Scotland, Day 2

Loch Ness!

Glencoe

Rainbow... from Bus

Dunkeld Cathedral

The second day in Scotland began with breakfast at the hostel. Nothing fancy, just cereal, bread and butter essentially. We all then hopped aboard the coach waiting outside, with our driver, Sandy, bidding Edinburgh goodbye after a wonderful, albeit too short, stay.

Michael gave us a general overview of what we would be seeing during the day, and how things would operate. This portion of the trip was going to take us all the way across the Scottish highlands, stopping at points along the way. We would then stay the night at a hostel in Oban, on the west coast, and make the return trip to Edinburgh for our train the next day. When Michael wasn't talking to us over the bus's PA system (which he spent an awful lot of time doing), he would be playing music from Scotland ranging from traditional folk to far more modern stuff as well.

Our first stop of the day was at a town called Dunkeld. It is a little town on the River Tay at the edge of the highlands. The bit of history from there that people are most likely to be familiar with is that Beatrix Potter was inspired to write Peter Rabbit by her time living in Dunkeld. She is remembered there today with a quiet little park bearing her name. More impressive, however, is the Templar cathedral sitting on the River Tay. It is a very interesting building because today it lies in ruins, and its floor has been converted into a graveyard, yet one half of it actually has been restored and serves as an active center of worship for the Church of Scotland.

We only spent a brief time checking it out, and then it was back on the bus, and off to our next destination. We drove through the pass of Killiecrankie, witnessing some spectacular scenery that would not diminish in its impressiveness for the remainder of our journey. Michael pointed out a place called Blair Castle as we drove past. It is a castle belonging to the Murray Clan and has an interesting story. Due to a strange series of events at one point, the leadership of the clan had to be traced deep into the clan's makeup, and it was eventually determined that a man living in South Africa (obviously of Scottish descent) was to be the new leader. Another interesting aside is that the Murray Clan is the only remaining clan with the legal privilege of maintaining its own private army (though I'm sure they are about as fierce as the funny bear hat guards). So essentially this random guy in South Africa woke up one day, and got a letter or visit or something informing him that he is all of a sudden a Scottish clan chief in possession of both a castle and a private army. Kinda sweet.

I was a little surprised we didn't actually stop at the castle though. In the US when you reach landmarks like that you stop because A.) there aren't than many, and B.) those that do exist are really far apart. As the tour went on however, it became clear why we didn't stop at every castle. We would have been stopping every 20 minutes!

There were other stories as we drove too. For instance, as we drove past Loch Lochy Michael pointed out a pine tree near a building that was missing a portion on top. He explained that the RAF frequently runs flights over the Loch for testing/practice/whatnot, often very, very close to the surface of the water. Apparently on one occasion a flight was too low and too close to the banks, and the aircraft's wing actually sliced through the top of the tree, completely severing it. The plane itself was fine (or at least it didn't crash!), but the top of the tree fell on the hotel, doing damage. The hotel's owners received compensation and an apology letter from the RAF, and apparently they framed the letter and have it hanging in their lobby.

Eventually we got off the bus again at Loch Ness. I was unaware how big Loch Ness is. I always envisioned it being relatively small in comparison to lakes like Seneca. It is actually as deep as 250 m however and on some scales is the largest body of water in Britain. No sight of Nessy as we poked around the town and had our lunch. The fact is that there is very little to do at Loch Ness... but it was a beautiful area.

Once again we boarded the bus and took off through the scenic highlands. Now is a good time to note that even though it was a generally rainless day, there were many low clouds and mists hanging on all of the various mountains. This, combined with the sunlight, allowed us to see probably 7-8 rainbows in a 2 day span. It was absolutely gorgeous.

We then came to the foot of Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in Britain, and unloaded at a Whiskey distillery. The tour started with a hilarious video in which the distillery invented its own myth about the origin of whiskey, the "dew of the mountain." Introduce the Scottish accent, and you have a ten minute video about the "Jew of the mountain" and how magical it is, and how good it tastes. We laughed hysterically, and then had to explain to our Scottish tour guide what we found so funny. At first he didn't think their pronunciation of "dew" and "Jew" were that similar, and then he tried saying both words, and you could see by his face that he had changed his mind!

