Glasgow

We flew back to Glasgow Tuesday night and caught a train to Johnstone, the town where we were staying, which was an apartment with Jess’s family friends, Margaret and Steven. We almost never saw Steven because he’s a chef at a golf club and June is the busy season. Margaret just broke her arm and can’t go to work or drive, so she was home most of the time and happy to have us there to entertain her. Their Johnstone apartment was well situated: 15 minutes from Glasgow center and 30 minutes from the airport.

Wednesday morning we went into Glasgow and walked to the Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery. We concluded that it was probably one of the best museums we’ve ever been to. Half of it was dedicated to “Life” the other half to “Expression.” It was built as a teaching museum, to explain things to people of all ages. When we entered, an organ concert was in progress. We walked into the great hall with organ music playing above our heads. It was so surreal. Life was the more sciency half of the building. The main room was about animals in the world and those native to Scotland. There was also a part about religious separatism and why prejudice is bad. Another room dealt with wars in an exhibit called “Conflict and Consequence.” The center cases contained armor alongside animals which had body parts performing the same functions. Around the sides, the walls were dedicated to themes like the Holocaust and British involvement in wars with particular attention to Scottish involvement. I really liked that the museum seemed to be saying, “This is what Scotland has done in the world, we know it’s not good, but it’s our history.” The expression half of the museum was more focused on art, but also dealt with anthropology. There were some exhibits about different cultures and their celebrations. Also, cases of stuffed animals were next to objects. For example a porcupine was next to a security vest to show how both were means of protection. There was a modest collection of paintings, and most important historical genres were represented. These were hung low enough so a child could enjoy them and importance was placed on the story behind the painting. In each room there was something interactive: some kind of hands-on element to the exhibit. Groups of children were in the museum on field trips. In the animals section the kids were dressed up in animal costumes. Some were dressed as people from the 1800s. They were in the History of Scotland room. I don’t think I’ve ever been so impressed by a museum. There were also groups of adults walking through the museum who were acting like the children: glad to be learning about the world around them.

We ventured across the street to the Museum of Transport, where they really take the word “transport” seriously. The museum included trains, trams, ships, cars, motorcycles, bikes, and even strollers! It wasn’t quite as awesome as the Ford museum in Detroit, but the collection was nice.

We walked around Glasgow for a while. It’s a small city, built on a river. The buildings are either old and made of stone with classic details or steel and glass structures. This is because Glasglow flourished as a shipbuilding city and then declined during the 1900s. Finally it had a slight resurgence in the 1980s and that’s when the steel and glass buildings were constructed. There is also an art school in Glasgow and we tried to go to the contemporary art museum there (the exhibits had closed).