1. William Wallace is a big thing here!
Yes it is the guy from the movie Braveheart, played by Mel Gibson. >The only good thing about the film is the soundtrack if you ask me<
The film was made unfortunately in Ireland, because apparently the got more more from the Irish for filming it....ohhh the money talks.
Stirling is a place where the major Scottish wars for independence from the English were taking place. Even the nameStirling itself is suppose to have a connection with the words "struggle" or "battle".
2. Stirling´s location
Stirling is on the border of Highlands (the area with beautiful dramatic nature that you possibly think of when you hear about Scotland) and Lowlands.
Some people even think that Stirling is the Gateaway to the Highlands.The Lowlands is the more flat part of Scotland, maybe also more industrial if you´d like. However, both Glasgow and Edinburgh are exactly is this part of the country.
Whenever you feel like visiting a bigger city, it takes you less than an hour. Both Glasgow and Edinburgh are only around 30 miles away from Stirling.
3. It is a "Loch" , not a "lake".
Well, the Scottish people would laugh at you, if you say "Oh what a nice lake and in the middle of the campus!"
This word simply does not work here, don´t ask me why, the ones that I asked did not know themselves. There is only one lake that you are allowed to call lake, the Lake of Menteith.
4. Dumyat
Who hasn´t climbed that hill as if never went to Stirling.
An amazing hike, that starts right at the Uni campus. Some people even do a race up to Dumyat and run there. I won´t be able to do such a thing.
If you fell in love with hiking (like me), good news for you.
The Dumyat hill is only one hill out of many that the Ochil Hills consist of. It is not even the highest one. So good luck exploring!
5. Stirling castle
Stirling castle probably comes already from the 12 century, but the way it looks now comes from the reconstruction in the reinasance style that has been made buring the 15th century.The entrance fee if aroung 9 pounds.
However, if you live in Stirling (even for a semester) and you bring your ID card with you and some sort of prove that you live there, you have can access it for free.
6.Uni town
Stirling has about 46 000 citizens and about 11 000 students.
It is a pretty lively town with a lot of student energy and a lot of events happening throughout the year.
At first I wanted to attend all of them, because I wanted to be part of the Stirling community and not to miss out. Soon, I realised that there is no way I can catch up will all that is happening there.
7. Transport
The most common transport are buses. You can take a bus almost anywhere. If you show the driver your student id, a return ticket should usually cost around 1,70 pounds. The monthly ticket costs about 25 pounds.
However, I never bought it...for many reasons. Basically, I did not feel like spending money for "laziness" and harming the environment. I was walking from my uni accomodation every day to the uni campus. It was about 3,5 miles, but it kept me doing regular exercise.
It did take me about 50 minutes of walking.
However, I did not mind it...I did not even mind waking up an hour earlier. The walk actually woke me up nicely and many times I have seen a very beautiful sunrise.
Ultimately my friend let me a bike, so I ended up cycling everywhere. Suddenly I was arriving to place very quickly and I was able to explore the surroundings at bigger distances. There is a shop in Stirling "Recyke a bike" where you can buy a bike cheaply and sell it there once you leave.
Amazing if you ask me.
Some people tell you that Stirling can be rough. Whenever they do, I feel like "if you think that Stirling is rough, try to live in Prague". Stirling through my eyes?There is almost no homeless people. You get some drunk people, but they are usually harmless.
Overall, I felt really safe in Stirling, it almost gave you the impression that you dont have to lock the doors. I would be always going to my accomodation any time of the day or night and never felt unsafe being alone.
The impression of the safety of the place was liberating. A part of the town, that everyone is dreading and people would warn you about is Raploch. I think that this is perfectly normal area, where people who have less money or maybe a bit complicated history live in.
During my stay there was one dead body found and one rape incident reported.The dead body was found right next to where I lived, I could have actually seen the place right from my window. It was pretty scary, there were a lot of policemen and investigating people around for about a week and they closed the whole area.
My flatmate Lisa told me: "Julie, this is a lesson for you, you are not going home alone." I replied..."you know Lisa...this place might be just the safest of all with all the security and everything now." I remember Lisa rolling her eyes and saying "Oh God, Julie, tell me that you are not thinking this was."
Later on, it was announced that that poor person died of sudden heart attack.The rape incident was reported later during the semester. Everyone was pretty scared and shocked by it. However later on it was said that it was a fake report.
10. Pub quizes
I discovered a great passion of mine. I love joining pub quizes! What do I mean buy it?Contribute, compete and win! I always had a lot of fun with those!
Well, you find a pub where such an event is taking place (usually twice a week in different places), you buy yourself a pint of cider, you join a couple of people, create a team and wait for someone to start giving you questions.
No comments:
Post a Comment