Londonban jártunk

A Journey With Some Difference / Anglia egy kicsit másképp

Minden angliai tanulmányi kirándulás után úgy érzik a diákok, hogy csodálatos élményben volt részük, de a sárvári gimnazisták idén szeptemberben tett Bridgwater-i látogatását nehéz lesz felülmúlni a programok sokszínűsége és a kis csoportunkat fogadó angolok közvetlensége miatt.

Sárvár legújabb testvérvárosa, Uherské Hradištĕ (Magyarvárként vagy Magyarvárhelyként is fordítható) már régóta testvérvárosi viszonyt ápol Bridgwater-rel, mely a Londontól dél-nyugatra fekvő Somerset megyében található. Ebből a kapcsolatból alakult ki az a projekt, mely lehetővé teszi a Tinódi Sebestyén Gimnázium és Idegenforgalmi, Vendéglátói Szakképző Iskola és Somerset megye néhány iskolájának csereprogramját. Tauntonban, a megye székhelyén található a Richard Huish College, melynek szociológia szakos hallgatói tavaly látogattak el Budapestre és Sárvárra, a jövő évben pedig a Bridgwater College média szakos diákjai érkeznek Magyarországra.

A mi utazásunk időpontjának kiválasztásakor fontos szempont volt, hogy ez utóbbi város egyik legnagyobb eseményét, a Bridgwater Fair-t szeptember 26-29. között rendezték meg. Az eddigi angliai kirándulásokhoz képest a legnagyobb újdonság az volt, hogy repülővel utaztunk. (A többségnek ez volt az első repülőútja.) Korábban még soha nem szálltunk meg youth hostel-ben, azaz diákszállóban. Ezek rendszere behálózza az egész országot London belvárosától a Glastonbury dombtetőig.

A hivatalos program részeként a Bridgwater-i polgármester, Graham Granter és felesége, Kay fogadást adott a tiszteletünkre. Elámultunk a főiskola jól felszerelt létesítményein és találkoztunk azokkal a tanulókkal, akik Magyarországra szeretnének látogatni februárban. Belevetettük magunkat a vásári forgatagba, mely hasonlít a sárvári Simon-Júdás napi vásárhoz, csak kibővítve vidámparkkal, állatvásárral és Welsh cake-et, azaz forró vásári sütit majszolgató járókelőkkel. Utolsó nap maradt időnk arra, hogy ellátogassunk a környék híres városaiba: Bristolba, Oxfordba és az Atlanti-óceán partján fekvő Weston-super-Mare-ba.

Vitathatatlanul a legfantasztikusabb élményt a Bridgwater-ben töltött nap jelentette, amikor beöltözhettünk és fényképezkedhettünk a polgármester ünnepi köpenyében, interjút adtunk és készítettünk angol diákokkal, valamint megpörgetett minket a vásári hinta, a Skyflier.

Vannak persze olyan dolgok Angliában, melyek soha nem változnak és a sokadik látogatás után is megunhatatlan élményt nyújtanak: a londoni Tower, a Big Ben, a Westminster Abbey, a szakadatlanul zuhogó eső és a magyar gyomor számára megszokhatatlan angol, mexikói, illetve török ételek.

Back to Britain – two Tinodi girls’ travel adventures

London a multi-cultural city

London and the UK have always been one of my favorite holiday destinations to travel to. In fact, London is a melting-pot of different ethnic groups ranging from Indians to Chinese. It is great to see how smoothly they can get on with each other. To give you an example, I had an overwhelming experience at ASDA supermarket where a beautiful Indian woman, who was working there as a shop assistant, asked me how I was and we talked for a while about things in general. As a result, I felt overjoyed during the rest of the day.

