Our first visitors at the beginning of spring

A couple of weeks ago Nina’s parents came to visit for four days. This trip culminated in them taking Nina’s car back to Germany with them, so we made good use of it, while they were here, to show them our new country of residence.

They arrived on a Wednesday and I was there to greet them at the train station. I took them to the Belmont Hotel (where Nina and I had stayed last August when we came to find a flat). On her way home, Nina went to the hotel to walk her parents over to our flat for supper. It was probably a little surreal for them as this was the first time they had come to see their daughter since moving out; in her own home and cooking dinner for them for a change. Well, to be more precise, I cooked dinner to allow Nina to spend time with them; she was in charge of desert. They were very impressed with our flat and it received their stamp of approval.

Thursday we walked them around downtown Leicester and saw some of the sites we had yet to visit such as the Jewry Wall and Museum; the site of the Roman baths. This is the largest preserved example of the Roman settlement from 200 – 400 AD. It’s actually a shame they left; had they stayed we would have even more top-notch Italian restaurants.

We took them down High street, through the lanes to the public market with the vocally zealous hawkers. On the way back out of downtown we stopped at the Leicester Town Hall where we found a police officer to take our picture. Nina’s father was particularly complimentary of Leicester and was taken by how attractive some of the architecture is. He was expecting worse and found himself to be pleasantly surprised.

That evening we drove out into the countryside to a pub called The Bell Inn in Burton Overy. This was the very same pub Nina’s professor had taken us to when we were searching for a flat in August. We impressed by how quaint and quintessentially British it was. Not to mention the beauty of the countryside and town it sat in. We wanted to give Nina’s parents the same experience.

Friday was our first road trip. We piled into the car in the morning and drove north east for an hour until we came to Belvior (pronounced ‘beaver’) Castle. It sat atop a hill in the country east of Nottingham and although it is open to public visits on certain days of the year, it is still actively inhabited. David Manners, the 11th Duke of Rutland, lives there with his family and allows a portion of his estate to be on display. It is estimated that his personal fortune is around £115 million which is no surprise considering he charges £10 just to poke his castle for a half hour.

Of course, the price was well worth it as the building was gorgeous. We were able to view his private art gallery and chapel, formal dining, sitting and living rooms as well as the old kitchen in the basement. The gardens were, of course, not in bloom, but the layered grounds included many vistas to look down on the meadows and forests and it was easy to imagine its beauty when in full bloom.

We piled back in the car and continued on heading east to the town of Lincoln which was famous for its cathedral and castle ruins. Lincoln sits on the side of a hill that slopes down to a river which snakes through the town. The old historic centre was very pretty with its cobbled street leading up the hill to the castle and cathedral.

We walked along the riverfront looking for a place for lunch and found one in an old Tudor building which straddled the river giving us a wonderful view as we ate. I encouraged Nina’s father to try the British sausages as he likes the German bratwursts. Although different, he enjoyed them and I have to agree; the British make good sausages.

We started up the hill, stopping to look in the windows of the shops that lined the alleys. It seemed there was a very high concentration of tea shops in Lincoln and my guess is that it’s due to the large percentage of tourist traffic this town receives. At the top we sought shelter in the cathedral from the onslaught of rain that had started. The building was massive and one could have easily spent a full day inside taking in all the detail. As we arrived a choir had started singing and we listened for some time before heading back out. We walked over to the castle ruin, although we decided not go ‘in’ as it was outdoors and the rain had not let up. We walked back down the hill, exploring different snaking streets until we arrived back at the car and made our way home.

Saturday was our last full day and Nina’s mother had wanted to see Cambridge. She had heard it was a pretty town and as it was new to us, we were game too. We drove the 1 ½ hour voyage south and could immediately see what all the fuss was about. The outskirts, like all British towns, looks generic and not overly pretty. But as we approached the centre where all the different colleges reside that make up the greater Cambridge University, we saw what the appeal was.

The closest thing I can liken Cambridge to would be Brugge, in Belgium. Both were perfectly preserved towns that sit surrounded by a river. Both were inundated with tourists and catered to them with the vast array of eating, drinking, souvenir and tour establishments. What set Cambridge apart was the abundance of gondolas on the river such as one would find in Venice, Italy.

