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Published: July 15th 2017
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Wifi Booth!
You can get wifi at these! Brilliant! You know those hop on and off buses? Double decker? There's no shame in that. I went back to George square and jumped aboard, upper deck. The rain let up so I can do what I want!
The tour was pretty decent. I visited St. Kentigern, a 13th Century cathedral up on a hill, across from a scenic necropolis. This cathedral is supposedly build upon the tomb of St. Kentigern, also known as MUNGO (how can you not love this - no offense, Scots, really - performing chimp like name?), who died in 612. According to an informational sign, everything that was written about Mungo was written in the 12th century and was made up - healing powers,etc. The only certain fact is the date of his death. Apparently, for many centuries, this was a destination of pilgrimage.
The necropolis was great but I'd been spoiled by Edinburgh, where the mossed, gnarled headstones move when you're not watching. There is a grand view of the city from there though.
I popped down to the hop on and hopped. Glasgow is a town of industry, made successful thanks to the River Clyde that runs through the center.
Glasgow,
Cathedral With Coat of Arms Lamp
There is a poem to help schoolchildren learn about the Glasgow coat of arms:
There's the tree that never grew,
There's the bird that never flew,
There's the fish that never swam,
There's the bell that never rang.
Each of these lines refers to a story about dear Mungo. Scotland's largest city, owes its size to its start as a merchant center of the world, trading in cotton,sugar, and rum. Their most prevalent product of trade was tobacco, which made the city rich. The tobacco came from Virginia, and was then distributed throughout Europe. Many of the streets are named after tobacco lords. There's a Virginia street too! At some point Glasgo supplied all of France with tobacco. Many of the opulent buildings built around George Square are paid for by tobacco.
Brewing was also big around the mid 1700s. Over a dozen breweries were formed during this time too, so basically, Glasgow's responsible for all the things bad for you.
With industrialization, Glasgow became a leader in engineering and manufacturing of trains and boats. At one time they made 20% of the worlds locomotives. Glasgow was known as the ship-building capital of the world and cranes lined the river Clyde.
In the 1980s the building industry was outsourced to Japan and Korea. There was high unemployment and Glasgow became poor. The tenacious council members worked to reinvent the struggling city by building conference centers and hotels where there were once cranes. This attracted insurance and
finance companies. Now tourism is also a successful industry. Hence the hop on and off bus.
Next stop was a transportation museum, which is free, like all museums here! This place is is a hodgepodge of different forms of transportation. There is a wall of motorbikes, a ceiling of bicycles, and a wall of automobiles. There are busses and trolleys and snowboards. A gazelle hangs suspended in front of a locomotive; I imagine this is to indicate speed? What's happening?
A favorite is a detailed replica of a Glasgow street in the 1800s in which you can explore wee shoppes and a subway car.
Behind the museum is the tall ship Glenlee, a vess f from the 1890s that has sailed all the way around Cape Horn 15 times. The crew and captains quarters and mess area are all wonderfully preserved. Children climbed in and around the vessel, and were provided wee mops to scrub the deck.
Hop on! Hop off! Hop on, Hop Off - THE HOPPER!
My last stop, conveniently located near my hotel, was the Kelvingrove Art Gallery, home to an eclectic amalgamation of, among other pieces, traditional folk art, modern paintings
and installations, classical art and TAXIDERMY. Imagine a museum dedicated to the aesthetic of stream of of consciousness. This is Kelvingrove.
Dinner was delicious fish and chips. The seafood here is to die.
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