First the plans were simple...travel to Glasgow to visit friends. Then my friend got together with one of the guys and I decided to make use of the time I have and travel around Scotland instead of staying put. So the plan was, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Isle of Raasay, Inverness and back to Edinburgh. We had purposedly decided to travel to Scotland during Halloween and while we could see all kinda of dressed up people in Edinburgh and Glasgow, there was nobody dressed up on the Isle of Raasay on Halloween itself.
We started off in Edinburgh, arriving at the airport around 1pm on a Friday. Instead of taking the expensive citylink or even the tram, we decided for the cheap alternative: a 1 hour bus from the Airport to South Bridge, which was at 1.60, payable in cash, no change given. As we had decided to catch the bus around 5pm to Glasgow we went straight into the city center, walking along the Royal Mile, exploring the winter cold city. While I was walking down the Royal Mile I ran into Todd, the only cowboy in Edinburgh, who had just finished his show.
So my first recommendation for future Scotland travellers would be: check out his show - you can find him along the Royal Mile around 2pm on weekdays and all day long on weekends.
We caught the bus around 5.30pm and after about 1.5 hours we finally arrived in Glasgow - our friend picked us up and after dropping our bags we went for dinner. A tiny little back alley tea shop called Tchai Ovna. If you ever go there, check it out - preferably on the last Friday of the month, because then there are two really good local musician playing old hits.
The next day was basically a walk around Glasgow - I don´t know, either I missed the essential part of the city or there is no essential part. In either case, I did not really like it much so I decided to spend the next day at Loch Lomond (instead of Glasgow as planned before taking a bus early on Monday morning). Loch Lomond - if you go, maybe catch the 6.50am bus from Glasgow heading for Uig and get off at Luss. This offers you a breath-taking view of the sunrise over Loch Lomond and gives you a full day to explore the surrounding. Alternatively you can take the train to Balloch (only need to change once at Dumbarton Central) and then walk around there or catch a local bus to Luss. Since I did not know (due to lack of research) about the bus to Uig (well, about the fact that this bus stops at Luss, or even that Luss was worth going to) I went to Balloch and spend the day walking around in the Castle Park and the adjacent Loch Lomond Shores. As it gets dark quite early I was back in Glasgow by 5pm and met my friends for dinner at Tchai Ovna - again.
Monday morning started out great...I got up at 5.30am, packed my things and left the house I'd been staying at by 6.10. I think I could have taken the tram into the city, but as I liked to walk and it would also wake me up, I had decided to walk to Buchanan Bus Station. There I was, walking around in an empty, monday morning Glasgow, looking to get away from the city life.
I reached the Isle of Raasay around 4pm on that Monday afternoon, just having enough time left to take a walk along the shore, through a small forest and along a sheep paddok. Being the wise girl that I am, I anticipated not having any supermarkets or local stores on the island, thus I brought food for 3 days - this meant tuna, pita bread, mustard and red pesto. Plus two apples...it was a very one-sided diet but with all the excercise and exploring I got to do, there was basically no time left to eat anyways. The second day on Raasay I decided to wake up in time to see the sunrise. What I had not anticipated was that the highest point of the island was not in the middle but rather more towards the east. So until I got up to the highest point, 1.5 hours later, the sun had already risen. The tranquility and serenity presented the whole island in a beautiful and inspiring light. Walking up the hill had made me want to rest, but there were so many other things to see. As a local farmer was passing by I decided to hitch a ride in his truck and while he drove down the road back into the village, counting calfs, we talked about the area. He recommended I´d go and climb Dún Caan, the hightest mountain on Raasay. When I got back, I had a small lunch - though technically it could be considered breakfast - and started to walk to the starting point of the Dún Caan track. I reached it at around 1pm and started to hike the 2.9 miles. It was estimated to take around 1.5 hours - which was a pretty good estimate, considering that half the trail was more a river and less a trail. Nevertheless it was a lot of fun hiking up there and gave me a very liberating feeling. When I thought I´d reached the top, almost at least, I saw a wide valley which I still needed to cross. So instead of going straight towards the flat top plateau, I first climbed down and then up again on the other side of the half submerged valley. The view from top was breathtaking!
