The Isle of Man: Vikings and sunsets

I had to be in Bristol by 9am on Monday so I thought, why not go via the Isle of Man? Like many of my other adventures this particular trip was motivated by Viking-hunting and involves an adventure with a hire car.

The first thing that surprised me was the plane I flew on. It was a tiny little thing, holding maybe 50 passengers and boy did it make a racket! Yes I know, a bit like someone else you know! I was not prepared and turned my music up full-volume in an attempt to screen out the noise.

For this trip I stayed at an AirBnB. The listing was for a crofters cottage, but as I was staying alone the host suggested I stay at their house which used to be a school. When I landed on the Isle of Man it was dark and  I was in a hire car - when will I learn?! Unfortunately rather than having a postcode to plug into the sat-nav I only had some printed off directions which relied on being able to see the landmarks. You know the sort - 'turn left at the white pub, if you hit the sea you've gone too far!'. Honestly, its a minor miracle I made it - and in a Nissan Micra the clutch for which was difficult to find!

My hosts were really excellent though. They made me a flask of tea every morning and let me borrow their Ordnance Survey Map for exploring. They even set me up with a chance to meet an academic hero at a classical concert. The event began with a rousing rendition of the Manx national anthem - I was like a fish out of water.

A cup of tea atop Snaefell

When you have a kooky interest sometimes a sat-nav just will not cut the mustard! One day I went looking for a Viking ship burial which was on a random promontory near the coast; it was literally turn down the road marked 'quarry' and look for sign-posts.

What is the postcode for this?

Abbeys, castles and museums
Even in the off season the Isle of Man has plenty to do. There were lots of familiar sites from my days as a student. It was amazing to me to sit in the ruins of Rushen Abbey, walk the ramparts at Castle Rushen (Peel was shut) and to see the Jurby cross in person complete with raven and symbols of Ragnarok.

The Manx are really on top of their museums; I found both the Manx Museum and the House of Manannan were good quality museums, although the latter is not for you if you are phobic of statues. The Manx Museum was, for me, the one redeeming feature of Douglas which is a tired seaside town.

House of Manannan

Natural beauty
The Isle of Man is beautiful. It is like Wales, if Wales were a rich, tax haven. Rolling hills, dramatic coast, the Calf of Man; all make for sensational scenery. One afternoon having seen the Jurby Cross I raced the sun to Niarbyl and watched the sunset. Watching the setting sun always puts things into perspective.

Niarbyl

Speaking stones
Sometimes you don't have to go far from home to find people doing life and indeed heritage very differently. If you happen upon Maughold you would have thought its just a sleepy village without as much as a pub to its name. But take a closer look at the churchyard. In a three-walled hut in the grounds you will find 150+ fragments of crosses some of which are more than 1000 years old. And here's the clincher - you can touch them. No glass to mediate you and the experience of runes and pictures carved as monuments so many years ago. If carving is your thing, you really must visit before they all get put behind glass and monitored by CCTV.

On Sunday I drove the coastal road all the way back to the airport accompanied by David Bowie's greatest hits on the stereo. Boarding the plane I waved goodbye to the Isle of Man and was just about ready for the 9 o clock meeting.

Maughold Crosses

Vienna: TGT Episode 4

Population: 1.731 million

Highlights: Sacher Torte, Naschmarkt, the Hofburg, Schloss Schönbrunn, Wien Museum, Beim Czaak, Trams, Stephansdom

Accommodation: IBIS hotel (budget) – we really felt the difference to IBIS Frankfurt.

We left Munich on Tuesday morning, pausing to post our cards and then board a proper international train. This journey gave me my first glimpse of the Alps, and of Austria more generally. I love train travel, all of the scenery unfolds before your eyes; flat urban areas, mountains, and then the plains.

