St. Mungo's-Whitney Cockrell

The Glasgow Cathedral, or St. Mungo’s Cathedral, is one of the oldest churches to have survived the reformation. Located in the center of Glasgow, it sits across the street from the oldest home in the city. It is a beautiful church and is home to the largest post war collection of stained glass windows in Britain.

St. Mungo was the patron saint of Glasgow. In the lower church, there is a shrine dedicated to him, and hundreds of people make a pilgrimage to this shrine each year on January 13, the day of his death. In 1451, the pope declared it as meritorious to make a pilgrimage to St. Mungo’s as to Rome itself.

We also visited St. Mungo’s Museum of Religious Life and Art. The museum houses religious symbols and artifacts from around the world. It explains how various religions affect the culture of the people participating. What I found most fascinating was that despite all of the differences, we have more similarities than we realize. Most religions share similar values, such as the sanctity of marriage, or being pious. The differences tend to lay in the variety of ways that people worship and their beliefs in the after life.

I find the different ideas of the hereafter both amazing and terrifying. For example, the Egyptians believe that you are brought before God and all of you sins are weighed against the feather of truth. If your sins weigh more than the feather, you are sent to the underworld. While it is a quick and decisive judgment, it is an intimidating idea to me.

I enjoyed looking at the various wedding day styles and traditions as well. Weddings are a time of great joy for all people of all cultures.

St. Mungo’s was a beautiful cathedral, and an enlightening museum experience. I would highly recommend it to anyone in the Glasgow area.

Independent Travel-Isle of Mull-Ben Gerrard

For the last free weekend of the trip Doc Long and I decided to set out to Scotland’s Hebridean Islands, with our sights set specifically on the islands of Mull and Iona: the latter being the burial ground of Scotland’s ancient kings and the arrival point of Saint Columba as he brought Christianity to Scotland (or Pictland as it essentially was) from Ireland in 563 C.E (in the process he built Scotland’s first monastery). Setting out at lunchtime on Thursday, we caught a three-hour train northwest from Glasgow to Oban on the coast. There was a little excitement on the train as it was held up at one of the stations for “police business”, which delayed our arrival in Oban and had us running late for the Mull Ferry, which had apparently announced that it wasn’t going to wait for the train passengers to board, despite the fact that the train station is right next to the ferry terminal. This had some of the Scots on the train looking positively irate. After a quick sprint though we still managed to catch the ferry, so there was no harm no foul. As we sailed out of Oban into the Sound of Mull the sun was shinning and we got a great view of one of the area’s largest towns, the lush green coast, and the islands of the Inner Hebrides (including Muck and Lismore, which stands out for it’s tall white lighthouse) and their rolling mountainous peaks.

We arrived off the ferry in Craignure at about five p.m. and jumped on a bus heading for Mull’s far west coast and the tiny town of Fionnphort, where we found our Bed and Breakfast among the sheep, seagulls, more sheep, and the slowly setting sun. Mull is shaped a bit like a backwards L (really more of a backwards E which is falling over a little, but with stick with the backwards L for simplicity’s sake), so Craignure is at the apex of the L, Fionnphort is out at the west end of the foot of the L, near the Isle of Iona, and up near the top of the L is Tobermory (which we’ll get to later). Once we checked in to the B&B we walked about 200 meters to the local pub/restaurant, which turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. The Doc and I can be a bit food snobbish sometimes, it comes from a good place though, as we both love food that is done well and it’s just disappointing when you think that is what you are going to get and it doesn’t happen. We are notorious for getting so exited about great food) especially when it is great local food) that we take photos of it. I got a stew of locally grown venison (which sounds like it would be good, right?) but it had been overcooked and just looked kind of tired and dried out, hence no photos of this one. After dinner however we had a lovely walk around tiny Fionnphort (also spelled Fionnnaphort in some places) and tried to make out the dwellings we could just see in the dusky light on the close by Island of Iona. I wanted to explore a little more so we climbed a wee hillock, and discovered that the most of the ground was swampy peat, hence the Doc got wet up to her ankles (oops, my bad).

