2018

Liverpool - November 2018

By Ojrza - 09:03

Liverpool, Liverpool, Liverpool. The Beatles, Liverpool Football Club, a very high-pitched accent. Oh yes.

It was a must-do day trip while being in Manchester, and it's just a thirty minutes train ride away. Located by the bank of river Mersey and just a few miles away from the irish sea it had a slight vibe of a marine city, with its docks and seagulls soaring above.

It's pretty cool that the centre is so compact i explored the whole city by foot. I did have an idea to go west to the seaside, or at least to take the ferry to the other side of Mersey but I didn't plan it right and I wouldn't have the time.

In that case I focused on central Liverpool, let's have a walk then!

The first sight I headed off to was the Livrpool Cathedral. This XXth century giant is the seventh largest cathedral in the world, and the largest one in Great Britain. Well because it's relatively modern it didn't seem to be as impressive as the ones from the gothic period, at least from the exterior. It didn't even look large but... like a regular city church but somehow overscaled.

My opinion had changed when I entered the temple. The interior gave an impression of enormous spaces, so vast and so tall. The decor was quite simple, if not to say ascetic but it fitted the spacious naves. I was delighted to see a neon as a part of decor, forming the words "I felt you and I knew you loved me". Beautiful, even in a non-religious context.

To my dissapointment the tower was unaccessible. An I really looked forward to seeing the panorama.

I left the cathedral and headed back to the central part of the city.

Most attractions in Liverpool are situated around Royal Albert Dock - XIXth century docks converted into museums and venues. All the buildings in that dock are red-brick warehouses adapted to new functions. Vibrant and bursting with life if offers Tate Liverpool - gallery of contemporary art, Merseyside Maritime Museum, Slavery Museum, The Beatles Story and many more.

By the Royal Albert Docks many modern facilities spawned as well, for example the Museum of Liverpool.

The whole dock area is really pleasant to wander around, I enjoyed a nice stroll around despite the cold, november weather. It's the most touristy area of Liverpool, so minor attractions like fancy foodtrucks appear there as well.

I visited the Liverpool Museum, driven by its promising, contemporary exterior. I was a bit dissapointed with its unconsistent displays, until I stumbled upon an exhibition about John Lennon and Yoko Ono. It told the story of the couple's artistic and political activity, before and after the assasination of former Beatles's singer. The exhibition was very aesthetic, touching and interactive for the visitors at some parts.

The Beatles are literally everywhere. Well, no wonder, it's something Liverpool is very proud about. There are many treats for the fans on every corner, i saw at least three museums/exhibitions about the band and at least three John Lennon's statues on the streets. Not mentioning, that their songs are played loudly at some venues well.

The most famous statue is located by the Merseyside promenade, north to the Liverpool Museum. I had to wait at least 15 minutes to get a clear shot of the statue because everybody seemed to want a picture with them (and it wasn't even a tourist season, right?)

Yeah, I used to be a die-hard rock music fan, so the temptation to visit the worldwide famous Cavern Club was impossible to resist. It was pretty cool, the club isn't thriving on the fame of the Beatles only, they have a cramped schedule of live shows of known and unknown artists, so when you visit there's a high chance to get some live music.

The venue's small and you have do descend a very long staircase to reach it. I did grab a beverage and stayed there for a while listening to a performance of a guy that looked like a fifth Beatle. The crowd of all generations sang along. It was so pleasent.