There are two ways to introduce a city.

I can tell you that Nottingham is a city in the East Midlands of England and that tt is best known from Robin Hood's legend and for its lace market. It is also the most haunted city in England (maybe it is just because of all that illuminated students...), and has about 300.000 inhabitants, with 60.000 students.

 Now it is just enough of the official information. Right now I would like to give you a glimpse of the everyday life of the city, and tell you some cheerful little secrets that you cannot find in the Wikipedia article. 

The town has a statue of Robin Hood next to the castle, and hundreds of people walk past it every day. It is a wonderful place to read, to meet a date, to relay or just to listen to music. And as a fact, kids always try to steal the arrow, as it brings good luck to the one owning it.

There is a vibrating and exciting city centre just past the statue, which is full of people all day long. But after 6 o'clock, all the shops close, and everyone goes home. And then there is a little window from around 7 and 10 o'clock when the town gets some rest: the people are already gone home from work, and the students are still preparing for the night at their home.

There is a little surprise for you just around every corner. Ye olde trip to Jerusealem (which is the oldest Inn in England, established in 1182) hides just around the corner of Castle Boulevard, and it is always filled with urious touirsts who are dieing to hear one of the Inn's many ghost stories (it actually has 3 really good ones, which can be told during a pint of fine ale)

 And last but not least there is the university district, which is always so busy and vibrant. The trams and buses make it look alive, and the students are always hurrying across the streets to get to their lesson, or just to get a coffe in their free time. 

 The Nottingham Trent University, my Erasmus institution

 All in all if cities had reciepies, that's how Nottingham's would look like:

take 1 part of modern architecture and high quality public transport, mix it with 2 parts of students (half native-half foreigner) and 4 parts of citizens. Then add some historical hints as a delicate seasoning, and top the whole with a nice spoonfull of Robin Hood. Leave it to rest for 3 hours (and it makes the result even more delicate if you do it between 7 and 10 PM), then add a cup of cheerfull little everyday-life secrets as a topping...

And here you have it: You just made your very own Nottingham. Enjoy!

 I hope you liked my article, here you can my previous articles.