Before anyone asks, this is not about the Paul Hogan character, but it is about a Scottish city we had not visited before and it was part of our road trip. Dundee sites on the mouth of the River Tay. It is traditionally known for Jute, Jam (or maybe marmalade) and Journalism.
Some of that former industry has gone, but media company D.C. Thomson and still there and best known for the Dandy and Beano comics that I read as a kid. In the centre are statues of Desperate Dan and Minnie The Minx.
Our first stop was the fairly new Victoria and Albert museum. It is a very striking modern building and is much smaller than the old London branch.
Having done a local parkrun I was ready for a coffee and cake so we went in their cafe. It seemed right to have some Dundee Cake. There are terraces where you can go out to enjoy the view of the river as well as the long road and rail bridges. There was a famous rail accident in Victorian times when the old rail bridge collapsed during a storm as a train passed over and all on board were killed.
There were various exhibitions. One was about art and disability and another on the Maggie's cancer care centres that have some cool architecture.
It is free to go in the museum, but there was an exhibition on fashion that you had to buy tickets for. We skipped that, but a lot of people were queuing up for it. There is a permanent exhibition of Scottish arts and design that had all sorts of things, including some of the previously mentioned comics.
These stands for whisky bottles were designed by various architects.
Next to the V&A is Discovery Point where you can explore an early Antarctic exploration ship that was used by Scott and Shackleton before they both had their own trips that ended in disaster, fatally for Scott.
There is lots in the museum about that trip, but also about sea exploration in general. On the top floor is a panoramic film about the city and when it finishes the screen go up so you can see the current city. Then you can go on board the actual ship. It is currently being worked on, but you can go around the rest.
We had a wander around the city centre and came to the McManus museum. This is a more traditional museum about the history of the city. We had a brief look around as they were about the close.
Several games companies have been based there including those responsible for one of my favourites Lemmings as well as Grand Theft Auto. We popped into Dundee Contemporary Arts that had some art on display, but was also hosting some sort of gaming event. I think companies were showing off new games, but I am very out of touch with that world these days.
Some of the restaurants in town were busy and we ended up at a Turkish one that was nice. Then we walked back to the car that was parked by the old docks. There was a music festival going on that seemed to involve some tribute bands. We heard some songs by the 'Kaiser Chiefs'. In the docks we saw HMS Unicorn that is another museum on an old ship, but that was shut by then.
We did not see all that Dundee has to offer, but it was interesting and worth a stop.
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So you could say the tour of Dundee was a piece of cake😀
When we think about the Scott and Shackleton expeditions it boggles the mind how poorly they were dressed. Oilskin coats may keep the water out but they must have been in a freezing cold condition.
It's amazing how Shackleton managed to save everyone. Epic endurance.
I guess they had the state of the art then, but they were on a 3 year trip and had to take all they needed with some stops along the way. It's a pretty small ship to face the open ocean. Brave men.
The southern ocean is incredibly ferocious even for today's Antarctic ships. They certainly were brave to take on even the ocean let alone the Antarctic. Amazing people.
We have a town called Dundee too, but it is where there is a huge sporting goods store called Cabela's. People come from all over to visit it.
I think a lot of Scots went to the US and Canada so took their place names with them. My home town is Bedford and there's a couple of those in the US. Sometimes the new place ends up bigger than the original.
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Did i really miss #hivefest happened? How was it?
I didn't go and I have not seen much about it apart from some posts by @jza. I hope there will be some videos and more details.
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STOPWhat a comprehensive tour of the city of Dundee, @steevc The blend of naval history, modern architecture, and comic book culture makes it a super interesting destination.