Brom

Last week I met my friend who graciously showed me around her hometown of Birmingham. I had heard a lot about it, as far as I can tell, Birmingham really gets a bad rep. I found it to be pretty interesting; full of shops, history, art, and industry like any good European city.
We stopped in the modern art gallery, Ikon, where I didn't understand anything that was going on. We also went through the symphony hall, the war memorial, and to the other art gallery to see an exhibit of old photographs of the city.
A large portion of the city center is pedestrianized, making it very pleasant to walk through. Now, to the "pincushion" (pictured above). I got the feeling that the city has mixed feelings about it, and my environmentalist guide could barely look at it without needing a place to be sick.
I think it's kind of cool looking, which is high praise for a building that contains a giant shopping mall. I also think it's a little out of place, virtual yards from the undoubtedly beautiful St. Martins church.
After getting a quick view of the mall (it has a Krispy Kreme shop where one doughnut was £1.50!) and enjoying the detailed interior of the church, we went onto the immense Bull Ring Market. I don't know why, but I love markets. Especially the beautifully arranged fresh fruit and veg and the nerve wracking atmosphere of everyone shouting different deals in every direction. Oh, and the horribly fascinating array of meats at the butcher stands. Beef tongue? Tripe!?

Well, anyway, I enjoyed Birmingham, and since it only cost me £3.10 to take the train to get there, I am sure a return visit is in order. Oh, and speaking of the train. What brilliance! How fun! How confusing! I bought an open return, and happily collected my tickets from a fancy machine at the Cov station. I got there easily enough, (it is only two stops) but the return was a bit confusing. I walked confidently into the station, clutching my ticket, pretended for a full five minutes that I, (like everyone else there) knew what I was doing. It wasn't too long before I realized that I had no idea what I was doing. Trains were going everywhere, in every direction, and at least one was leaving all the time! (the one I needed? who knew?!)
More seasoned riders were running to their platforms, casually reading magazines, or buying overpriced sodas while I was wandering around reading timetables that might as well have been in Mandarin. After a while, Coventry flashed up on the noticeboard I happened to be staring at, and I immediately went to that platform. Now I was the confident one, listening to mp3s and having a snack, calmly waiting. Or at least I was for a few minutes. Doubt seeped in and I realized that I was only allowed to ride on a Virgin train, and the one I was waiting for was not run by Virgin. So I dashed back up the stairs, found the correct platform and made it there just in time. Now who's a master of the train system?!