Birmingham; Sunday, 19 December, 2010

The snow had stopped falling and the sun was trying to breakthrough when I got up. I had a quick breakfast and then wandered out to the bus stop to pick up the bus to the Botanical gardens out in Edgbaston.

I have a very long wander around the gardens; being one of the first people on site I had the magical sight of the almost pristine snow over the spacious grounds. After taking in the grounds I warmed myself back up in the glass houses before heading back into town.

Next up was the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, but, as it is right by the Frankfurt market, there was just time for a quick pit stop for “Ein bratwurst Bitte!”

I spent a very long time going round the museum as there was an awful lot to see, and that was with an entire floor closed for redevelopment. The key attraction was the Staffordshire Hoard; a massive find of Anglo Saxon gold discovered the previous year and now part of the permanent collection of the museum.

After leaving the museum I had a bit of a wander around the centre of Birmingham, which was a slightly surreal experience. I’ve been to Berlin several times so know my way around the city quite well, but I’ve always come as a tourist. This was the first time I had wandered round Birmingham as a tourist, but I’ve been up to Birmingham for work so many times I know the city centre pretty well, but it was amazing the number of things I noticed when I was just wandering around rather than trying to get to or from a meeting.

My wandering took me back to the Cathedral which I had a wander around before heading back to the hotel to freshen up before heading back out for a bite to eat and a late wander around the market just before it closed for the evening.