5 Favorite things about Wales || Americans in Wales
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- čas přidán 10. 09. 2024
- Danielle talks about the Schaefer's favorite things about Wales (the country, not the mammal! ). While we are stuck at home now, it is fun to remember the trips from the past and long for our next chance to visit the beautiful land of Wales!
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I love you guys but don't you think you should rethink the title of this video?
We've renamed the video! Thanks for the input! You (and others) were right. It was confusing, and not getting the meaning across we were hoping
was it spelt whales before ?😂
@@SchaeferFamilyAdventure Wales as a whole does not get much more rain than England the misconception comes because 3 of the 5 places in the UK with the highest rainfall are in Wales (the other 2 are and 4 more of the top 10 are Scotland and the Peak District is the other) you'll find also except 1 or 2 in Scotland they are all mountainous regions. The next Rainiest place in England is Manchester I only mention this as if you travel 90ish miles West from Manchester in a straight line you are in Anglesey one of the least rained on areas (islanders believe it's because the Snowdonia mountains attract the clouds scientists also believe rain falls more around mountains) actually a great phenomenon being in a sunny Anglesey beach watch it rain on the mountains in the distance, even treatments never ever seeing it snow from childhood until I was 21 yet the mountains 20 miles away were covered
@@SchaeferFamilyAdventure also it's a tricky one but Wales has 1 official language Welsh, due to English occupation English has become a defacto language by conquest. 90%+ of WELSH people speak Welsh, being bilingual is just an advantage for us, and despite our English neighbours calling us thick is a matter of pride, from an early age we can speak 2 languages (we also learn Spanish, French Italian and even Romanian much faster due to the Latin origin of all and similar words)
@@TomGodson95 No - although that’s what the English called it. Our country is Cymru and the language is Cymraeg.
Coolest flag and coolest national anthem. "Hen wlad fy nhadu" is so beautiful.
@GETH don't be twp, mochyn bach
@GETH Newt wrong with a bit of Nationalistic Pride. On this Isle we are all brothers and sisters. There has been many a Welshman who has died serving this nation as there has been Scott, English and N.Irish. Don't forget it is the "Welsh Guards" that guard "The Queen".
@GETH does dim genni y amynedd I siarad I rhywun fel ti. Anwybodus iawn.
Thanks , love from wales 🏴
@@BernardWilkinson Yep, God Bless Her! It's the Politicians we don't like see, The Queen can stay where she is! As for Nationalistic Pride, It's Patriotism For Home is all. Wales and Britain as a whole, Right? We're All one Nation when the Dictators start Goose steppin' I'm sure, if you add it up and include Ollie Cromwell, That Britain has beaten up more Modern Dictatorships than any other Country, Is that Right? From Napoleon to Hitler, that Argentinian chap! Saddam Hussein also, right?
National anthemn is incredible. Try hearing that sung at a sporting event.. Im English but hearing that sung at the millennium stadium is so much more powerful than god save the queen
Us Welsh people are very proud and passionate about our country and videos like this and seeing peoples comments about wales fills us with soo much more pride and it warms me to see peoples appreciation for our country, thank you for this video 🏴❤️
As a Welshman living in England, I always love seeing how others view my home land. Thank you for spreading the word .
Hearing you speak about our country like this give me a warm feeling of pride. We definitely appreciate u taking your time to visit and give such a accurate review and llongyfarchiadau 🏴
Iawn mate
@woozle Well this may be bad to start you off, but "Llongyfarchiadau" means "Congratulations."
I am NOT going to try and spell out the pronunciation.
Cymru am byth 🏴
A good place to start is learn the alphabet.
I am English but I love Wales! I used to have a job which took me to south and west Wales at least once a week. Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion all great places to visit.
Totally agree.
I am English and used to visit South Wales a lot as a child as I had relatives living there and seeing Welsh on road signs used to scare me as a 6 year old! It's so unusual compared to English but as a Celtic language it's much older than English. I can laugh at it now. I recently visited Harlech and the surrounding area, Wales is so empty compared to much of England with lots of amazing, tucked away places and lovely empty beaches, a beautiful country that doesn't shout about itself enough.
ABSOLUTELY.
When are you English going to take your National Assembly Back! All they do is row about stationary all day long! Much better being an Anarcho-Syndicalist-Commune with all the politicians all the way over in Whitehall, see. Keep Wales Tidy, throw your litter in England! That's what I say! Ha! You're always welcome over the border, brawd Saesneg!
That's a nice comment but dont shout to loud about Wales. Welsh isnt actually a Celtic language. It's the British language. The English come from Europe and the celts are also European. The Welsh (British) can be traced back more that 50,000 years. England is only a few hundred years old. So yes the Welsh have alot more history. You are correct though Welsh do have celtic words also English words in the modern Welsh language
@@williamtraep2984 why spread misinformation? Welsh IS a Celtic language. Any Google search would proof that. Stick to the talking shit about England pls
I would recommend Pembrokeshire West Wales to anyone I have lived here for 15 years and couldn't imagine living anywhere else.
I came to say the same thing. Pembrokeshire everyday ! Bara Fundle , Marloes , Fresh Water East for just a small selection of the beautiful beaches we have. As for Castles, Pembroke Castle, the birth place of Henry 7th ( 8th’s Father) is stunning.
I live here and I second what you're saying, the coast paths are amazing too
It’s a lovely place I live in saundersfoot and all the coastal paths are lovely
Pembroke is it, in carmarthen my self
And the Gower lovely beaches
God made Scotland from a piece of rough tweed, he made Wales from his green velvet slippers.
