A short journey to the UK was the perfect reason behind my last trip of the Summer. Since this year I surprised myself with the number of flights I was on, I said that an extra two-way-journey is nothing much. So there I was on my way to London, and after a stop at Costa and a coach ride, I arrived in Bristol happy that I found something I could send to my sister for her birthday: a rock magazine with Marillion on the cover. Marillion was pretty much the soundtrack of this trip. Alongside KajHolst and “Ballad of the Mighty I” by Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds on repeat.

What many would describe as annoying typical British weather I found quite pleasant… well, it’s not that nice to walk in the rain but it was more than ok because it was warm. And after I got accustomed to the climate, my kid-tourist mode took over so for two days I acted accordingly.

The fist thing I saw in Bristol was a protest, just to remind me that after my short trip I have to go back to digging through news broadcasts after them. But this time I was a witness in a live pro-EU protest. It didn’t make it in the headlines the second day, not even on RT. Other political-related items around Bristol were given by Banksy’s graffitis. Those made it in the headlines quite a lot so it is nice to actually get to see them.

Some quick highlights would include the visit to SS Great Britain which is one of the coolest boats I’ve ever seen. The technique behind this ship was very advanced for its time. Launched in Bristol in 1843, The SS Great Britain made numerous journeys to Australia. It got stranded twice and made it’s final trip back home in 1970. Right now it’s an awarded museum definitely worth seeing especially by those interested in history, early industrial development and other cool stuff like interiors, lifestyle on sea and whether or not they had cats on board long distance trips. Yes they had cats on SS Great Britain, it is not documented but they has cats used to haunt down the rats that made their way on board. The presence of the rodents isn’t documented either.

A visit to Bristol M Shed was a good opportunity to learn a lot about the city. It also included a brief presentation about protests, riots and strikes that took place in Bristol, a nice display of airplanes or the story behind Wallace and Gromit. Because the building was also hosting an expo on The Story of Children’s Television From 1946 to Today, I enjoyed looking around the stands with so many cartoon characters and I couldn’t help myself and gave a Thomas The Tank Engine miniature a forever home. I always wanted a little Thomas Engine, I simply love the series.

The first evening ended… in a pub… But before that, I attended a theatre play with audience involvement, “Trainspotting”,  Presented by Tobacco Factory Theatres Beyond. Now for those of you who know the movie, than you are familiar with the topic of the performance. However, I couldn’t watch the movie, I found it a bit too disturbing (it is true that I tried to watch it over 15 years ago), and then I didn’t really find the interest to try again. Yet the way the actors performed made it bearable and quite artistic, though it is not the classic way someone would think about when saying theatre in the UK. And I loved how they used music to illustrate some scenes. It made the whole experience seem like it was taking place in a time capsule that took you back to the 90s, though the topic itself is still quite contemporary.

Besides these highlights my short trip included a lot of walking around, gothic churches and good fun. I had a few hours to walk around in London as well. I think that for the future I will stick to going to London in November, not only because of the ATP World Tour Finals but mostly because warm weather made it full of tourists. Drink a cup of coffee in peace and quiet while listening to Big Ben while 100 people with selfie sticks teem around you. No!

And just to make my trip better, I had a two hour flight delay which is not much, compared to the 4 hour flight delay I had coming back from Helsinki, but it was enough to make me enter home at 04:11 in the morning. What can I say, Kungsgatan is a really nice setting for a late night walk.