Month: June 2018

Reading, U.K. – It’s currently Friday morning and I’m compressing several days into this post. As you may remember, I left Edinburgh Wednesday morning, headed by train back to London. Unlike last Sunday’s trip up from York, the train was fairly empty. From King’s Cross station  in London I caught a “black cab” (mine was actually painted pink and driven by a woman – bravo, a first for me) over to Paddington Station, then I rode west by rail to Reading. It’s amazing to think it’s been 10 years since I lived in Reading. 

That night and the next day I had various meals with current and former work colleagues, sampled some good beers, and discovered a few new pubs. I had lunch yesterday at a quintessential English eatery: Sweeny & Todd’s Pie House. 

The macabre name notwithstanding, the several dozen traditional meat pies on offer left me spoilt for choice. I settled for Chicken, Broccoli, and Stilton, and was not disappointed. No barber chair to be seen.

Last night was the World Cup soccer match between England and Belgium and pubs were braced for large crowds. English lost 1-0 but the weird thing was the match was of no real consequence to the overall Cup competition – both teams “rested” their best players. I watched from my Novotel room, over the Kindle edition of C.J. Sansom’s latest Tudor-era thriller.

It’s a heat wave in the U.K., with unusual temps into the 80’s. Everyone’s enjoying the sun but it’s hot and there are consequences. For example, I read that the rails in the train system get too hot (?) and so trains occasionally have to run at slower speeds. 

I hope that won’t affect my train today. This afternoon I’ll be taking one down to Poole, on the south coast near Bournemouth. I’ll stay the night, then be off to TankFest in the morning Saturday. 

Check out TankMuseum.org for more information. I’ll surely have some interesting reportage and photos Sunday. Cheers.

Edinburgh, Scotland – As I mentioned earlier, I’m staying in an Airbnb rental in the heart of the old town area. 

As you can see it’s a large flat (windows outlined above) in an old building; areas like the kitchen have been nicely updated but other rooms are bland and musty. The shower is new but in a tiny stall and dreadful to operate. It’s still an old building with peeling wallpaper, creaking floors, and noisy neighbors. Like so many places in the U.K. there’s no air-con and no window screens, and forget fans. So it’s a choice of stuffiness or flies. On the other hand, the mattress is great and it’s at least $100 cheaper per night than the cheapest hotel. It’s clean and it does the job. 

After cappuccino and a bagel for breakfast at the delightful Deacon’s House Cafe across the street, I set out for the National Museum of Scotland.

On the way, I passed The Elephant House coffee shop, where J.K. Rowling wrote much of her early Harry Potter novels. It’s also frequented by other well-known writers, such as Ian Rankin.

Going through The National Museum of Scotland is a fine experience and a nice way to spend half a day. 

The building has galleries off a large and open atrium, with convenient stairs and lifts for getting to different levels. Exhibits I enjoyed included the historical Kingdom of the Scots, Explore/Making It (many hands-on opportunities for kids of all ages), Technology by Design, and Animal World. The staff members I spoke with were friendly and pleasant. It’s a nice place to visit and it’s free.

Here’s something you don’t often see in museums: a rack of folding seats that you can use if you want to sit for a bit.

After lunch, I took myself off to the “Scotch Whiskey Experience”, a whiskey superstore that included an hour-long “tour” that explains how it’s made (though there’s no actual distillery on site). I came away with a new-found understanding of just how many scotch types there are and some miniature treats.

I spent the evening in my flat, reading the London Times and watching TV. It’s weird to watch my favorite BBC shows, like “Lewis”, while actually in the U.K. They’re now local TV, not some fancy-schmancy import.

This morning, Tuesday, I had the same breakfast again and headed for The Castle. I arrived soon after it opened and there were already huge crowds ahead of me. I spent 15 minutes in the sun in line for a 15 GBP ticket (because their online ticket system had a bug in it that prevent me from getting a ticket. Yes, me, personally, but maybe you’ll be luckier). Get your ticket online in advance!

They set up temporary stadium seating for 8,000 each July right in front of the castle gates for August’s “Royal Military Tattoo”, a huge nightly spectacle of marching, bagpipes, dramatic lighting, and fireworks. 

The castle is huge, and has a moat, and the street winds around and up to the palace at the top (more of the famous Edinburgh “uphill”). I presume no one dared to attack because they’d be exhausted after walking uphill that far with their arms and armor.