As I did not want to take the same route climbing down, I decided to try out the alternative that was provided by the guide book. It was quite difficult to see from the top and I think I took the wrong way as I found myself hopping from one dry bundle of gras to the other and clinging to rocks at the edge of a Loch I needed to get past. I was a bit scared at points because the sun sets rather early and I was in the middle of nowhere, following a small stream that should take me back to the road. The whole walk back down was a combination of hopping, stepping in water, cursing, and then realizing that it did not matter, and some more hopping. I reached the hostel around sunset at 5pm completely exhausted but very satisfied. During the last day in Raasay I just walked some more, explored the village, met some nice English people holidaying and the librarian and garbage man who come very second or third week to Raasay. Around 6pm I took the bus to Inverness.
Sunrise over the hills of Skye,
Sunrise over the sea,
There's not a place in all the world,
in which I'd rather be -
for I call it the earthly paradise
because it's like heaven to me.
Raasay
Inverness: small, cute and very quiet city at the northeastern end of Loch Ness. I wanted to explore the surrounding area because of its historic significance - Culloden. Admittedly, it was the book by Diana Gabaldon who created my curiosity and interest in this topic. For anyone interested in Scottish history, the visitor center at Culloden is highly recommendable, however relating the whole story here would exceed the limits of this post. Go check the homepage of the National Trust for Scotland.
That night I visited the Opera "The marriage of Figaro" which was performing at Eden Court in Inverness. Having been to an Opera only once before as an obligatory excoursion in highschool I had a certain aversion towards the thought of it. With tickets being at 10 pounds however, I decided to give it a try and let the actors convince me otherwise. I felt terribly underdressed wearing jeans, a kinda smelly shirt and hiking boots (I mean I had not planned to go fancy while I was in Scotland), but three very nice ladies shared their program and food with me, explained to me the story and background. And I have to admit, I loved the Opera! It was so nicely executed and the actors were incredibly good. If you are sceptical towards Operas, give it another try. It might be worth it.
The last day in Inverness was very special - it seemed to have changed my life for - hopefully - a long time. So while I was sitting in the hostel, writing post cards and diary entries, I planned to go to the Sococo place again, where I had had Churros the day before with Torva. Three guys - two Belgians and one Australian - came in and sat down chatting. We started talking between the three of us, while the Australian was talking on the phone. I invited them to join me for the Churros, because why should I go alone while I could have company, right? Another french girl joined and we had the Churros Party, which, by the way, was delicious! On the way to the bus station, I started talking to the Australian - his name is Keldan - we both noticed that we loved the rain and dancing in the rain. Loosely based on Dante Alighieri: "Remember today as it is the beginning of forever!"
Sitting in the bus to Edinburgh I was not thinking about it too much to be honest. It was a nice idea and everything but nothing like "love at first sight" (apart from the fact that I don´t believe in love at first sight). I enjoyed talking to him and when I had the chance I did. But that night was more about meeting up with my friends who were arriving from Glasgow. We had the idea of him coming to Edinburgh as well for like one night, but in the end we decided that it made no sense, mainly because it would be very socially unacceptable just leaving the two Belgians. So, concentrating on Edinburgh: a beautiful, old city in Scotland. So many different things one can get to know about it. Even if you have only 2 hours, join a free city tour and get to know the most important places. Here is a list of everything I learned during my one day stay in the city:
St. Giles Cathedral is actually not a cathedral and there is also no parliament at the Old Parliaments Square.
Maggie Dickson is the reason the sentence "hanged for 30 seconds" was changed to "hanged till death"
David Hume was a complete unbeliever in superstition - ironically today his foot is touched for good luck
There is a statue of Adam Smith on the Royal Mile, though he was much hated in Scotland at his time
Jenny Giddes started the English Civil War by throwing a car at a minister inside St. Giles Cathedral
Greyfriars Bobby, a dog, is the most famous and beloved citizen of the city of Edinburgh. He has a grave at Greyfriars Cementary where he guarded his owners grave after his death. In order for him to stay he was adopted by the mayor and the first animal to be given full citizen rights. Technically he was allowed to vote before women were.
J. K. Rowling used a local school (with four houses and school competitions) and its adjacent graveyard as inspiration for Harry Potter while writing the novels from the tea room of the Elephant House. Tom Riddle has a grave at the local grave yard.
If you fancy, try finding out all of these things for yourself while you are in Ediburgh.
Before leaving for the airport the next morning we went Whiskey tasting at the Scotch Whiskey Experience. Though I am not a big fan of alcohol, trying Whiskey seemed like an obligatory thing to do in Scotland. Scotch tasting was followed by a really good dinner.
Scotland, you are a good place!
