Tennent’s Brewery...

After dropping Ashlynn off at work, we went to see if we could take a tour of Tennent’s Brewery, maker of Scotland’s favorite lager. 

The Wellpark Brewery dates back to 1556, while the UK’s first lager dates back to 1885.

The last tour of the day had already started, so instead we just visited their free heritage center... 

…which wasn’t entirely free since we had to at least taste some Tennent’s.

There were 833 bottles in this display, equal to the number of bottles filled per minute for a total of 50,000 per hour.

Clearly times have changed as they stopped making cans featuring buxom ladies in 1989.

 

Walking Across Glasgow...

After crossing the university, we headed down the hill to one of Ashlynn’s favorite places in Glasgow: Kelvingrove Park. Founded in 1852, it was originally named West End Park. 

She spent many afternoons on this hill hanging out with friends.

This is the closest we got to see Clifton House, the residence hall where Ashlynn lived for her first year in Glasgow.

She wanted to have her bike so she could cycle home after work, so she pushed it across town with us.

She was excited to finally get to try Mono, a vegan café and music venue.  

We shared one soup and three mains; everything was delicious!
 

Hogwarts?

Our first stop was the University of Glasgow, about 10 minutes from Ashlynn’s flat. Although she was nearly done with her second year of uni, her first year was 100% online due to COVID and she only started having any in-person lectures midway though her second year. 

Founded in 1451, Glasgow is the second oldest uni in Scotland and the fourth oldest in the English-speaking world. 

The medieval buildings were definitely impressive...

…especially the cloisters.

So glad that she was proud to show us around, especially considering she chose the school without ever having visited the campus.

 

Finally Visiting Ashlynn...

As Ashlynn was heading to an exam the morning of April 28, I was heading to Schiphol to finally catch a flight to Glasgow. After dropping my stuff off at her place, I bought her lunch and coffee before dropping her off at the library for an afternoon of studying.  

While she was studying, I went to the grocery store with the most important task: buying toilet paper (since there was less than half a roll left in her flat). 

Jimmy arrived late that evening by train from London, where he’d been moderating a defense conference. 

After spending her first year in Glasgow in student housing, Ashlynn was happy to have a nice flat shared with just her roommate Ellie. 

They had a nice bay window in the living room, with lots of light.

Their flat was above a ramen place, which we never managed to try. This was the view across their busy road, which luckily wasn’t too noisy.

Ashlynn’s roommate kindly stayed at her boyfriend’s so that Ashlynn could sleep in her bed while we took over her bedroom (which was covered in laundry for only a short time). 

Ashlynn kept her bike in her entranceway, which meant having to walk it up and down the stairs.

The following morning, I grabbed these shots on our way out.

 

Miscellaneous April...

There was a very limited opportunity while the path was clear to walk along the back side of the field and see the foals. 

Luckily it was much easier to see the piglets.

Other random things spotted in April included this spotted bench...

…this funny face...

…this great sign at a pub in The Hague...

…De Valk Molen covered in the Dutch flag...

…and this machine peeling white asparagus at the Leiden Market.

It was great that Johanna popped into town, four years after moving away. She and I met up at the new AWC Clubhouse and then took a nice long walk to the beach, where we had a leisurely lunch. Then the following afternoon I headed to Georgia’s for a tea in honor of Johanna. We were only supposed to be there for an hour or two, but Jimmy joined us and we stayed chatting for hours. 
 

Birds in April...

Once again, the swans built a nest next to the dyke near the field... 

…but this year they were surrounded with a barrier. Not sure if the swans were protected from us or if we were protected from the swans.

While there were several eggs, there never were any cygnets. Rumor had it that the dad ate the babies as he had done in previous years. Then the poor mom continued to sit on the nest for the next few months. 

These ladies at the farm continued to lay eggs while stuck in their coop, but the prices rose so high that I switched to buying eggs from the grocery store.

Spotted this heron hanging on a wall...

…and taking flight.

Spotted this crow just hanging around in The Hague.