All 50 of us went on a tour around, with one guy sans amplification trying to talk to us about the Whiskey-making process. It wasn't ideal, but it was interesting. The Hershey's factory we used to go to in Canada is certainly much more entertaining (and clean), but this was pretty interesting. Our guide was a Whiskey purist, turning up his nose at anybody who drinks Whiskey "for effect," and especially those that drink it in Coke. He took special offense to the American practice of putting ice in it. Apparently it should be poured and then allowed to sit so that you can drink it room temperature. It was also interesting to note that the wooden barrels they used are all used barrels. They are purposefully sent to be used in making various other kinds of alcohol around the world, allowing the wood to soak up other scents and flavors, and then are used for the whiskey. I think the funniest was that some barrels are first sent to the US to make Jack Daniels, and then are used to make real whiskey back in Scotland. It ended with everyone getting a taste of the whiskey.

Our next stop was at a place called Glencoe. It is an absolutely stunning stop surrounded by mountains. My pictures don't do it justice. It is also the sight of a great massacre, however, in 1692. The story is that after the Glorious Revolution replaced the Stuart monarchy, many highlanders, termed Jacobites, remained loyal to King James VII (II of England), who had been removed from power. There would be various rebellions in Scotland in the name of the Stuart monarchy over the ~65 years following the Glorious Revolution. Even when there was no active rebellion, however, the new monarchy in Britain was suspicious of the Scottish highland clans, and required them to take an oath of loyalty by a certain date. The MacDonald's, who inhabited Glencoe, sent their chief to make the necessary oath, but due to a series of unforeseen events, and officials that were away from their posts, the oath was made several days late, though the chief had arrived before the deadline. Nevertheless, the MacDonald's believed they were safe after fulfilling the spirit of the oath.

Of course the English, acting with similar displays of chivalry and gentlemanliness as they exhibit in modern times, decided to make an example of the late MacDonalds. The monarchy used another Scottish highland clan, the Campbells, to take advantage of a tradition of Scottish hospitality. It was highland custom to accept and aid any travelers, regardless of clan affiliation, as they went about their journey. So the plot unfolded like this: the Campbells came to the McDonald's and asked for hospitality. The MacDonalds obliged. After taking advantage of said hospitality, the Campells ambushed the MacDonald's at Glencoe as they slept, massacring them and scattering the survivors into the inhospitable hills. The Campell name has yet to recover in Scotland to this day (there is even a hotel that refuses to admit people with the last name Campbell).

From Glencoe we went to our final destination for the day, Oban, where we were to spend the night. Once again Charlotte, Kelly, Raphael and I went to get dinner together, stopping in at a little restaurant type place. We all got steak pies and talked about how nice our waitress was. From there we sought out a pub called Markie Dan's, where Michael said he would be spending the evening. He had also mentioned there would be live music. Once again it was one of the better nights I've spent over here, just chatting with other people from our group and with Michael, listening to the performers. Michael, I discovered, is very hopeful that Scotland will get full independence from the English. He believes there is a 90% it will happen before he dies. I think he's a wishful thinker.

Alright... done with day 2! Only one more segment to go. Unfortunately it will be pretty delayed. I have four essays due by the end of next week, and then Katie arrives, and will be here for a week! I'm pretty excited, but it means even less regularity in posts. We'll see how it goes.

Scotland... Almost.

As you know from the taste I gave you when I got back, I spent last weekend in Scotland. It was a tour that I purchased through Arcadia before arriving, and as such it was with 50 American students studying at various UK universities, all from random US universities, studying abroad through Arcadia like me. Three of the other people studying at Royal Holloway through Arcadia with me also went on the trip: Audrey, Jenn and Briana.