Our arrival in Vienna was a wet one, but by now we were used to negotiating new underground systems, sandwich in hand, and emerged at our hotel right beside the famous Prater fairground. A short nap later we set out to explore the city by tram. In Vienna you can get cheap 4-journey tickets (like carnet-dix in Paris) and if you’re over 60 there are discounts to be found as well. The trams are gorgeous old vehicles and the metro looks like a 1960’s space-age – all silvery tin-foil. We looked at Viennese architecture and then ate steak for tea, making plans on serviettes and living the dream.

(Hofburg candlesticks)

Day 2 I climbed the Stephansdom South Tower for a better view of the Viennese skyline - just as Stephansdom dominates the view in Vienna it also penetrates much of Viennese history.  Having got my breath back I went to the Hofburg - I saw Queen Sisi’s chambers and their massive dinner services – they even had a whole dinner service just for taking onboard a ship, which was incredible! If you like visiting National Trust properties audio-guide in hand then the Hofburg will suit you down to the ground!

(The view from Stephansdom)

After the Hof I headed off for a piece of Sacher Torte - it was really tasty, and not as hideously overpriced as I had feared. From the Sacher Hotel I progressed to the Naschmarkt via a post office, where I successfully ordered stamps in German. I also bumped into the Spanish Riding School Ponies on the way. The Naschmarkt is a foodie paradise with as many different styles of cuisine as you can imagine. I enjoyed tasting, and then buying some raspberry vinegar, seeing the bottling process before my eyes was magical.

(Spanish Riding School Ponies)

(Sacher Torte)

(Naschmarkt Sausages)

From the Naschmarkt I went on to the Jewish Museum. When I visited there was a heightened focus in the press on Israeli-Palestine so there was a body guard on the door and visiting felt like making a political statement. The museum was the antithesis of the toy museum in Munich, it was interactive and expansive, used multimedia modes of explanation and created space for people to leave their responses to the material. I learned a lot, particularly about the roles of Jews in World War I. I was particularly challenged by a comedy piece written by Georg Kreisler, you can listen to it here - he satirises the horror of going to work alongside people who had behaved so atrociously towards you mere years before.  I also learned about the ongoing relationship between Jews and Vienna itself, how they had paid a special Jew-tax which paid for Stephansdom and that several rich Jewish women founded the intellectual salons of Vienna. It was well worth the 10E entry fee.

(Jewish Museum suitcase)

(Interactive displays)

After all that thinking and heritage I met up with Dad and we went for tea at the oldest beisl in Vienna, Beim Czaak. Visit if you can, the service, restaurant design and food were a complete novelty.

(Beim Czaak)

From the restaurant we travelled out to Schloss Schönbrunn to listen to some Mozart 'where Mozart actually played'. We felt the original price offered to us by a street salesman was too high; and got a 50% discount from attempting to walk away. A very civilised evening all round.

(Schloss Schönbrunn)

Before leaving Vienna I insisted we go to the Wien Museum, and I'm so glad I did. Its a high-quality museum with a variety of exhibits for every taste from Medieval sculpture to Klimt-originals, a temporary installation on the Viennese Great Exhibition, Ottoman Siege Maps, the entire flat of Franz Grillparzer, Austrian poet. I bought their Highlights Catalogue, in German. Has to be seen to be believed, Wien Museum gets an A* for me.

(Viennese Armoury)

Next time we cross the border to Italy.

Frankfurt: TGT Episode 2

Population: 691,518

Highlights: Historiches Museum Frankfurt, Botanical Gardens, Iimore Delicatessen.

Accommodation: IBIS hotel.

Our Grand Tour did not begin in grand style. We spent well over an hour queuing to get my bag put in the hold at Heathrow. The saving grace of this disastrous start was the presence of an old uni friend and his travelling Elizabethan bevvy of boys, The Queens Six. All proceeded well after that.

(The Nutcracker(s))

On arrival at Frankfurt airport we decided to make the most of our inter-rail passes from the get-go and travel to the nearby town of Freinsheim. We had heard there was a BING toy museum there; we had not heard there was a rail replacement service for this village, in the middle of the countryside!

