Filed under: United Kingdom | Tags: Abbey, Bath, inspiration, Jane Austen, Royal Crescent, UNESCO, World Heritage
One very early morning it was time for a weekend of travelling again! Our destinations this time: Bath, Stonehenge and Avebury. I’ll write about Bath in this post, Stonhenge and Avebury will follow soon!
Bath is a very old city (even the Romans lived here) located in the Southwest of England, not very far from London. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the name Bath is derived from the baths that have been here since the Roman times – there are hot water sources in the city. If you love vibrant and lively metropolises, Bath may not be the place to go. However, it has beautiful old houses and with its charm even attracted the famous author Jane Austen (yes, the Lady who wrote “Pride and Prejudice” amongst others). Indeed, if I had been there for a few more days I would have probably found inspiration for many more blog posts. Perhaps next time I’m in a creativity low I shall return to Bath.
The most inspiring places (if you’re not looking for inspiration, these are also the most touristic places) include the Roman Baths, Bath Abbey and the Royal Crescent. I also enjoyed the view on the river Avon a lot.
In terms of sight-seeing, one day is enough to see the touristic things in Bath. In the evening we had dinner at the Turkish restaurant Marmaris, which I can recommend just like the YMCA hostel where we stayed for the night. At the hostel I met a girl from South Korea who was travelling across Europe all by herself. Wow, that’s courageous! I’m not sure if I’d dare to travel around Asia on my own. Hostels are always a great opportunity to meet interesting people.
That’s it for Bath, the next morning we left to Stonehenge and Avebury. Read about it here soon!
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- The latest fashion trend?
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- Nice advertising idea
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- Obama in Pyjamas :)
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- Love the British humour!
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- Bath Abbey
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- Beautiful weather and the crescent
Filed under: United Kingdom | Tags: bowness, cumbria, day out, lake district, trip, windermere
Goethe, the German poet, was a wise man. He once exclaimed: “Why search far afield when the good is so nearby?” He’s absolutely right! A couple of weeks ago I visited the Lake District which is only a couple of hours driving from Leeds and it is stunningly beautiful!
Our trip was organised by Don’t Be a Tourist, an organisation of (former) students organising trips for international students. We left drizzly Leeds in the morning and arrived at Lake Windermere, the biggest lake of the Lake District, around noon.
The Lake District is a beautiful area with lakes (what else?) and hills and England’s highest mountains, all in the county of Cumbria. The first thing we did upon arrival was climbing one of the hills. We were quite out of breath once we reached the top, but it was worth the pain; the view was amazing! (see pictures)
Surprisingly, the weather turned out to be really nice and we descended the hill to go on a short boat trip on the lake and rest our feet. Same landscape, different perspective and still absolutely beautiful! The skipper explained things about the lake and the little islands which are home to a variety of birds.
After the roundtrip we were ready to explore Bowness-on-Windermere, a very small, but lovely town at Lake Windermere. Fans of Beatrix Potter and her characters Peter Rabbit & Co. might want to visit The World of Beatrix Potter Attraction. Frankly, there’s not much else to see in Bowness, but I got a real holiday feeling there. There’s a number of cosy cafés and after enjoying a coffee with some pastry it was already time to go back to the bus.
Visiting the Lake District is perfect for a day or even a weekend out. Why search far afield when the good is so nearby?
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Filed under: Sofia, Bulgaria, United Kingdom | Tags: Avebury, Bulgaria, Martenitsa, spring, tradition
Hello everyone,
there are a lot of new stories that I would like to share with you. I’ve been to the Lake District last weekend and yesterday I got back from a weekend in Bath and Avebury and Stonehenge. I’ll write about that very soon, uni is keeping me rather busy, sorry! Anyways, here’s a little update on the Martenitsa story, the Bulgarian tradition I told you about a few weeks ago.
Yesterday I left one of my two Martenitsas in Avebury. Now hoping for my wish to come true 
That’s all for now, I’ll be back soon with the latest stories!
As the tradition demands, I left the Martenitsa with a budding tree
Filed under: United Kingdom | Tags: Civic Hall, Leeds, spring, UK, Woodhouse Moor
Time is flying and spring is knocking on the door. The weather could be better, seems like Baba Marta is being a little grumpy these days. Nevertheless I’ve been able to capture some beautiful places in Leeds. Enjoy the slideshow!
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Filed under: United Kingdom | Tags: art gallery, chinatown, John Rylands Library, Manchester, United
On an early Thursday morning we hopped on the bus to Manchester. It’s takes slightly over an hour to get there from Leeds and offers some beautiful views on the typically English landscape. Once we had arrived, our first stop was the Visitor Information Centre where we got some city maps and other brochures.
After leaving the Visitor Information Centre we found ourselves in Chinatown. There is a big Chinese-looking gate (apparently they celebrated Chinese New Year there) and Chinese paper lanterns were dangling above our heads. And of course there were a lot of Asian shops and restaurants.
Next, we headed towards the Art Gallery which displays historic as well as modern pieces of art. I found the historic paintings especially interesting, since they gave me an impression of life in former times. There were paintings from different eras in British history, also showing everyday scenes of life back then.
After a coffee and tea break we went to see my personal highlight of the trip: the John Rylands Library, part of the University of Manchester. The library has been built in the 1890’s in Gothic style and holds a lot of very old collections of books. Walking there felt like a little time travel and it is actually possible to work and read in those old rooms. It is not allowed to take pictures there, but for those of you who are interested, google it or check out their website.
