Glasgow

We are currently in Glasgow.  It is the most populous city in Scotland with an estimated population of 635,640. It is located on the banks of the River Clyde, in West Central Scotland. Another important river is the Kelvin, a tributary of the River Clyde, and was named after Baron Kelvin, the renowned physicist for whom the SI unit of temperature, Kelvin, is named.  

One of the most significant differences between Edinburgh and Glasgow is that Edinburgh is beautiful to walk around and soak in the beauty of the ancient, big city. Glasgow is more about culture and the vibe. There are so many bars, clubs and gig venues with daily shows.  Glasgow is full of art – conventional and unconventional. Most of the museums and galleries are free. Glasgow is full of street art and murals can be found all across the city.

It was raining this morning, but a local told us that "Today's rain makes tomorrow's whiskey".  We rode a hop-on/hop-off bus around the city and visited the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.  The museum covered a lot of topics.  Not only did it have art from Rembrandt, Picasso, Dali, Monet and Van Gogh, it had Egyptian exhibits, fossils, and armor from the knights.

Painting by Vincent van Gogh

Painting by Claude Monet

Painting by Pablo Picasso

The museum also had a huge pipe organ that had 2,889 working pipes.  During the visit organist James Hunter played us small concert.  What a fantastic sound.

We also visited the Glasgow Cathedral.  It is the oldest cathedral in mainland Scotland and the oldest building in Glasgow.  It was erected between AD 1136 and 1484.  

On the hill behind the cathedral is the Glasgow Necropolis. Fifty thousand individuals have been buried at the necropolis.  Typical for the period, only a small percentage are named on monuments and not every grave has a stone. Approximately 3,500 monuments exist.

We had a good dinner tonight at Babbity Bowster.  I had "Bangers & Colcannon Mash" and RoxAnne had "Fish and Chips".