Doreen Miller that is a great saying! I’ll have to remember that 😉
As an Englishman I do have to take my hat off to that one
And he gave the Welsh the Language of the Angels
@@eanjamesmogg9488 definitely when spoken by a fluent speaker. Gorgeous language! Learners are a different thing.....they make it sound so rough. Thanks to having to pause to think about what they are going to say.
Truth Before Opinions well atleast they’re learning Welsh they should be praised for keeping our language alive!🏴
The Walsh flag is beautiful. My sister loved going to somewhere she said was called The Black Mountain.
Aberdovey and Barmouth are my favourite places in Wales. Of all the places my kids have travelled to, Turks & Caicos, Spain, Italy and even Disney.....the simplicity of going to wales is by far their favourite holiday!
Thank you for all your kind words and appreciation. Diolch yn fawr!
We've been to Wales on several holidays over the past few years and fell in love with the country.
We mainly visit the area around Machynlleth in Powys. It's a great place to base a holiday on as you're on the edge of the Snowdonia National Park, reasonably close to the coast at places like Aberystwyth and our favoute seaside town of Aberdyfi.
Our favourite Welsh treat is Barra Brith, a lovely rich fruit cake. A slice of that and a cup of tea or coffee always goes down a treat.
Try Welsh cakes, they have to be homemade and lots of caster sugar, yummmmmmy
If you see my cousin Ivor on your travels around Machynlleth, Tell him I haven't forgotten that fiver he still owes me! I'll kick his arse 'til it's Blue. I'll kick him from Machynlleth to Pembroke dock and back! God bless ya!
Im Welsh, I have lived in the North and the South. Thanks for such a heartfelt and honest video :-) Dioloch
Watch out for those killer Wales ;)
I love Wales and I love the Welsh (always up for beer and banter), when mountain biking in North Wales I think that was some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen, and then down south you have the Pembrokeshire coast line etc... lovely.
We have very dangerous killer whales here they are called land whales they like to eat people. 😂😂😂
@@joshua_eardley
😅🤣😂😀🤪👍👍👍🏴🏴🏴
@@joshua_eardley Mostly spotted in the wild lands of Merthyr Tydfil and surrounding valleys. 👀😀
Welsh is essentially a phonetic language and as long as you get the letter sounds right and realise there are mutations when you put certain words together it's not all that difficult. Oh and Welsh has more vowels than English
@t vo Seven vowels.
Learning the Welsh language is more harder than you think, I have lived in Wales all my life and even I find it hard to learn the language
Being a very ancient language the construction is very complicated . It is the second oldest language in Europe . It has changed very little since the Roman occupation . The nouns are easy to learn , but constructing a sentence can be difficult . We do get rain here , but surprisingly not as much as some parts of the US. After say three days of rain , and the sun comes out . The green of the grass is so bright it will hurt your eyes . We do get a lot of visitors here , for my part and I think most will help tourists if we can. If castles are your thing , go to castle Coch .Coch in Welch means red , so it's the red castle .
www.google.co.uk/search?q=castle+coch+cardiff&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=d3Fd830uD35Z0M%252C42sk6DouKGPUzM%252C_&vet=1&usg=K_wScICE-LZYZFYxE8Iqq9BpAimjE%3D&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjU2dmKquLsAhU7ThUIHUceBIIQuqIBMB56BAgZEAM&biw=1439&bih=643#imgrc=d3Fd830uD35Z0M
czcams.com/video/rdI4rTpEfQ0/video.html
Saint Fagans near Cardiff is well worth a visit . They collect buildings , real houses , from Wales to show how life changed down through the centuries . They even have a 13 century church . The inside is painted as it would be at that time . It is very colourful , very different to what you would think it would be.
museum.wales/stfagans/
@@welshpete12 Castell Coch is not really a good example of a proper castle. If in that area you'd be better going to Caerphilly.
@@aldozilli1293 Indeed Castell Coch is just a Victorian mock castle. It's not a real castle at all.
What a lovely video, brought a tear to my eye! (Welsh living in Canada)
Welsh is actually really easy to pronounce, after you have mastered the letters LL and CH, as it is almost completely phonetic.
Yes I have heard that about the number of castles there too.
Thank you for making this :D Love seeing my homeland being mentioned! Diolch yn fawr :D
Wales is an amazing country. I have grown up going to north Wales every year to visit family and I just love it.
Go to Blaenau Ffestiniog, that is where my family are. The piles and piles of slate that are there are quite amazing and the caves that were the mines they have converted into an attraction called Bounce Below, they are big multiple, slightly bouncy nets hanging from the cave walls. Outside there are also zip lines for the adrenaline junky.
Thank you for your lovely comments about Wales. There is a Welsh word that is used to describe a longing to return to Wales (or a strong sense of longing generally) and that is 'hireath'. It is pronounced here-eyeth.
Love that word! We definitely feel it as well!
@bluebirdwales Duw, duw, you're letting the side down - it's spelt 'hiraeth'!
You must visit Gower, can be known as ‘The Gower Peninsula’, but ‘The Gower’ is a no no. King Arthur’s Stone and wild ponies, the fabulous Three Cliff’s Bay, fabulous restaurants, and the best view from any pub in Britain at The Worm’s Head In at Rhossili. Before getting there you stop at one of Britain’s greatest markets at Swansea, and purchase some laverbread and crepnogs before going over to Gower via the small seaside resort of Mumbles; a must do there being an ice cream at Joes.