We parked on the side of the river and walked through a park toward the university’s massive campus which intermingled with the centre of the city. Many of the university’s 31 colleges dominated an imposing campus and set of buildings; each of which would have made for an impressive university of its own. As it’s the second oldest university in Britain, the architecture was every bit as striking as we would have imagined. It’s also a wealthy city with the buildings and streets in a picture-perfect state of cleanliness and repair.

We walked down the main street with some of the more prominent colleges (Trinity and King’s). After some lunch we walked around the back of the town which took us into a green pasture, next to the river, with the colleges as a backdrop behind us. We decided against going into any of the buildings on a tour and spent the day walking around; taking in the atmosphere and enjoying the sunny spring day. After an afternoon coffee we headed back for the car and our voyage back to Leicester.

Sunday morning we met Nina’s parents at their hotel. We had breakfast with them, loaded them up in Nina’s car and watched them drive off toward Dover. It is their intention to sell it in Germany and then we may buy a British car, or we may not. At this point we are assessing if we require one or not. It’s been a week and a half and life here seems fine, so far, without.

Instead of driving to the large supermarket on the weekend and doing one big shop for the week, we are relying on the smaller shops in our neighbourhood now. Five minutes from us is Queen’s road; one of the nicer shopping streets outside of downtown. There we have 2 green grocers, a butcher and a mini Sainbury’s (supermarket) which seems to supply us with almost everything we need.

I have enjoyed walking to the butcher’s shop each day, seeing what they have available and deciding on what to make for dinner. I like the fact they will take a large leg a lamb and cut a steak off the end for me to order. And, the flavour is much better than what I was buying at the supermarkets before. This, of course, is a better way to shop as it has us supporting local businesses.

The temperature is now hovering around (and usually above) the 10 degree mark. Last week it was 17 degrees and I went out for my first couple of rides on my bike. It felt great! On my first ride I felt a familiar ache in my stomach which was the reassuring sensation of muscles working and calories burning.

Prior to the weather cooperating I started to prepare. I went to the Ordnance Survey website which offers great maps in fantastic detail such as 1:25,000. I customized a map with the area I wanted to cycle in this region and it arrived the week before I was set to head out. It shows every road, village, hedge, building and even specifies where the pubs are.

Last September I complained, after heading out for my first ride here, that the infrastructure for riding was not very good. I simply didn’t know where to go. This time I found the Sustran (sustainable transportation) bike trails which allow cycles to traverse the country on paved paths; some sharing with cars and other sharing with pedestrians. For my first couple of rides this year I headed out on route 6 which runs on the old Great Central Railway line right-of-way through this region. The tracks have been removed and half is paved for bikes and pedestrians while the other half is grassy for horseback riders. It sits on a dike with meadows on both sides and runs across busy roads and rivers on the old bridges build for the now defunct railway. The quality of paving and the fact I have to share the space with pedestrians is a bit of a let-down after Amsterdam, but it’s still a lot better than the conditions I thought I would be faced with when I went for my exploratory rides last September.

I have enjoyed cycling through the countryside of Canada, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. Now, I am enjoying England from the back of my bike; one of my favourite perspectives.

For my birthday Nina bought a set of tickets to see the Philharmonia Orchestra. To our amazement, there is a wonderful hall next to the University of Leicester called De Montford Hall. We had seen it from the outside but had no idea it was a vast concert hall able to fit a full orchestra, and choir, as well as boasting a massive church organ. Similar in size to the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam (but not nearly as ornate), it hosts the Philharmonia Orchestra almost monthly. Regarding as being one of the great orchestras of the world and with over 1000 recordings to their name, they did not disappoint. They played three pieces of music that started with Vltava by Smetana followed by three movements from Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 4. After the intermission we heard 3 movements from Dvorak’s Symphony No 8. Both Nina and I were most impressed with the first piece. That being said, the guest pianist (Francois-Frederic Guy) on the Piano Concerto was incredible. And, interesting to note, he was the only musician who played without any sheet music in front of him.

This was the first time I had seen/heard a full orchestra play for any extended period of time. The volume (both meanings of the word) of the music was amazing. The wall of sound, with its ebbs and flows, was powerful and quite remarkable. And, of course, it was all the excuse we needed to get dolled up for the night so we could get a decent photo of ourselves in our formalwear.