Hello, this time from Glasgow 🙂
A while back, I was looking at flights and saw a few destinations that are short flights away, and this is how I booked Glasgow 🙂
I am lucky to live in Dublin, where I can take a 30-minute to 1-hour flight and be in another country in Europe, or even in Ireland; most places are easily reachable by train, bus, or car.
I wanted to visit this city for some time, but I always put it aside. It just feels like some places in Scotland and the UK are in your backyard, and you always put them off for later on, as there are many other countries to visit. I haven’t traveled so much in Ireland either, and the same when I lived in Bulgaria, as it is something I can reach easily, and I am always looking for some further destination. This is another reason this summer I decided to travel to places around Ireland and close by.
And now about Glasgow itself.
I was actually surprised by how lovely and nice the city felt, or maybe because I was there for just one day.
I started the day very early at 3.30 am, as my flight was at 7 and my time to the airport is between 30- 50 minutes by bus- we don’t have a metro or tram to the airport -not yet.
The flight itself was 40 minutes and went so quickly, like I traveled from one end of Dublin to the other or even faster, hehe.
I didn’t have too much of a plan, but something like breakfast -walking tour -lunch -some photos and take the plane back to Dublin.
I was looking for some small coffeeshop, more of an independent one rather than a chain, and was surprised that there were not so many in the central area, or not easily visible, or maybe I was just too early there.
On each corner you can find Starbucks, Nero Coffee, and Costa Coffee, one of the biggest coffee shop chains, and so many fast food shops- not my cup of tea. I was determined to find something, maybe because I was used to small coffees in Dublin. Well, we do have the above-mentioned popular chains, but we also have a lot of small independent coffee shops with just baked goods and croissants 😉
After some time of searching, I found a place: Fern Coffee, nestled between some buildings and Central Station.
It was quite busy, but the food was good and the staff were very nice.
Around 12-14 £ in total, and the sandwich was quite big for two people.
Ok, now time for some history and photos. I booked a walking tour, which was to take about two hours.
I booked at the last minute, it was around £ 15
First Stop: Glasgow City Chambers
A Victorian building located in Glasgow’s George Square, it was used in a few movies, including the popular TV show Outlander.
Second Stop: University of Strathclyde – Royal College Building
The oldest building on campus.
Next Stop: Another Campus Building
As the university grew, it started to buy more buildings in the area.
The building is one of many buildings around the city center that have a socialist look, which was due to a time in Glasgow history when a politician was fascinated by this type of architecture. (This is what the guide told us.)
Next Stop:St.Mungo Mural
We probably stayed the longest here. The guide told us the story of a person named Mungo and how he became a Saint.
Saint Mungo is revered as the founder and patron saint of Glasgow. The story is quite long, and if you want to learn more, here is a Wikipedia story.
The Mural was completed in 2016 by an artist called Smug.
Next Stop:High Street
This is the historic part of the city.
Next Stop:Glasgow Cathedral
No admission charge when you visit.
I went inside, but there were too many people visiting and I wasn’t able to take a good photo.
It is said that it marks the start of Glasgow city and is the only building to survive the Reformation of 1560. It is built of a specific stone, and a while back they tried to wash it up but realized that it was removing some of the typical outlook for the building, and they stopped. Or at least this was what the guide told us.
Behind it is a graveyard where some of the scenes of the 2022 Batman movie were filmed.
Next Stop: Random building
The area around the building was bought for a new buildings to be built, but at the time, squatters were occupying the building in the photo. From what I understood, by law, they can’t evict them, and at the moment, this is one of the very few original buildings standing on the street.
Last Stop:statue of the Duke of Wellington in Glasgow
This statue is located outside the Gallery of Modern Art, and the traffic cone is a symbol of the Glaswegian humor and spirit, dating back to 1980.
There was a period when the city council would remove the cone, and during the night, the people would put it back, and sometimes more than one cone. The next morning, it will be removed again from the city council, and this continued for a while, when the city council decided to build a platform so the state couldn’t be reached, but people kept putting the cone back.
And this was the end of the tour.
After the tour, I decided to go to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, and I took the metro. The metro cars are so small that it looked like a small capsule connected and not for tall people. I could touch the ceiling without stretching my hands. I don’t think it was more than 170 or 180 meters, maybe even less.
I spent just a short time around the Gallery; I think I was a bit tired after the walking tour, which I didn’t realize would be.
Something Interesting I saw in a museum:
Well, it is not just the chair that was interesting 🙂 There are exhibitions to learn a lot about Scottish history and art as well.
I went back to the city center and walked around to take some more photos, but to recharge my batteries, I bought some more matcha 🙂
And now some more photos from around the city center:
While crossing the river, I reached a nicely maintained green area, which appears to be a business center.
With all the walking I did, I wanted something salty, and not far away was Greg’s Bakery, popular in Great Britain.
And now was the time to catch my flight. I could stay a little longer, but I was a bit tired, and I don’t think I could take another photo or buy another matcha, haha, a total of 3 for the day.
The Airport is very close to the city center, between 20 and 30 minutes, and is relatively small, so no hassle getting in and out. Very well organized.
And with that, I am back in Dublin, and my trip ended.
Again, I was surprised how nice the city was- it has more of a city vibe rather than the history vibe of Edinburgh, and I think I liked it more than the capital, but this may be because my Edinburgh trip was 10 years ago.
P.S…. some of the photos do not have such nice quality as they are taken with my phone due to my camera battery running out of energy.
Pettite Two a Pret 
Leave a comment