As a Jack now living in Manchester you've really made me hungry for a Joe's! (and some fresh cockles - bloody hard to find round here)
So glad I fish oxwich bay in the finer months of the year on my inflatable..what a place.👌
john bevan wonderful area in just a few miles - so varied - with a great centre around Cefn Bryn and Arthur’s Seat.
@@keithsowerby8179 it is Keith, sat on my inflatable boat with a pal in shorts n T-shirt on crystal clear water catching fish, with dolphins, seals, jellyfish and even a possibility of a sunfish somewhere.
...certainly worse ways to spend your time.
All true, except I'd add that the best ice-cream is definitely at Verdi's, better quality and far more choice, plus awesome views sitting on the terrace at Knab's Rock.
If you couldn’t tell from my username, I am Welsh, it’s nice to see Wales appreciated, I often feel like within the UK, Wales is tucked away and forgotten about by those who visit the UK because in say the US, Ireland and Scotland seems to be places that are known about and celebrated whereas with Wales that doesn’t seem to be the case, which I am partly surprised about considering after England, it’s probably the country in the UK with the biggest connection to the US historically, far more so than Ireland and Scotland, I don’t know if this is your experience as actual Americans or if I am getting it wrong.
I could go into great detail on the story and history but I will give a short synopsis of maybe the biggest connections.
It now strongly believed amongst historians that America isn’t name after Amerigo Vespucci like it is often taught, but it’s actually named after a Welshman called Richard ap Meryk who funded John Cabot’s exploration and it was his ship that John Cabot used too and in honour of Richard ap Meryk, he named the land he discovered after him.
In Welsh, ap means son of, back before the Welsh adopted the Christian English form of naming, the Welsh didn’t have surnames, they had first names and then son of or daughter of and then their father’s first name. So Richard was the son of Meryk so his name was Richard ap Meryk.
When the names got anglicised ap Meryk became Amerike.
In history, naming of places followed a simple rule, if you were King or Queen, the place name would use your first name, so a if a place was named in honour of King George, it would be something like Georgetown for example, however if you weren’t King or Queen, it would be named after the person’s surname, so to take John Cabot for example, Cabot’s cove in Maine would be named after his surname.
This is why the Amerigo Vespucci myth is widely debunked by historians because he wasn’t a king so his first name would not have been used, in reality, it was a misunderstanding that spread and became lore by word of mouth as opposed to actual fact.
Back in the day too, the specific part of the Americas which is now the United States of America, used to be called Amerika.
The other bit of evidence is the National flag, the Stars and Stripes themselves.
ap Meryk had a coat of arms of which there is a surviving representation of in Bristol which was where Richard had his merchant business at Bristol docks. His coat of arms was very simple and was just Stars and Stripes and so it’s now believed that not only was the US named after him but also the flag was designed in honour of his coat of arms.
Also there are many names in the US that have welsh origins, place names, surnames, also I believe 16 of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence were of welsh ancestry, 8 former presidents were of welsh ancestry, there is a lot of welsh history in the US, it’s worth delving into.
If you like Jack Daniels, he was of Welsh ancestry, his surname is one of the surnames that came about when the welsh adopted the surname ritual. Daniels would have originally been ap Daniel, son of Daniel which when converted to a surname would have either become Danielson or Daniels, often the on of the son was dropped, so if you know anybody with a surname that is a first name with an s or son on the end, they would have come from welsh ancestry. Johns or Johnson comes from ap John, Jones also comes from Jon, Davis or Davison or Davies from David, Williams or Williamson from Williams, Adams or adamson from Adam, Evans from Evan etc etc
As for the castles, that’s because the Welsh were very good at defending their land and when the Normans invaded England they also tried to conquer wales but wales put up a fight and fought them off so the normans had to built huge fortifications all across wales to defend themselves against the defending Welsh who were not rolling over and giving up easily and that’s why wales has the most castles per square mile
Another interesting fact is Pennsylvania was named by King Charles after William Penn’s father who he owed money too. William Penn wanted to call it New Wales in honour of his roots but Charles named it after his father instead. Penn is an old welsh word for head, top or end, in modern welsh it’s just Pen with one N.
The capital of Pennsylvania is Harrisburg, named after John Harris Snr
Harris is a welsh surname that comes from ap Harri which was changed to Harris or Harrison when converted to a surname.
Harri is welsh for Henry, it’s where the name Harry comes from as an abbreviation of Henry, popularised by King Henry VII, Harri Tudor, the start of the Tudor period of England, who was welsh and defeated King Richard III who was the reigning monarch of England and Ireland and ended the war of the roses and in so became the King of England Ireland and Wales, unifying the 3 countries.
From then on, any king named Henry would go by the name Harry and became popular because of that and it’s why Prince Henry goes by the name Prince Harry, lol
Pen Draig I’m American and agree that Wales gets often overlooked!🏴 Its a gorgeous country and my favourite thing is the castles! I’m actually working on a video about that now. Thanks so much for the history lesson... very interesting!! I grew up watch the Angela Lansbury show “Murder She Wrote”... set in Cabot Cove 😉
Magenta Otter Travels oh cool, I look forward to seeing that video when you upload it? Do you have a favourite castle that you either went to or have seen photos of?
Haha, yeah I grew up watching Murder She Wrote, I am a big fan of murder mysteries and that happened to be one of the shows I enjoyed watching.
I probably didn’t make it clear in my original comment, that Cabot Cove isn’t an actual place as far as I am aware.
