Where Men wear Skirts, play the Bagpipe and drink Whiskey

Where cows are hairy, and where they use their own funny money, where they have Robert, the Bruce and Mary Stuart, and which might per referendum become independent come 2014. A land rich of history, tragedy, and violence, and with a strong will for survival, individualism and pride. A beautiful country with rough edges and breathtaking scenery. That all is Scotland.

Our days of homelessness might be over soon. With a job for Roland lined up for July there was not much time left for roaming. So we instantly booked one of those cheap airlines and ventured to explore the Northern part of the UK. Scotland had been on our bucket list for a long time.

June 13/14: We arrived in Edinburgh during rush hour and drove out to Kirkcaldy, meanwhile adjusting to driving on the wrong side of the road. In Kirkcaldy we made reservations for the night at the Dunnikier House. The room was lovely and from the window one could overlook the park.

The guest house had taken good care of Sonja's dietary requirements, too. The breakfast had vegetarian offerings as well as gluten free cereals. After breakfast we hit the road.

First stop was St. Andrews Cathedral at the East Coast. Foundation laid in the 12th century it became the largest and most important church in Scotland before it fell to ruins in the 16th century during Scotish Reformation.

And we were mighty lucky with the weather. Sun and clouds varied the light illuminating and darkening the ruins. It was wonderful. 

 

We walked along the shore and also visited the working harbour. The fishermen were already finished with their day's work and by cleaning their boats they were feeding the waiting scavengers.

Back on the road we used scenic byways, and the rural hilly scenery started changing as we entered the highlands.

We have arrived at Blair Castle. Although in private hands, castle and gardens are open to visitors, and thirty rooms tell stories from different lives at different times.

After this intense cultural infusion we fled into the Highlands. Traffic was almost nonexistent, and so we got to enjoy meandering through the ever changing landscape without being bothered.

It was getting late so we were glad to have made reservations ahead at Craig Villa in the very heart of Inverness, where we would stay the next three days to have a home base for further endeavours into the Highlands. The host of this B&B went above and beyond to cater to our needs, and we enjoyed our stay very much. A true home away from home.

Inverness, the city at the mound of river Ness is a very interesting place. While there is a high density of excellent restaurants and bars, many store fronts seemed to be abandoned. We had Turkish, Italian and Spanish food during our stay. And all was excellent, and vege friendly.

Inverness Cathedral

 Walking along river Ness

Pub life

 View on Inverness