Transport aside, we were so pleased to have made the trek. We found ourselves in a walled, Medieval town complete with portcullis. I can’t tell you that much about the museum as I only made it to the ground floor – but my Dad disappeared for a good 2 hours whilst I immersed myself in an After Eight Liqueur Sundae. They’ve really cornered the ideal complement to a museum, with an ice cream parlour.

(After Eight Sundae)

(Freinsheim)

Whilst in Frankfurt we stayed at an IBIS hotel which felt a long way from the town centre and public transport, until we discovered (near the end of our stay) that there was a tram stop right outside the hotel *face-palm. The hotel was clean and tidy, the staff were helpful and doubled-up as cocktail waiters (bonus!), and the breakfast buffet was substantial!

When asking friends about Frankfurt I found people had very few positive things to say about it, that’s sad because actually Frankfurt wasn’t half so bad as had been predicted. It is essentially an urban metropolis with banking at its heart but here are 3 things you shouldn’t miss if you visit:

1. Iimore Delicatessen - just off the main square. Believes coffee and sticky buns are a science. Have a cosy cuppa without it costing the earth.
2. Historiches Museum Frankfurt – they have underground archaeology in situ. You can feel the true weight of a suit of armour, view large scale wooden models of the city and a very impressive mixed-media exhibit about the town’s development. Costs 10E to get in, but easily lose 2-3 hours of your day in there.

(Underground at the Historic Museum)

(How heavy is a suit of armour?)

     3. The Botanical Gardens – our trip round the botanical gardens was time limited by our need to get to Munich, but, if you like exotic looking flowers, cacti, rose gardens and slightly strange fashion exhibits this place is for you!

(Botanical Gardens)

So would I bother going back to Frankfurt as a holiday destination? Probably not, but for 2 days it provided good entertainment and was worth it for our afternoon in Freinsheim, alone.

Next up: Munich.

Ribe: Local lamb, stars and 17th-century inns

Ribe is forever immortalised for me as Medieval, sun-drenched bliss. I hit a very good run of weather over the Easter weekend I spent there. I boarded a bus, then a train, and then a second, regional, battery-powered train from Vejle to Ribe crossing the width of Jutland East-West. I really enjoyed my stay here, I will wax-lyrical, its a long 'un.

What?
Ribe is a Medieval town on the west coast of Jutland. It started life as a seasonal trading post in 700 AD. It experienced a massive period of expansion when it became a Cathedral-town under our friend Harald Bluetooth (who enclosed the city in a wall) and instated a famous bishop, Ansgar, at the helm. Ribe grew and grew with a harbour, watermills, and a significant role in the Lutheran reformation. It is also very close to the Wadden Sea national park, home to 12 million migratory birds.

Ribe Viking Museum
Ribe has several museums including the excellent Viking museum, which for half the price of the BM exhibition knocked its competitor into the water! The museum has a trilingual introductory video, as many artefacts as you can shake a stick at, and an exploratory zone where you can try the helmets and swords out for size. That's to say nothing of their experiential spaces which channel that Jorvik vibe. I suspect when the Viking Village is open this museum gets less traffic. Ribe also has a town museum and art museum, but you can't see all the museums at once.

(Ribe Museum: Channelling Jorvik and selfies in masks. Images: author's own)

Ribe Cathedral and tower
You know how I am with cathedrals and their towers. I have to get inside and I have to climb the tower. I had two experiences of this cathedral; the first time I arrived it was Easter Saturday, 11pm. The town square was pitch black, you could see all the stars, there was a fire in the grate outside. Easter services are always magical, something about meeting Jesus in the middle of the night always draws me. But the Lutheran, Danish service left something wanting in comparison to its Catholic counterpart in Aachen.

(Ribe Cathedral, feat. 13th c painting. Image: author's own)

The second time I visited was Easter Day - and the cathedral museum was excellent. I learned that the cathedral tower fell and killed many parisioners in 1283, inspiration for Ken Follett perhaps? The climb to the top of the tower (52m) was well rewarded, with sunshine, a breeze and a stunning view.