When I was researching my ancestry and doing research for novels that I am writing I came across the story of Richard ap Meryk and the now well supported theory behind the naming of America and John Cabot’s involvement and being a Murder She Wrote fan and knowing that Maine is in the area near Newfoundland I wondered if there was a link so I researched it and that’s when I found out that it wasn’t a real place but it was named after him, so when I was thinking of examples of places being name after surname, that’s what came to mind, lol
I did learn a lot about John Cabot though and also the weird European tradition back then whereby someone’s name would by nativised in documents and they would also refer to themselves by their nativised names, so to take John Cabot, John Cabot was Italian and his real name is Giovanni Cabotto which when translated to English is John Cabot.
So in English documents they would refer to him as John Cabot instead of Giovanni Cabotto and he would even go by the name John Cabot himself when in England.
This is why in English Documents Richard ap Meryk would be referred to as Richard Amerike and why he would refer to himself as Amerike, the whole anglicisation thing I was talking about before the naming tradition in wales changed to the anglicised tradition.
It was the same in say Ireland and Scotland with the Gaelic tradition which Mac... or Mc... means son of...
Tracing my welsh ancestry was a nightmare once I went back to that time period of nativised documents and the old welsh tradition before surnames, lol, luckily for my Scottish ancestry I didn’t have that problem because being a direct descendant of Robert the Bruce and the Scottish royalty and James Douglas of the Douglas clan there was no end of sources of information where others had done all the hard work, lol, that line I have going back to like 600 AD when they were Irish Royals, the Irish that emigrated to what is now Scotland, at the time, the natives were the Picts, the Irish emigrants grew and over time their customs and culture grew and took over and it became the dominant culture, they were known as the Scoti’s and that’s where Scotland got its name from when it became a country, but it made my life so much easier having instant access to historical documents instead of having to do all the donkey work myself, lol, but it’s definitely been interesting and have learnt a lot of the history of the UK as a whole and have a greater appreciation for my heritage
@@Penddraig7 that is funny... I did get confused by your reply because I always assumed that Cabot Cove was a fictional place! haha
My husband has Welsh ancestry, and I tried working on his family history but it was so challenging! Everyone has the same last name, and they seemed to rotate through only two or three first names... very redundant to sort through! Lots of Davids and Williams and Gwenllians :-) I published a video about the Countryside 2 weeks ago, and showed a bit of Ian's English ancestral stomping ground in it. It is very fun for an American to walk in a little village that ancestors lived in 300+ years ago!
As for Welsh castles, my favourites are Conwy and Caernarfon. I need to get working on that video so I can publish it by Saturday! My husband grew up spending his summers in Wales and LOVED to explore castles. His favourites were Kidwelly Castle, Caerphilly and Carreg Cennen.
Magenta Otter Travels haha, yeah I only realised that what I wrote might be confusing when I read your reply.
Lol, yeah good luck with tracing your husbands welsh ancestry, I know exactly what you’re saying, I am one myself, a David Williams.
I watched a couple of your videos last night, very interesting and you have certainly done your fair share of travelling the UK, you have probably seen more of the UK than most people in the UK have and quite a lot in my neck of the woods. I grew up in Ledbury for first 16 years of my life with the odd year hear and there in Malvern and Colwall, I now live in Worcester.
My gran and mum and aunts went to school in Cheltenham, my maternal grandparents came from the north, Lancashire and Cumbria area but moved down to just outside Ledbury when they retired after falling in love with it when going through the area on trips to pick up my mum and aunts from Cheltenham, so it was nice when you were rattling off names of places in the parts of England I know best.
I might live in a city now but my spiritual heart lies in the countryside, that’s where I feel most at home, the scenery, the peace, the fresh air, the wildlife, I am not sure there is anything more relaxing and more British in my opinion.
I bet you are gutted that you are more than likely going to have to postpone your next trip to the UK because of the virus but feel free to keep doing the cooking videos though, lol, I love a good cooking tip video to help me improve my cooking repertoire, I am not short of time on my hands at the moment while in lockdown 🤪 there is a part of my that is actually enjoying the lockdown and the change in pace and having the free time and the down time to de-stress and relax and having the time to cook things from scratch instead of having half an hour is one thing I am enjoying, I think when everything gets back to normal, the free time is the bit I am going to miss the most, it’s good for the mind and soul
Yep, in regards of the surname - Correct and incorrect....The clue is the S on the end within English speaking people. Williams for example has Welsh origins, whereas Williamson has Nordic origins thanks to when they mixed with the English.
Alot of people aren't aware of this. This is why you have so many of the same/similar surnames with S or Son on the end. Like i said for example, Williams and Williamson
Being from and have lived in Wales all my life ,I just love this video!It regards to castles ,when I travel to work (usual circumstances) I pass 4 visible castles! Also if you haven’t been I recommend you visit Tenby in Pembrokeshire and if you like a good hike visit Pen Y Fan in the Brecon Becons.
Great reccomendation!
There really are so many castles!
Thanks for watching!
Lwys In ireland its kind of like that in terms of castles ,but the majority of them are Towerhouse style castle that have or did a wall called a bawn surrounding them.
Did you see any raf fighter jets near the hills
The city of St Davids is magical. All of Wales is. Lovely video.
A lot of the castles were built by Edward 1st to subdue the Welsh.
Around 500 built by the Normans/English over the course of 300 years. So much for them being pushovers. Why the Need if they were easy to subdue!
