of an actual road, so be careful if you want a picture while crossing it. And whenever the cars honk at the tourists people cheer, it’s pretty funny. I would recommend not getting a picture because that isn’t even the crosswalk that they used (they had to move it) and then you aren’t a jerk. On a similar note, Paul’s old London home, 9 Cavendish Rd, is around the corner, but there’s nothing to mark it really. He still owns it though, so maybe you could creep on him or something?

Nearby there’s the Sherlock Holmes museum on Baker St. Didn’t go inside, but the outside is pretty cool as well.

After that I headed to the British Museum. It’s a bit of a walk, but totally worth it for this museum. There’s a little bit of everything here, mostly artifacts from ancient civilizations and the like. I tried to do a “best of” run through and ended up seeing most of the rooms. Either do that or pick a few rooms to go over in detail, because there’s no way anyone can handle more than that.

The National Gallery isn’t too far away from there. It’s smaller and has a whole bunch of really cool art. Lots of medieval, Dutch, and French paintings in particular. And like all the other museums in London, the building itself is a work of art.

After that I walked to St. Paul’s Cathedral. Also a kind of long walk, there’s probably an easier way to get there but I’m cheap. I just looked at the outside, but still very pretty. Then I walked to the Tower of London. This is a pretty long walk, maybe wouldn’t recommend. But the London Monument is on the way, if you’re into that. There isn’t much to the London Monument. The Tower of London is pretty cool to look at, and the Tower Bridge is right next to it. There’s also a bunch of vendors around if you need a snack. I crossed the Tower Bridge, and got a very nice view of the Thames River. Then on the other side I basically walked back to where the Globe Theater is across from St. Paul’s. The Globe Theater is great, I wanted to see a show there but they were sold out, which was disappointing.

Then there’s the Tate Modern just around the corner. This is where all the strange modern art is kept, so be prepared for weird. It’s also open until 10 pm on Friday and Saturday, so that’s exciting if you’ve got a busy itinerary (like me).

After my second dose of art, I walked down by the riverside to the London Eye. It’s pretty cool to see it up close, most pictures are from far away. You can also get a great view of Big Ben from across the river here. I then crossed the Westminster Bridge to see Big Ben up close, and the London Eye from far away. Big Ben is also right on Parliament Square, so the Parliament building and Westminster Abbey are super close.

After all that walking I was exhausted so I just headed to the hostel and passed out. It was my first experience in a hostel, and I have to say I really didn’t mind it. It’s just the basics, but it involves a place to sleep, free wifi, and free breakfast so I’m happy.

The next morning I headed off around 8:30 to Buckingham Palace. It was nice to see London in the morning, much less cars around. And the monument in front of the Palace is just as nice as the building. Then the Wellington Arch is on the way to Hyde Park, which is pretty convenient. Hyde Park is huge, I just wandered around and looked at whatever seemed interesting at the time. Definitely walk along the river, there seems to be a hearty population of swans around. And at the end of it there’s the Italian gardens with a few fountains that are all really nice.

I went to the Natural History museum after that. Warning: while this museum is interesting for all ages, it’s crawling with small kids, so prepare yourself. Also get there early so there isn’t a long wait for the dinosaurs exhibit.

After all that, it was time for me to head back to the airport and Glasgow. On the way, I did stop at King’s cross to see Platform 9 ¾. There’s usually a long wait to get your picture taken there, so plan ahead if you know you want to do that. And there’s a store right next to it, for all your Harry Potter needs. I went to see the real one, but it’s not nearly as interesting as the fake one.

And back to Scotland! London was definitely a cheap and fun way to spend the weekend.

In comparison to Liverpool, it’s definitely a bigger city with much more to do in it, and more spread out. But Liverpool is less international, so it feels more like England I think. Getting to see both cities I think was definitely a good idea, you get to see both its capital and another city, which gives you a better idea of the country as a whole.

Liddypool: A Bit More Than a Beatles Pilgrimage

Apologies for the later than usual post, but I went down to Liverpool this weekend and knew that I was going to want to write a post about it when I got back. It was a wonderful time, and much more than I expected. I somehow managed to get my friend to go with me, and she’s more of a casual Beatles fan, so I was a little worried that I would scare her off but we seem to still be friends.

