Glasgow!!!

We were able to go into Glasgow for the afternoon, and it was magic!  For the time, the sky cleared a bit, the winds calmed, and we were able to see the beauty of Glasgow that is so often over-looked.

Glasgow is not a city for the faint of heart!  It is in the midst of a slow going re-birth, an attempt to pull itself up by the bootstraps and move forward.  

Many of the Victorian-era buildings remain, but have been re-purposed.  What once were government buildings are now art museums and even casinos.  Don't worry, though, some of the classics still remain.  

Did I mention the shopping?  Harrods, Frasers, Argyle Court, you name it, they have it!  Even American brands like Lush - it's there, along with the chains we all recognize, like TGI Fridays and Starbucks (swoon!)

Glasgow is known for the most part as a rougher city.  It's working hard to change that image, but with some of the highest incomes in the country, along with some of the lowest, there will always be a culture clash - something simmering just below the surface.

My family is from not very far away, and so going into Glasgow was a bit of a homecoming. Seeing the things my mum saw growing up, seeing the buildings my Gran worked in - there is definitely something to that.  The town council is working hard to make it a gentler city, but I think that perhaps that rough exterior is what makes Glasgow what it is. That's part of what makes it home.

Thank you for reading about all of our wanderings!  I would love to hear from you.  Please leave a comment, ask a question, or share your own experiences!

He Who Holds Stirling....

Holds Scotland.

For years, Stirling Castle was a pivotal point in battle and politics.  It was far enough from Edinburgh, but close enough.  The castle sits high atop the town, and it simply put, amazing.  I remember visiting as a child, and just thinking "Oh yay, another castle".  Not this time, though.

There is something that is so cool about bringing your own children to places that you visited as a child.  Even better than that, is when you take your children to said places, and find that they have been painstakingly restored, and are not only beautiful, but now interactive. 

  

 Stirling castle has lovingly restored the inside of the Royal Quarters, and as you walk through, each room has a docent in there.  The docents are dressed in period costume, and will answer your questions, or even just tell you about day-to-day life in the castle.  This was so nice, as it kept my 10 year old completely engaged in what we were seeing, and made it realistic for her!

After wandering through the Royal Quarters, we found our way into the courtyard, where we found the Great Hall.

The Great Hall is the only buidling in  Stirling Castle that is lime washed.  In the day time it almost looks like it has a stucco finish, and was a huge show of wealth at the time.  Inside the hall, tapestries are hung along the walls as they would have been back in the 1500s.  (All the tapestries are woven on site in the Stirling Tapestry Studio - you can even watch the weavers at work until 4:30pm daily!) The wooden ceiling and all its beams are intact (restored) - it is beautiful!

When all was said and done, and we exited the Great Hall, Dusk had fallen.  We were near to, if not the last people in the castle besides the staff, and had the place pretty much to ourselves which made it SO nice!

An interior courtyard shot of the Royal Quarters.  At night all the pedestal figures are lit up beautifully.  It was explained to us that they are mostly Roman Gods, meant to show the wealth, health and prosperity that would follow.

This the the Chapel Royal.  In the 1500's the biggest threat to scottish life (besides repeated English attacks) was the change of religion.  The Monarchs of the time were Catholic, but there was a slow and steady wave of protestantism moving through the country.  In 1560, Scotland officially became protestant, and this was one of the first churches build for the newly Presbyterian nation.  It was also the last building to be build in Stirling Castle.

As we left the grounds, the castle was beautifully lit up.  In fact, the whole city of Stirling was beautifully lit up, to include the Wallace monument in the distance.

A statue of William Wallace, with the Wallace Monument in the background.

Thank you for reading about all of our wanderings!  I would love to hear from you.  Please leave a comment, ask a question, or share your own experiences!

It's all Racheal's Fault

Seriously.  This entire post, and the ensuing photography is the fault of one of my dear friends, Racheal.  She said she wanted to see pictures of Highland Cattle.  

We were en route to spend the day in Glasgow, to take in some fabulous Charles Rennie Mackintosh architecture and art, when we stumbled upon these guys. 

You may as well have just pointed at something and said "OOOOOHHHHH, SHINY!" because these giant beasts had the same effect on me.  Distracted I was.

My friend, Racheal, has a thing for cows - well, this past summer it was for Alpine Cows (only counts if they are wearing their bells) - and recently she informed the world that she had moved on to bigger and better cattle, and had set her sights on Highland Cattle (though growing up, we always called them Muckle Coos).  

So these, Racheal, are for you and your affinity for Highland Cattle :)

Thank you for reading about all our wanderings!  I would love to hear back from you!  Please leave a comment, share your experiences, or ask a question!

Birth of A Queen

It happened on 8 December, 1542.  In this palace Mary, Queen of Scots was born!

This is Linlithgow Palace.

Sadly, today this amazing palace is in ruins after being burned out in 1746, but it is easy to imagine what it once was like!  It is massive still, even with one whole wing having been demolished!  

