A Weekend In Aberystwyth (I can't pronounce it either.)

Aberystwyth is a city in north Wales and to give you something to compare it to, it looks a lot like a coastal city in Scotland but the culture leans more towards that of rural east Tennessee. It is the only Welsh city that I've been to thus far where the Welsh language can be heard on the streets as well as in pubs and not only on recordings in museums. I got a feeling that this city is definitely off the beaten path but if you can brave the chilling temperatures and the large hill near city center it will offer you some treasures of its own.

So how did I end up in such an odd place you might ask. I only have two words for you, MARTA and LIBRARY. I will confess now that my friend Marta and I are both English majors but as I discovered on this trip she's a little more enthusiastic about it than me. My entire group of friends and I had all been excited about a trip that the American Studies Office was taking to Snowdonia, a national park in north Wales. The trip was canceled due to a lack of people interested and we were left to do north Wales on our own. It sounds easy enough but with academic schedules and train times we just couldn't make it work. Everyone else gave up but not Marta. She wanted to see north Wales and when she found out that the Welsh National Library was in Aberystwyth it became a place she had to visit. I had an extra BritRail day to use and so I thought, "Why not. Besides, when am I ever going to get the chance to see Aberwhatever again?" So there I was, freezing in the Aberystwyth train station with Marta, a library, and two unplanned days in north Wales. So we did what all great travelers do and pulled out our well worn Let's Go Britain book (thanks Lauren) and turned to Aberystwyth. Below are the pictures and stories from what I can remember of our weekend in north Wales.

Marta did most of the planning for this trip and I just tagged along. She made our accommodation reservations about a month in advance but because it was half term, our version of fall break, the only place that she could find for us to stay was a bed and breakfast called Sunny Mead. I've never stayed in a nicer place or had a more friendly hostess. The only mishap we had with the bed and breakfast was that we had to stand outside in the rain for about twenty minutes because the lady that runs it had gone to her daughter's house to help her look for her missing cat. She was quick to return though and very apologetic but we were finally out of the rain so we were happy. The first thing we did that afternoon was go to the Welsh National Library. It was up a huge hill but it had the best view of the sea in the town and the gardens around it were beautiful. I don't have a picture of it but Marta does, I'll save those for my Christmas break improvements. The library itself was interesting. There were very few books which I found to be entertaining since it is a library after all. They also had an exhibit about housewives for some reason and they had a very nice collection of, "hoovers" their word for a vacuum cleaner. So back to those books, they were almost all in Welsh! If you think its strange to hear you should try reading it. Its fairly lacking in vowels and there is an abundance of Y's and W's, its crazy. The neatest thing that I saw in the library was a hand-written letter from Charles Dickens. Too bad I couldn't read the signature. For all I know they could have fabricated the whole thing out of thin air but I just prefer to take their word that its authentic.

We must remember that my trip to Scotland with Lauren and the rain had been the week before this little adventure in Aberystwyth and so it was on our way back from the library that we noticed that my voice was beginning to go, great. I had been feeling rather icky for a couple of days but it somehow managed to completely slam me that weekend. By dinner time, or tea as they say over here, it was so bad that Marta had to order for me. That reminds me, we ate at the coolest pub. It was called the Academy and was recommended by our old friend Let's Go Britain. Its a pub like any other but its in an old church. The organ is covered with Absinthe bottles and there are still scriptures that have been carved into the walls. Below are some random pictures from the Academy.

Yes, that's me drinking in church. Forgive me Grandmother. I figure that sins are more quickly forgiven if they occur in church than if they take place some where else. At least I can say that I went to church in Aberystwyth. The picture is a little blurred, not because of the alcohol, but because we didn't use a flash. Its the only picture that shows anything other than just the person. So, if you'll look just above my head you'll see some stairs leading up to a wall with arches in it and yes that is an alter down in front and the original one I might add. Now for a better picture of me.

There, that's a little better. Carling, yummy.

I'm not the only guilty one. See Marta isn't as innocent as she looks.

Marta and I at the Academy.

Our room at Sunny Mead had a tv, a valued commodity over here, at least for two foreign exchange students, so we decided to go back to the B&B and have a little R&R and all I have to say is that British tv is quite different than anything we have at home but I do like it.

Somewhere Marta had read about a scenic train that for £12 (pounds) would take you through the mountains that north Wales is famous for and to a place called, Devil's Bridge. Well that sounds nice doesn't it? We had nothing better to do and so we took a train to the middle of no where. Below are some pictures from the train ride, Devil's Bridge, and everything in between.

Me and the scenic train. It was an old steam engine which is a little different than what I'm used to here but it was fun if you like going all of about 45 mph and having to stop at every crossing to wait for a farmer to heard his sheep across the road. I'll just say that it was hard to forget that I was in rural Wales.

Remember, I was sick and deliriouss. So Marta what's your excuse for this lovely picture?

The view from the train.

That's Devil's Bridge, its just a little intimidating. Its three bridges built on top of one another and I had to drive and walk across that top one to get to the trail that I had to take to get into positionn to get that picture. I hope you can appreciate it.

Maybe this will give you a better view. Ah, the feats of man.

Aren't we cute?

Those would be the steps that we had to take into the gorge and back out. May be that explains our expressions in the picture above.

There was an open air car on the train and Marta thought that she'd get better pictures of the mountains if we rode in it and since my theory was, "Hell I'm already sick why not?" we did. As you can see we were cold and miserable, but sure it was fun.

That afternoon we went for a walk around town. Here are some of the pictures from our little walkabout. This one is of me, a farm gate, and a church. Only in Aberystwyth right?

We also found Aberystwyth Castle. Like most, "castles," in the UK it was just a fancy pile of rubble but it was fun to explore the ruins.

A monument dedicated to the victims of World War I as seen from the castle.

A bench on the road over looking the Atlantic. A comfy place to sit, if you dare. Notice the blue things. Remember, you can click on any image to make it larger.

An angry Atlantic.

There's this massive hill on the Aberystwyth coast called Constitution Hill. I have no idea where the name is derived from so please don't ask. Marta thought it would be fun to take an incline to the top, so we did. Aside from freezing and being accompanied by an insane wind that defied all laws of gravity it was fun. I've never come as close to flying without an airplane as I did that afternoon on the hill. We tried to hike down it but the trails were unmarked and I was too sick to make the commitment required to get lost or, "explore," as my dad likes to say, so we just took the incline back down. Would that be a decline if you're going down? Never mind, I've been blogging too long. Anyways, the above picture is the view of Aberystwyth as seen from Constitution Hill. We walked around most of the city too and as you can see by the size of it we were both pretty tired by the time we got back to Swansea.

Well that's all that I have from Aberystwyth. Aside from being the sickest that I've been in five years it was great fun. Thanks Marta for letting me join you. For anyone who is wondering, I did completely lose my voice on the our second day there so I was walking around the city whispering to Marta. She could tell you an entertaining story about me trying to sing without a voice while being passed by a street sweeper in city center but I'll save those details for Christmas. Remember, there's more on the way from Amsterdam, Edinburgh, and Greenwich. I'm trying to catch up, I promise. Also, please leave comments. Its nice to hear from you all too. That's it from this side of the pond for now, I'll write again tomorrow. Cheers!