London sights – soaking wet

London also has an awful lot of places to see. The city is full of historical attractions that bring tourists back to old glorious times and we can feel the atmosphere of royal harmony. This time the walking tours took us to the most noted monuments such as the Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, the Globe Theatre and The Houses of Parliament with the fabulous clock of Big Ben. Our guide, Brian a historian by profession  led us through the Tower Bridge and the Millenium Bridge while we were being told many of his weird stories and legends about the city history. After being split into two groups some of us  went for a ride on the London Eye, the extra-high wheel. The view of the city was spectacular even in heavy rain. By the way, the weather was typically English, that is lengthy rainy and windy spells were changing with shorter sunny spells all the time. I could experience how it felt to walk soaking wet all day long. You had better take my advice and never forget to bring Wellingtons with you if your destination is England. Back to the point, the second group I was a member of visited Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in Baker Street (also famous for Sherlock Holmes). It was my third visit but it proved to be unforgettable since we could take pictures of movie stars, sportsmen or the royal family. Unfortunately, we were always short of time, most of us couldn't manage to reach Oxford Street to do some shopping or simply to admire the shopwindows of famous brands like Marks and Spencer, Louis Vuitton or H&M. Fortunately, we could catch up with some shopping in other lovely cities like Bristol and Oxford.

Clashes of ancient and modern architecture

It was rather shocking to see how the leaders of the city including eccentric Boris Johnson the Mayor of London had decided to build modern skyscrapers into the historical district. Some think that these constructions will make the magic go away but in my opinion we do not have to deny that we are living in the 21st century. I love the way they set up tall buildings in the old traditional heritage site. Surprisingly enough, the newest building is shaped like a shard of glass combined with a triangle but we also went past the bulbous-shaped City Hall  and we saw the sugar-loaf building in the distance. These novelties make the city skyline so unique.

People of Bridgwater

The main goal of our journey was to visit Bridgwater, which is roughly 2 hours’ drive from the capital city. We were put up in a traditional cottage on the hillside transformed into a student hostel. The main features of English architecture i.e. a wooden balcony, fitted carpets, separate taps made the place funny but cosy. During our stay in Bridgwater we met some Bridgwater College students. We were shown the College complex by students who study media. We were very much impressed by the facilities the school owned thanks to a large number of sponsoring companies like EDF the French electricity company, which is planning to build a new nuclear power plant outside the city. At the end of our tour the media lecturer Mino De Francesca made an interview with three Hungarian students: Fati, Eszter and Balint. It was exactly like a live TV program recording except for the cameramen who were students. At noon the Mayor and the Mayoress gave a reception for the honour of the Hungarians with hearty welcome and a hearty meal in the Bridgwater Town Council. Last but not least we took a tour of the town and discovered both the historical sights and the shops with Simon a Cambridge graduate, who was our second minder during our stay.

As far as the Atlantic Ocean

Weston-super-Mare is located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Although there was an extremely strong wind blowing on the beach, we thought how wonderful it was to be there facing the tidal waves arrival. It was obvious for everyone that in summer the resort is full of holidaymakers, the beach is a lot more crowded and perhaps the weather is milder. The so-called Social Evening was held in the catastrophe struck (the riverside collapsed in front of it) Green Olive Mediterranean restaurant where we had delicious Turkish food in the company of Brian’s friends local councillors and their wives. Unlike the others, I really loved the taste of Turkish spices and vegetable sauces. As for the Bridgwater Fair, it is just like Simon-Judas Fair in our hometown Sárvár but with plenty of theme park gadgets. We tasted the traditional delicious Hot Welsh Cake, which is a circular pastry rolled in sugar with raisins in it. And it was indeed steaming hot! The whirl of the fair was amazing, I could feel the pre-Halloween atmosphere everywhere. All in all, it was the most educational and at the same time the most exciting school trip of my life. I really enjoyed meeting English people and practising English.

City tours: Bristol, Oxford

On Day 3 we arrived in Bristol, which is the 6th biggest city in England with an estimated population of 433,000. Bristol is the largest centre of culture and education on the River Avon and on the coast of the Bristol Channel. Its wealth is due to the infamous slave and tobacco trading and its university college dates back in 1876. One of our favourite series, Skins was shot here. It was fascinating to walk in those streets which we saw in the movie. Absolutely unbelievable! I personally liked Park Street the most, which links the city centre to the main university building with all kinds of shopping and catering facilities you can imagine. Last but not least, the weather turned sunny by this time. After Bristol we headed for Oxford, which is the home of most of the prestigious colleges in the world like Trinity College, Exeter, Corpus Cristi, Christ Church, Mansfiel College and 34 more. The buildings in Oxford demonstrate all examples of English architectural periods from Gothic to Victorian styles. Unfortunately, we had to leave Oxford shortly and we did not have the chance to look at the interior of a college nor any undergraduates who might become future leaders of the world. In addition, the weather was not very kind to us again and it started pouring with rain.