(Ribe from Commoners' Tower. Image: author's own)

Eat
Your options to eat in Ribe are far from limited! I enjoyed eating the view on many occasions. Having Ribe-boller (a Danish with vanilla and chocolate) from a local bakery, eating ice-cream and waffles from the ice-bars, I had an amazing burger the size of my head at Quedens (a renovated haberdashery-come-eatery) and ate lamb reared on the nearby Wadden-sea island of Mandø at the illustrious Kolvig. I really wanted to get a meal in at Sælhunden but it was always too full. Most of the hotels also offer meals but the menus are quite traditional.

Sleep
There are lots of options here. I slept in real luxury at Weis Stue, a 17th-century inn which still has many original features from the wooden beams, and wonky floors, to 17th-century paintwork in the dining room. Staying here wasn't cheap (about £40 per night for a single room and shared bathroom) but for me was all about location - right on the Cathedral square, and character - they give you a big door key for late night escapades. Staying here was magical. There is a nearby youth hostel, much more central than others I have seen, I can't vouch for the interior but the cost sharing a 4-bed is £25.

(Weis Stue. Image: author's own)

Walk on the wildside
Much of Ribe is tightly knit together, you can see most of it within a half-hour walk. The Wadden Sea area offers lots for the nature lover but it seemed a bit distant without a bike. I did however walk the banks of the Ribe river, tour St Catherine's church, explore the old castle mound and chat to my mate, Dagmar. Lots of open space and sunshine.

 (Sunset at Ribe Harbour. Image: author's own)

One particular delight was sitting by the Medieval harbour in the 'field of heads'(!) sketching and enjoying the sunset.

So, if you like history, excellent food, sunshine and boats, Ribe is THE place to visit. Its a bit provincial, but if you fancy stepping back in time for a few days its hard to beat.

Promise next time I see you, I will be more concise!

(Signing out with Queen Dagmar. Image: author's own)

The land of sea, sails and bicycles: Denmark

Hello You!

Its a pleasure to see you! Yes, I am looking a little peaky. Its been a rough week for me with a fever and vomiting bug which I've only just about recovered from. So its time to share with you all of the exciting adventures I got up to whilst I was away in the land of sea, sails and bicycles; the place where there are 5 pigs to every person and about as many bicycles! The place where there are holes in your money and people genuinely enjoy being in the gym at 5am! I had a great time away full of variety, a lot of Vikings and one or two brushes with Harald Bluetooth (did you know the symbol for bluetooth is Harald's initials in runic?!)

 

So as a brief introduction to the uninitiated Denmark consists of three main parts, the islands of Fyn and Zealand, and the Jutland peninsula. Denmark has many other islands (407!) and territories including the constituent countries, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. As you can see from the map I travelled across the Danish regions heading mainly east to west with a brief u-turn near the end to head north and home; I flew in to Copenhagen, had a stop-over in Odense, travelled to Ribe and then up to Aarhus. I took a week to do this but it was Easter - you could definitely do it quicker! More to follow with regard to transport.

What follows is a diary of the trip; complete with local stories and adventures - details of accommodation and things to see and do.

But firstly some sweeping generalisations in a big list:

1. Denmark is really expensive - accommodation, food, even public transport is at the pricey-er end. I never thought I'd go somewhere more expensive than London!

(Danish coins in my hand. Image: my own)

2. You don't need Danish to do well here - everything from bars and restaurants to museum panels and even local bus drivers is in English (and Danish).

3. People are so polite - I wasn't harassed once. I know that doesn't sound like much, but usually on my own people always ask me for money, think they can offer me money for sex, generally make statements about me. This was really refreshing.