On Friday morning we had a quick breakfast of LOCAL smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, in time to catch the ferry across Iona Sound, which took all of 15 minutes. We arrived in Iona amidst clouds of gloomy rain, which we though was appropriate for visiting one of Scotland’s most historic (and pretty remote) landmarks. We found our way on foot out to the beautifully restored stone abbey, which is where the monks carried on Columba’s work and where the ancient kings are buried. Incidentally Columba, I learned, means church dove. Sitting in the cloisters and just watching the rain fall in a puddle on the edge of the grassy enclosed courtyard was incredibly peaceful and we were so lucky to have beaten the other tourists there, having the place almost to ourselves. Inside the abbey was also very peaceful and, yes, just a little spiritually uplifting, paradoxically in a solemn grounding kind of way. We lit some candles and Doc wrote a prayer for our loved ones. From the Abbey we took refuge in a lovely hotel that had a view back over the sound and of the coast of both Iona and Mull.

We just sat and read by a heater for about an hour, before being treated to a lunch of delicious Isle of Arran cheeses and local grown and organic produce including wonderfully fresh fish, beef, and mushrooms. After lunch we got the ferry back to Fionnphort on Mull and then caught the bus back down to Craignure, before catching the bus north to Tobermory. Each bus trip was about an hour.

We arrived on the bus in Tobermory and once again tracked down our B&B, which this time turned out to be atop a large hill, so after a long day of travelling in the rain we caught the Tobermory taxi service to our evening’s digs. We had a very nice dinner (at a restaurant on top of the same hill, so we only had a to climb a little) including more local fish, scallops, cheese, and some very rich haggis, before a nice stroll back to the B&B, which was run by a very nice former Yorkshire man, and local artist, Mike Darling (I just called him Mike). Incidentally Mike’s wife Sarah had some stunning photos up around the B&B, which were from around Mull and the Inner Hebrides; including puffins and snow-covered mountains reflected in wonderfully picturesque lochs.

On Saturday we spent the day down in Tobermory’s picturesque harbor, which is lined with colorful painted old buildings, like one would see in pictures of Galway in Ireland. This was nice for me as I’ve never been to Ireland. We wondered through this seaside tourist and shopping area and hung out in a few pubs and coffee shops. I also went for a long walk to see if I could get around the coast enough to spy some otters but to no avail. We loved chilling in Tobermory and had a really nice dinner at Café Fish, which was pretty tiny but had a great view over the harbor and was a hot spot for the local sailing set. My particular favorite of the night was my sticky ginger pudding with vanilla ice cream and caramel/butterscotch sauce. I mean talk about dee-lish-us! Doc had a seafood salad, with local squat lobster and langoustine (a large local shrimp), which was also to die for.

On Sunday we said goodbye to Mike and walked down into town to catch the bus back to Craignure, then the ferry back to Oban, where we had a very cheese-heavy lunch in a pub, then finally back on to the three-hour train ride to Glasgow, through the last of the fabulous west Scotland scenery. Needless to say we really loved our time in Mull. We did a lot of people watching, as there were a lot of international tourists and families around, some of whom behaved much better than others. The scenery was spectacular and dare-I–say-it, even better than on our Highland tour, and we had some really spectacular local food, especially the seafood.

Tenement House-Laura Mersman

Today we had class in the morning and then headed for the Tenement House. To give some background on tenements: they are housing buildings often four stories high that contain housing for up to 16 families. They came into their popularity in the 19th century in Glasgow as the population was rising dramatically. The population grew from around 250,000 people in 1841 to over one million in 1912- a huge increase for one city to try and absorb. The majority of Glasgowians lived in housing of this sort up until the 1950s, no matter how rich or poor they were. Many lower income families lived in tenement flats that consisted of one room. This room would be where they cooked, slept, and did all of their other business, a bit crowded if you were a family with a few children. All houses were connected by one single staircase going up the middle- four families on a floor, four floors total.

This particular flat has been preserved in the time period of 1910-1960 and shows how day to day life was lived during this time. It recreates the life that Miss Agnes Toward lived for 50 years while she worked as a shorthand typist. The building which contains other tenement flats was built in 1892. Her flat consisted of four rooms- a bathroom, sitting room, kitchen, and bedroom. Both the sitting room and kitchen contained a bed closet which according to information in the museum actually became illegal to be built in 1900. A bed closet literally consisted of a closet fit to the exact size of a bed with no standing room with just a shelf above it. A staff member in the house told us that Scottish people hundreds of years ago were much shorter and as time went on the beds slowly got bigger to accommodate for the increase in height.

