My second day in Liverpool

Me and my boyfriend started our second day in Liverpool around 10 a.m. in the morning and went to the city centre, so we could explore the rest of the museums in Liverpool. However, first, we went to the shopping centre Liverpool ONE and then went searching for the statues of the Beatles.

Liverpool ONE

Liverpool ONE was the biggest shopping centre in Liverpool with more than a hundred shops spread around, where you can buy almost everything. That’s why we went there, as we wanted to purchase some sportswear from the shops, as it was a big sale at that time. There we found a couple of huge shops with all sorts of sportswear that were selling its commodities for less than ten euros, which was quite cheap, especially if you are buying some high-quality fabrics.

There were also many cosmetics shops with organic cosmetics, fashion brand shops like Zara, Mango and Victoria’s Secret. In addition to that, on the second floor, there were many restaurants, pubs and cafes where one could enjoy some fine meals and drinks after shopping all day.

Eventually, we bought some high-quality sports shoes and headed to the search for any trace from the Beatles’ statues.

The John Lennon Statue at Mathew Street in Liverpool

Right after shopping at the Liverpool ONE we headed to find the statue of the famous singer John Lennon, who was also a vocalist of the Beatles in the beginning. It took us around twenty minutes to get there, but it was quite easy to find it, as it was at the beginning of Mathew Street in Liverpool and was made entirely of bronze. The statue was showing John Lennon casually leaning on the wall next to the Cavern Club, which was the pub where the Beatles were performing often. This statue was a famous spot for lots of tourists and fans of the Beatles that were coming here just to take a picture with it.

Actually, the street was quite nice and full of many Irish pubs, restaurants and shops selling Beatles inspired cups, t-shirts, small gifts and magnets.

The Beatles Statue in Liverpool

Then, we headed to the coast of Liverpool and more specifically to its famous docks. There we found the other famous statue in the city of Liverpool, the statue of the Beatles, where the four musicians were replicated walking. The statue was quite big and made out of bronze-like material. As far as I understood, it was donated by the Cavern Club, where they used to perform at the beginning of their career. Looking at these statues, I understood, how much they meant to the people of this city and how much they worshipped them. It was quite fascinating and absolutely deserved, as the Beatles are incredibly talented and produced some awesome music back in the days.

The Museum of Liverpool

Afterwards, we headed straight to the Museum of Liverpool, which was close to the statue of the Beatles. The Museum of Liverpool was housed in a huge futuristic building with huge windows overlooking the docks, the river and the city. Its entrance was looking straight at the river, so it was quite easy to find it. When we entered we found ourselves in a huge spacious hall where we found the information desk, along with the cafes and shops. There was no admission to the Museum of Liverpool, thus we headed straight to the first floor by going up the stairs and started our exploration.

We first entered into the section that was presenting the history of Liverpool. It was bringing you back in time when the prehistoric men were strolling on these lands around six thousand years ago. In the section, there were many recreations of their houses, the tools that they used to catch their prey and their clothing. Along with that, there were concise explanations of how they were living in the Merseyside land and what type of food they were gathering there. It was a quite interesting experience, especially when you realize how ancient the city of Liverpool is.

Next to it, there were many artefacts from the Middle Ages, when the city started growing and expanding. During that period, the city was known as one of the main and most important ports in the British Empire. It was also the port, where most of the slave trade was done, so Liverpool was quite a busy city back in the days. There were many artefacts related to that period like cutlery, various hand-painted bowls brought from Japan and China, fine fabrics and weapons that were used for self-defence back then.

One of the things that caught my attention in that section was the interactive map that was created. Its idea was to show how the city was growing throughout the years and who were its inhabitants and how many. Thus, it was quite interesting to look at it and learn more and more with every map that was coming up.

On the same floor, there was a section for the Soldier’s Regimen, which was dedicated to the professional soldiers that participated in the wars that the United Kingdom was taking part in. It was very interesting to learn that the British Empire was hiring professional soldiers and training them for its own protection. This whole process started at the end of the seventeenth century and lasts until this very day. This section was also quite interactive and there were places where you could listen to soldiers talking about the World Wars and military uniforms you could wear. Thus it was quite funny to try on different military hats. There were also military arsenal and various weapons used by the British Army, which was put in a huge collection held behind huge glass windows.

Then, we headed to the second floor where was the People’s Gallery, which was dedicated to the people of Liverpool and their life. There were many items that were dedicated to Liverpool’s football team, clothing of the aristocrats from the nineteenth century and next to the huge window there was the huge Liver Bird, which was the symbol of the city. The view from that point of the museum was quite fascinating as we could see the docks, as well as the famous Royal Liver Building with its huge clock on top of the tower. This was once the highest building in the whole of Europe, which was built at the beginning of the twentieth century. Looking at it from here, it looked like an architectural masterpiece with its massive tower and the huge Liver bird on its top.

In addition, to that section, there were many rooms that recreated different parts of the city of Liverpool years ago, along with the improvised court in the poor neighbourhoods of the city. It looked like a small stage where the local judge was making the decisions as per the laws of the neighbourhood. Those types of courts were used mainly in the neighbourhoods where the people were quite poor and uneducated.