First of all, getting to Liverpool from Glasgow is incredibly easy. The train is great, even though it isn’t direct, but it’s still only a few hours of a ride. Beatles fans in the UK have it so easy. Liverpool in general is pretty easy to navigate, all through the city center are sign posts directing you to various landmarks so it’s hard to get very lost.

We arrived on Friday night, and the first thing we did was head to the Museum of Liverpool on the Pier Head since nearly all of the museums close at 5 pm. The Museum of Liverpool is a relatively recent museum, it didn’t open until 2012 I think. It’s really awesome, it takes you through the history of Liverpool, from ancient until modern times. There’s also a section on the city’s relationship with China, and how globalization has affected their culture. It is a port city, so many cultures come through and settle here. And of course, there’s information about the music and sports scene on the top floor. Many music groups other than the Beatles came from Liverpool, the Wombats, Nick Fury, Cilla Black, and others got their start in the Liverpool music scene.

After that, we walked up to the Cavern district to see the Cavern Club. The Club portion is a replica of the original, which closed in the 70s I think (don’t quote me on that). The original site is just down the road from there. On Fridays, it has free entry until 8pm (1pm on weekends). Fans have signed every inch of the walls, and the layout and the atmosphere seem the same as the original. Amazingly enough, we were there on John Lennon’s 75^th birthday (October 9, 2015), which was really something special. When we were there a guy was playing Beatles covers with a guitar, but I bet there’s always Beatles music playing in the Cavern Club. It’s a great place, really a must for Beatles fans. (Or even if you’re not, it seems like they are tapped into the local music scene and have some great gigs there.) There’s also a statue of John Lennon leaning against the wall that’s a popular picture spot. There’s another statue of the Beatles in a nearby mall as well. Across the road is the Cavern Pub. We figured that we’d get dinner there, but there really isn’t that much to eat. It’s essentially a smaller extension of the Cavern Club, not an essential stop.

The place we were staying at was near Penny Lane, so after checking in and getting settled we walked down to the famous Lane. Besides the park and the Beatles mural, there’s not much there, but it’s still nice to say that you’ve been there.

The next day, we headed to the Metropolitan Cathedral first. It’s the one that looks like a Death Star. It’s really nice on the inside, there’s a complex light fixture hanging from the wall and stained glass all around. You can also pay to see the crypt (we didn’t).

After that we went back to the Albert Dock to see more museums. First was the Merseyside Maritime Museum. This place is huge! You can learn everything you ever wanted to know about Liverpool’s ships, especially the warfare aspect of it. The third floor is the International Slavery Museum, which starts off with Liverpool’s participation in the slave trade, as they shipped the slaves back and forth, and ends with more contemporary effects of slavery. This includes the effects on the culture, and information about places where slavery still exists, unfortunately.

Then there was the Beatles Story. The main attraction for any Beatles fan! The Beatles Story is essentially a walk-through of the history of the Beatles, from their beginnings in Liverpool to Hamburg to the Cavern Club to the US to Sgt. Pepper to a Yellow Submarine to Abbey Road and beyond! While they have a lot of really cool artifacts, I expected it to have a little more about the Beatles I guess. While the Beatles are the driving force behind the museum and their presence is very much felt, you are mostly looking at the world around them instead of directly at them. At the beginning and end it has stuff about them personally, but other than that it’s mostly the objects around them and the places that they have been. Maybe I’m expecting a little too much, but while I saw some cool things I didn’t feel any closer to them. Still a great experience, would highly recommend for any Beatles fan.

Oh and that’s just the section on the Albert Dock. There’s a second section on the Pier Head that has an exhibit on the British Invasion, so other artists are shown here, and an exhibit with a bunch of rare photos of our favorite mop top group. And a 4D show, but honestly I would skip that. I mean, it’s free with your ticket and takes about 15 minutes, but I literally could not tell you the point of it or why it was there at all.

We wrapped up the day with the stunning Liverpool Cathedral. It’s absolutely gorgeous, the stained glass is so intricate and all over the walls, and the architecture is beautiful as well. Of the two main cathedrals in Liverpool, I think I liked this one the best.

For our last day, we started off with walking to Strawberry Field. It’s essentially a gate covered in graffiti. I liked it, having the fans’ thoughts as part of it I think really makes it something unique. A cute stop.