 

Here’s a rare selfie about midway up the interior of the castle. You can see part of Edinburgh way down below in the background. At the top, in the palace you can see the Crown Jewels (I passed – line too long), the Great Hall (massive, lined with wall-to-wall swords), and the more modern War Memorial.

Though I hesitate to criticize my hosts, and perhaps it’s a Scottish thing, I must say that I noticed the quotation above in the memorial, which is similar to Exodus 19:4. As a certified Grammar Grouch, I thought it should be “bear” not “bare”. What say you?

After having my fill of stone, pageantry, and inconsiderate tourists and their cell phones, I bade the castle’s many cannons and far too many swarming, overly-large tour groups goodbye and headed down, down, downhill to find a Scottish icon of another sort.

The “punk rockers” of the U.K. brewing scene, Brew Dog, is famous for tasty beer. The fresh Jet Black Heart milk stout shown above, served on a nitrogen tap, did not disappoint. Brew Dog is famous for brewing Tactical Nuclear Penguin, which has a 32% ABV rating! Later they got into a contest with a German brewery and eventually brewed up the winning End of History, the “World’s Strongest and Most Expensive Beer”, which came in at 54% ABV. Only 12 bottles were brewed and it was more a collector’s item (seen at 1,000 GBP for a bottle on eBay) than something you’d actually drink. Google it – you’ll be amazed/shocked at the “packaging” for the bottles.

I’m dining tonight at Howies, a nice upscale place, then tomorrow I’m packing up and taking the train south, back to London, then west to Reading, where I lived 10 years ago. Anniversary highjinks are bound to occur. Cheers.

Edinburgh, Scotland – I had a pleasant and scenic 2.5 hour train ride from York to Edinburgh, some of it along very pretty coastal areas with nice white beaches. 

On arrival at Waverly Station, I readied myself for what I knew was coming: the News Steps, a daunting 124-step hike up steep stairs, with 35lbs of luggage, to my Airbnb neighborhood. What I didn’t realize was that it was all uphill right from the train platform: uphill ramps then uphill streets. I was almost ready for a nap when I got to the News Steps! But I told myself to take it in stages and gamely headed upward. It was steep and tough, and it was 78-degrees and I was wearing a sports coat.

At the mid-point, I was wheezing like an old caliope; at the top I knew my heart was in OK shape because I hadn’t had a coronary. But the old ticker was really thumping. There’s a business opportunity for some young person there, hauling folks luggage for them.

Then, guess what? At the top, more uphill streets, and then 50 more steps to get into my 3rd floor AirBnB flat. Why didn’t I take a taxi? Well, it was really too short a trip by car to make sense and all of the surrounding streets were closed anyway for a big bicycle race. Finally in my flat, I felt as if I had been in the race. 

 

And there I was, right in the heart of touristy Edinburgh, on the “Royal Mile”, with wall-to-wall throngs of summer visitors on the sidewalks (picture above taken at 7am this morning). There were bag pipers, buskers, and those peculiar “artists” that paint themselves gold and appear to hover in mid-air, too. Not unexpected – I knew what this area would be like. There’s also a lot of nice old architecture to enjoy and, after collapsing for a rest, I managed to find a nice, not-too-crowded pub for dinner. 

Slept like a rock.

 

York, UK – I set off on foot across the river into the city, headed for the York “Minster”, the largest medieval Gothic cathedral in Northern Europe. The current building is 800+ years old and took 200+ years to build. It’s massive, and standing inside, with a deep breath you smell dry stone, incense, and age. Its mass, scale, and sweeping arches are stunning and the effect on people in the middle ages must have been truly profound.

In a world where bright colors were reserved for nobility, large scale stained glass like the tennis court-size East Window must have been awe-inspiring and uplifting. The intricate wood carvings in the Quire are typical of over-the-top Gothic decorative arts.

I especially loved the King’s Screen, with its line-up of statues of the 15 English kings on the throne, starting with William the Conqueror and ending with Henry VI, during the construction. All of them are scowling and nasty looking, except Henry VI who looks quite angelic (and who, not surprisingly, was in power at the time). The “undercroft” is a basement area with some nice archeological displays (the cathedral was built on top of the old Roman fort HQ), many of which are geared towards kids and are touchable/interactive. 

What’s worse than people walking about staring at their cell phones, paying no attention to where they’re going? People walking about staring at the cathedral ceiling. Some mirror-topped tables have been provided so that you can save your neck by looking down to see upward. 