4. Being a woman in Denmark doesn't seem to be a problem!

(Cinnamon rolls. Image: my own)

5. There is a strong emphasis on sustainability of food supplies and sustainable living.

6. Its flat (except not THAT flat) so people bike everywhere.

7. You are never more than 30km from the sea.

8. The museums are ace. And their education system is really good!

(Aarhus Viking Museum. Image: my own)

9. Eating out - high quality, but high prices. I paid £28 for a piece of lamb one night, I know! But it was good lamb. 

10. There will be Danish flags everywhere. 

(Ribe Harbour. Image: my own)

Next installment: Copenhagen.

The Vikings: a British Museum Exhibition

Hello you lovely lot!

First off I am writing this on my phone en route to Stansted because I am flying to Denmark, hurray for technology!

In preparation for my hanging out with many Danes I recently visited the new Viking exhibition at the British Museum.

I had seen the trailer, which as you will note makes quite the claim in suggesting it will revolutionise the way you see the Vikings. Determined not to be put off by the £16 price tag I gave it a go.

watch the trailer

Treasure trove
What a collection! All the famous things are here; the Hunterston Brooch, the Cuerdale hoard and my personal favourites, the Lewis chessmen. There are literally hundreds of objects telling 'the Viking story' from beads to spears, coins and pots. The aim of the exhibition was to widen the public perspective on who the Vikings were; I'm not entirely convinced this worked.

(Lewis chessmen. Photo credit: theisleoflewischessmen.com)

Roskilde 6
The central artefact for this exhibition was the remains of an astounding 37-metre long ship known as Roskilde 6. I was really impressed with this boat; and the way it was presented. So often when we work with medieval ships we're left looking at a handful of rivets, or even just the rivet holes! To see remaining planks and their position in the wider structure was amazing. I also felt the presentation of the ship; complete with videos on the building materials and the opportunity to touch modern examples of fur and wood really made a living, breathing exhibit out of something that would otherwise have been a relatively opaque artefact to the initiated.

(Roskilde 6. Photo credit: The Independent)

Packed out
In some ways this exhibition is a victim of its own success. Despite booking several weeks in advance and being allocated a booking time you really couldn't move in there! I think this might have been due to the queue jump facility allocated to BM members, but having paid my £16 I hadn't expected to queue for each cabinet.

Vikings
The curators had been clear that they wanted us to come away with a broader understanding of who 'the Vikings' were. Sure, there were representations of work and leisure, faith and travel. Yet all 'the Vikings' were clubbed together without a framework of chronology or geographic locality and I felt that led the public more towards generalisation of 500yrs of history rather than less. Also I'd have liked more on the process of interpretation, something more experiential and a few less saga quotes. But perhaps most of those are satisfied in the audio guide (which cost extra) and the supporting programme of seminars.

BM at its best
In 2011 I compared the duration of 2 BM exhibits for an essay and noted then, as I do now that the BM is best at bringing us the monumental and the foreign, as opposed to the domestic and familiar. I felt the Viking exhibition was the same, showcasing the large monumental objects well but perhaps the smaller objects could have been better presented.

Coming to a cinema near you
I was encouraged to see that the BM is taking the exhibition to other museums across the country that share Viking heritage. This willingness to share resources will only win it friends moving forward. I also was pleased to see the BM take a leaf out of the National Theatre's book in taking its exhibition and seminar stream to cinema broadcasts which massively opens up the reach of these exhibitions.

Must see collection, but choose your  time carefully
It is not often that you see so many famous Viking pieces all in one place; this has been an incredibly collaborative project. It is also an amazing opportunity to see Roskilde 6, which on its own is worth the £16. But pick your visit time carefully to avoid crowds and to spend time with the precious artefacts.

Privilege
I want to conclude by recognising I have experienced great privilege. I have touched several of the treasures on display first hand and studied the Vikings in great depth. I reckon my luck and privilege will have shaped my view.

TTFN
They're calling my flight I better go. See you for more 'viking' and specifically Danish things soon!

