Through winter and spring quarter of 2009, I spent six months on study abroad at Sussex University in Brighton, England. For me, this was an entirely new experience; save for four quarters at Evergreen at the time, I had previously never spent more than a month away from home in Wisconsin, and had only ventured outside the U.S. twice before for two two-week trips (one for high school, and one for vacation) to Spain and Australia, respectively. As a result, I was determined to explore as much of the U.K. as I could while there, and luckily, thanks to a month-long spring break from Sussex, had the chance to do just that. Since my dad and sister were coming at the start of April to join me for an eight-day vacation in France, and I had a massive essay to work on over break as well, I decided to do a whirlwind-style tour of the entire U.K.
I started out on March 23, heading on the train from Brighton to Cardiff, Wales, where I stayed at the NosDa hostel, and did a walking tour of nearly the whole city, snapping pics of modern and antique streets and buildings alike, such as Cardiff Castle and Millennium Stadium, and joined the hostel staff and other guests that night for caramel popcorn and the movie "Beetlejuice."
The following morning, I headed out on the train for Liverpool, England, my next stop, where I stayed at the YHA hostel, and did another walking tour along the dockyard and downtown areas, and checked out the Beatles, maritime, and slavery museums, all the while buffeted by drizzle and fierce winds from off the Irish Sea. At the hostel, I sent a few email updates to friends, then spent the evening watching the first X-Files movie in the main lounge and relaxing in my room.
The next day, after a decent continental breakfast, I got on the train a third time, bound this time for Glasgow, Scotland. After checking in at Euro Hostels, I took a long stroll along the River Clyde, and took pics of Nelson’s Monument in Glasgow Green Park and the statue of Spanish Civil War figure Dolores Ibarruri (La Pasionaria) along the riverfront, which had been erected to commemorate Glaswegian volunteers for the Republican side in that conflict. Afterwards, I chatted and hung out with some of the other guests in the multiple-bunk room I was staying in for the evening, then turned in.
The next morning, I hopped on the train a fourth time, bound for the ferry port at the coastal town of Stranraer. The ferry trip itself to Belfast, my next stop, was surprisingly quick; I had learned it would be between an hour and half to two hours, but it seemed much shorter. After arriving in Belfast, I took the bus to the city center, snapped some more pics, than walked to the Belfast International Youth Hostel to check in. While doing so, I noticed an available trip to the Giant's Causeway, a hugely popular, very beautiful natural basalt formation, but found that I couldn't join the group heading out there that weekend as I would be heading back to Sussex the day before. Over the next two days, I toured the city, followed one of the most sought-out art walks in the city, with large outdoor murals, statues and other displays, and explored the waterfront areas; I had hoped to meet up with a friend from the US who was visiting family in the city, but unfortunately did not hear from him. By this time, I was eager to head back to Brighton, and prepare for my dad's and my sister's arrival.
On March 27, the morning of my departure, I went to the bus station to check routes to the ferry dock, but was told that the buses did not run on that particular route that day, and I had to walk nearly three miles with my forty-pound Adidas bag slung over my back. I know that doesn't sound like much to others who've been on more strenuous study abroad trips, but I challenge anyone to not find this challenging after all the traveling with this same load I had done over the previous two days. Along the way, I ran into another traveller, also from the States, in a similar predicament, and we traded stories of our time in the U.K. to pass the time as we walked. After arriving at the port, I learned that due to rough seas, my ferry had been cancelled, and thus had to wait nearly three hours until a bus showed up to take us to an alternate departure point. After I finally got into Stranraer, I ended up missing my bus to the train station, but thankfully picked up a ride with a van headed in that direction. After one more night in Glasgow, I headed out by train yet again, to Edinburgh, and boarded another route bound for London through York. Once the train stopped in this city, I ended up having to give up my seat, as for some reason both I and another person had somehow been booked to the same spot; I spent the next two hours of the ride crammed into the aisle with dozens of other travelers in a manner reminiscent of the New York subway. Finally, after a last train ride from Kings Cross station in London to Brighton, and a last bus ride from the station to the Sussex campus, I brought my whirlwind trip of the U.K. to a close.