We proceeded to the more modern part of Manchester, walking through the shopping streets and grabbing a bite to eat. It was already afternoon and our next stop would be the Manchester United stadium, which is a little outside of the city centre. We got on a bus and arrived at the stadium, only to see that the shutters were going down. The employee at the entrance kindly told us that the museum (and thus the entrance to the stadium) was closing now, but that the megastore would still be open for an hour. Oh no! We went to the megastore anyways, some of us wanted to buy souvenirs for relatives who were Man United fans.
Back in the city centre we had one hour before our bus back to Leeds departed. We spent it in a pub nearby the bus station and had a toast on the nice day.
We are now planning a trip to Liverpool, home to the Beatles. And as soon as I get to shoot some nice pictures of Leeds with good weather, I will post them here as well. So long!
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- Chinatown Manchester
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- Paper lanterns in Chinatown
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- The John Rylands Library
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- The librarian ;)
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- Pedestrian zone in the centre
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- Man United stadium
Filed under: United Kingdom | Tags: Bradford, Little Germany, National Media Museum, Saltaire, UK, Yorkshire
February is probably not the best time of the year to travel around in England. Nevertheless I went on a trip to the cities of Bradford and Saltaire, both close to Leeds, on a rainy Saturday.
Our main reason to visit Bradford was the National Media Museum. There’s free entry and you get to see BBC Radio Leeds (the real one!), the history of photography and TV and some temporary photo exhibitions. At many places you have the opportunity to try and experience things yourself. Did you ever want to visit Tellytubby Land or be the weatherman? Just stand in front of that blue wall and watch your friends having a laughing fit when you get eaten by a dinosaur on the screen.
Bradford also has a cathedral and a neighbourhood called “Little Germany”. You might want to take a look if you’re in Bradford anyways, but apart from the museum I didn’t find it very spectacular there.So after a coffee break we hopped on the train again and went to the UNESCO World Heritage site Saltaire . Saltaire was built up by Sir Titus Salt in the mid 19th century. The city housed textile workers in neat houses under much better conditions than in other cities around. It is now part of the “European Route of Industrial Heritage”. Nice to see as well, but I’m sure it’s much lovelier in summer!
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- The cathedral of Bradford
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- Bradford Centre
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- The National Media Museum
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- Memories from childhood :)
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- Coffee break! (No, I didn’t eat that all on my own)
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- Saltaire 1
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- Saltaire 2
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- The river Aire
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- Yeah, make yourself comfortable buddy ;)
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- Fanny’s Ale House
Although I had barely arrived in Leeds on the 28th, I joined a free bus trip to York on the 30th with two classmates. The trip was organised by the university for the new students.
Only about 45 minutes away from Leeds, York is the capital of the county Yorkshire. It is a very historic city. The historic alleys reminded me a lot of Diagon Alley in Harry Potter. York is also home to the York Minster, which is really impressive both outside and inside. There are also remains of the old city wall. You can also walk on them and have a nice view on York.
I particularly liked the small shops, many of them selling really unique and creative products. One shop sold teapots in various shapes and colours. There was even one in the shape of a toilet; would make me lose my appetite, but I guess that’s British humour . There was also a teddy bear shop and a lot of confectioneries that were selling delicious-looking handmade pastries.
In short, this city gives you a really cosy feeling, though, I would recommend a visit during the warmer seasons of the year. I’m definitely planning on coming back there in summer and strolling through the streets.
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I’ve noticed quite a lot of visitors on my blog the past days, hopefully you’re all curious what it’s like in Leeds. To be honest, I can’t tell you much yet, I’ve been sick since my arrival 6 days ago. Luckily I’m starting to feel better now and I will finally be able to explore the city more in depth and take a nicer picture to be put in the header of this blog.
So far we’ve been on a trip to York organised by the university and we are planning trips to Bradford and Manchester. I am sure there’s a lot to tell you about those!
So, stay tuned, update is to follow shortly!
With my head still full of impressions and experiences from Bulgaria I am now at my parents’ house in Germany, preparing for my next journey. My next semester will start on the 31th of January in Leeds, United Kingdom.
That will surely be an entirely different experience than Sofia. In a way it will be easier, everybody speaks English there after all! Of course, I already had to listen to a lot of jokes (and sometimes they were serious advice) that I mustn’t forget my umbrella. In the same breath, most people also commented on the British cuisine. I am in fact preparing for a slight culture shock. The best weapon against that is -in my opinion- open-mindedness and curiosity, and in the past years I have had plenty of opportunities to practice those virtues.
Certainly, the UK has had an eventful history and I am curious about the British perception of their monarchy. Some of my female relatives are really excited for me, because I will be in the country when Kate and William get married. To be honest, I’m not so interested in Royals (if at all, then in the Dutch Royal Family!), but that wedding will be interesting for me as a “cultural observer”.
Since some of my classmates from Sofia will also be in Leeds this semester I will already know some fellow students and I’m excited to get to know even more people! This week there is an introduction week going on at the university, but our programme is starting a week later than that of the others, so I will miss the biggest part of the introduction. However, on Sunday two of my classmates from Sofia and I will join a free trip to York with other “freshers”.
Now the only thing I need to do is to fit all that stuff into my suitcase!
Location of Leeds