Freiburg and Guildford: Twinned Cities

Freiburg: City of faces
I went to Freiburg because my friend May was going there. I have to say I didn't really know about its history but I sure did enjoy it. Think cobbled streets, with gentle inclines in the towns, mountains in the background. I enjoyed visiting the Gothic minster (we didn't climb the tower as the weather was bad), eating würste, buying curiosities in the Minster Market and drinking cocktails in the evening. Whilst exploring we came across numerous anthropomorphic faces from mermaids, to gargoyles and lions.

Cocktails always aid creativity - my fruit boats

The Augustiner Museum; a modern museum considering the art and culture of Freiburg from the Baroque through to the modern-day is a real treasure. Their stock is vast with tapestries, the most representations of Jesus I've ever seen as well as an organ, stained glass windows and gargoyles to boot! Although the content was really old, the layout was very modern and designed to purpose. The gargoyles were positioned so you could see them from a distance as they would be in situ but also close-up from the gallery.

Secondly, I wanted to tell you about a bookshop I visited. I don't know how you feel about bookshops.  For me, the smell of antique bookshop is like catnip (to a cat!). I cannot resist.
I looked in the window and knew I had to go in.

I asked May to restrain me.

We went in. They had loads of books on Anthropology and Material Culture and several travel books arranged according to locality. One book we found was a Baedecker of the Rhine Land from 1939. It was geographically relevant and was full of references to the Glory of Hitler - quite an unusual discovery! Unfortunately the price was also outside the usual range for my trip - aka all my euros. So I left the shop, but not before I bought this postcode from 1906!

From Freiburg with love - the message is written in pencil round the outside!

Guildford: Heritage, public and private
I visited my friend Bec and spent several hours exploring. There are lots of historical buildings in Guildford centre from the Tudor Rose Restaurant to the Alms Houses, Holy Trinity church, and Abbots Hospital. I found something to climb, this time a Norman Castle tower! I paid £3 to view an exhibition, watch a video (from 1995!) and then climb the tower - this seemed a reasonable fee for the upkeep of such ancient heritage. I don't really know when, or why this obsession with climbing high ancient things came about. I can't help but wonder whether it has something to do with being so small and always looking up at things. There's something quite novel about observing cities from above.

Next I walked out to Guildford Cathedral, passing the road where my grandparents used to live. There were a few subtle changes. The road sign now featured a subtitle 'no access to university' and at the bottom of the road a shisha bar had opened. I wondered what my Grandpa would have made of those changes.

Guildford Cathedral itself is not like many of the other places of worship I visit. It was originally designed in 1930 and was finally completed in the 1960's. The angels on the entrance to the nave were strangely reminiscent of the angels at Coventry, turns out they are both designed by John Hutton. Usually when I visit a Cathedral it is for its Medieval history, the sanctity of ancient places of worship and of course a decent church tower. This time my visit was incredibly personal; my grandfather was a Cathedral Guide and it was a really special place for him. Sat in the Lady Chapel I found myself transported back to my own experiences some 12 years ago at my grandmother's funeral. That too is a history and a heritage, but a much more personal one; it is mine I have both ownership and authorship over it. Not everyone gets a museum or exhibition in honour of their history.

Finally, sorry for disappearing on you all! My weekends have been manic. There has been much to discuss: I've read 4 great books, done lots of thinking on social action and exploitation, experimented with poetry at the seaside and taken 2 people on exciting tours of London over the last 6 weeks. I am not sure there will be time to write on all of these. Especially as I am off to France in just over a week!

North Rhine Westmania!

Wrote this piece for Doppelpunkt. Thought I'd share it with you guys.

I had some holiday to use at work so I decided to spend a week and a half in North Rhine Westphalia. Although I made brief forays into other countries; namely Holland and Belgium the main focus of the trip were three German cities, Düsseldorf, Aachen and Cologne.

