We went down first thing to see when the cruise boat times were, and decided that it would work out best if we went into Glasgow (well, Partick) to see the Riverside Museum, then come back and catch the 3:00 cruise. The weather changes so quickly here that even though it seemed like it might rain this morning, by afternoon there were brilliant blue skies....oh wait...no, really dark clouds....well, kind of cloudy sunny....sprinkles. And it was cold....and sunny....well, misting. That is Scotland weather.
From the Partick train station, it was maybe a 15 minute walk to the museum. There is a pedestrian bridge across the motorway that looks like it has ship's railings, and the light poles in the middle look like masts. All along the way, there are inlaid granite blocks laying out a history of the Clyde riverfront and its restoration. The museum was awarded European Museum of the Year this year, but when we first walked in, I couldn't see why. But the longer we stayed and the more we explored, there were so many little things that caught our attention that we could see why it got that honor. It is a transportation museum, and they mean every form of transportation - trolleys, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, ships, skateboards, baby buggies, buses, gliders, camper vans - and shoes. Of course, since it is in Scotland, the focus is on Scottish inventors and vehicles of all types, so many of them were unfamiliar to me. In Alexandria the other day, we saw a huge old building with the front of a car on the façade, but we didn't know what it was (right now it's sort of a derelict building with some shops in it, but Lisa says it's not great). In the museum, Igor spotted a car that was built in Alexandria around the time of Henry Ford. The front of the car matched the façade of the building we had seen - and there were pictures of the building when the factory was in operation!
The items were all displayed in unique ways - full-size cars on ramps up the walls in one area, and on shelves in another, a velodrome of bicycles spiraling in a circle. Every area had interactive screens that explained more about the display. We were all very impressed. It's very child-friendly, too, right down to low-level toilets and sinks for the little ones, with lots of places to sit and things to climb on.
The building itself is stunning. It was opened in 2011, and was the design of an Iraqi architect, Zaha Hadid. The roof is a wave-like pattern, and the front and back are dark glass, so they reflect the sky. On the riverside, they reflect the Tall Ship Glenlee, which is docked there. You can go aboard the Glenlee to see how the crew lived there, and there was a big crew of little kids swabbing the decks with provided buckets of water and mops. We had a great time (and we didn't even do any mopping!).
On the way back to the train, I picked up a couple of geocaches right near the museum. Sue is great about my geocaching, often asking if there are any around where we are. She says she still doesn't really understand the attraction, but whatever. Both Sue and Igor like to take their time in museums, which suits me fine, too.
Back at the train station, I got some money from the ATM so we could pay Emma tonight. As we walked down the hall toward the train platform, a young guy came hurrying after us, saying, "Excuse me, is this yours?" It was my GPS, which I had left on the floor when I was putting my money into my daybag. I swear, I need some of those little clips that you hook babies' mittens to their sleeves with, so that everything I own can be attached to me. Interesting, Igor had just been reading in the paper on the train that 4 out of 10 men in Scotland have a criminal record. But both times I have left something behind, it has been immediately returned to me.
We got back to Balloch with just enough time to walk down to the water, buy our tickets, hit the restroom, and get on the boat for our cruise on Loch Lomond.
The cruise was really great. It was really cold out on the front of the boat and the pictures don't do it justice at all, but it was a nice time. Loch Lomond is about 24 miles long, and is 5 miles at its widest point. There is an island that has about 50 wallabys living on it, but we didn't see any of them. That would have been so strange, seeing wild wallabys on an island in Scotland. We saw one of two famous golf courses there, right on the short of the lake. Loch Lomond Golf Club is on some list of 50 best courses in the world, and it is really pretty, with a big manor house as its clubhouse. In general, the old manor houses around the lake have been turned into upmarket condos and apartments, or turned into pricey resorts.
After the cruise, we walked around a path to see if we could find a mall that we had heard existed nearby. It was, indeed, there, but most of the shops were closing at the time we arrived. It didn't look like much shopping-wise, anyway, so we don't feel like we missed anything. We had dinner at the same hotel where Lisa, Donna, and I did the first day I was there, then we headed back to the B&B to reassemble for leaving tomorrow. Emma made little pancakes for us to take with us, so those are packed and ready. Everything is sorted back into the correct bags for my flight tomorrow. I have to be up early, since I have to catch the first train to Partick, then transfer to Glasgow Central to get my train to the airport. I really enjoyed Scotland and Glasgow.... and in a different way, Emma.
No comments:
Post a Comment