The Arcadia plan was to leave for Edinburgh by train via King's Cross at 8 am on Friday. Of course I had two classes on Friday, even though I had no other classes the rest of the week (the history department had a 'reading week' and canceled all classes). Also, it would have been a real hassle to leave from Egham trying to make it to King's Cross in London by 8 am. Instead, the four of us from Royal Holloway headed into the city on Thursday afternoon, then stayed the night at a hostel near the train station (Arcadia had actually given us vouchers for the place back in January, so it was free!).

So Thursday night began the journey. Jenn and Audrey split off from Briana and I early on, so it was just us two to figure out what to do in London on a Thursday night when we knew we had to get up around 6:30 the next morning. We decided to tackle dinner first, and set off looking for a pub. The first one we walked into was absolutely packed. Not a seat in the house. Figuring there had to be other places we continued our search. In that search we stumbled across another place. Packed. As we walked we came to a location where you could stand in the doorway of one McDonald's and look at the other McDonald's no more than 60 yards away. I realize they were separated by a bizarre intersection comprising many lanes of traffic, but I couldn't help but think Lewis Black would have something to say about a McDonald's across the street from a McDonald's. Kept walking. Found another pub... too expensive.

By now we're starting to get discouraged. As we walk down the street, headed back to the original pub to see if a seat has opened up we pass a group of people on a street corner waiting to cross. As we turn our backs to them we hear the scream of a wild banshee and turn to see a crazed rotund woman in a skirt barreling towards us, eyes wild, arms flying. Needless to say we are mildly confused. As she nears us she valiantly attempts a flying ninja kick. The kick fell short. I don't know if the near-miss was the intentional product of the fact that she did not really want to kick us, or if it was the unexpected result of the force of gravity on her large frame. Either way, I'm glad the kick was short. For some reason neither Briana nor I flinched; it was over in a matter of seconds and we were back to walking, dazed by the impact of the lunacy that had just targeted us. This is why I can't live in a city.

Upon arrival at the original pub we were relieved to find... just kidding, it was full still. Now we're really hungry and head to this pub that looked from the outside like it was absolutely packed. Nevertheless, upon entry it had seats available, and reasonable prices so we sat. Grateful to be sitting we took our time choosing off the menu, and then Briana went to order, leaving me to jealously guard our table. She returned moments later with the news that somehow the pub had run out of the food necessary to make 2/3 of the items on their menu. Essentially we could have the most expensive food they offered, or we could leave.

Outside we were now really discouraged, and were about to settle for buying some snacks at a "Food and Wine" store and moving on to our next destination. As we wandered we spotted a faint glow down a side street we passed maybe 4 or 5 times during our search that night. So we went to see. The glow was emanating from a little pub called the Boot. We looked at the food prices. Incredibly reasonable (for Britain, especially London). We knew that as soon as we opened the door we would be met by a massive crowd of people, filling the tables and crowding the bar, just like all the other pubs. We braced ourselves and opened the door. A couple groups of people were scattered around half the tables laughing and enjoying a meal or a pint, and the bartender was calmly cleaning the bar, at which nobody was waiting. There was a man, presumably the owner, in the back corner of the pub with papers scattered about him, working. A dog lay silently and obediently at his feet, untethered and undisturbed by the incoming strangers. We ordered our food and sat down at a table. Briana and I were taken aback. If we walked a city block in any direction from the Boot we would have found 2 or 3 pubs all crowded and loud, and possibly without food apparently. Yet here was this idyllic little pub in the middle of it all, almost tauntingly perfect. It was straight out of a moving... the dog in the corner just completed it!

And that is the story of my favorite pub in London.

From there we hopped on the tube and took off for the Westminster stop to see the Houses of Parliament/Big Ben and the Eye at night. I've seen them multiple times now, and at night once (during my first few days here, even), but I never had my camera. So it was time to play tourist. See pictures above!

That took a lot longer than I expected... you can see why I say writing this is going to be an epic. So that was Thursday night; the rest was occupied with sleeping. The next three days were Scotland. Which will come later, because I have to go make dinner.