I flew into Düsseldorf from London on a warm Monday evening. The airport felt really big but I think this was mainly because I couldn’t find my host. Once reunited with my friend the first exciting thing about my return to Germany was my first ride on a double-decker train. I imagine, if you live in Continental Europe, the thought of a train on two levels is not that unusual but in England they don’t exist; between that and the Sky Train I was quite enamoured of the German rail system.

Düsseldorf, like the airport, was bigger than I expected. I particularly enjoyed the old town, complete with Schneider Wibbel immortalised in music and metal, little town squares and gorgeous waterfronts. Their rich heritage in Persil and other soaps is celebrated in the town museum which boasts a large collection of artefacts and trilingual signs. The other wonderful part of Düsseldorf to visit is the harbour. Like much of the rest of Europe, the old industrial parts of the country have been salvaged through architectural innovation. The arty office blocks make for an interesting view but if nature is more your thing there is also a really nice Rhine walk in this area complete with little beaches. Like many German cities Düsseldorf’s public transport is comprehensive...but one word of warning, don’t trust the station names. Getting off the train at Düsseldorf Zoo Station will not lead you to Düsseldorf Zoo but an ice-rink, the zoo was destroyed in the Second World War.

Stroking Schneider’s Nose. Düsseldorf.

For the majority of my trip I was based in Aachen, staying at a backpackers hostel. I was taking a bit of a leap because usually I only stay in HI hostels; but I found the backpackers hostel to be much friendlier, more homely and, importantly for a girl on foot, more central than its competitor. Aachen is a great German city to visit; it has got impressive regional, national and international transport links. The old town has some lovely places to visit; Charlemagne’s Cathedral, a UNESCO site with an impressive treasury, the Town Hall, again Carolingian in origin and now featuring an impressive multi-sensory museum, and lots of pretty little streets with a surprising amount of remaining architecture for a city that was 80% blitzed. It is hard to verbalise my love for this city but one of the things I really like is how truly international it is; the last big city before the border with both Holland and Belgium it is not unusual to hear at least three different languages at once. Several of my shopping experiences have started in German and ended in English via French! This attitude is echoed in everything from the architecture to the food and the music that I’ve heard in Aachen. That and the ice cream from a little parlour called Del Negro is the best I’ve tasted outside of Italy; they’ve got loads of flavours, the portions are huge, the prices are small and they even let you do half and half!

Amazing Aachener Eis!

Finally I wanted to write a little about Cologne. It took me a while to visit Cologne because of the loyalty I felt to other parts of Westphalia. The rivalry runs so deep that to ask for Kölsch in an Altbier region is really quite offensive! But Cologne was lovely. The riverside at Cologne is much photographed and with good cause. A similar size to Düsseldorf but very aware of its historic context, where Aachen is built in circles, Düsseldorf builds in squares and lines. Nowhere is this more evident than in comparing the Cathedrals of both towns. Aachen circular and Carolingian, Cologne is tall, gothic and towered. The city museum showcased just how aware the people of Cologne were of their cities relevance. The town had, for a long time, been able to harness all the local resources, and become a powerful independent city. That power had been seized on occasion for good and for very bad uses but I felt the museum dealt with this subject gracefully. There was lots to do in Cologne even on a national holiday; I reckon I could have spent more days there and still not have been bored.

In sum then, I really enjoyed my return to West Germany; the challenge of communicating in foreign languages, walking through foreign climes and discovering new cities. I hope you will consider visiting North Rhine Westphalia and discover its charms for yourself.

Randolph and Ashmolean.

So last weekend my cousin got married, congratulations Katy and Ahilan. This was a great excuse to be in Oxford and indulge in a luxuriant weekend.

The Randolph Hotel is on Beaumont Street in the centre of Oxford. My sat-nav knew exactly where it was and my own eyes soon attested to its presence! See photo below.  I drove to the entrance and our valet took over from there. Apparently valets are quite normal in America but I have to say it was a first for me; and my Mum definitely cleaned the car before we set off! Inside customer service was prized with concierge and many complimentary services on offer.