 

As you walk through the ruins, you can imagine what life must have been like.  You are given access to the King and Queens private quarters, where you can still see remnants of what it was like - you can see the beautiful fireplaces, the seated windows, and the tiled floor patterns.

This is the birthplace of quite a few Royals, including James V, and Mary Queen of Scots.   We are lucky enough to even be able to go into the room in which she was born!

The room in which Mary, Queen of Scots was born in 1542.
Nine months later she was crowned Queen of Scotland.

This is thought to be the oldest fountain in Great Britain.  It has been said that one special events (like Bonnie Prince Charlie arriving) it was made to flow with wine even!  It has been restored, and now, on special days throughout the year, water still flows through this almost 500 year old fountain!

Thank you for reading about all our wanderings!  As always, please leave a comment, share your experiences, ask a question!

Edinburgh Castle

 Edinburgh Castle

Ok, so, we are still here in our fabulous(ish) castle/hotel.  We spent a crazy day yesterday all around Edinburgh. SO MUCH DONE.  In all honesty - this trip is going to be blog fodder for a long time coming, if I am to actually limit my photos.  That said - I am going to be posting one piece of each day for your perusal.  For instance, yesterday, we saw 3 castles, a national museum, various other touristy things.

That said, the highlight of it all was Edinburgh Castle.  We walked all the way up the hill from the park, and all the way up to the top!   As you can see, the view is simply stunning!  Being so far north, of course the sun sets much earlier than we are even used to in Southern Germany.  So, by 4pm local, the sun is setting!  The weather is changeable, and that is no joke, throughout our day, we went from blue skies, to a blizzard, to rain, to overcast, and then to a glorious sunset over the city of Edinburgh!  We lucked out!

At the top of the castle, next to the The Honours, and the Royal Apartments is the National War Monument.  This is dedicated to all the veterans, and has the names of all those who died in WWI.  My Great Grandfather's brother's name is there.  It is a beautiful, somber place, and afforded some great reflection time.

After a few quiet moments, we moved onto the Scottish Honours, and were able to see the crown jewels of Scotland, rumored to be formed from the original circlet of gold worn by Robert the Bruce, and through the generations to Mary Queen of Scots and beyond.  You are allowed to take pictures in there, however there is so much reflective surface that it was fairly worthless to try - so, i will leave you with pictures of the building that not only houses the honors, but the Royal apartments as well, which were sometimes home to Mary Queen of Scots, and the birthplace of James VI and I of England.

Well, enough of a history lesson for now.  Endinburgh Castle was everything it promised to be, and more.  We were lucky to see it! 

So, adieu for now - I hope you all are having as wonderful a time reading this as I am taking pictures for it, and writing about it!

Thank you for reading about all our wanderings!  As always, please leave a comment, ask a question, or share your experiences, I would love to hear from you! 

Since I've Been Gone. . .

I know, I have been away, I have been remiss, and I should do something to make up for it. . . I am sorry, really - wait, no I am NOT sorry!  the missing piece of the family came home last month after a long time away, and we have been enjoying our time together as a complete family unit again. While I may not be sorry for being away, I do feel guilty - and so, I shall make up for it.  No, really.  I am going to make up for it BIG time.  Our time is dwindling down here in Europe - and we are really making the most of it.  

In fact - as I type this right now, I am sitting in our castle turned hotel room in SCOTLAND!  Yes, lots of pictures coming, I promise.  We spent two days getting here, in crappy weather, and in the dark of night, but we got here finally!   Needless to say with 12 hours of driving, and 12 hours on a boat, I really haven't taken too many photos - but I have taken a few, and am even posting them, just to whet your appetite.

In case anyone is wondering how we have done this trip so far. . . the answer is "BY THE SEAT OF MY PANTS".  I am not kidding when I say this was last minute - I mean, I decided we (I) wanted to go on Thursday, and we left on Sunay!  We took a P&O Ferry from Rotterdam to Hull, England - we hit Rotterdam at night, so sadly, there are no pictures of that impressive city - talk about a big port - er.me.gerd!  Our ferry sailed overnight, so we all had a bunk on the ship, and crashed out, just in time to wake up in England - it is NOT a fancy cruise.  It is not a "comfortable" cruise - and it is most definetly not a "cheap" cruise - but it was workable, and it got us where we needed to go!

But, well, it's me.  Therefore, there must be snow!  Last month it snowed while we were staying at the beach in Rimini - and today, it snowed the entire way through England.  However, I kid you not, the minute we crossed into Scotland, the weather cleared, the skies blued, the snows melted, and it became a wonderful drive the rest of the way into our hotel, near Peebles.

I mean, COME ON - Look at this!  Simply beautiful!  

I have lots more to say, more pictures to take, and fun to have - so this will have to suffice in the mean time.  I promise I will do better about making this dragg with a ton of different pictures - I really will pick only the best, and hopefully no more than 5 per day.

We shall see.

Thank you for reading about all our wanderings!  As always, please leave a comment, share your experiences, ask a question!