Scotland Forever

After leaving Norway we decided to continue our European travels and go to Glasgow, Scotland to re-meet my (Cliff’s) family. My mom is from here and it’s been nearly 30 years since I’ve visited. I had vague memories of some of the places I had visited when I was young. Ruthie has met some of the family but never traveled to Scotland. Checking these spots out with Ruthie was a lot of fun. We were very fortunate to stay with family, thank you Marion and Peter and also Stevie and Allison.

It was not like our usual mad touring but more leisurely checking out the area. One of my cousins lives near the Botanical Gardens and we really enjoyed walking the park every day. We were able to revisit the same museums and places my mother took me to as a kid. One of the good things about the museums is that they are free, a little different than in the US.

We planned a day to meet two of my uncles for a couple of pints and some good pub food. Last time I saw my uncles I was just a kid, but I recognized them right away. We took a walk through town and ended up in a pub they used to frequent. At this point the stories started, we found out my mom was a “clippie”, why my dad is a Rangers fan (not religion), how they met, why my uncles liked my dad (free whisky), how their neighborhood was bombed during WWII and several other interesting family stories. This was very meaningful to me because I was able to reconnect to my Scottish heritage.

We had a great time meeting up with another cousin, Stevie, who I used to hang out with when we stayed here. He took us around to all the old spots we used to go as kids and we laughed about the adventures we had. The big old hill wasn’t so big anymore and the gangs probably weren’t as big and bad either. Ruthie found out the “stories” were actually true, they did happen after all. Of course the old photos came out and she got to see me as a young stud, or not.

We really enjoyed the local pubs, to the extent that we were being recognized. We went to our first subway festival which was underground, in the cars actually. We visited a couple of castles, which you have to do while in Scotland. We were schooled in drinking whisky and studied very hard. We have eaten all the traditional Scottish food including haggis, black pudding, mince and tatties, doner kebabs and Scottish pies. I’ve been looking for kilts with no success, but you will know when I find one.

It’s been a great trip so far. Now we are off on our own to see the Highlands and do some trekking, and maybe continue our whisky education.

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