Chillin with a paper

 I have to say though, that we did spend time in queues, get delivered twice as many Sunday papers as we’d like and receive a visit from a member of staff ‘checking the mini-bar’. So the room itself cost just over £200 (definitely the most my parents ever spent on a room, me too!) and for that we got a twin room complimentary tea, coffee, hot chocolate (including cream as a milk option!) water (sparkling and still), an ensuite with some small toiletries (and a confident reminder that if I were to make a souvenir of my bath towel I was to enquire as to its sale price at reception!). Our beds were Egyptian cotton and we also had a writing desk, arm chair and footrest, complimentary wifi and of course, a trouser press. We decided in the main to avoid the mini-bar and 24-hour room service (you could even have your herring brought to you in the morning!). Our experience over night actually left me a little disappointed; the room was uncomfortably warm or noisy depending on whether you used the fan or not, the industrial fans outside also made for a noisy evening. I would also say however, that my parent’s room on the other side of the building, overlooking the Ashmolean museum was quite tranquil and beautiful, they had no such complaints. Perhaps it is luck of the draw. And as we were a family of four at a wedding it was so nice not to feel joined at the hip!

Writing my last blog

The hospitality on the other hand was brilliant. The reception venue was very smartly decorated, even the children’s menu had adult portions, our food was very tasty and the customer service was really good; just the right level of interaction and invisibility. I also had the good fortune of visiting the famous ‘Morse Bar’ and watched them make me a Mojito on my room tab (thanks Mum!), it was truly worth the £10.50 rivalling my local London favourites, Sophie’s.

As I mentioned earlier the hotel is across the road from the Ashmolean and remembering the occasion my Anglo-Saxon history lecturer claimed to have stolen the ‘Alfred Jewel’ from the Ashmolean I decided it was time to pay this place a visit. I will make the caveat now that I only had an hour. The first thing that struck me was a resemblance to the British museum; the fusion of old buildings with new architecture that makes the most of the light. Also like the BM it had an orientation space which serves to prepare the visitor for thinking about culture and provides information on the different exhibitions which are organised geographically then chronologically. Interestingly also like the British Museum I thought there was a noticeable lack of African archaeology on display. Plenty of Middle Eastern, Indian and European pieces but no African and a similar bias towards ‘classical archaeology’. The European Early Medieval Room was worth visiting if you are an ASNAC or British antiquarian, plenty of strap ends and beakers, armour and of course the Alfred jewel; it was photographing badly on the day I was there. But as far as I was concerned their visible early Medieval collection was nothing extraordinary; you’d have seen as much in that archaeology seminar with Geake.

Christopher Wren as a young man.

The other place that the Ashmolean reminded me of was the Louvre. My sister and I visited the Louvre in February and I noticed it was full of brightly coloured hallways with European paintings, hung upon the walls for contemplation. The Ashmolean had many themed rooms including one quite large room dedicated entirely to Dutch still life! If I had one complaint about the Ashmolean it would be that it seemed dominated by the interests of earlier Oxford academics; the room full of Russian ceramic and the Dutch still-life came from benefactors who had given large collections as represented by these large rooms. What the Ashmolean did well was partner the contemporary with the ancient. A sculpture exhibition put modern sculptures of Olympic sports up against classical statues in an attempt to get the public thinking about national feeling and the human body. Similarly their exhibition on conservation was inspired; lots of fun and not only for children! The picture below is me playing with a piece that counts the number of touches various materials can take before they fall apart. It was interesting.

Bodies: Ancient and Modern

Please Touch, interactive conservation.

So in conclusion, I enjoyed the bit of Oxford that I saw. Admittedly I didn’t actually go beyond Beaumont Street other than when I drove the car in. Being light blue for a start I wouldn’t have wanted to dirty my shoes...I jest. There were other priorities. I enjoyed my family time and what I saw of Oxford. I might even go back if only to taste more of the Morse Bar menu.