After that we walked to John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s childhood homes. We didn’t pay for the tour, of course, so we just got pictures of the outside. I would have gone to George Harrison and Richard Starkey’s homes as well, but they are farther away from each other and aren’t owned by the National Trust so it would be less interesting to see. What was pretty cool was how both Paul and John’s old homes are in actual neighborhoods with actual people trying to live their lives nearby. I can’t make up my mind whether I would love or hate to live near a Beatle’s old home.

It ended up being pretty good that we lived outside of the city, I don’t think I would have gone to see places like Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields, or John and Paul’s homes otherwise. It was also nice to see the outskirts and what it looked like away from the city center.

When we went back into town we decided to check out a couple of Beatles shops first. There are three main ones: the fab4store attached to the Beatles Story, A Hard Day’s Night Shop near the Hard Day’s Night Hotel, and the Beatles Store down the road from the Cavern Club. All are going to be overpriced, so keep your expectations low. I think I liked the Beatles Shop the best, it has the nicest atmosphere and the cheapest t-shirts inside.

Finally we went to the Walker Art Museum. Brace yourself, there’s a lot in here. The ground floor has pottery and sculpture, while the first floor has art through the ages. There’s a lot of really cool stuff in here, definitely one of the better art museums that I’ve been through.

And that was my weekend in Liverpool! I’d do it again in a heartbeat, it was amazing. There really is so much stuff in Liverpool besides the Beatles; they have a booming culture scene that refuses to be overshadowed by the past. In general, it was a wonderful time, I would highly recommend it to anyone in the area to go see the wondrous place of Liddypool!

“Dragon” and the Power of Silence

So I don’t normally do this, but I saw this play tonight called “Dragon” at the Citizen’s Theatre in Glasgow and it was so amazing that I’m doing a review of it this week.

The performance starts with a death (classic). The rest of the story centers around Tommy, who is coping with his mother’s death when a giant dragon head appears outside his window. The kicker? There aren’t any lines. No one says a word until the very end.

There are so many different aspects of this production that I could comment on, so I’ll just examine a few.

There isn’t really a set per se, the pieces that make up Tommy’s world are moved around by the actors. Objects that get thrown are also moved by the actors, as well as the people when they get thrown around. On a similar note, all of the set and props pieces are incredibly detailed and intricately done. The kitchen table in the family’s kitchen has a ton of junk all over it. The fridge door has a light and several objects that are never even taken out of the fridge. Speaking as a props person, this was just beautiful.

The music is absolutely amazing. It fills up the emptiness from the lack of dialogue wonderfully well, and really puts you there with them. The recurring supernatural noises and small motifs immerse you in it so well. Add the fact that all the actors’ movements are lovingly choreographed to match it perfectly, and I’m drooling. All of the sound effects are in with it, and you just know that they rehearsed the heck out of that to get it perfect.

Then there’s the really important part. The enormous freaking dragon. Probably the main reason why I went to see this show, and you are not disappointed because it is one heck of a dragon. There are several dragon puppets, ranging from a head with a train to a full sized one with wings! They’re all different colors and seem to materialize out of the set (in some cases it literally does). Similar to the props notes above, the dragon is an amazing mechanical feat. It moves, breaths fire, and is remarkably dynamic. It is being clearly manipulated by the actors, so there isn’t any illusion here, but the puppets are remarkable enough that you probably aren’t going to care about that.

As far as the dragon as a symbol goes, I think that there’s a certain amount of ambiguity around here. If I was going to be pretentious, I would say that it’s the void Tommy’s mother left in physical form. But I’m not, so disregard that. The writer in the program even said that it’s just a dragon, and I think that’s my favorite interpretation.

I've tried to not discuss the plot so much (I mean you could also google the different stages of grief if you want a really basic summary) since it's not incredibly complicated or anything. But I think it's worth saying that everything works together so well to convey it that you don't miss the words at all. It really is a production of beauty.

Personal sidenote: Tommy is definitely asexual, I don’t even care that a girl flirts with him a little in the show, he’s got a dragon and is ace as hell and I love it. <3

This is such a well-done production, all of the different parts work together perfectly. It’s advertised in some places as a children’s show, but it really is great for all ages. The cast is amazing, the music is incredible, the set is intricate, and there’s a freaking dragon! What more could you want in a show?

