Relaxed Glasgow

The cold and damp of Scotland are catching up with us. Our noses run constantly and we are weary. It's possible that we are getting older, but we'll blame the weather, instead. So we throttled back a bit today, rather than pressing into a full day of sites in the city.

We did manage the 20 minute walk to Glasgow Cathedral and its environs. This cathedral survived the Protestant Reformation more or less intact, unlike the one at St. Andrews. It continues today as a working congregation of the Church of Scotland, the American counterpart of which is The Presbyterian Church USA.

The Cathedral was first constructed in the 12th century and is the oldest building in Glasgow, though it has had many additions and renovations. It is dedicated to "Saint Mungo," about whom there are many legends but few facts. He was a missionary who brought Christianity to the tribes of this area in the late 6th century and who may (or may not) have been instrumental in founding the city of Glasgow. He supposedly built a church on the spot where the Cathedral stands, and was buried there, in what is now the Cathedral crypt.

If it's unclear whether Mungo is actually buried here, it is certain that a lot of other people are. The crypt and the church proper are filled with memorial stones. The churchyard is densely packed with graves, and on a nearby hill overlooking the Cathedral is the Glasgow Necropolis. The Necropolis is a Victorian-era cemetery with more than 50,000 recorded burials since 1832. Though not formally associated with the Cathedral, it adds to the ambiance.

Next door to the Cathedral is the St. Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art. It's free and has free restrooms, so of course we visited. It's a small and eclectic collection of items related to the religious life of all faiths. Religion appears to be far out of mind for most Scots these days, and the museum seems to be trying to explain to visitors why it has been so important throughout history.

Across the street from the museum is Provand's Lordship (an odd name that wasn't clearly explained), billed as the oldest house in Glasgow. It is also a free museum, and quite interesting. It was probably built as a manse (or parsonage) for the bishop or some other official of the Cathedral. But it's had all sorts of owners and uses over the last 600 or so years. Part of the ground floor was used as a shop selling various goods. At one point the back yard was an herb garden, the produce of which was sold in the shop for medicinal purposes. There is some evidence that Mary, Queen of Scots, lived here, at least briefly -- as did a string of other nobles and notables. The furnishings are not original to the building, but many date back to the 16th or 17th centuries.

Having shot the morning chasing Mungo and company, we returned to the same Indian restaurant where we had enjoyed a very good meal last week on our first day in Scotland, and had a very good lunch. Then we chilled until evening, when we located a traditional pub for a libation and people-watching.