Welcome to Wales! Or for the Welsh speakers out there: Croeso i Gymru!
Yes, dear readers, it's Part 3 of Our Excellent U.K. Adventure! (Oh and title is "Fun in Cardiff) After seeing England and Scotland, we decided to make it an even three for three and we took a huge National Express coach bus to Cardiff, the capital of Wales. Although I was little nervous as we waited for the National Express bus to arrive, the trip there and back was easy, pleasant, and best of all - cheap! If you want to travel around England, the coach bus services are cheap way to get where you want to go.
The first thing I noticed as I woke up on the bus ride from London was that all the street signs were in Welsh! We found our hostel - this adorable little place called the Riverside Backpackers (I highly recommend going there! The place was adorable and the staff were so, so nice!). We checked in and then chilled out a bit. We were less than 5 minutes from the city center and the castle, so we took a little stroll.
Unfortunately, my Welsh is a bit shaky.
The Victorian owners of the Cardiff Castle built a second,
decorative wall covered in stone animals.
So were native to Wales...
others, not so much...
A hyena!
A sea lion!
A cute bear..
And a lioness!
The castle was closed by the time we arrived on the first day,
so we headed into town.
The next morning we set out for the Welsh National History Museum. It was a super cool, very kid-friendly, interactive museum. The coolest part was definitively the journey from the Big Bang to the Ice Age. They had fun videos and displays showing all the developments in Wales throughout these violate areas.
Wales was home to several species of dinosaurs, especially aquatic ones, as Wales was underwater a lot during Earth's rebellious puberty. Naturally, the exhibit on the Jurassic Age and the Ice Age were the coolest - they had robotic dinosaurs and woolly mammoths that moved and made noises. Will and I both screamed a bit when the baby woolly mammoth robot moved for the first time!
We had a lot of fun and I would highly recommend going, especially into the very cool exhibit on Welsh history.
The Welsh Parliament!
Street signs pointing us back to the castle
in English, Welsh, and graffiti.
The Cardiff Castle has a complex and convoluted history. It was originally a small Roman fort, which now sits in the middle of the courtyard of the castle area. Scholars estimate the fort was probably built around 55 AD. Then in the 1000s, a Norman keep was built around and above the Roman fort. William the Conqueror's son, Robert, attempted to take over the Norman keep, but failed. Robert was imprisoned and died there. After the English took over Wales and made it a Principality (unlike Scotland, which is a kingdom), the Castle fell into disrepair. Then during the industrial boom, which made Cardiff one of the capitals of coal exportation, John Stuart (the 3rd Earl of Bute) developed Cardiff into a modern city. He also bought and renovated the Cardiff Castle. Stuart added on his own personal mansion and ornate clock tower.
After you pay for your ticket, you go through the main castle gates and then up to the Visitor's Center. We watched a totally campy movie about the history of the castle. We could then walk through the thick outer wall, which was used as a bomb shelter during the air raids of WWII. Eventually, we climbed above the outer wall and walked along it, listening to audio tour guide as we went.
Hey there Will!
The keep, the moat, and in the distance,
the Millennium Stadium!
The moat - sans crocodiles
The tower of the Victorian Manor
The keep was flying the Red Welsh Dragon flag!
The Manor's style is confused, to say the least.
Downtown Cardiff
Is that what I think it is?
Yep, it's a catapult!
Oh look at that!
My two favorite countries side by side!
We were there for the first daffodil bloom!
Another shot of the Victorian manor and the clock tower.
Continuing the trend of blogging giant gun whose name
I don't know.
Will's impressed though!
Another gaggle of school children stalked us
The moat is a scary place
And up the stairs we go!
Practice your latest archery moves here!
I'm getting vertigo.
Looking back over the courtyard!
Meanwhile, inside the keep...
It's not just perspective, they were scary steep!
See, told you so.
The Cardiff skyline is highly industrial and foggy.
After the tour of the keep, we wandered around the courtyard grounds. We ran into the the falconer and his birds on the left side of the Keep. The birds are trained to live near the ground and they just chill on their perches.
A great horned owl
A little falcon
Two eagles, looking fierce.
They were not feeling photogenic today!
This barn owl is adorable!
After seeing the birds of prey, we decided we were hungry too! We stopped into the Castle Cafe for lunch. We got a bowl of Welsh cawl - a hearty lamb stew with veggies paired with Welsh cheese.
It was amazingly delicious!
After seeing the castle, we strolled down the main pedestrian street into the Victorian Arcades, which have nothing to do with Pac-Man. The Victorian Arcades are Cardiff's historic indoor shopping malls. They are all interconnected by little passage ways. If you love shopping and unique little stores, this is the place for you!
The 6 Nations Rugby Tournament was
happening while we were there and
Cardiff was displaying all the flags.
An entrance into the Victorian arcades!
Cardiff is also home to many famous television shows from the U.K! The BBC's Drama Village is on the outskirts of town, by Cardiff Bay. We decided to walk down there and see what was happening.
The Millennium Center is used for theater productions
and art exhibits.
The historical society building by Cardiff Bay
If you're a Dr. Who fan, you know where we are!
We had to pick the foggiest day, didn't we?!
Roald Dahl, author of Charlie and Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and my personal favorite, Matilda, was born a Welshman!
The BBC drama Village in the distance
WWII Memorial.
Somehow the idea of cognates isn't working here...
Will was bummed we couldn't find a blue police
box (or even better the TARDIS).
Unfortunately, the Dr. Who museum was closed for renovations so we didn't get to go in! But this year is the 50th anniversary of Dr. Who! Check out the video below:
Overall, Cardiff was beautiful and fun! We had a great time and I wish we could have spent more time there. If you want to go shopping, skip London and come here instead!
UP NEXT: We return to Germany and I give you tips on German wine!
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