Adventure to Edinburgh!

So yesterday I went on a day trip to Edinburgh. It was really cool, and really gorgeous! So here's what I did, and some advice for people thinking of doing the same.

First of all, if you get the right tickets, Megabus has tickets for the bus from Glasgow to Edinburgh for 1 pound, which is ridiculously amazing. And that's also why I didn't get back until like 10pm, but more on that later.

Anyways, what's nice about the Edinburgh Bus Station is that it's pretty close to everything in the city. A short walk gets you to the Princes St gardens, which is central for most things. The National Galleries are right next to it, and entry to their permanent collection is free! (Pro tip: you are required to wear backpacks on your front or at your side, so prepare to rock the front-backpack look.)

Then a little way on is the Edinburgh castle. Tickets are hella expensive, so I'd recommend playing the how-far-can-I-get-without-paying game. You just aren't allowed under the portcullis, so you can get pretty far. Plenty of opportunities for cool shots.

After that, the National Museum of Scotland isn't too far off. Entry is also free, and they have a ton of stuff inside. There's two sections: the international and the Scottish. Check out both, because they're both awesome. Be sure to check out the roof as well, you get a great view of the city.

The National Museum is also in a really nice area, with tons of little shops and St. Giles Cathedral since it's near the old part of town. I went into The Elephant House, its claim to fame being where J.K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter books. It was nice, and surprisingly not that crowded. Greyfriar's Bobby is also just down the street, which is a little statue of a dog that guarded his owner's grave for 15 years. Pretty cute.

I then walked back to the Princes St gardens to look at the Scott memorial. You can walk up to the top if you pay, and I did, but I don't think I'd recommend that to others. You get just as nice of a view from the top of the museum, or the next place that I went to.

The final spot that I checked out was Calton Hill. I happened to just stumble across it, but I think it should be on every guide ever because it was pretty incredible. It's a hill with some monuments on it, and it gives you amazing views of the city and the hills around it as well. I managed to get there for sunset, and it was gorgeous! (Pro tip: the parks will close eventually but the hill doesn't, so hang out there if you have nowhere to go and just want to sit.)

Another piece of advice is that if you're like me and finish up the museums early and then have nothing to do for a few hours is to just wander around until you find something that looks cool. That's how I found Calton Hill, and the cemetery nearby which is where Hume is buried.

So yup, Edinburgh's gorgeous and a really fun place for a day trip!

An American in Glasgow-Initial Adventures

So I made it to the University of Glasgow in Scotland! My mom and I flew in through Dublin and spent the day there, then went to Glasgow. Dublin was awesome, we took a tour of Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells. The Book of Kells is a really old copy of the gospels, nearly all Celtic designs originated from it.

Then we also visited the Guinness Storehouse. I'm not a huge fan of beer, so I just found it amazing that people were this interested in it. But the top of the building had a nice view of the city and made some good pictures.

Once we made it to Glasgow we got a little lost on the way to my flat. I'm in university accommodations, but they use a whole bunch of different buildings so I just had an intersection. But we found it in the end. I have a roommate and share a kitchen and a bathroom with a few other rooms. It's only international students now, but once everyone gets here I can imagine that we'd have to fight for the showers.

The main building on campus is beautiful! The cloisters are a popular picture place, and for pretending that you're Harry Potter at Hogwarts. One girl on my campus tour said that they wanted to use the university for Hogwarts in the films, but they would have to be working during finals so it didn't get used.

On a related note, apparently Ashton Lane, a cute side street, inspired Diagon Alley for J.K. Rowling. It's adorable, it has a few pubs and even a movie theater on it!

One other adorable part of the city is the subway system. It's just a circle around the city, and you pick which direction you want to go in. The cars are also pretty small and very nice. I didn't imagine this city to be so cute!

So far I’ve mostly been using my time to explore the city. This week was international orientation, but I’ve been finding that the university is pretty hands off. Which is fine because I enjoy being on my own, but I’m also finding that I’m having the same thoughts that I had during freshman orientation at college in the states. Which is mostly freaking out that I’ll have no friends because it’s been a few days and I haven’t met my soul mate yet. Just need to keep telling myself that I have to take it easy and everything will be ok. It always is in the end.