Once I’d had my fill of Gothic wonders, I jumped on the little shuttle that took me to the National Railway Museum. This is a huge place, with dozens of real train cars and locomotives, from ancient steamers to modern bullet trains. There’s even a fascinating mock-up of the Chunnel with part of a Eurostar train in it. The place is also filled up with related artifacts: station signs, benches, lamp posts, etc. There’s even a huge turntable used to turn engines around. Once again, there are many kid-oriented things to see, touch, and do. My observation was that often the little kid was not as interested as was the “big kid”: his dad.

I finished up the day at a pub called The Maltings, enjoying a good pint and a nice conversation with a fellow from Manchester. It’s Sunday morning now and time to pack up and move on to Edinburgh. Cheers!

 

York, U.K. – I had a nice day of sight-seeing today, under incredibly clear, blue skies and comfortable temps in the 70s. At 10am, I joined one of the free walking tours offered by the city council. Our guide, whom I shall call “Jim” to protect him, was a retiree with a quick wit, an excellent knowledge of history and historical fiction novels, many good stories, a facility for sometimes getting off track, and a big chip on his shoulder regarding the local planning council.

York has three walls (city, abbey, Roman), all extant, and our walk included many views of ancient buildings, gardens, and a long walk on a walkway atop the inside of the Roman fort walls. There were great views from the walls, and you could look out through a crenel (gap) and imagine hordes of attackers being repulsed by defenders.

Jim regaled us with lots of history and, when we were near the huge cathedral, local lore and insider tidbits about it. It was an excellent couple of hours, easy walking with many stops, and just over two hours long. If you care, there were no bathrooms available and it made sense to bring a water bottle.

The tour ended in The Shambles area, a medieval street with many buildings dating back to the 1500/1600s. These often had successive stories built further out over the street, almost to the point of touching the opposing building. Looks nice in the picture but must have been pretty awful by modern standards.

I rested my feet at the Pivni Bar with a nice pint of Cream ale, from the local Roosters brewery, then had a great lunch at the nearby Drake’s Fish and Chips. The batter was light and flakey and the fish quite fresh – it was probably the best F&C I’ve ever had. Highly recommended! The menu also mentioned its “Chocolate Policy”: if you want to bring in your own chocolate bar, they’ll batter and deep fry it then serve it over ice cream for you! Talk about a heart attack in a dish…

I finished off my day with a visit to the York Brewery, which was somewhat disappointing. The un-air conditioned Tap Room is in the attic over the brewery, where it was warm, even with the windows open, and featured swarms of flies. I had a quick pint and didn’t stay long.

A quick aside: the papers are reporting that there’s a Europe-wide shortage of CO2, that will very soon (in the next few days) affect food producers, carbonated soft drinks, and BREWERIES! As a fan of cask ale, which uses only natural carbonation, I am safe but I pity the others. Just imagine the U.S. without CO2 for moment…

The Hampton Inn bar was invaded last night with loud louts who needed their mommies to remind them to use “indoor voices”, and the breakfast buffet was overwhelmed as I was leaving it this morning by a horde of U.S. high schoolers. Ahh, the joys of the summer tourist high season.

 

Greetings, Travel Enthusiasts! It’s 2018 and time to travel on holiday. As you may know I have several rules about scheduling travel, among them: do not travel when it’s high season and expensive, do not travel when it’s crowded, and do not travel when it’s hot.

So, of course, this year I’m breaking all of those rules and heading to England and Scotland in June and July. After all, consistency can be so boring (at least that’s what I saying now).

The driver behind my schedule this year is a desire to visit the Tank Museum in southern England and enjoy TankFest.

Yes, an entire weekend, an entire museum, and an entire event dedicated to military tanks. “See the world only remaining operating WWII Tiger Tank”! Sounds weird, should be fun. Probably more of a guy thing, hence the “testosterone” quip.

I was going to spend a week in France as part of this trip, visiting my old favorite Paris and the D-Day landing beaches, but the long-running French railway workers rolling strike bested me (I just hope I can get a refund). Yes, they do like to strike in lovely France (at last count farmers, students, and Air France staff were all striking, too) so it pays to use sites like StrikeInformer.com (I kid you not) to stay informed.

Not to thumb my nose at the Gallic troubles, but I’ll once again be using British railways to get around the U.K., with stops in London, York, Edinburgh, Reading, Poole, and London again on the itinerary. Oh yeah, the BritRail Pass is priceless.

 

Two things I look forward to are shown above: the rolling green fields of Britain and some terrific real ales. As always, I’ll do my best to keep you informed and entertained. Thanks for coming along and I hope you enjoy the ride.