The rest were already there, built by the Welsh themselves. Built over old Roman Forts that once stood in those places
The Welsh culture survives to this day thanks to the Topography of the country, the Welsh would often leave their castles and hide in the mountains when under a series of lenghty threats.
Just a handful but they were all taken back lol
And now the English have to pay to visit them!!
I lived for 10 years overlooking Pembroke Dock and the Milford Haven estuary. We literally had ferries at the bottom of the garden.
I would recommend Pembrokeshire and a boat trip round or to Ramsey or the other islands, Skomer and Skokholm. A lot of the names round there are Viking, which makes St Davids worth a visit because it was built in a hollow to hide it from the raiders. You can also hop on a ferry (Pembroke Dock or Fishguard) and travel to Ireland for the day to see some real greenery.
From a Proud Welsh Guy thank you so much Diolch 🏴
Nice to hear an American praise our wonderful country. I suggest you come visit Ynys Môn next time you're here, very similar to the mainland but all packed into a smaller space.
Yes, I love Ynys Mon; especially our family visits to the Angelsey Sea Zoo 🦞
Great video and choices Danielle! The reason we keep our caravan in Llanrwst in Conwy is you drive 10 miles north and you are on the beach at Llandudno or you drive 10 miles south and you're in Snowdonia. Llandudno is a nice Victorian town on the coast of North Wales, but it does get busy in summer. Visit the Great Orme using the tramway, go on the cable car, visit the copper mines or have a tea break at the 'Rest and be thankful' tea room! Or take a drive around the Marine Drive. You will see the island of Anglesey which is a great place too steeped in history with the druids and the legend of Merlin. If you're in Snowdonia then you can take the train (slow!) up to the summit of Snowdon. It is quite expensive and you need to book your seats, but worth it. Choose a sunny day though or you'll see nothing but cloud at the top! We were supposed to be at our caravan for a week in May, but we'll be staying at home.
Stay safe and good luck with the baby!
Wilma Knickersfit I love Conwy and Llandudno! I’m working on a video about castles right now... it’s great stuff. Fun to think about whilst sitting in quarantine in Texas! 😬
Interesting fact about Llandudno - you may notice a road there called Queens Road, and think that it’s named after Queen Victoria, but it isn’t, it’s named after the Queen of Romania who visited the town and loved it, and the town repaid the compliment, also naming Roumania Drive and Carmen Sylva Road (Carmen Sylva was her literary name, formally she was Elizabeth of Wied).
arwelp that is really interesting!
Wales is awesome. I love it the super green, the grand landscape and the folk. No wonder we like going back. Mark
You’ve said some lovely things about our country of Wales 🏴 Thank you
The castle one is right, we have over 600 of them, I live a 5min bus ride from our biggest, Caerphilly which is absolutely stunning, and you should definitely check it out.
You mentioned that Welsh seems to have fewer vowels and a lot more consonants...you got that impression because some letters that are consonants in English are actually vowels in the Welsh language. Welsh has more vowels than English. Also, there are a few ‘letters’ in the Welsh language that contain more than one letter. Examples include ‘ll” and ‘dd’. A single ‘f’ is pronounced like the English ‘v’, whilst ‘ff’ sounds more like the English ‘f’.
I LOST IT WHEN WE HAD MUTATION, T BECOMES D OR H,🤔🤔🤔🏴🏴🏴
Thanks for your beautiful comments. On a historical note, many of the castles, especially on the border were built by the 'Old Enemy!' Apparently our ancestors objected to them visiting:))
I'm missing Wales and Scotland so much at the moment, the mountain biking in Kent just isn't the same. Also I always think of Wales as a bite size Scotland but with 10x better weather 🤣. Don't tell my Scottish family and friends i said that, come to think of it don't tell my Welsh Auntie that either 🤫.
What a respectful and sweed review and yes Wales are amazing.
Helo o sir fôn. Hello from anglesey . Thank you for such a nice and positive video about wales. Diolch i chi am Vidio mor neis am gymru🏴
Hi Danielle, great video.
In February I moved to North Wales after living in London for 30 years, and it’s one of the best things I’ve done. It’s beautiful, I live by the sea but there are hills and mountains in the background. I love it and I’m glad you got a chance to experience it too.
Hope everything is going well for you and the baby ❤️❤️❤️
Everything is going well for us and the baby!
It is so beautiful! I'm a bit jealous of you getting to live so close to the sea and the mountains!
Ooooh, I love Wales so much I went on Holiday once just so I could come home! Dew mun!
It is good that you explore our country (UK), and seem to enjoy everything you see. Wales is very green because it never stops raining.
The UK is not a country or a nation. I am not sure where you went to school, but the Uk is a sovereign state. England is a country, Scotland is a country, Ireland is a country and Wales is a country.
What a lovely complementary and respectful video about the country I was born, raised and live! Thank you! I can highly recommend North Wales for a family visit. Plenty for all different ages to do in all different weathers 🏴
Aaaaaaaand
Always a bonus when you're going walkabout in the bush is...
You aint gonna be bear food !
Or Snake fodder
Or Spider ......
Yaada Yada yada !
This is so nice to hear someone acknowledge our beautiful country! 🏴🏴 I will always remember being on holiday and met some friends from England and I will never forget them asking how we lived.. ‘ do you have electricity?’ ‘You live in caves’!!
Places to visit :
Castell coch- if your looking for a truly magical castle!!
Cardiff docks- if you want to learn about the mining industry and how the docks played a huge role in it!!
