Friday 29 November 2013

A Walk Around Easton And St. George

As I had finished shopping for the time being and I would only move to my new home on Saturday morning,  I had nothing scheduled for Friday. Researched some walks in the area and came  across a nice suggestion from the Bristol Ramblers. They offered a map and desciption for a walk through some parks and cemetaries in Easton where I had my first viewing the week before. So it was easy to get there cause I knew which busses to take.
Hopping of at Lawrence Hill station I walked along a quiet road with some not so nice tower blocks seen nearby. The same area had made me feel a bit uncomfortable living nearby since flat must be cheap there and thus attract a certain clientele.
Soon I arrived at Netham Recreation Ground, which is a nice small park with a surprising view over Bristol and its hills in the distance. I never realized I was on ground high enough.

My path led me straight to the Avon View Cemetery. The weak sun struggeling to pierce through dark grey clouds hanging in the sky hiding any hint of blue turned the whole scenery  almost into black and white while gusts of a cold wind blew dead leaves over the withering stones.  It couldn't get any more convenient. 

Not long after I arrived at Troopers Hill. It was used as a quarry and was mined as well during the industrial era. People then successfully turned the hill into a recreational area wich looks quite natural with trees and bushes and several paths winding their way up and down. Only the left over chimney from the miners reminds the visitor of the former use of the hill.

From the top I had a fine view again of the green hills surrounding Bristol firing my desire to walk there. Whenever I see some landscape that is not city I just long to be there. It's almost like it's pulling me, my heart rejoices as I give myself to that painful desire. 

After walking around Troopers Hill for a while I turned north and then west again walking along those typical English semi-detached houses. The next notable landmark was St George Park. Walked along the pond, watched ducks and seagulls and left the park again.

More houses, a short walk on the Bristol-Bath cycle path and then over to Greenbank Cemetary. Spent a good while there as it was quite large and had some nice tombstones. Walked back on a good part of the cycle path which is really nice and I will certainly cycle it as soon as I have a new bike.

Back at Lawrence Hill station my tour ended and it was really nice to realize that you can have a very nice walk with lots of green right in the city.

Netham Recreation Ground

Avon View Cemetary

Troopers Hill

St George Park

Greenbank Cemetary

Wednesday 27 November 2013

Getting things done

Monday night I thought things over. On my way back from the nice viewing I had passed the house the Tuesday viewing was at. Even quieter area and obviuously pricier houses. Not bad but it felt a bit... dunno... impersonal. The cosiness of Bishopston was missing. It was still really nice but a bit further off the next bus stop and in order to go shopping I would need to go to Whiteladies which lacks the nice alternative flair Gloucester Rd offers with it's green grocers, butchers, little cafes and alternative clothing shops (I even found a shop selling tools and stuff for brewing your own ale or cider, yay!!)
Also the rent was about 600 per month were as the room in the family house was 350. My mind kept weighing my options as I walked home and had a look at a few shops down Whiteladies and Park Rd. Marked the Hobgoblin music shop, a burrito place and another music shop on my internal map for later visits as I was solely on the lookout for more business clothing.
Back at the flat I told Kim about my viewing and he just said that it seems I have already made my decision. I still wanted to sleep over it.
Next morning I called Miriam the landlady to let her know that I'll take the room. It had just been the one! She was equally happy and we agreed on meeting up Wednesday morning at a nearby cafe to sign he contract. Totally happy and with another big issue off my chest I went on another shopping round at Cabbot Circus. I really don't like shopping and as strenuous as it was I came home with a jacket, two trousers and a skirt. Not bad. Not enough, haha.
At 8pm we met up with the Bristol couchsurfing group at a nearby bar at the harbour. Again very nice people and had just a good time. As I stayed in contact with Zsolt from the Bath group I exchanged numbers with Kristina this time. We immediately clicked and felt like sisters with so many things in common. So within not even a week I've made a handfull of new acquaintances/friends. Awesome.
Met up with Miriam this morning to sign the tenancy contract and give her the deposit. Had a very nice chat over a coffee and the more we talked the more we liked each other. So totally the right decision! Can't wait to move in.
Some more shopping coming up with a pair of shoes this time. Walked around the area north and west of Colston Tower and found the Bristol Cider Shop and an abandoned church with walls slowly being overgrown. Too bad it was locked up well.
Had a great burrito at the one place I had passed by on Monday and set up another blog on wordpress where I'm going to write about all the cool things I come across in Bristol and the southwest from nice hidden cafes to sights and certain areas. When the first post goes online I'll let you know.

