So! Lots to catch up, but very little time to write about it. Fortunately I’ve been quite busy for the last couple of days, but unfortunately it means that I haven’t done any writing about it and now have a backlog. I left off with my arrival to Edinburgh, whereupon I caught a bus from the airport all the way to Glasgow, which took just a little more than an hour. It took me a little while to walk to my hostel in Glasgow, but once I got there and got settled in it was time for short nap, as I had gotten less sleep than I thought I had- or perhaps more accurately, than I needed. By the time I woke up, a friend of mine from my time in Seattle who lived in Glasgow, Rachael, had finished work and was free to hang out, so I walked back into the city center to meet up with her downtown.
In the center of town is a fairly extensive pedestrian shopping zone, but what makes the area cool is how much art is going on all around it. Street performers and buskers abound (seriously, way more than I’ve seen in any other city center) and they’re all quite good. Meanwhile there are lots of really cool wall murals on the sides of buildings, inside tunnel entranceways, and tucked into alleys. The architecture is cool, and meanwhile there are still lots of lights up from Christmastime. It was definitely chilly out as we walked around, but compared to what Boston was like when I left, it was practically balmy. Eventually we got dinner at an Indian restaurant where I tried some new vegetarian dishes that I had never bothered to try in the past- it was definitely good. Meanwhile it was great just to catch up with an old friend!
She was recovering from a minor cold however, so she needed to call it an early night, while I continued to wander around a little, taking care of some errands- I needed a local charger for my electronics, I got myself a flag for Scotland (amongst other things, I collect full-size flags from each country I visit), and some shampoo. When I got back to the hostel I briefly met my roommates for the night, and fell right to sleep.
In the morning I found myself some wi-fi to look up how much it would cost to rent a car so that I could travel out into the countryside. Unlike the latter parts of my trip’s loose plan, which are centered on visiting the cities of London and Paris, this initial phase was conceived as “seeing Scotland” in some sort of more holistic way than just seeing Glasgow; and so it seemed like renting a car might facilitate that. Some amount of research later, I determined that Avis had the best deal, so I caught a bus out to Glasgow Airport to pick up my car. There were some slight hiccups in the process, but ultimately I still got a good deal, it just took me a while to finalize it.
I’m driving a jaunty red little Ford Focus, and yes, the initial transition of driving on the other side of the road takes a little getting used to- but honestly that’s not the hard part. What actually makes driving in the UK difficult as an American is adjusting to the slight differences in the traffic laws, and in particular, adjusting to the radically different signage- especially the frankly worse lane markings. I had read that Scottish drivers were good ones, but to be honest, I haven’t seen that. While there are lots of things I’m enjoying about my trip, driving isn’t one of them… there are lots of little stressors that build up as an American driving here: being on the opposite side of the road, being on the opposite side of the car (which means that my “free” hand is my non-dominant hand now), the different signage, the snow and ice on the road, the tiny winding country roads (which provide beautiful views but add to the challenge)… and then on top of that you get tons of Scottish drivers who veer across onto my side of the road (NOT a euphemism for me forgetting which side of the road to be on- THEY are veering onto my side), Scottish drivers behind me who get really impatient with my speed (and I’m not going slowly, I’m usually well above the posted speed limits), Scottish drivers who don’t turn off their high-beams against oncoming traffic… Oh yeah, to add to my driving stress the headlights on my Ford Focus are absolute crap. I would rate them around 2/10, do not recommend to anyone. Anyway, despite these problems that make driving here unpleasant, having the car is proving really useful, as it provides safer storage for my luggage, and it comes with a mobile wi-fi hotspot that helps me navigate and stay in communication with people.
I’m also seeing some great places thanks to the car! As soon as I got it, I drove to Inverary, about an hour and a half northwest of Glasgow. Well, first I stopped at some random cemetery that Google had incorrectly identified as being Inverary Castle, but I did eventually find the real one. Inverary is the seat of the Chief of Clan Campbell, who is also the Duke of Argyle. Unfortunately the castle itself was closed, but I was able to walk around it and explore the small town of Inverary as well. I started by checking out a local wool shop, where I bought myself a couple of Campbell tartan ties (as my old one became too stained to wear) and also a nice wool green sweater. After that I walked up to the castle, taking some pictures of the truly impressive structure, gardens, and grounds. The castle even has a moat! It’s not filled currently, but you can distinctly see that there is in fact a moat that surrounds the building. Meanwhile I had noticed that there is a very tall hill not far from the castle that had some kind of watch tower at the top of it, which I thought was intriguing. I decided that I would hike up to the top of it, which turned out to be quite the adventure.
I had to walk through the extensive grounds of the estate to reach the hill, cutting through some woods that had ruins of old buildings scattered throughout. When I finally reached the hill, I found that the “trail” to the top was marked as being closed- but I decided that I would regret not going for it anyway, so I climbed the fence telling me to stop, and I kept going. It turns out that the trail was very much closed, in total disrepair and bordering on extinct. Nonetheless I trudged on, climbing through brambles, over fallen trees, sliding on mossy rocks, and much more as I made the challenging climb around the steep hill in a spiral fashion. As I reached the top, the trail completely disappeared, and I was now climbing through the steepest part of it with no guide through the thick woods. At several points I literally climbed up the hill by grabbing on to vines or long roots that stretched down the hill, and walking up the steep incline by pulling myself up hand over hand on these vines. I reached the crest completely out of breath, but right at sunset. It was an absolutely stunning view, watching the sun go down directly behind the village of Inverary. Meanwhile the watch tower stood tall and silent, made of rock that someone long ago must have dragged all the way up here. I was reminded distinctly of Rey’s ascent up the steps to the ancient Jedi temple on Ach-To to meet Luke Skywalker, so as I approached the dark opening to the tower I called out, “Luke? I’m ready to begin my training.” and then I climbed up and in. The tower was empty, and quite simple, but provided a very picturesque frame of the orange glow coming from the western horizon. It was a great place to meditate in contemplation.