On the last floor, we encountered a temporary collection of photographs and belongings of John Lennon, which was gathered by his partner Yoko Ono. It was a very nice collection memorizing the great musician by presenting one of his most beloved belongings. At the end of the room, there was a huge wall painted with his face where people were leaving sticky notes with wishes or messages, which was very touching.

After that, we headed down to the ground floor of the museum to check out the collection of the Port of Liverpool. There were many machines that were used to help the workers at the port, were put on display. Among them, there were many trains, cranes and many other steam-powered machines.

Then, we entered into the next section, which was dedicated to the various neighbourhoods in Liverpool, like the Chinese one. There were many artefacts gathered by the first Chinese settlers in Liverpool, along with family trees showing their heirs. Eventually, we ended our long trip to the Museum of Liverpool there and headed to the next museum in Liverpool.

The Merseyside Maritime Museum in Liverpool

The Maritime Museum in Liverpool was a huge building covered with the specific red bricks that most of the British houses were covered with. Its main purpose was to explain the maritime journeys of the people of Liverpool. Again, there was no admission to enter the museum, but you could leave a donation to the museum when you are leaving, so they can maintain it.

When we entered the museum we headed down to its underground floor, which was dedicated to the black markets trade, drug trade and emigrants. It was a very interesting part of the museum, as it was revealing how the trade was done under the counter for many years and is still an issue. Another interesting part of the floor was the drug trade, which was explained in detail. There were also many exhibits that were gathered from drug crimes along with money and drugs hidden in the horns of animals, guitars, books and even inside people, which was recreated with mannequins. The emigrants' section was dedicated to the people that were travelling to the New World and more specifically, the country of Australia, the States and New Zealand. In that part of the floor, the stories of many people were told, both sad and happy ones, showing both sides of the coin that come when you make such decisions.

Then, we continued to the first floor, where we had the chance to learn more about the Lusitania ship. Lusitania was one of the biggest liner ships when it was built at the beginning of the twentieth century. It was also one of the fastest passenger ships transporting thousands of people from the United Kingdom to New York. Unfortunately, during World War I it was torpedoed by the Germans killing more than a thousand people. Both America and the United Kingdom were devastated and declared war on Germany, as a response to that tragedy.

While walking on the floor, there was lots of information spread everywhere explaining the way the ship was built and how powerful it was. Along with it, there was another famous ship called Mauretania, which was also a passenger ship sailing through the Atlantic Ocean. Both of the ships were incredible creations for that period of time and this could be seen by the models that were put in the sector, showing every part of the ship. They had everything a passenger would need and even more, so it was quite fascinating to know that back in the days the shipbuilding was quite developed. Then, there were the little models of the planes and warships used in World War II, which were extensively used for destruction of the enemy.

After that, we went upstairs to the next collection of huge ships, among which was Titanic. To me it was quite strange, that Titanic was added at the Liverpool Maritime Museum, but as soon as I started reading the information on the walls, it came clear to me why it was added to the museum. Although Titanic was built in Belfast and left on its voyage from Southampton, it was registered in Liverpool, as the company that was building it was operating there at the time. In that section, the story of that fateful night was extensively retold in a mini cinema in the middle of the floor. The story was retold in much more detail and with new evidence of that horrible night. Honestly, I couldn’t bear to watch it, as this story always brings tears to my eyes, because it is truly devastating. However, going further I learned that the captain of the ship was born in Liverpool and lived there almost his entire life and also the musicians were recruited in Liverpool, which was quite interesting.

Eventually, we entered into the Slavery museum of Liverpool, which was on the upper floor. At first, it was showing the life of the Igbo people, who were inhabiting the West of Africa. There were many houses that were recreated in that museum, along with clothing, weapons, such as spears and pottery. In addition to that, a lot of rituals performed by the Igbo people were explained and streamed on little monitors.

At the end of the Slavery Museum, there is lots of information on the crossing of the Middle Passage or the path between the West of Africa to America. It was telling the story in details and how the people that were enslaved were treated, which was quite horrible. Thus, if you don’t want to get emotional it is better to skip this part of the museum.

This is how we finished our walk around the museums of Liverpool by stepping outside and to the famous docks of Liverpool.

Royal Albert Dock of Liverpool

The Royal Albert Dock of Liverpool is a sort of enclosed dock with many small boats spread around it. It is right next to the Maritime Museum of Liverpool and was built in the middle of the nineteenth century. It was also used as a warehouse to gather all of the commodities brought from afar. Nowadays, it is used more as a gathering place for fishermen selling their fresh catch. However, there are also lots of restaurants and cafes around overlooking the river, so it is a pretty nice place to chill after a long day of strolling around the city of Liverpool.

My second day in Liverpool was not as harsh as the first one, but it was for sure not easy, as we had to walk a lot around the museums and the city. Even though we were extremely exhausted in the end, we were very satisfied with what we saw during the day and the memories that we made.  

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