Monday 25 November 2013

This is Bristol

Finally I have some time to post an update about my move to Bristol. It's been two hectic and stressful weeks.  I left Berlin on Thursday Nov 21st. My last day at work was Nov 8. I thought briefly about just using my free time to go on a nice hike around Berlin as a way to say goodbye. But I was just up to my neck in preparations for my move. Sold almost all of my furniture and a few other things I didn't want to take with me, packed 12 boxes of stuff I didn't need immediately and stored them in our basement compartment and packed a few parcels to be sent to my by my room mate as well as three more bags to be taken by a friend's brother in December.
I went with a guitar bag into which I stuffed as many clothes as I could alongside the guitar and a huge dark pink bag that I had bought the day before. I came upon this one just by accident. My old black bag is now several years old and needed a replacement. So I was joking for a while that the next one had to be a bright pink to be easily spotted on luggage retrieval. I went to a small shop in a nearby shopping centre just to have a look at the display and there it stood. Price reduced from 129 to 39. Pink. I couldn't resist, haha.
Since I put the smaller one of my pc monitors among clothes and basic outdoor and climbing equipment into Ms Pink it was as heavy as a rock of the same size. Paying of no less than 120 quid at the airport for overweight was a sure thing!
My dad drove me and my little brother (I had kind of adopted him :)) came along as well. The Ms Pink went for 34 kilos! We had to put her on a diet because the maximum weight for one piece of luggage was 32. So we stuffed as much as possible into my hand luggage (which was full of cables and stuff before coming up in the end of easily 15 kilos but no one checked it, haha) and the guitar bag. 31, 6 kilos in the end. YES. The guitar bag was 11, 4. When I had booked the flight the maximum allowance was 20 kilo for all bags together. Luckily they had just recently changed it to 20 kilos EACH. So in the end I did not pay a single euro since the woman at the counter said it's okay. Bingo!!!

Arrived at 22:30 in Bristol and dragged my stuff to the Rock 'n Bowl hostel for one night. It's right in the centre and at 17 £ per night for a 4 bed female dorm quite okay. The place is huge and quite populated at weekends. That's why I only stayed one night.
Next morning I called at Kim's place just around the corner. He was going to be my couchsurfing host for the next few days until I had found my own place. His appartment is very small but lovely and I was so grateful for him to take me in.  It was my first time couchsurfing and I think it's a great thing. If I can I want to be a host as well sometime!
Had my first two viewings of rooms on Friday. One in Easton which was in a nice victorian house in a quiet road. Really lovely but I didn't quite like some of the adjacent areas. The other one was in Montpellier quite close to the pubs and bars of Gloucester Rd. The whole neighborhood reminds me bit of Friedrichshain back in Berlin. Unfortunately the whole flat would have needed a complete makeover so I didn't consider taking the room, even if I would've stayed with two young musicians.
At night we went to The Stable, a rather new pizza and cider place at the harbour. They have a cider tasting board with 5 different ciders 1/3 pint each. The board changes every now and then so you can have a taste of a lot of diffenrent brands. Maybe I get myself a little book and take notes on which one is exceptionally good and which isn't.

More viewings on Saturday. One out in Westbury on Trym which was lovely but in the end too far away from town. One in Stapleton with some kind of esoteric family. The place was nice and they liked my "presence" but it was just a little too weird for me. The other one was with two women just around the corner. The one who owns the house is a yoga instructor and has her classes in the house. The immediate surrounding was okay this time, but didn't like the atmosphere back at the road where I would need to go to get to the bus.
Back in the city Kim convinced me to go ice skating outside on Millenium square. I was a bit hesitant since I hadn't done that in ages and I was scared of falling because that could hurt my sensible back severely or my wrists or hands which I need for guitar playing. In the end I took it slow and was overtaking people after a few rounds. Great fun!!! I 'm glad Kim came up with idea!

Went to a meeting of the Bath couchsurfing group on Sunday afternoon. Kim was going anyway and took me along. Didn't see much of Bath as we went straight to a nice restaurant were the group was meeting. Spent a few hours there. What a great way to get to know new people! Left at 5pm with the few remaining members and went for a last pint to a cosy pub nearby. As the others went home I walked around the deserted city centre of Bath in the dark just having a look around. It's the most beautiful shopping area I've everything seen. Very clean and I just love those yellow sandstone buildings. Reminded me a lot of Edinburgh. Took some pictures and then went home on the train as I was really freezing. I will certainly come back during the day to venture the streets again and see all the sights.

Today was my first proper shopping day since I need a business outfit by Monday next week. I think I spent at least two hours at Marks & Spencer trying on every pair of trousers I could find, only to realize that there seems to be none that fits to the hips. They're all fitted to the waist or slightly below. Yay... it just looks stupid on me. At least I came up with a nice coat that is a bit business and a bit rock 'n roll and a nice leather bag.

After lunch I took the bus up to Bishopston for another viewing. I stayed in that area when I was in Bristol for the first time and loved it. Cheltenham and Gloucester Rd lead from the city centre up north being lined with countless pubs, bars, organic food shops and alternative clothing shops. If you go left or right into the residential areas it's very quiet all of a sudden with those beautiful british houses left and right. Bishopston is just one of the areas that Gloucester Rd passes through. So it seems to be the perfect spot for me.
For the first time I had nothing to complain about. Nice cosy house occupied by a mother, her 8 and 12 year old sons, a little dog and a cat. The room spacious enough with a bed, wardrobe and chest of drawers looking out to the garden in the back. A bike shed would have space for just another bike so I could store away my new mountain bike. The area very quiet and just a 5 min walk to Gloucester Rd and a 30min walk to work or a 15 min bus ride.
Had a nice chat with the landlady over a cup of tea and some biscuits and really liked her a lot. I don't have a problem living with kids as long as they won't disturb me in my room and they're not infants anymore.The older one even plays guitar so maybe I can teach him some.
Thing is I have another viewing on Tuesday night in Redland. So we agreed that I would call her Tuesday right after the viewing to tell her if I'm in or not but I was really inclined to say yes immediately. If the other viewing wouldn't be Redland I would have said so. Redland is one of the pricier areas with nice houses. The offered room is just below the maximum rent I'm willing to pay so I didn't want to cancel the viewing. So by tomorrow night I'll have this settled and can move at the coming weekend hopefully.

Ruin at Castle Park

Bath

More Bath

Monday 18 November 2013

Bristol on the Horizon

In three days I'm going on my biggest adventure ever: moving to another country!

After living almost 36 years in Berlin I finally turn my back and leave. I should have done this earlier. Maybe after my study. I realized I always wanted it but never really pushed things and was never determined enough to really pull this through. Now I am. Actually it's a now-or-never. I'm still very fit in body and mind and have not yet settled down. I could write pages about why I want to leave, but instead I'm going to look ahead.

I'm basically leaving with little more than the clothes I'm wearing. It's a very distinct feeling of freedom. Brave enough I would quit my life completely and travel the world for years. I just feel the strong urge to be off and away. Some people say I'm obviously looking for something and they're right. I just don't know what it is I'm looking for so I have no idea if I'm going to find it in Bristol.

My furniture is almost gone, sold it all. Makes no sense to take it with me as I'm going to live in a furnished shared house or flat. At least for the first 6 months. Even with my rooms here almost empty it still doesn't feel like I'm leaving for good. Maybe because I still have so much to do.

Met almost all my friends last night for a goodbye drink. This is the hardest part. Leaving your family and friends behind. It's not about a good job or a nice flat, it's the people you love. Seeing them one last time was really great and really sad at the same time knowing that I won't see them for a while. I think I will only realize how much I miss them, when I'm gone. Now it just feels like going on a long holiday.

I will go back to Berlin for a few weekends to do the recordings for my rockband Luzid early next year and I will play any gigs with them until they found a decent new guitar player to fill in the vacant spot. I will also be back for gigs with my country cover band so I'll be in Berlin every other month or so.

But now it's off to new shores!!! Exploring Bristol and its surroundings. Settle in and have a good start at my new job, that's the plan for the rest of the year. I'll keep you posted so stay tuned!!!