shylustig

A welcome sign to help Bicyclists – An air station in Glasgow

Coming from a recent trip to the cycling mad country of Germany, it was a pleasant surprise, to see the below “Wee Repair Station” outside of Gartnaval Hospital, in the west side of Glasgow.

Wee Repair Station

I’ve yet to see these elsewhere, though of course they no doubt are, but find these to be both needed and an encouraging sign that help is on the way for any struggling cyclists, in need of air.

Even instructions!

But what is strange, is that these are not by the Glasgow authorities, but, I believe, installed by Sustrans?

If so, more please.

Tchai Ovna, Tea House / Café, West End, Glasgow, Scotland

Have been here simply NOT enough times over the years, but when in attendance, I always think – why not? They have an incredible selection of rare teas, in a gigantic pot!

Tchai Ovna, down an alleyway in Glasgow’s West End, on the banks of the Clyde river

It’s down an alley that if you didn’t know, you would never expect a café to be. Though there are signs around the corner that do state there is a café here.

Signs directing you to Tchai Ovna.

I decided, been here before but didn’t partake, finally to have a sharing, Middle East platter with a friend, and it was beautiful.

Middle East platter to share

It did what it said it would do, and with a pot of Darjeeling, a huge pot to share, it was more than sufficient to pass away a couple of hours, amongst an eclectic mix of people; vegans, students, artisans, etc.

It is also available for dinner reservations.

Have already planned my next visit.

5/5

Eusebi Deli, West End, Glasgow, Scotland – Best Pizza dough on Earth

One of my main beefs with pizza and specifically with “thin and crispy” or even non-thin pizzas, is that the dough, even after baking, is ALWAYS soggy and wet in the middle! Always!

Bianco Pizza (Béchamel base, potato, parmesan, rosemary & gremolata and Salad – Interesting

So when I was here at Eusebis yesterday, in the West End of Glasgow, and was told that the particular type of dough / pizza was the best in the world(?), I thought let’s try it. Boy, it is!

Firstly, the pizza itself, Potato Pizza?, was excellent; who would’ve thought? The accompanying side salad was different as well, with some form of attention paid in its creation – even with apple slices.

Service perfect and personal, even when it was actually quite busy both inside and outside in the late Sunday afternoon.

5/5 – Will go again, though have been here before, but this is the first time since pre-Covid

This Week – Reminiscing from Bavaria / Germany and More!

One of the things that I see on my many trips to Europe, is the quantity of cheaper, as in MUCH cheaper, alcohol.

Not wanting to get into any debate or arguments here about the nanny state in the UK, but to state facts – the alcohol has much less tax on it in Germany than here in the UK; and it seems to work out just fine.

The excise rates can be seen here. And above in the graph, with it not taking a genius to see that this merely confirms what I said above.

And this is what I saw again the past month. Please look at these two photos that I took in a hyper market in Bavaria.

And your eyes are not deceiving you here! That’s correct, bottles of wine from €1.49, or to state in pounds, about £1.15!

Jawohl!

Bavaria and some of the Food – So much better than the reputation

Interesting, I was watching Saturday Kitchen yesterday on the BBC, and was fascinated by a Rick Stein interview of a Duke there in Andalucía, who thought British food was very underrated.

The same I feel for German food, and specifically, Bavarian cuisine that is available at many breweries and guest houses / restaurants.

It’s just something that they do very well with basic food. Note that the potato salad has very little mayo in it – it’s not a heavy, sticky food; though of course I know it’s not completely healthy as well.

Topped off with a culture of beer gardens, it’s a treasure to take part in.

Somehow it all just fits.

New Week, more from Germany, and some more Glasgow Street Art –

Don’t have a bit of talent when it comes to art, but have simply always loved murals – we’ve more and more here, th0ugh they’re probably more correctly referred to as street art in these days. So during a recent walk to the city centre, I came across two more examples of this type of genre.

The above from a “michaelam.art”. Is this their “tag”:

And the below, in the Garnethill part of the western city centre.

Which may have a tag in the extreme upper, left hand corner, but is not readable.

I will say, that both appear to have a lot of pink in them! Who knows, maybe it serves a purpose here in Glasogw, due to the incredibly dark days that we have during our winter.

Later in the week, more from Germany (Bavaria) and from various restaurants / cafes I’ve been to lately.

279 Café Bistro, West End, Glasgow – Another veggie Burger – Different!

I must have walked by here several thousand times, another place that was on my list, and finally went in this week to see just what it has to offer. Equally, with a bistro vibe, it also happens to be one of the few restaurants in this area of the West End that is open late.

The décor and food were spot on, and had a lovely chat with the head waiter / proprietor about Corona, opening hours, strategy for day or night diners, etc.

I once again went for a non-meat burger, and was surprised that there were two choices (and staples in this type of food); haloumi or bean burger – I chose the former and also decided to have it “with cheese”; that the waiter and myself laughed about – a cheese burger, with more cheese!

It was lovely, healthy and the stack of chips was like a Rubik’s cube. The addition of avocado was an added plus.

4 /5 – Recommended

Will also in the near future, try their night menu.

This week – Germany, other things, but wait, another, new Chinese Cafe’ we have in Glasgow

And what a name and quote to go with it:

I Love You Desserts – 23 Byres Road,Glasgow

“The world is a little bitter, I want to give you a little Sweet” – how darling!

I will have to check this place out, as I just LOVE sweets and note that this is hopefully another triumph here in the West End, and will add even more to the variety here and to the variety of the recent explosion of Chinese eateries in this particular area.

First Few Days in Franconia, Bavaria –

You know, at times, the same problems that we endure in the UK, are very present in modern Germany.

The “day trip” here, from Glasgow to Franconia (via Frankfurt) was a fiasco, with delayed and missed flights, and cancelled trains, but in the end I got to Bavaria.

But several things were noticed:

* Free COVID test centres for the “schnell Tests”

Quick Test cabin for COVID – Free of Charge

* Elaborate directions on how to stay safe.

“Help us to stem the further spread of Corona” or something like that!

* And as very often here, two twin beds, that are put together to form a double.

More doubles made from twins – Very Practical

I’ll blog more this week and next from this great “Land”.

Week Ahead; I go to Europe next week!

Not done too much travelling recently, but am still eating at a variety of Glasgow restaurants / cafes. More on both later in the week.

Equally, one of these places to eat, was at none other than one of Glasgow’s fine NHS hospitals, as I had surgery the past week – I had the meatballs, that although looked terrible, tasted beautiful! 10/10

In addition, particularly in these almost post-COVID days, I noticed a smaller chapel / place of quiet room, that seemed to me to be just what the doctor ordered. It was spacious enough, open to all beliefs / faiths, and looked to be something (quiet), and that should be encouraged – but both times I was there, it was empty!

I despair, but will blog a bit more later. And who knows, maybe it will be a review of more NHS food!