Liverpool and The Lake District

I flew into Manchester from Copenhagen and took a “free” bus to Liverpool. It was not supposed to be free but the driver told me to “just take a seat”. When I got off, I went to pay and he said ‘no worries’. So…first impression of Liverpool was good. From then on, it stayed neutral or went down– so best to classify the city as “not one I would visit again”. The people are very friendly enough but it has a rough edge to it – perhaps because of all the struggles during Thatcher’s government. Apparently she did nothing for the working class and as a result, cities such as Liverpool went downhill fast – with rebellion and crime increasing. It now appears to be turning around but remains dirty and rough. The city is called the People’s City and those living there called Liverpudlians. The name reflects the way the people stand together. They talk of working together for social change and overcoming appalling conditions. They call themselves resilient people with a strong sense of humour.

When I left Copenhagen, I was excited to be entering an English speaking country again; however the dialect in Liverpool was as difficult to understand as any foreign language. In fact, Swedish was easier. I had to ask people to repeat themselves two and three times before I could understand them. The accent is SO strong and some words so slang and obviously unique to the area.

Besides my work at Liverpool John Moores University, I did see and do some interesting things in Liverpool:

All museums are free. They all belong to the Museum of Liverpool – the same idea as the Smithsonian. I went to the Walker Art Gallery where they had a special Toulouse-Lautrec exhibit called “High Kicks and Low Life”. I saw the original Moulin Rouge painting. I also went to the Merseyside Maritime Museum, at Albert Docks, where I saw the original model for the Titanic. Their entire Titanic exhibit was really good. A third museum I went to was the Slavery Museum showing slavery through the years up to the present with human trafficking. Finally, I went to the Tate and saw a special showing of Picasso.

Albert Docks where the Mersyeside Maritime Museum, Tate Museum, and Beatle's Story are:

Liverpudlians are very proud of the Beatles. Here are a few pictures of Beatles attractions:

Outside the cavern Pub:

Inside a Hard Days Night Hotel:

There are two competing football clubs: Liverpool and Everton. Most kids in the city wear the shirts from one or the other. I happened to be there when Everton unveiled their new “away” uniform (pink and navy) and the lineup for purchasing the shirts or shorts was crazy. Boys and girls of all ages were buying the shirts (pink did not seem to be a factor in the decision).

The unveiling of the pink and navy Everton shirts:

During my stay, I took a day trip to the Lake District. This was beautiful and breathtaking. I did a couple of small day hikes, saw the house of Beatrix Potter, Wordsworth’s cottage, and took a tour of Lake Windermere.

Lake Windermere:

Along the hiking trail

Me at the top of a viewpoint looking over the lake

My tea and scones - always a must-have in England

Although it was interesting to see all the museums, exhibits, some nice architecture, and have a trip to the Lake District, I wanted to move on to other places. Liverpool was not my kind of city – so I went to the airport 4 hours early. Unfortunately, when I got there, I found out my flight was delayed 90 minutes. Then, 30 minutes before the new departure time, they announced an additional 30 minutes delay. This continued until the plane was 3.5 hours late. I thought perhaps I had finally visited the Hotel California – “you can check out but you can never leave”!