The range in the kitchen as well as many of the ornamental decorations are original from the time when Miss Toward lived there. For those that have not withstood the test of time, the caretakers and preservers of the Tenement House have done their best to duplicate what previously was there. The rugs did not last, but rugs that are similar to that time period have been put in. The wallpaper was covered over, but upon removing other layers within this flat and others in the building, they were able to discover the original design and then rewallpaper with a design that was very similar.

Information in the museum below the Tenement House gave detail on how these accommodations were rented, as well things that were going on at the time. Most of the tenement houses during this time period were rented on a yearly basis. This was very difficult for many people during because not only was there economic turmoil, but no matter whether they caught an illness or were suddenly unemployed, they were still expected to pay the year’s rent. If they were unable to pay rent, they were evicted. The tenements were owned by landlords who employed a person known as a factor to collect the rent for them. Often the renters had no idea who their landlord was and knew only of the factor. I found this interesting because in America, at least in current times, the landlord is normally always the person you pay rent to, and there is no go between person.

The town of Glasgow during this time was very dirty and many diseases and illnesses were being spread. The conditions described reminded me of the living conditions that factory workers in America experienced during the Industrial Revolution. This was also a time of famine and illness and many of the immigrants were poor and living in tiny establishments—there were too many people coming in at once, and this also seemed to happen in Glasgow. Highlanders of Scotland as well as immigrants from the Scottish potato famine moved to Glasgow. They moved for a new start, not realizing the turmoil they would face- just like many immigrants did in America.

Tomorrow is our first test for our second course in Scotland, and after that we will have our final free weekend- it has gone so quickly! Have a super day readers!

Side Trip to York--End of Week One-Ashley Lawson

This past weekend Casey, Laura and I decided to make the two-hour train ride to Yorkshire, England. Our first and only day in York was spent sight seeing and shopping. Personally, I really enjoyed going to the York Minster. The York Minster was originally built in 627 A.D. by Edwin of Northumbria, an Anglo Saxon King. Much like Edinburgh Castle, the York Minster has gone through many changes in its long and eventful lifetime. Now, it is one of the world’s largest medieval cathedral and even boasts to have its own police force.

When we arrived to the York Minster, the three of us had this bright idea to climb to the top of one of the towers. Once we found the ticket counter and told the woman we wanted to climb to the top, she then started reading a disclaimer about how they are not responsible if we get hurt and then asked us about our physical fitness. This should have been a warning, but we were apparently too excited to notice. As we started our ascent to the top of the Minster, I began realizing why the lady at the counter had the disclaimer. The staircases of this place were narrow, steep and winding the whole way! Over 200 steps later, we arrived at the top. I must say that the ending result was worth every step on that terrifying staircase. This was by far one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen. I would argue that it is bout as beautiful as the views from the top of the Duomo in Florence, Italy.

Once we caught our breath and it was our time to go back down, we realized fully what we had gotten ourselves into. Instead of climbing up, we had to go down this behemoth steep tower… without falling. If you fell, you essentially would take down every person who was in front of you as well. I was behind the girls on the steps and I was terrified that I would lose my footing thus taking down half the study abroad program with me. Luckily, we all made it down without falling. Once we got down, we noticed that our legs were shaking from the physical activity we had just put them through. In the end, it was completely worth it though. Yes, I must say I am STILL sore from our excursion but I know that its not very likely that I will get to see a view so breath taking as from the top of the York Minster.

The People's Palace-Ashley Lawson

Well we have successfully arrived in Glasgow after a 3-day excursion through the Highlands of Scotland and I have never been so happy to be off a bus and in a dorm! The Highlands were absolutely breath taking but I must say I was ready to be in a stationary place. I feel as if we are now going to get the true city experience and today’s excursion did a great job illustrating how the city has changed. Today’s excursion was at the People’s Palace and it was a needed break from the cold rainy weather outside. Unlike many museums or palaces, the Peoples Palace is set up to be very kid friendly and boasts a wonderful greenhouse on the back of the building called the Winter Garden. The building was erected in 1898 in the Glasgow Green district. The People’s Palace was set up to illustrate how people lived during the mid 1700’s until 20th century. I found this place to be very interesting because of how they set up their exhibits. Each exhibit had main items, such as having quotes from people who lived in that time, but the themes of each one was different. The themes of the exhibits surrounded such social issues as marriage practices, contraception and growing up in tenement housing. I believe that the tenement house portion will be a great precursor to yet another excursion we will be going on this week.

