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

We ought to play the Lottery!

To meet people at a busy travel hub such as an airport is nothing unheard of. We were just about to leave Scotland (more about the journey coming with the next installments), when a stranger came up to Sonja and asked her if she was SonjaM. Sonja found familiarity in his face but the penny didn't drop until he introduced himself as Nikos.

Here they are: Two bloggers bumping into each other in Edinburgh! And more so, traveling in the same direction, and having seats booked next to each other... What are the odds of that? It will likely remain one of those great mysteries in life.

Sonja meets Nikos, the grand master of meatballs.

Back in Germany we got to the opportunity to say hi to Mrs Nikos as well and spontaneously decided to spend a lovely evening together at a nearby Chinese restaurant. We had a lot of fun chatting the night away, and hope to meet again... most likely at another airport?

Here's Nikos' view on this cosmic event.

A Medieval Gem: The Red Castle above the Tauber river

We decided on a whim to visit Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria. This city is indeed still very medieval due to the fact that it had been spared by heavy artillery in the second world war, in particular thanks to a secretary of war who gave order not to bomb the town, and a German commander who surrendered despite opposite orders.

After war the residents rebuilt the destroyed parts of the fortress with the help of national and international donations. Names of the donors can be found engraved in the walls.

One enters the inner city core through one of the many tower gates, and immediately gets the idea of why Rothenburg is such a tourist destination. What looks like a medieval Disney World is totally real.

We strolled around for hours, through little lanes, and along and around the city walls, and we were stunned by the beauty of this city. None of us had ever been here. How could we have missed that cultural gem all those years? It's quite embarrassing coming to think of it.

We were as much in awe as any other tourist, and couldn't get enough of the sights.

When climbing up the city walls watch out, the steps are steep and the walkways uneven, the ceilings are low, and you might hit your head. There are signs that exploring the walls might be dangerous, and you have do it on your own account. We did, and it was well worth the climb.

 Simply beautiful!

Here Roland is making acquaintance with one of the locals at a Teddy Bear Shop. So sweet, but we didn't take it home.

And here he is tasting one of the local delicacies, fresh squeezed apple juice. Yummy!

And to satisfy our morbid streak we had to visit the one and only Medieval Crime Museum in Europe, an important collection of jurisdiction and punishment.

In ancient times people seemed to spend a lot of effort in inventing effective means of punishment, much more than in (verbal) questioning and obtaining evidence before calling judgement.

There were plenty tools for punishment: The mask of shame, the neck fiddle, or the gruesome iron maiden.

And for those, judged guilty... are the executioner's tools.

 There is also a how-to guide to torture (or painful questioning). Scary!

Compared to these days today's jurisdiction and legislative framework seems pretty... tame.

Later the day we moved on to Würzburg, where we spent the night. Würzburg located along river Main has roots all the way back in the Bronze Age. Unfortunately 90% of the city had been destroyed in an air raid during 2nd World War. So most of today's buildings are merely replicas of the previous historic architecture. 

 Fortress Marienberg

A loading crane, no longer in use.

St. Mary's Chapel

 Just in time for the Wine Fest!  Who said Germans can't party and have fun?

But the flooding had reached this city as well. The lower levels of our parkade were blocked because they were under water, parking lots were barricaded due to high water levels, and the river cruise ships were moored, as long as the docks were flooded.

Every bad situation can be turned around... the river is currently being used as a beer cooler.