Snowdonia- the biggest mountain in wales( make sure you go on a clear day)
Portmeiron- beautiful little part of Wales that looks like your sitting in an Italian village
I could say a lot more but this comment will be awfully long!!
When God had finished practicing he then turned his attention to Wales. His masterpiece.
There is no g.od. It is a man made invention.
Snowdonia is really awesome. Beautiful mountain views and babbling streams (see Beddgelert) all within 30 mins of Harlech beach/castle which are both favourites. Top tip: Cadwalader's Ice cream parlor in Criccieth. I need to go there after lockdown. I'm English but I may as well Be in Colorado.
Where in Wales did you go? Brecon Beacons (South Wales) is probably my favourite place on earth. And that is saying something after going through Snowdonia (North-West Wales).
Looks like you've mostly been to the North. If you want to learn more about Wales' recent history I'd definitely recomend Blaenavon in the South. Its a former industrial town and you can go to the former iron works and there's a coal mine called Big Pit and they do tours down into the mine. The history of Blaenavon in the 19th and 20th Century is the same as the history of the entire South Wales Valleys (which is where a huge portion of the Welsh population live). Also its not far from the Brecon Beacons mountains, and there are a few other good mountains nearby in the Abergavenny area.
Also definitely go to Cardiff if you get a chance. Loads to see and do there. St Fagans is a good museum near Cardiff. Its got loads of old traditional houses/ other buildings from all over Wales so you can see how Welsh people lived throughout history
You are welcome anytime.
Where I live on the Wye, on the borders of Wales, just down the road, there's a house with the remnants of a castle in the garden, literally.
Goodrich Castle about 5 miles away, Chepstow Castle just down the road.
Glad you enjoyed Wales. Falch bo chi wedi joio 😀🏴🏴🏴🏴
I really have been enjoying the Schaefer family videos and the care and enthusiasm with which you produce them. We really are very fortunate to have such a sweet family from Colorado who enjoy their adoptive country so much. Wales is the land of my fathers and your report on it was so beautiful and showed how fairytale some of the hikes are. My word for Wales (Cymru) is Hyfrydol = Huh vruh dol which means breathtaking 🙂. Do carry on making such beautiful and informative videos, stay safe, and much love to all the family ❤️
Really love it when we have visitors from other countries come and visit and enjoy the experience. Can't wait until the next world cup in the USA where they can experience our fans for the first time and what an amazing atmosphere they create. Great video.
Thanks for talking about wales as an English man i don't know much about it.
Mmmmmm rissole i spotted when you had food up then lol and yep my home country is so lovely im from Swansea so drive 20 min any direction and its amazing in the change of landscape and views from Gower coast to Brecon and yep its true wales has the most castles per square mile than anyone in Europe at least some visble some hidden gems throw a stone and ya gona hit one lol .
Next time you in wales if your in the south and close to Swansea drive a little bit north and visit Henrhyd falls u can walk behind the waterfall and the top carpark is 3min walk away its the bat cave you see in the start of the dark knight ;)
As an Englishman I'll freely admit that all the other conutries in the UK and Ireland all have their own charm and amazing landscapes aswell..glad to have seen parts of them all but still lots more to see :)
Depending on time, go to Cardiff for a day, go in to the valleys we have coal mines, big pit is one. North wales, there’s a zip line and I think it’s the fastest in the world?? . West wales is beautiful too.
Well, you lot can come back again!..it is a great flag xx
Wales isn’t our name it was given to us by foreigners our name is Cymru ,
There is a practical reason why there are so many castles in Wales: the Welsh resisted the Normans and Plantagenet rule for two hundred years (the English surrendered in two weeks in 1066); not until the Act of Union instituted by Henry the VIII did Wales finally become a whole part of the English Crown. So starting with Edward I (Malleus Scotorum) the Welsh territory hard won by way of battle had to be defended, hence the castle building.
Most are ruins because they were either abandoned for newer family friendly structures; destroyed because we (the Welsh had no love for absentee landlords like the Irish) kept burning them down to their stone shells; they were `slighted` (rendered indefensible and of `slight` strategic risk) in the English Civil War by Cromwell`s Parliamentarians because Wales was largely loyal to the King.
That said some were famously restored like Cardiff Castle and Castell Coch both by the Stewart family that owned these through dynastic marriage and had the means to rebuild in the fashionable Victorian Gothic style because of the revenues from the industrial revolution`s need for coal, that they extracted and exported - Cardiff Docks was largely built by the Marquis of Bute and he charge accordingly for it`s use.
There are other castles of older origins in that they were Roman `castra` and the Welsh word for fort "castell" is derived from that word (in England place names with aster; ester; eter usually denote a former Roman military encampment) that were positioned at strategic points along the `gold road` that is now the A48; Neath, Cardiff and Caerleon (Newport) are the famous remnants of these military sites following Emperor Claudius reconquest of Britain - importantly they were usually kept near the coastline and rivers for resupply because the Welsh hinterland was not under Roman control but the locals were left to their own governance provided they didn`t interrupt trade. You walk in history when you walk in Wales.
Such a lovely video. Much love from Wales to England and the USAx
Your welcome back
Such a nice video Danielle, glad you enjoyed. I would recommend on future visits: The Big Pit, which takes you down into an old working coal mine (and entry is free). St, Fagan's folk museum - an outdoor museum that relocates and preserves old buildings from previous centuries (also free entry). Caerphilly Castle is the biggest Norman castle still standing and has a leaning tower to rival Pisa. Barafundle Bay. Tenby. Watching dolphins off Newquay beachfront. The Gower Peninsula.
