Blogs from Stirlingshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe - page 2

kind of touched the soul and kindled my heart ! Visited the famous Kelpies last week in Grangemouth, Falkirk. Always wanted to see them for quiet some time now but only got the chance to visit them last week. Amazing piece of work - majestic towering structures upto 5 stories building high and yet So sumptuously beautiful as well. I arrived at 7pm but due to the Sun-set being at 10pm in June in Scotland the sky was blue. I wanted to see the night view when the lights are on. So waited for a while until it was dark to see the night view of the kelpies. They light up with various colors and on my day it was neon green. It was rather mesmerizing to look at with all that green light lit-up ... read more

Day 3 - Sunday 17/06/18; Rowardennan to Inverarnan - 13.5 miles ( 15.12 actual) Felt a wee bit stiff when I first got up but soon wore off - Michelle on the other hand was saying ouch the minute her feet touched the floor! Had breakfast about 8 then set off about 8.40. Spent about 15 mins trying to shut the case - hope the zip doesn’t burst & hope Ginger Routes employ strong drivers! ? Soon became apparent the walk was going to be a tough one. Walking alongside Loch Lomond, one minute we were high up looking down on the water, then a few minutes later we were practically walking on the shoreline., and so it continued - sharp ascents followed by steep descents. Tree roots, big boulders, small waterways with stepping stones & ... read more

Spoiler alert. I'm not dead or dying. Some how my 'life saving' medication ran out this morning and whereas I though I had another box I didn't. The box was simply aspirin and not the real thing. So here I am in a strange city (well Stirling isn't that strange really) without my medication. Pleading my innocent tourist story failed miserably at 2 pharmacies and I thought I would need to make an appointment with a GP (is my life worth that much?) or go spend the next eternity at the local A and E hospital. Neither option appealed. I ended up at a clinic in the city and the receptio and doctor treated me as an emergency case, prescribed medication as required and did not charge anything. Moreover even the script is free in Scotland ... read more

Surprise, ich habe doch WiFi! Unsere Unterkünfte wurden noch geändert, daher habe ich jetzt eine mit WiFi. Leider nur mit SEHR langsamem WiFi, sodass es noch keine Fotos gibt. Die werde ich später anhängen. Der erste Wandertag... wesentlich leichter als ich erwartet hätte. Anscheinend stimmte die Aussage von gestern mit dem leichten Einstiegstag. Erinnert ihr euch noch an das Tor, den Anfangspunkt des WHWs? Kaum zehn Meter später begann ich meine erste Konversation auf Deutsch mit einer Australierin (eine andere als die, die beim Abendessen gestern neben mir saß) deren Mutter Deutsche ist. Sie hat gerade ihre Tanten in Deutschland besucht und gönnt sich nun den WHW als krönenden Abschluss ihrer Europareise. Und wo wohnen die Tanten? In Gießen! Sachen gibt's... Viel zu erzählen gibt es eigentlich nicht. Der erste Tag ist landschaftlich eher unspektakulär. Es ... read more

So a Dutchman, two Germans and a couple of French girls walk into a pub. Is this the beginning of a joke? No, not if a backpackers hostel is one block away from the pub. This is how I spend my first evening of my ten week adventure in Stirling, Scotland. On the 1st of September, I arrived in Edinburgh after a short and relaxed flight. I took a tram to Haymarket and from there I took to the train to Stirling. I still had some cash from my week in Canterbury, which came in handy. As I sat in the train, enjoying the unexpectedly sunny weather, I thought about the summer and made a list of things I definitely want to see and do while I’m in Scotland. I still had a smile on my ... read more