From the top I was able to find a more suitable trail which I could descend, and so in the darkness I made my way back down to the castle and town, and being quite starving, I stopped into the local inn to grab a meal and a drink. Dinner was a shank of lamb leg served with delicious root vegetables, along with a beer called Carlings if I remember correctly. It was definitely quite good. I was then tempted by the innkeeper to try some desert, so I opted for the most foreign thing on the menu: ice cream. I’m not joking actually- they offered two special distinctly Scottish flavors: Irn Bru, and tablet; neither of which I had ever heard of, so I tried them both. Irn Bru is based off of a soda pop that is extremely popular here in Scotland- it turns out that Scotland is the only country in the whole world where CocaCola is not the most popular soft drink- Irn Bru is. The flavor is hard to describe, but my best attempt is that it is a much more aggressive version of orange creamsicle, but there’s no good way to describe it- it really is its own unique flavor. Tablet meanwhile is like a caramel toffee cream flavor- much more subtle than Irn Bru, but quite good.
After a stressful drive back to Glasgow in the dark, I passed right out when I got to the hostel.
On Monday morning I got right up, checked out of my hostel, and got on the road to Stirling Castle. The castle is VERY impressive, and I really enjoyed learning about the extensive history of it. I could go on for a long time about it, but I just don’t have the time today. I will mention that I also visited a museum within the castle dedicated to the 91st and 93rd Scottish regiments of the British Army, which had been headquartered there for most of their existence. It was really neat to learn more about them, particularly from the old-timers who staffed the place who had been in these regiments during the Korean War.
From Stirling I drove north, into the Highlands (Stirling is the dividing point between the Highlands to the north, and the Lowlands to the south). The views along the drive were ridiculously beautiful- orange sun glowing through white powdery snow fogging up the air in between huge snow covered slopes along the sides of pretty frozen rivers- stone bridges, castles, and cute farm houses dotting the landscape. 10/10, would recommend to everyone. As darkness fell, I made my way along the River Spey, and then the River Avon, and finally the River Livet, as I sought out my favorite Scotch distillery: The Glenlivet. Google had told me that they would be open until 6pm, so when I arrived at 5pm I was quite dismayed to discover that they were closed… for the entire winter. The visitor’s center will open again in March. Determined to at least look around, I got out of the car and just walked around the distillery, which was shockingly accessible to wanderers such as myself. Despite the cold air, the distinct aroma of Glenlivet whiskey could be easily smelled in the air, walking around the various buildings at the plant. In fact qute interestingly, the aroma had very different qualities depending on what building I was standing closest to- some smelled more like the grain, others were sweeter, some almost peppery, one even smelled a bit like banana! The plant was clearly still in operation, and I hoped that maybe I would bump into a worker whom I could plead with for a private tour, but alas no such luck. I was able however to climb up various ladders and catwalks that I’m sure I was not supposed to, in order to look through windows at the huge machinery inside the various buildings, working to make the delicious amber beverage. Definitely fascinating, but I was still supremely disappointed not to have the chance to learn directly about the process and company history, or the chance to buy a bottle of a batch not available in the United States easily.
I continued north, to Invarness, near Loch Ness of monster fame. I checked into the hostel and immediately ran out in search of food as I was starving. Immediately next door to the hostel was a great little pub and restaurant, so I ordered a beer, some haggis as an appetizer (with really delicious mustard sauce) and something called “Toad in the Hole” which features a “Cumberland Ring” (which I had never heard of- it turns out to be a sausage a bit like breakfast sausage wrapped into a tight spiral) served on a bed of mashed potatoes and root vegetables which is in turn, served on a bed of Yorkshire pudding. It was delicious. It happened to be trivia night (or quiz night, as they call it) at the pub, so I quickly got recruited by a wonderful local couple, Margaret and Jock, onto their team, The Snake Oil Salesmen. My American expertise came in handy a couple of times- identifying the San Andreas Fault and some sitcom TV shows among other things, but I was quite impressed with them as teammates- they really knew their stuff. Despite a good showing from the three of us however, we were bested by another local team; but it was still a grand time.
I stuck around to try some local gins and whiskeys (all reasonably priced, but served in the damnably small size of precisely 25ml) and made friends with the two bartenders and another quiz competitor, Fergus. We had a great conversation that ranged from Game of Thrones to whether or not the Jacobite Uprisings were “civil wars” or not, and whether or not those conflicts still provided any source of tension to modern day Scots. Finally, I walked to 15 meters back to the hostel and fell right asleep.
This morning I woke up, packed my things back into the car, and then hung out in the hostel common room figuring out where I’ll stay in Glasgow tonight, as well as having great conversations with some fellow guests: Erica and Hellen from Australia, who are here before Erica begins a 6 month exchange program in Wales and her mother Hellen tours the rest of Europe meanwhile), and Miriam the morning manager at the hostel who comes from Spain and has been living here for 8 months. She’s quite well informed about European political issues, so we had a great conversation about the European Union and Catalan independence, as well as trying to find proper Spanish corollaries to English idioms like “throwing the baby out with the bathwater”. Finally, quite hungry again, I ventured out into the town of Invarness to find a late breakfast and write this post. Now I’m going to check out the castle, and then it’ll probably be back to Glasgow- hopefully I’ll find some wi-fi later to post this!
Oh! All the photos I'm taking can be found here- sorry that there's no captions or anything right now, you'll just have to guess at them for now. https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=1ON9TolPIyHUFh0kqSZ7uZju4URhKw1nQ