(This has a southern bias as that's where I'm originally from but the north has plenty of wonders to see too).
Glad you like it here :-)
Did you try Laverbread? Great to eat with your bacon in a Welsh fried breakfast. And no, it's not a bread!
I'm intrigued now - if you randomly said "I love Wales" in a conversation in the USA, would most people assume you were talking about the animal or the country?
Definitely the animal.
I’ve been to Memphis Tennessee,Vegas,SAN Fran and Dallas and very time an American asked where are we from we’d say Wales.They’d reply ,where’s that? And once we told them they thought the uk was one big company and didn’t know that the UK is made up of 4 countries.
@@LDDav oh yes, I've also been asked where in England is Wales?
I got asked if it was the place that was owned by the princess that died. Most conversations about Wales ended with the other person staring at me with a glazed expression.
I'm Welsh, been living in Texas now for 10 years and they still don't know where Wales is! Tom Jones didn't do enough I think! haha
Aberystwyth area has much to see, Red Kites being fed. A Castle, a pier (Not many of those left, Nant y Moch is just beautiful. The old waterwheel and waterfall at Furness, the ancient welsh Parliament in Macythlleth. So much more.
My dream to visits my homeland one day one day I pray 🏴
I’m a musican and a singer and when ppl find out I am welsh they say oh that’s why:) makes me happy.
I truly wish to make it before the days end.
I live in the north west so we often have a day out to Llandudno which is a typical Victorian seaside resort. Conway Castle near that amazing (fantastic chippy there also) not forgetting Portmeirion and Betws-y-Coed.
apjhdee - It's CONWY - no "a" in it!
Robert Griffith it was probably autocorrect 😂
apjhdee I live in Texas but have visited all of those places and loved them! Conwy is one of my favourite castles... I’m working on a video about that now❤️. Also Hay on Wye is a truly unique and fabulous place for book lovers!
I just published a video about Conwy Castle... and Caernarfon. My favourites!
There's a beach in South Wales that is the countries best kept secret. It's called Cefn Sidan Sands, located at Burry Port. It is 7.5 miles long and 1.5 miles out to sea when the tide is out. The beach is bullet straight and disappears off the horizon in both directions, and has a magical atmosphere that you can only appreciate when you're there. Do visit when you can because you'll love it!
Yay I saw my home town ( Porthmadog ) on your video😀😍 diolch 🏴
I'm Welsh and proud of iy
I'm Welsh Wales Beautifull Countyside And the People in the Valleys are so Down to Earth. Have you good and Bad People where Ever you go. And we lovely Flag. Newquay in West Wales is a Lovely Place to Visit .
Diolch yn fawr. Thank you very much.
My husband’s family all live in Penarth, Wales - near Cardiff (which has a lovely castle, by the way). Penarth is a seaside town that was voted one of Wales’ most beautiful. I’m American from Colorado and I would highly recommend Penarth and Cardiff.
Penarth???.. okay.lol
Great video. You should go to the Gower which is about 2 hours past Bristol into South Wales
If you go back visit the south west. Llansteffan has a lovely castle and you can go right to the top. Stunning views looking over the sea. Tenby is a great holiday destination in the summer, and a short drive from there is the Lilly ponds follow it through to Pembrokeshire coastal path over the cliffs through barafundle bay. It’s a 3 hour walk but stunning! Probably the best walk in wales bar snowdonia
I'm Welsh. Lovely to hear that you liked it here 🙂
Y is a vowel in Welsh
As is W
Rhossili is an excellent place in the summer months for beaches and 100,000 sunflowers in one field.
Living in Newport i love driving across to pembrokeshire.
Also watching wales play rugby at the millennium stadium is a must. Think the english care about football. Cardiff comes to a standstill when the rugby is on.
I am welsh and live in wales and I am so happy you made this video, if you want a video of me speaking welsh i will put a link
Please do!
It’s often intrigued me on to what American people thought of us (Brits). I’m so glad that your enjoying your new life here and hope you have a very happy and enjoyable time here.. god bless to you and your family. Steve collier,Birmingham.
Glad you enjoyed our country also i think next time you should visit a lovely seaside town called Aberystwyth they have lovely food and there is a castle right on the seaside
The Pembrokeshire coastline, Tenby, the Lily ponds on the Bosherton Estate outside Pembroke leading down to Broad haven south beach.....Llanstephan outside Carmarthen, Pembrey beach.
The Brecon Beacons, the Gower peninsula (check out Rhossili beach and Worms Head), Powys (Llandrindod Wells and surrounding areas), Carmarthenshire (Llandeilo and surrounding areas) and St David's in Pembrokeshire all worth visiting.
I love being in Wales I was born and raised here and know I speak welsh 24,7
There’s a reason for all those castles being there - it’s evidence of how difficult we were to conquer. The Edwardian ring of castles - Harlech, Caernarfon, Beaumaris, Conwy and others were really high-tech designs for their time, I remember when visiting Caernarfon Castle once, there was a display that said that castle alone cost over £22,000 to build in late 13th century/early 14th century money, which was equivalent to an entire years’ income to the English royal treasury. Beaumaris Castle was never finished because the money ran out.
You might like to visit Tenby, if you have not been before. It is a small coastal town within medieval stone walls.