Most times when I go to museums, I find my mind wandering other places but I found that this museum kept my attention. It is very hard to visualize how a person in the mid 1700s actually lived but because of the interactive computer displays, I was able to gain a greater understanding of the lives of the people in Glasgow. I feel as if this is a great illustration of the cultural changes that occurred in Glasgow during the different periods. I found that I was able to tie this museum experience closely to the Ellis Island Museum in New York City. Both museums offered a highly insightful look into the people who once inhabited that area. Both areas seemed to show awareness for the health of their people and had exhibits devoted to its history. I know it is nearly impossible to fully grasp what was like to be in Glasgow in the 1800’s, but I feel as if the People’s Palace does a magnificent job doing so. One of the exhibits that I found to be particularly interesting was actually one of the most simplest tasks; washing laundry. I know that I have been truly spoiled because I have taken for granted the fact that I grew up with a washing machine and a dryer. The people in Glasgow once visited ‘Steamies’ or wash houses every week where they would have to wash their laundry by hand. From what the museum said, this was extremely hard work that took a very long time. The influence of the old Steamie can be still be seen in its modified form in every college town in the United States. The local laundry mat, this is where every college student, who is not within a short drive of their parents house, goes to do laundry. As a college student I have become more than familiar with laundry mats. It has become a place where I can study, catch up with friends and eat dinner. Steamies provided much of the same atmosphere as our modern day laundry mats do for us. They were almost considered a social site for women. It allowed them to catch up with their friends while also still being productive.

Personally, I found the Winter Gardens exceptionally appealing. I am sure that the weather outside played a big role in it. The garden is essentially a huge greenhouse that is filled with exotic plants and flowers from all over the world. I felt as if I had been whisked away from the cold Scottish climate to a tropical jungle. It was so tranquil and quiet in the gardens early in the morning but as the lunch hour neared, the hustle and bustle of people started to pick up in the café. I ended up having a wonderful lunch there with Laura. Overall, I am pleasantly surprised that I was able to enjoy the museum and also learn something pertinent to our class at the same time.

Highland Tour-Jill Peters

I am writing today from the city of Glasgow. We arrived here yesterday about 5:00 pm. We have not had much of a chance to explore and get to know the city, but we have taken a city bus tour and visited a museum, which someone else will be telling you about. So far, I like Glasgow. It has a very different feeling then Edinburgh and I am excited to spend the next ten days here getting to know the city and all it has to offer. One cool thing that is very near our rooms is a huge movie theatre. It has around ten stories and I am excited to go see Eclipse there this weekend. Anyway, today I am going to tell you about our tour through the Highlands of Scotland.
We left Edinburgh Friday morning to head out on a three-day tour through the Highlands. A very nice young man, named Liam, picked us up at St. Colms and we were off. The Highland tour is my favorite thing we have done on this trip so far. The Highlands have some of the most beautiful countryside I have ever seen. As we were leaving Edinburgh, we saw two very famous bridges in Scotland. The names escape me at the moment, but I have seen them all over post-cards in the shops around town. We then headed up into the countryside.
We stopped in a small village, saw a beautiful old church by a picturesque lake, and took beautiful pictures under a tree filled with pink flowers. We also stopped at a great cheese shop where some of the girls got wonderful slices of cheese, and Dr. Long got an amazing sandwich. I also took a picture of a great shop called Going Pottie and then laughed hysterically because sometimes I act like I am 12. The store did have some very nice pottery though and I can always appreciate a clever name.
We then took a walk through a nice forest and ended up at a river with a great view. There was a pretty waterfall and great nature scenes all around us. I do not appreciate the beauty in nature enough sometimes, and it is nice to be reminded that there is beauty all around us. We were even able to see a few salmon try to jump over some rocks to continue their swim up river. They were not successful in their attempts, but it was still fun to watch.
One of my favorite stops along the tour was the beach. We stopped at the coast and got out of the bus to a beautiful white sandy beach. The view was breathtaking and it was so amazing to go from the awesome mountains to a beach in only about 30 minutes. It was a bit cold, but that did not stop us from enjoying our time there. We picked up seashells, wrote messages in the sand, took some great pictures, and Dr. Long was even brave enough to put her feet in the cold water.
Another breathtaking view we were lucky to experience was the three sisters, which are three mountains that are right next to each other in an area called Glencoe. We have talked a lot about the importance of this area in class and it was nice to see it in person. Anyways, back to the amazing view. There was a cloud of mist and fog around the top of the mountains, and since it was raining, there were numerous waterfalls cascading down the mountains. It might have been the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It was so pretty it could bring a person to tears. I got a couple great shots of the three sisters.
There is also a lot of important history that took place in the highlands. There was a massacre at Glencoe, where the MacDonald clan was slaughtered, and the battle at Culloden where the Jacobite armies were defeated by the English. These are the historical events we discussed in class, and as I mentioned above, it was nice to be able to see where they took place. It makes history come alive for me when I get to see the actual ground the soldiers and other highlanders walked on.
I have loved almost every minute of our trip here in Scotland, but I have to say the Highlands have been my favorite. There was so much beauty all around us that it was hard not to fall in love with Scotland all over again. I am excited to see what Glasgow has to offer and the adventures we will go on while we are here.

