Two days in Manchester

Some times you just need to get away, jump on a train and explore somewhere new. I'd only ever been to Manchester before for football matches so it was brilliant to spend some time wandering around the city. It's a really beautiful city, the difference between the Victorian industrial heritage and its modern renaissance is really striking. I'm a little bit smitten.

My favourites:

• Imperial War Museum North - an astonishing modern building on Salford Quays and a focus on people and their stories. Make sure you spend enough time there to take in a couple of the 'Big Picture' projections that fill the whole exhibiton space. Possibly the best museum I have ever been to.
• 57 Thomas Street and Marble beers - fabulous micro-brewed beers and an extraordinary cheese list.
• Drinks in the sunshine on the canal side patio at Dukes 92.
• Possibly the best veggie sunday lunch ever at Trof.

Just a couple of hours on the train and I have discovered new places that I find really exciting. I need to explore more of my own country. 

What's your favourite UK city?

Ps. Congratulations Manchester City, the rare Mancunian blue skies in these photos must have been an omen...

Five days in Moscow

Just a little taster of the many photos I took when we went to Moscow in January. I love visiting Russia. I'm not sure if it is the difference in our countries' political history, or that - unlike most European countries - I need a visa to get in, or just something as simple as the different alphabet. But Russia completely removes me from my comfort zone and make me feel like I am somewhere very different.

Moscow on the surface seems very hard and very very cold (both figuratively and literally, temperatures reached -25degree centigrade while we were there!) but it is really worth persevering and exploring. It is very beautiful, especially in the snow, and possibly one of the most culturally rich cities I have ever been lucky enough to go to. Wrap up warm and fortify yourself with some strong coffee (and some even stronger vodka) and Moscow in the winter can be very rewarding.

You can see all my Moscow photos on Flickr xx

London's lost tube stations

Aldwych station from The Strand

Abandoned tube stations are a bit of a horror movie cliche. Dark, dingy, solitary... Not for me. I make no secret of my fascination with the London Underground, especially it's history and design, so this was an absolute treat. Aldwych underground station opened in 1907 and closed in 1994. While only being on a branch line of the Piccadilly line, it has had a fascinating existence from providing bomb shelter to being a film set and providing storage for works of art.

Occasionally the London Transport Museum open the station for tours and late last year the Aussie and I went to have a look...

The two platforms are now mainly used as film sets, but London Underground also test out tiling and other decorative materials for the stations here.

 Aldwych station was originally called 'Strand'. You can still see the original name in some of the wall tiles.

 You can see Aldwych on its branch off the Piccadilly (blue) line

One of my favourite things about the tour was the extensive collection of posters still on the station walls. Some were originals, but some were later additions as part of film sets. The beautiful Man Ray 'Keeps London Going' poster dates from 1938

My favourite was this rather magnificent and slightly psychedelic one for the old London Planetarium...

Second world war era poster - many tube stations were used as bomb shelters...

 

And why did I take a picture of this lift shaft? Because The Prodigy's Firestarter video was shot here. Really!

If you a fancy a trip to Aldwych or one of London's other closed underground stations, keep a watchful eye out on the London Transport Museum's website They book up quickly, but with entrance to the brilliant London Transport Museum in Covent Garden included in the price (and a discount in the magnificent shop) it's an worthwhile excursion for any London-phile.

Sorry about my poor quality photos, for reasons I don't quite understand, LT Museums impose a DSLR ban in Aldwych station. So I had to resort to my trusty phone.

The Lock of Love

The Hohenzollenbrucke in Cologne, Germany is a rail and pedestrian bridge that crosses the River Rhine, linking Koln Hauptbahnhof with Koln Messe/ Deutz. Not a location normally associated with gestures of love, but since 2008 the bridge has been the site and sight of an unusual romantic phenomenon.


Lovers, young and old, have been attaching padlocks to the bridge and casting the keys in to the river symbolising their unbreakable love.


And the number of padlocks on the bridge has grown and grown...


The tradition of Love Padlocks is thought to originate from China, where lovers would secure locks to the Great Wall of China in the hope that their love would last as long as the Wall stands.The locks are now prevalent around Eastern Europe and their popularity is increasing.