A Welsh friend tells me that there are 29 letters in the Welsh alphabet, including 7 vowels (a, e, i, o u, w, y). It is apparently a 'say what you see' language and once you get a grip of how the letters are said ('f' is pronounced 'v' and 'ff' is pronounced 'f', for example), it is surprisingly easy. Oldest living language in Europe it seems.
Nice comments about Wales, thank you. You might try these:
St. Fagans Museum of Welsh Life (half day)
Lunch at the Blue Anchor, East Aberthaw (one of the oldest pubs in UK around 700 years old I believe)
Carreg Cennen Castle (my favorite Welsh castle)
A walk along the cliffs in Gower (maybe Three Cliffs Bay)
Pembrokshire (St Goven's chapel, Bosheston)
I love Wales all my childhood holidays were spent there, though really I should say North Wales because I was only in the South once or twice. If you like Castles as you say there are a lot of them Conway and Caernarfon are two of my favourites, Beaumaris on Anglesey is supposed to be the most perfectly designed castle. then there is the castle that isn't a castle in the same way as the others and that's Gwyrich near Abergele its whats known as a folly I believe ie a stately home built to resemble a medieval castle. Its being restored and hopefully will eventually regain some of its former grandeur
@gremlin181 that is so funny, because I just replied to a comment above and said MY two favourite castles are Conwy and Caernarfon! I first visited them in 1985 as a uni student, and then went back 30 years later with my husband and sons. I'm American, and my husband spent his summers in South Wales growing up. His favourite thing to do was explore castles. I'm working on a video about castles (and manor houses and gardens) that I'm hoping to publish this Saturday.... if I can get myself to work on it! My full time job is just getting in the way! LOL
Don’t forget Harlech castle, I can see it from my house! Beautiful!
Its always nice to hear what people think off Wales im from wrexham North Wales.
If you haven't been, the Gower Penninsular between Swansea & Llanelli is beautiful. Also, just down the coast, westwards. Cefn Sidan Beach & country park is well worth a visit.
Tenby. I stayed in a place right next to the Fisherman's church in the harbour.
Whenever I see a photo of it, I always say to my grown up children, we stayed there. The front of the building is bright blue and it has windows that overlook a sandy beach and the harbour wall.
If you Google image it you will know what I mean.
Highly recommended. Tenby, Pembrokeshire.
Tenby is a family favourite getaway for us. Very quaint and relaxing! The highlight of my visit was going to Caldey Island on the 4th of July and ordering an ice cream cone from a teenage monk who was working at the ice cream stand. He heard by accent and said "Happy Independence Day!" It was really funny and sweet. And the ice cream was very delicious and sweet! :-)
Even the Manic Street Preachers mention The Beach at Tenby in their most recent song.
Llansteffan Castle is one hell off a place to visit
Love the view from Llansteffan castle. And it's only 7 miles from Carmarthen so it's the most accessible!
You really need to visit Raglan Castle in the spring or summer and also Tintern Abby
As someone who lived 4 miles from Tintern for 17rs (I'm a welshie orginally from Llangollen), they are ony Welsh geographically. Like Chepstow and Monmouth, they consider themselves English through and through. I would say that any village, hamlet, town along the river Wye from Chepstow to Monmouth consider themselves English.
@@givemeafuckingnamify This isn't really a big surprise as Gwent previously known as Monmouthshire was an English Country before WW2 as Cymru then was known as Wales and Monmouthshire.This scenario is no different to other Border areas as there are many people from Oswestry and South West Herefordshire who consider themselves to be Welsh.I frequently visit Chepstow and I am very familiar with the Wye Valley and there are now Welsh Medium Primary schools in Monmouth and Caldicot the former servings The Southern Wye Valley.
I went to a place called Trefenta lake( not a good spelling). Lovely place,old stone cottages,a huge lake with an island in the middle,a ruined church on the island to cap it off. Beautiful place.
I'm intrigued as to what lake that was - I googled 'Trefenta lake' but got nowhere.
The only lake with an island in Wales as far as I know is *Llangorse* lake in the Brecon beacons..
You may be right,I dont know the country to well. It was called Traffenta lake by the friends that lived in Wales.i think maybe the area was deliberately flooded to provide a reservoir this is the full extent of my knowledge.Although we had to take the vehicles quite high.The island is definitely there. Unfortunately I cannot confirm the location,but there were ruins around the lake,please post again,your findings intrigue me the location would be an advantage,to visit again.loved my time there.
Thank you for your time stay safe.
@@adrianstafford321 I believe you're referring to Treweryn, where the government told the residents of Capel Celyn and the surrounding valley to do one because they needed a new water supply for Liverpool. Could be wrong though. Was it during a drought by any chance? Usually it's all underwater.
Cofiwch Dreweryn.
@@behemothfan1990 definitely a summer excursion,camped by the lake. Its shame it was left the way it was,Beautiful place.Loads of space for the kids,and nobody about.
Thank you for your time.
@@adrianstafford321 You're welcome, dude. Stay safe.
Roman Fort near Caerleon, Tintern Abbey, National Trust Tredegar House near Newport, Southerndown fossil beach in Glamorgan.....all just across the bridge in to South Wales.
This really warmed my heart watching this, I feel like our country is such a small place compared to the rest of the countries in the world and that it doesn't get enough light both metaphorically and literally, our mountains and weather make everything dark🤣 I live in the valleys in-between 2 different mountains the Black mountain and Betws mountain and we barely get sunlight coming through, but when we do it's nice!
There are some beautiful Welsh names... Cerys, Tegan, Rhys..My Taid was from Brynsiencyn in Angesey and My great Taid from Llangevny.