Blogs from Midlothian, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe

These miles of dry stone walls That hold in ploughed fields and kingly halls The dead of centuries in hills of sand The stones that bind them Are proud of what lies behind them And varied as the counties in this curious land. Pedaling into the wind and driving ran over the top of the Morfoot Hills towards Edinburgh yesterday, I finally understood that the "dry" in this lyric does not refer to the usual weather in the British Isles or to the usual condition of the walls. Although old, sturdy walls constructed without mortar are prevalent throughout Britain, this Gordon Bok song has always evoked Scotland for me. I had not expected to experience the iconic barren heather covered hills, miles of walls and sheep, and the feeling of ancient loneliness until we were several ... read more

Boar, die Zeit rast immer noch! Hab ich schon mal erwähnt, dass mir alles zu schnell geht gerade? Nun bin ich schon wieder über eine Woche in Edinburgh und habe gefühlte 1000 Dinge erlebt. Aber mal von vorne. Letzte Woche Freitag hat mich Ryanair gut nach Schottland gebracht, bin pünktlich halb 11 morgens gelandet. Habe mit Isa (meine Freundin vom Studium in Bremen, mit der ich jetzt zusammen das Praktikum mache) ausgemacht, dass ich mein Gepäck auf Arbeit abstellen kann bis sie Feierabend hat und mich mit zu sich nach Hause nehmen kann. Das hat auch wunderbar geklappt, nebenbei hab ich schon mal einen ersten Blick auf das Büro und meine zukünftigen Kollegen werfen können. Dann habe ich gleich angefangen Wohnungen zu besichtigen. Die Termine hatte ich am Mittwoch und Donnerstag über eine Internetseite ausgemacht, die ... read more

Our first full day in in the capital of Scotland was cool and drizzly with a sharp cold wind off the North Sea. We met our guide Gail in the lobby and headed out across the bridge from the New Town to the Royal Mile. The buildings here are about eight stories high and narrow, mostly made of dark stone. There have been tenements here since the town was developed and though the buildings here are more recent, they retain the ancient look. Little passageways or driveways called a close, separate blocks of tenements. I had read about closes in books, now I can picture them. We visit St. Giles which is not as ornate as many I have seen but it has a unique feature, The Chapel of the Order of the Thistle, the oldest ... read more

Yesterday was a busy day. We awoke to a steady rain yet the sky was mostly blue and a hazy sun could just be seen filtered through the clouds. When we arrived at Blackness Castle the wind picked up...more horizontal rain. The castle was closed anyway but I shot some pics and video nonetheless. When we arrived at Linlithgow Palace, the birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots, we had the palace all to ourselves--except for a few birds who would fly off whenever we approached. The palace is mostly in ruins but that made it all the more assessable. I was able to sit in a seat of stone most certainly used by ancient royalty. Doing so got my butt wet but a wet bum was a small price to pay for such a treat. On ... read more