(All photos by 'Roo Paprika', September 2010)

The owners of the Hohenzollenbrucke, Deutsche Bahn, threatened to have the locks removed from the bridge, but have now relented in the face of public opposistion.

What do you think of the locks? Romantic gestures, street art or acts of vandalism?

More from Krakow...

Krakow is an astonishing city. Unlike many cities in Poland, its historic centre survived the second world war relatively intact and it is now listed as one of UNESCO's world heritage sites. But it is so much more than beautiful buildings, the cultural aspects of the city are everywhere - be it music or street art. There are streets packed with beautiful galleries and cafes, it sounds like a cliché but there is a real vibrancy to the city's atmosphere.

There are many reminders of the tragedies that have happened to the city's residents, especially the murder of most of the city's Jewish population during the second world war (Kazimirez was where Schindler's List was filmed) and the restrictions placed on the population during Communist times, but you leave with huge admiration for the resilience of the Polish people and their determination to preserve their culture and heritage.

My photos really don't do it justice...
(town houses in Kazimierz, the Jewish quarter)

(the market square)

(Catholicism plays a huge part in the culture of Poland)

('Solidarity' plaque in the market square)

(the Wisla river)

(the Barbican)



(our train to Warsaw)

Kibicowanie Jako Uniwersalny Język

A quick update on the opening of the exhibition in Kracow. We had the most amazing time, Michal, Dani from Football Supporters Europe and the other organisers made us so welcome, also introducing us to polish vodka and zapiekanki (polish pizza) and us all putting the football world to rights in to the small hours .

The exhibition is brilliant, football fans have a terrible reputation in Poland with most people assuming that they are all hooligans. This exhibition is part of a lot of ongoing work to dispel that myth and to work towards building some bridges with the wider community, showing that they can benefit from football, before Poland hosts the 2010 European championship. The photography featured is from all over the world, from the Aussie's photos from Fulham to children watching premier league football on a shared set in Angola to the ticker tape and flags of fans of Sapporo in Japan.

They've just launched some of the website in English, please have a look and let me know what you think (I am trying to see if there is any interest in the exhibition being bought to Britain, so the word can be spread across the continent)?


(the aussie's photo is the one entitled 'the singer, second from the left)


(buying kapiekanki in Kracow's jewish quarter)

Kracow is the most amazing and beautiful city and we also had an amazing time getting the train all the way home, more of that to follow...

'Cheerleading as a Universal Language'

As you read this we shall hopefully be well on our way to Kracow, Poland. The Aussie has got his wonderful football photography in to his first exhibition and we are off for the opening.

Someone with better command of Polish than I have will hopefully correct me but 'kibocowanie' is Polish for 'cheerleading' and the aim of this exhibition is dispel the myth that football fans are dangerous and the match environment hostile.



('The Singer' - Hammmersmith End, Craven Cottage)



(Poole Town v Budleigh Salterton -photography by Jon Hall)

The Aussie's exhibition catalogue entry is here. Very very excited!

Urban Exploration: The Southbank

Training for walking the Essex Way has taught me that not all 'rambling' needs to be in the countryside. I recently spent a happy day walking from Bankside to Putney along the south bank of the River Thames. It was a joy to walk through such a varied urban landscape, all linked by being on the bank of the river. Seeing the old generators of the city's power, some now reused, some now fallen in to disrepair to seeing the seat of the country's power. Seeing formalised gardens in the form of parks, to more informal greenery in gardens and treehouses....

Tate Modern - the former Bankside power station

Blackfriars railway bridge

Houses of Parliament, Westminster
Brunswick House Cafe, Vauxhall

Grapevines, Vauxhall

Boating lake, Battersea Park

An urban beach party, opposite Lots Road Power Station, Chelsea

Towards Wandsworth and Fulham

Treehouse, Wandsworth

Putney Bridge - famous for being the start of the boat race

(merino jumper -Howies)

Twelve miles later, a tired rambler before rewarding herself with a cask-conditioned prize.

Are you a countryside lover or a fan of our urban spaces? When you are in towns are you waterway stroller or more of a window shopper? Please let me know: