Great Britain. Part II

July 23...30, 2015

In England, semi-trailers have hemispherical roofs. They’re more aerodynamic and thereby more fuel-efficient.

Liverpool

A downright awful city. Big, jam- packed, yet totally done for. You get the feeling that Liverpudlians spent the first half of the XX century destroying and neglecting everything they possibly could.

The bit where there’s at least something suggestive of intact historical buildings is five by five streets big.

One of the most beautiful buildings — Grand Central Hall — is in an unbelievably sorry state.

Shrubs grow out of ornaments.

Meanwhile, this resplendent Art Nouveau interior is home to a store selling clothes and accessories for freaks.

In short, it’s a total shambles.

They also have a Chinatown here where everything is in the Chinese style. Even the parking meters.

Regular Liverpudlian parking meters are more modest-looking.

Manchester

An absolutely incredible city where you delight in every detail.

There’s a multitude of utterly picturesque palaces here.

On every corner you see positively postcard-worthy views of yore.

Modern buildings fit in among all this beauty remarkably well.

I got a hotel room that would make for a great movie set.

With astonishing old fittings and museum-worthy window frames.

Thankfully, at least in Manchester the English are in no rush to replace true beauty with soulless insulated window units.

Abandoned building that once housed the fire brigade headquarters.

House number.

Downpipe bracket. Where else can you find something so beautiful on top of such a beautiful ear bracket?

Bench.

Tram.

This city has potential. One of the few British cities I would gladly return to on a regular basis to relish in the atmosphere and the mood of the place. Deep, dark and fable-like.

Birmingham

It’s as if there isn’t really a city here. Or rather there’s something, something unintelligible.

How they used to decorate lampposts.

Modern lamppost.

When they paint a monument gold in North Korea, it’s called tyranny. When they paint a monument gold in Britain, it’s subtle British humour.

There are two buildings of interest in the city. The library.

Plus a building clad in addition signs.

And nothing else.

Gloucester

At first, I thought that this was just your typical one-street European town, kind of like Banská Bystrica.

With a hint of English flavour.

OK, there are also the pretty rubbish bins.

As well as fully sunken kerbstones, so that the road and the pavement are level.

Then I got as far as the docks and fell in love with the old Victorian warehouses.

Way back when they were built to store grain. Today they look so spectacular that it’s not every city that can design something similar, even if it really wanted to.

Amesbury

Home to Great Britain’s biggest disappointment: Stonehenge. A stone megalithic structure that I had only seen photographs of up until now. All there is to it is a few stones standing not far from the highway. That’s it.

London

There are new double-decker buses running. It looks as if the bus has wrapped itself up in a glass scarf.