Day 32: Aberdeen

Steve,  who often kindly comments on my blog suggested that all this travelling, meeting new people and seeing so much, could be sensory overload.

Steve you are so right and today I had had enough.

Against my better judgement (and my intuition,) I went into Aberdeen. I intended to do what I usually do - park up in a residential area and walk around to get the feel of the place.

I drove around the residential areas, and either was so far away from the city I was almost back in the country, or it was metered parking with two hour maximum stay.

So a car park then. Aberdeen has lots of multi storey car parks but the city signage is appalling so I kept missing them and finding myself swept up in fast traffic heading back to the outskirts of town.

Eventually I got into one at Union Square, a large temple to Mammon in the centre.

It was a bit surreal as there was a sound loop going on in the car park: bird song, waterfalls and new age plinky plonk music played so softly it was almost subliminal. It was actually lovely. There is something similar at Amsterdam airport intended to calm the nervous flier. This probably was supposed to have much the same effect - hypnotise the shopper into parting with their money. You can tell that I am not a fan of shopping centres, far preferring independent shops on high streets, but I must say I was reluctantly impressed with this one. Every kind of food outlet, but in  proper restaurant units  rather than mass food halls feeding the population in public. I did like the free phone charging machines too.

There were high end shops as in recent years there has been lots of oil money coming into the city. Not right now though, as oil prices world wide have fallen and it has hit Aberdeen too. I saw lots of brand new office blocks just outside the city all empty.

Once I got out of the rarefied atmosphere of the shopping centre I tried to find some of the attractions on my list of 'must see must do'.

This church is now a cocktail bar which most people might have thought was rather cool! Shades of a black mass for me.

I also saw massive ships - Aberdeen is a major port

And a ferry going to the Scottish islands

but as a tourist on foot I found the city impenetrable. I couldn't even find the Old Town.

Feeling all I needed was to lie down in the car park and listen to the soothing sounds, I gave up and called it a day.

Even the cows in the fields on the way back to the farm I am staying in, were lying down and chilling.

Good idea. Thank you Steve!