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.