Katie Zogelman-Kelvingrove Gallery

For our first full day in Glasgow our group first went on a bus tour of Glasgow and then stopped off at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. This museum was very visitor friendly and had a large amount of unique art. Having three main levels there would have been something for all ages to enjoy. We were able to spend time learning more about Scottish history, prominent architectural people from history, along with other exhibitions. I enjoyed this excursion because I felt we were able to explore and enjoy the art but also learned more about Scotland and its culture.
After being opened back up around 2006, the gallery and museum is different than a lot of others that I have been to in the past. The admittance was free, children were able to explore, and we were able to discuss and have a more hands on experience in the gallery. For me, this was beneficial and more enjoyable because we could converse with each other about what we enjoyed and could point out interesting pieces of art. I also noticed that there was even a section in the gallery that held artwork that children had created. This helps to portray the diverse amount of art that was present there.
One section that was important to our coursework was of the section concerning Scottish individuals and events from the past. There was artwork about Robert the Bruce, the Clans, William Wallace, and many other individuals and groups important to Scotland. A very moving piece of art was one that displayed a clan saying goodbye. The caption to the side of the painting explained that it was attempting to capture what it was like for the Highlands. Many of the highland clans moved away but some were left behind in Scotland. After learning about this time period in class, it was definitely a different experience to see the reactions and feelings that would have been present for those of the clan that may have stayed behind.
A second section in the gallery that was interesting showed and explained artwork about architecture. Charles Mackintosh was a very influential architect and designer that is remembered in Glasgow and has been very influential in terms of style and design. He created many buildings but also worked and produced interior pieces as well. A few of the buildings that he created were the Glasgow School of Art, the Hill House in Helensburgh, and Scotland Street School in Glasgow. Mackintosh was definitely an innovator and strayed from the norm to create things that changed the city and traditional ways of architecture. I do remember reading that his death went largely unnoticed in Glasgow for a period of time shortly after his death. This seems to be sort of common among people that become famous and well known many years after their death. However, it is good that his work was finally recognized because it is such an influence in today’s society.
In the same section of craft, art and industry, there were many pieces that I enjoyed reading about the story behind the art itself. This was definitely a bonus of Kelvingrove. For instance, learning about the history behind a tearoom was fascinating to me. Tearooms were unique spaces, had quality food, and served alcohol-free drinks. These places also introduced the remarkable new interior designs that were being created to the public. If individuals did not have enough money to entertain in their own homes, the tearooms would have been a place where they could meet up with friends to visit.
Only having been in Scotland for about three weeks, there have been numerous times that we have been associated with the Wizard of Oz because we are from Kansas. Stereotypes are unavoidable to any culture and society. I enjoyed a specific piece of art in the museum that dealt with stereotypes associated with Scotland. In this piece, there were many things that I do pair with Scotland probably in a stereotypical manner. I am sure that kilts, shortbread, plaid and paisley designs, and bagpipes are not the only things that Scotland may want to be remembered for. It is these items among many others that were depicted in this particular picture.
I did not come close to seeing all of the artwork in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery, but enjoyed what I did view. The collection was phenomenal with something that could intrigue everyone who visited. Again, I liked that the experience was more hands on and open to everyone.