Scotland (3)

20th of April 2010

My last day in Scotland, but since my plane didn’t live until 5 p.m., I decided to go a bit earlier to Edinburgh, so finally I would have the chance to be one of the one million persons every year who visit Edinburgh Castle. There were, as expected, a lot of tourists. I went to the top of the Castle Rock, where I got this panoramic view over the city. Edinburgh Castle is situated in Princes Street, which is a street that contains a mix of both great shopping and sightseeing experiences. 

After some hours with walking in the streets, I decided to have a coffee and a snack at Starbucks. The Starbucks I went to was actually situated in a book shop, if I could say so. This is quite clever, because people can come to the three floor big book shop, and when they come to the top floor, they probably will be so exhausted that they just have to sit down and drink or eat something from the well known Starbucks, which you can find in a lot of countries. Additionally, this is good for the book shop too. Because when people are going to Starbucks, they have to go through the whole book shop. Then they perhaps will see one or two books that they find interesting, and maybe they will read it while they are eating or drinking something at Starbucks. Afterwards, they will maybe buy it when they are leaving.

After I had been at Starbucks for some time, it was time for me to turn my head back home. 

When I was sitting on the plane, I watched James Bond, Goldfinger, to be completely accurate, on my ipod, and that reminded me that the actor who played James Bond in that film, Sean Connery, originally comes from Scotland.

At the moment I’m lying in my bed, ready to get some sleep. This has been an unforgettable holiday with tons of experiences. However, I’m glad to be back home and I’m looking forward to finally get some rest.  

Scotland (2)

18th of April 2010

Today I went to a big castle just outside Edinburgh, named Dalhousie Castle. I spent some time in the castle’s spa and had a facial. For the first time, I realized how different the English and the Scottish languages are. Who would know that Scottish could be that difficult to understand? To tell you the truth, it became easier and easier every minute. It is a habit.

When I was leaving the castle, I saw all these dressed up people, and then I realized that there was going to be a wedding there. Suddenly, I heard a low music coming from the room beside me. One of the staff at the hotel saw how curious I got, so he told me that I could enter the room. When I got in, a man was standing there in his kilt, playing a bag pipe, of course. So I took up my camera to film it. After all, this was something I don’t see every day. This experience made me wonder if the myth about Scottish men not wearing underwear under their kilt is true. It is kind of funny.

19th of April 2010 

Today I decided to go and see one of the things that I associate the most with Scotland, namely Loch Ness. I have heard that the Loch Ness is one of the most celebrated holiday destinations in the UK.  Measured in surface area it is considered as Scotland’s second biggest lake, and the biggest one measured in water mass. However, the lake is basically famous for the “Nessie,” which is an alleged monster that apparently lives in the lake. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any signs of Nessie.

On my way home, I decided to pop over the border to England to make a small trip to Alnwick Castle, which is called Hagwarts in several Harry Potter films. That was quite interesting, since I was a huge Harry Potter fan when I was younger. The castle is actually the second largest inhabited castle in England. It has been the home of the Percys, Earls and Dukes of Northumberland since 1309. It was also one of the first homes in the North East to have electricity.

Unfortunately, the castle’s area was closed, so I had to watch it from quite far away. But since it was closed, I spent some time in a beautiful garden right next to the “Harry Potter-Castle”. In the garden there were flowers, huge trees and fountains. It was simply a fantastic experience. 

Scotland (1)

17th of April 2010

Today I arrived in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Scotland has its own flag, it is blue with a white cross, although of course it is a part of the United Kingdom. My flight only took about three hours. The fact that the trip was so short was great, because my plane arrived at 10 o’clock in the morning. That gave me the opportunity to enjoy the rest of the day, without being too exhausted. 

Afterwards, when I came to Rita’s house, which in fact is in a small village called Dunns, we decided to have lunch at a café, and then we went for a walk, so she could show me her nice home village and what it has to offer.

Even though I have only been here in Scotland for less than a day, I have seen a lot of different animals already. Both hares, cats, eagles and hedgehogs, and even a pheasant. The flora and fauna here is beautiful. After all, Scotland is a country with a rich nature and wildlife, and it has mountains too. It is also surrounded by many isles, among others the Shetland isles. Scotland is a cold and moist country, but since it is situated so far to the north, the days are still quite long and bright in summer. I would say that the climate here is a lot like in Norway.

When we got back to Rita’s house, she started preparing the Scottish national dish, Haggis. Haggis is made from the sheep’s pluck minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally simmered in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours. I won’t say that it tasted too good, although I’m glad that I now can tell my friends that I have tasted haggis.

But now I have to get some sleep, because tomorrow is going to be an exciting day.