10 reasons to visit….. Aberdeen
I recently spent a lovely weekend in the sunny seaside port of Aberdeen. Well, maybe not that sunny (in fact I recommend a very wooly hat), but I still have a strong top 10 things to do there:
- The Maritime Museum
Far and away the best thing to do with your time in Aberdeen- and it’s free! And it’s open on a Sunday! The focus is largely on the oil industry (and when you’re wandering round Aberdeen you find yourself asking all sorts of questions about rigs and life aboard, which are all answered in the museum). As you wind your way up to the impressive viewing platform on the top floor, you’ll not only pass plenty of interesting displays on diving vessels, safety standards, drilling techniques and the various types of oil rig, but also have chance to get really involved in some of the techniques yourself, thanks to the interactive games. Just elbow the kids out of the way (I’m pretty sure these games are for adults too) and then have a go at manoeuvring a diving vessel through the murky water to locate an oil leak, or trying to guide a huge virtual ship into dock in Aberdeen harbour.
- The Ashvale Whale
Just out of the centre is a famed Fish N Chip restaurant, The Ashvale. Order an Ashvale Whale and take on the challenge to defeat the whale- by eating it. Winners are rewarded with the offer of a second, free Whale (really?) or a free desert, as well as a certificate testifying that you did, in fact, eat the said whale (actually a pretty huge bit of fish, for all of those who are worried!).
- Butteries
Local to Aberdeen is the ‘buttery’, or ‘butt’ as I heard it called, a very flat bread roll sold in most bakeries for around 30p a piece. Very salty and chewy, they were originally made as a food for fishermen- something that wouldn’t go stale at sea.
- Macaroni Cheese Pie
Whilst ordering your butts, add a cheeky macaroni cheese pie to your basket. More local to Scotland than specifically Aberdeen, the macaroni cheese pie is absolutely the best combination of two wonderful foods (macaroni cheese and pie!) in one handily pocket-sized snack
- Footdee
If you walk all the way around the town to the northern headland, through all the desolate rubble of the working harbour, you’ll quite suddenly find yourself in the little oasis of Footdee (Fittie to locals). This tiny fishing village, moved repeatedly as the harbour expanded, is a grid-work of incredibly well-kept cottages, all looking inwards on each other, with beautiful courtyards and pristine allotments
- Marischal College
Often referred to as the granite city, Aberdeen is full of imposing, giant buildings, and the main street is one very long testament to granite. Make sure you walk by Marischal College, the second biggest granite building in the world and the most stunning building in Aberdeen, with its intricately decorative granite spires.
- Some very varied and old pubs
There are, of course, plenty of pubs in Aberdeen- this is a student town and a working port. Ma Cameron’s, a rabbit-warren of a pub with a very cosy ‘snug’ bar tempting you in from the street, is highly recommended.
- Doric Scots
Aberdeenshire is famous for its own language, Doric Scots. Don’t be too alarmed if you’re addressed with the phrase ‘Fit like?’, (‘How are you?’) and proceed to be slightly baffled by the rest of the conversation. To learn some essential Scots phrases, get uTalk.
- Whisky tour
In Aberdeenshire, you’re spoilt for choice when it comes to distilleries. Although you have to go a couple of miles out of the town to get to one, the region is scattered with distilleries both big and tiny, and it would be a shame to visit the town without making time for a tour and learning a little bit more about how the water of life is made.
10. Aberdeen harbour
The harbour at Aberdeen is endlessly fascinating and there is a fairly constant activity of large ships and pilot boats. To see the comings and goings of the ships, I recommend walking around to the southern peninsula, via Greyhope Road- a very relaxing afternoon stroll- where you’ll get a clear view over Fittie and the harbour mouth.
Have you ever been to Aberdeen and tried any of the local delicacies? We want to hear about your experience.
Nat
From Advanced Course to “um …” and “er …”
Our post this week is by Lisa Erne from Germany, who’s spending a few months with us at EuroTalk as an intern. Lisa’s been in London now for six weeks, and here she shares some of her experiences so far.
When I arrived in London a few weeks ago I expected a tough start but people here made it very easy for me to feel comfortable. I moved to Brent where I supposed to live with four other housemates, I was really nervous, but there was no reason for that. I was very welcome.
I noticed really fast that the English are always easy-going like always saying sorry, even when you hit them by accident. Every day in the morning on my way to the tube I got like three “Good-Morning’s” from people, who are just passing my way. And everyone here is always pleased to help.
When I started school in the Central School of English near Tottenham Court Road I made easily friends with people from all over the world.
I felt quickly that I “improved” my English. After a few days I lost the habit of saying “um…” and “er…” all the time when thinking about the right words when having a conversation. I mean, home in Germany at my school I was in advanced course of English but you never had like a real conversation situation. The teacher asks you something and you will answer in a few sentences. There has never been real circumstances like this for me. When you’re here you’re forced nearly all the time to speak English. Even a little chat with the cashier in the Tesco supermarket can be a good practice.
London is a varied city, even if I didn’t do any sightseeing yet, I saw a lot of different attractive areas here. There is Camden Town, where you can find a lot of markets and Tattoo & Piercing Shops. Oxford Street became one of my favourite places to be. When the temperatures were still warm, my friends and me walked from our school over Oxford Street to Hyde Park to enjoy the sun. While walking we did window shopping a lot, or just enjoyed everything else around. Also one of our favourite places became the Thames in general, just sitting at the water hanging out.
I already love London, but there are things that drive me mad. One of these things are the tubes. Tubes are always crowded and always late and they stop driving around midnight, but I got already used to it. Buses are the essential alternative to that, but I couldn’t really make friends with them either, because the timetables are sometimes very confusing. And the prices such as for tube tickets and cigarettes are an essential difference to for example in Berlin. Now I’ll really appreciate the prices there when I come back.
A great difference to Berlin is that shops here are opened on every Sunday, even till late hours. In Germany we have just a few weekends when the shops are open on Sundays like some weekends before Christmas, so people can do their last minute present shopping.
As well I enjoy the pubs pretty much. We don’t have a lot of them in Germany, but if it is no spot for young people, more for elder people who want to have a drink on their own after a stressful working day. Here it is a lot more fun, you always get to know new people. My favourite became The Green Man near Oxford Street, because you can also dance there, and The Crown, where many students of the Central School go on Fridays and the drinks are also very affordable.
After all this adventures and experiences yet I can say that London is a place, where I never learned so much about people and life.
Since the six weeks that I’m here I feel pretty much adapted to the lifestyle here and also a little bit of a part of London. I can already say that I won’t forget the time here ever.
Lisa
Has anyone got any suggestions for places that Lisa should visit while she’s in London?
