Scottish Highlands Part 2

Dunvegan Castle

When we arrived at the Isle of Skye is was too rainy to do any walks so we decided to drive to the other side of the island and check out Dunvegan Castle, which is the castle the Chiefs of the MacLeod Clan have lived in since the 13th century. Since my Mum's family are McLeods I was keen to have a look.

On the way we saw our first highland cow that was close enough to take photos of. We also saw lots of sheep, often in the middle of the road.

Nice views on the way

Dunvegan Castle Gardens

Castle Gardens

This is the image that is on all the Dunvegan Castle postcards.

and this one.

Driving back to our hostel.

There were lots of one-way roads with little passing areas like this one. If  cars are coming towards each other one has to duck in to the passing spot. Some cars seem to assume the other car will stop and just keep driving!

Another good view.

And another.

Scottish Highlands Part 1

Edinburgh to Inverness to Skye:

We took a bus from Edinburgh to Inverness where we picked up our hire car. It is a very nice car - most likely better than any car either Andy and I will drive in the next 10 years. The scenery in Scotland is beautiful.

Photo from the bus - somewhere between Edinburgh and Inverness

The bar of the Pub we stayed in . It was about 10 miles south of Inverness and we met lots of very friendly locals who gave us lots of tips on things to do. One was from the Isle of Skye and once he found out my Pop's name is McLeod he decided we must be related and spent over half an hour telling me stories and jokes.

Andy was very keen to play on a Links Golf Course in Scotland so we visited the Fortrose and Rosemarkie Golf Club so he could play a round. His first 9 was pretty bad but the second 9 holes were quite good.

Golf Course

Andy thinking about his next shot (this wasn't a posed photo)

Lots of bunkers

Lighthouse next to the course. There was ocean on 3 sides of the course so the views were stunning.

A celtic well. People leave clothes here so that their wishes come true.

River in a small town near our Pub.

Church ruins

The graves are so old the writing is filled with moss.

Driving to Skye. We tool the scenic route because we will be driving back to Inverness along Loch Ness next week.

Driving to Skye.

Edinburgh and St Andrews 23/5 - 26/5

We arrived in Edinburgh on what must have been the windiest days of the decade. It was impossible to walk more than 5 minutes without getting something blown into your eye or almost falling over from the strong winds, so naturally we spent most of the afternoon and evening in various pubs within 5 minutes walk from our hostel. Luckily, the next couple of days, while still being quite cold and a bit rainy, were nowhere near as windy so we managed to see a bit of the city and do a day trip to St Andrews.

View of Edinburgh from a hill near Arthurs Seat

View from our hostel. We could see the castle from the front door. Also, just about every coloured shop front in the picture is a pub.

The dog (Bobby) is apparently the most photographed thing in Edinburgh (that is what our tour guide said anyway.) His owner was the night watchman at the nearby graveyard and when the owner died the dog kept coming back every night to sit at his grave. So the Scottish people (they are a little strange sometimes) decided to give him the keys to the city and the right to vote - over 30 years before women could vote!

Andy at Edinburgh Castle

Graffiti at the bathrooms in the Elephant House Cafe, where JK Rowling wrote some of Harry Potter. This particular message is instructions on how to get to Tom Riddle's Grave in the cemetery across the road. One of the girls at the hostel said she found it but we didn't try.  

The byrne running through the 18th fairway at St Andrews. (Andy told me that, I think it just looks like a nice river with a bridge.)

Castle ruins. St Andrews

Cathedral ruins. St Andrews

St Andrews

This sign out the front of a pub at St Andrews was enough to convince me it would be a good place for lunch.

Andy is also keeping a blog. It is a bit behind mine, but that is because it has far more detail. So if you would like to hear more about what we have actually been doing rather than just looking at photos check it out at http://magicmomentswithandymarshall.blogspot.com/

Newcastle 20/5 - 23/5

I arrived in Newcastle late Friday night. My plane from Krakow was late so once I found my hostel I was too tired to do much else. I had to meet Andy at the train station at 2pm on Saturday so I spent the morning wandering around the city. I didn't really know what to expect from Newcastle as we were here to see a soccer game and I hadn't read anything about the town, so it was quite interesting to walk around and come across different things.

Central Arcade

Black Gate (entrance to the old castle). I didn't go into the castle itself because it was too expensive. After being in Eastern Europe the UK seems very expensive.

Pigeons nesting on a building.

After meeting Andy our first stop was St James Park - Newcastle United's home ground.

Andy thought it was funny that there was a sign to the stadium when you could see it.

At the soccer.

Andy at the soccer.

Walking towards the river.

Bridges

A nice view.

Krakow 16/5 - 20/5

Krakow is a really nice city, but smaller than i expected. I am staying in another really good hostel. This one does free breakfast and free dinner, and it is really good food - home made polish meals every night, which is great because it means i have tasted a lot of different foods that i wouldn't have tried otherwise. Over the last couple of days I have done a few trips out of the city - one to Auschwitz and one to the Salt Mines about 30mins outside the city. I also did an excellent free walking tour of the Jewish Quarter, and despite not having seen Shindlers List I have now seen most of the places where it was filmed and learned about the "real" story.

The weather has been fantastic - 25-30 degrees every day. I think I am going to freeze in the UK.

Old Town, Krakow

Church in front of the Castle

A fire breathing statue!

The pope (the one before the current one). He was polish and everyone loves him. There is a statue of him pretty much everywhere I have been in Poland.

Auschwitz

Auschwitz memorial (english version)

Jewish Quarter

Street Art

Walls of the Jewish Ghetto

A memorial in Krakow's Jewish Quarter. The walking tour guy loved it. He said that he thinks it is one of the best memorials in Europe because when the Jews were moved to the concentration camps all of their belongings and furniture was thrown into this area, so there actually were chairs there. And then the chairs are empty which represents the people no longer being there.

Chapel in the Salt Mine. Everything is made from salt - floors, walls, stairs, chandeliers....except for the white cloth on the alter.