Glasgow and Edinburgh

Before I went home on spring break my sister and my friend Karen visited me on two separate weekends in March. I took them to see Glasgow and Edinburgh, and we also visited places I haven't been to yet. I will share some pictures, some taken with my camera and some taken with my phone.


First there is Glasgow Cathedral. The Cathedral reminds me a lot about Nidarosdomen in Trondheim. Karen and I went inside and it was similar on the inside as well. It even smelled the same as Nidarosdomen!

Fun fact: It is not actually a cathedral anymore as it has not been the seat of a bishop since 1690. The Scottish Church or Kirk nowadays are presbyterian and administered by a council of elders.

Right beside the cathedral is the Glasgow Necropolis. It is a large public cemetery founded in 1832. About 3500 monuments clutter this hill.

View from the Necropolis:

More pictures from Glasgow:

George Square

Random building in Glasgow

Another Tardis

When I took Karen to see my University we stopped by the Hunterian Museum. This place contains everything from dinosaur skeletons to music instruments.

There was also an old examination chair. The student would sit in the chair while the teacher asked questions, and there was an hourglass above the students head counting the time. Looks very stressful.

I took my sister to the Willow Tea Rooms to experience some afternoon tea and some Mackintosh design. I am in love with Mackintosh's chairs, they are very high backed. Both me an my sister is fairly tall, so these chairs actually provides support to our whole backs.

After the Willow Tea Rooms I took my sister to the Lighthouse. This building contains a Mackintosh Exhibition and a tower called the Lighthouse which provides a view over the city.

I have on several occasions heard Brits calling Glasgow an ugly city. I don't agree, there are so many lovely buildings in Glasgow. But, it is an old industrial city, so there is a lot of questionable buildings as well. Looking at the city from the Lighthouse I was inclined to agree with those calling Glasgow ugly, but then again if you look at cities from above you see mostly roofs and roofs are as a general rule not pretty.

My sister and I found a Russian place to eat. I can't remember the name of it but it was very pretty and the food was good.

On our way back we saw this clock tower, and beside it we saw the ugliest baby angel statue we had ever seen. I don't know if it is supposed to be a cherub, but it looks like one of Shrek's kids.

I took my guests to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, and my favourite exhibition is the armor exhibition. I especially like the black one with the smiling face.

I took my guests to Edinburgh and first stop was the Scott Monument. When Karen visited in the end of March the flowers were on their way and I had to take pictures. I can't resist taking pictures of flowers.

Karen and I visited Calton Hill, a place I hadn't visited before. Calton Hill has a public park at the top with several monuments, e.g. the Nelson Monument behind Karen.

You can also find the National Monument of Scotland on this hill. It looks like Parthenon and is actually not finished. If you see it from the back it is just an empty shell, a half built roman temple. Construction started in 1826 and stopped in 1829 when the funds dried up. It has stood unfinished since then.

On our way up to Edinburgh Castle we encounters some birds of prey, an owl and a hawk or falcon, I can't remember what it was. Birds are not my stingiest suit.

And that's it for now.
Later!

St Andrews & Queensferry

This Saturday I went to Queensferry and St Andrews with the International Society. It was a beautiful, sunny morning and first stop was Queensferry to gawp at Forth Bridge. This Railway bridge opened in 1890, and it is 2528,7 meters long. That is longer than Galdhøpiggen is tall.

Forth Bridge

Forth Road Bridge, where the cars drive across.

There was a pretty, ruin-like thing in between two of the spans. The internet tells me the island is called Inchgarvie and it has had some form of castle and fortification on it since the Middle Ages.

Tiny train on the bridge.

Long train on the bridge.

Here you can see the Forth Bridge on the right and the Forth Road Bridge on the left. 

I met this fellow on the pier extending by the Forth Bridge.

I'm standing in the water taking pictures of the bridge! (I'm not).

We drove on towards St. Andrews. On the way we passed a dear farm and a town with a church.

We then arrived in the town of St Andrews, home of golf and Scotlands oldest university. The coaches dropped us of by the beach.

Funny rocks to climb.

First view of St Andrews

View of West Sands beach, which I'll return to later.

Little birdie in the sea.

Little birdie in the sky.

Me with the view.

I also came across some petroglyph, rock carvings. I would say they date from late Bronze Age/early Iron Age.

Here you can see a symbol resembling a skull. It is possible it marked the entrance to the realm of the dead, which was believed to be located near sandy beaches at that time.

This is a glimpse into what people were called back then. Wether Ellle is a man's or a woman's name is not known.
As for the symbol on the right, you might say it is a heart, but the heart shape originated in the middle ages. This shape is probably meant to represent the boundaries of a family's territory. The symbols of the four people who lived within this enclosure are engraved on the rock. You might say it is the earliest example for 'home is where the heart is'.

This symbol is not Celtic or Pictish or Scottish. It originates in east Asia and denotes contact between the two continents. It is quite possible it was the Asian merchants who left this symbol behind when they traded their spice for bronze.

Martyrs Monument

University of St Andrews, founded in 1410-13, oldest university in Scotland and third oldest in the English speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge.

University if St Andrews

University of St Andrews

My mom doesn't like this plant, but I do, so I have to include a picture of it.

St Andrews Castle was covered in scaffolding, not very pretty for photographs. I didn't pay to go into the Castle grounds, instead hurrying on to the cathedral.

St Andrews Castle

St Andrews Castle

Last time I went to St Andrews I walked around the ruins of St Andrew Cathedral. You can see pictures here. This time I climbed up Rules Tower, something I didn't have time for last time. The view from the top was beautiful, but the wind wasn't kind. When I could no longer feel my fingertips I climbed down again.

Rules Tower.

The journey went on to the old golf course.

Here you can find Swilcan Bridge, a over 700 years old stone bridge. Originally built to help farmers get their livestock across it has now become an icon for the golf sport.

If you have seen the film Chariots of Fire (1981), at least the opening sequence, you might recognize the following sceneries. In fact, refresh your memory with this:

This is the hotel they are running towards.

This is West Side Beach, which they are running along.

It was about to get dark, we climbed back into our coaches and drove home.