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  • Cambridge – Calverley’s Brewery

    Since I was in Cambridge for a couple of hours today, I thought I’d visit another pub from the Good Beer Guide. This one seemed a little quirky, as the description said it was in a garage and I’d never heard of it. But, I like an adventure, so I thought I’d go along. From the exterior, I think it’s fair to say that it’s not the most obvious of locations.

    But, for the good bit. This is the best pub that I’ve visited this year, and I’ve gone to a lot, of which many are mediocre. The Old Post Office in Ingleton was my current favourite (and they e-mailed me after reading this blog, so I’m glad that my visit was positive), but Calverley’s is now right up there.

    I wasn’t quite sure where to go when I arrived, as there’s a small tap room and some outside seating, so I headed for the tap room and mentioned that I’d never visited before. The staff member was full of enthusiasm and gave me a beer to try straight away, which was the Star Dawg. This hoppy beer was refreshing and had an excellent depth of flavour to it.

    I was then offered a sample of the Goes-Uh when I mentioned I liked sours, and this was another top rate option. Wonderful afternotes, again a refreshing taste and full of flavour. Quite marvellous. I said in passing that I’d usually have a porter, but that as it was 11:30 in the morning, I didn’t think a 9% beer was appropriate. The staff member gave me a very generous sample anyway, and I have to say, that was a delicious porter.

    I ordered two thirds of the Goes-Uh and it was delightful.

    Motivational messages   🙂

    There hasn’t been a vast sum of money spend on the interior, but this is just perfect. It’s quirky, individual, independent, fun, welcoming and absolutely everything a pub should be. Sometimes I go to pubs and feel that my expectations are too high and that I should lower them just a little. Then I go to places like this and realise that it can be done. Quite brilliant and my new favourite pub in Cambridge, which is quite rightfully in the Good Beer Guide.

  • Belp – Walking Up a Hill

    Back to Switzerland for these photos, which are from the walk that Helen led for members of Hike Norfolk in the hills around Belp. Some beautiful views over the town and a varied walk. All very lovely.

       

  • Luxembourg – McDonald’s Closes….

    The end of an era for the McDonald’s near the railway station in Luxembourg city. After 35 years of trading in its current location, the restaurant has just closed with the above poster now in the main window. There is a recently opened Five Guys outlet nearby and the Quick restaurant a few doors down has been rebranded into a Burger King.

  • Heathrow T5

    I hadn’t realised that BA has introduced this into Heathrow T5, what could also perhaps be known as a job replacement programme. There were rows of manned check-in desks here once (well, last year), now just self-service kiosks for bag drop. Such is progress I suppose….

  • Heathrow T5 at Night

    I haven’t been at Heathrow T5 at night for some time and I had forgotten just how impressive a building it is. It has been open for twelve years now, but it still has a modern feel to it and it’s one of the more impressive structures when looked at from the side.

    Inside the terminal. I think that passengers are discouraged from staying in the terminal at night, instead it’s better to be at terminals 2 and 3 which have a more conducive environment for resting. T5 is big, empty and also quite cold….

    Looking down from the departures floor all the way down to arrivals, a reminder of just how big the building is.

  • Bern – Bern Minster (Views from Tower)

    I was pleased with just how extensive the views of the city of Bern were from the top of the tower of Bern Minster. There’s a charge of €5 to climb the tower and the steps go inside a separate circular staircase which is on the exterior of the building, with two levels to visit. Fortunately there’s also a separate staircase down so there’s no need to worry about bumping into people on the way up.

    The lower platform level of the tower is 254 steps up, with another 90 steps for those who want to visit the upper platform. Being brave, I of course did both. There’s plenty of space on the platforms and it’s also possible to look at the Minster’s large bell on the way down.

    Below are some of the photos over the city and surrounding area:

  • Bern – Bärengraben

    The bear is the symbol of the Swiss city of Bern and there’s a depiction of it in the city’s coat of arms.

    The Bärengraben, or bear pit, was first opened here in 1857, although bears had been kept on public display in numerous other locations in the city before then. It was a rather basic way to keep bears and it meant that they were exposed to anyone who wanted to throw things at them, so it was taken out of use in 2009. Looking back, I’m surprised that it remained in use for as long as it did.

    The replacement for the bear pit is the new bear area which is a short distance away on the banks of the river, offering the bears much more terrain. They also have their own section of the river that they can swim in and there’s much more space and foliage for them.

    There are currently two bears at the site and they were kept separate for a while because they decided that they liked fighting. There’s the possibility that more space might be opened up for the bears in the future, but at the moment everything feels quite spacious.

  • Bern – Views from Bärengraben

    Views of the beautiful city of Bern and the Aare River from the Bärengraben, which is the bear pit area of the Swiss city.

  • Remich – Laundrywomen Statue

    This large statue rather dominates the main square and it’s an intriguing fountain which was designed by Manon Bertrand and was installed in 2004.

    The sculpture is designed to represent the public washing area which was once located nearby.

    Entitled ‘Les Lavandières’ in French, the dog adds rather well to the whole piece.

  • Schengen – Flags of Schengen Nations

    At the meeting place of Germany, France and Luxembourg there is this display of flags, all part of the Schengen Agreement complex. The flags include countries in Schengen which aren’t in the EU, such as Switzerland and Iceland (I hadn’t realised that Iceland were members of the agreement).

    The country flag of Hungary.

    A nicely presented little area by the river and there’s also plenty of seating.