Scottish Trip Report.
Day 0.
Packed. But forgot to burn the music...thought I could do it next morning, before departure. Went sporting. Went to bed pretty late.
Day 1.
With my beloved mama, wishing us a great trip!
Departure. Managed to burn 3 CD's only. Dad picked me up. The boat was named THE KING OF SCANDINAVIA. My cabin was next to the captain's. My dad's on another deck. We agreed to meet at 19-30 at the restaurant's entrance. I layed down on my bed and 've fallen asleep. Dad's call woke me up. Dressed up. Headed towards the restaurant. The food was delicious. We could choose everything we liked. And, believe me, I did. Our waiter looked at me and asked:
- Spanish?
- Hn..no. - I said and kept on chewing, not paying attention to him anymore.
- ? (he still stood next to us, expecting an asnwer.)
- Dutch. - I replied finally.
He didn't look convinsed. I didn't feel like exaplining my origins to the waiter. After dinner we sat on the 8th deck. Dad smoked. We both listened to the pianist's performance. After - bought a detailed map of Scotland in the local shop. Later went to the deck 9 for the show. I got 1 baileys. Remember 2 German twins and British people next to us. No energy for details. Only one important one - I took my map to the club..and also my trip plans (that I made 2 hours before our deprature with the speed of the rocket), and together with dad we made the plan for the next day. We decided on 1. Abbotsford (the home of Sir Walter Scott (Ivanhoe..for those who are not sure where the name comes from). 2. Hopetoun House (considered to be the finest stately home in Scotland). Went to my room round 2400. Felt really sick. The sea was storming...And yes, after some struggling with myself, I had to throw up..BIG TIME. I felt horrible. Only one thought was circulating in my head at the time. "Put urself together. Just one night and u're in Scotland.". I was so sick that coudn't take a shower. Decided I will do it the first thing in the morning. Night was difficult as well. The sea didn't calm down..up and down..up and down on my bed the whole night. "One more night and u're in Scotland" - I was telling myself. I decided to never drink Baileys on the ship again.
Day 2.
Arrived in New Castle somewhat round 1030 local time, 1 hour earlier from central European. Headed towards Abbotsford. Was quiet there..not many visitors.
Abbotsford - the house of the great Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott. Naturally, the most interesting room for me was..THE LIBRARY..with over 7000 books, collected by this famous man. Beautiful library with the portrait of Sir's Scott oldest son in the middle. The armory and the main hall were pretty impressive too. The house is relatively small..but I believe it wasn't easy to warm it up nevertheless. The study of the master was a unique room as well. In all old manors and castles of Great Britain - books in the libraries are protected by special lattice..so the books cannot be touched. And for the better I say.. I spent a lot of time starring at the titles of the books. Was interesting to know what kind of books were in print then..and what books the great mind of his time considered worth having in his library. I think books that represent documentation of some parliamentary debates would not make it to my top list..but well.."Sirs" in GB were obliged to be involved in political life of the country and therefore - aware. The chair in which Walter Scot sat, wrote his correspondence and famous novels was protected by a special rope, so that noone can sit on it. In a little room, next to his study - his post-death face mask was displayed.
Sir Walter's Study
The Library
The Drawing Room
The Armory
The Entrance Hall
The Death Mask
Hopetoun House was also on our way to the hotel. Pretty close to it, we got into a huge traffic jam..and I mean HUGE! Lef-turning traffic was unusual for my dad. He is THE BEST driver I know and I always feel safe with him. But I kept reminding him that we always have to keep on the left side and turn closer left than usualy..the same goes for roundabouts. BUT..somewhere not so far from the Hopetoun House we got stuck into the biggest longest and slowest traffic jam I ever witnessed in my life. Still, British are real gentlemen on the road. They always let u through or before if u need. We arrived at Hopetoun House just in time. 5 min later visitors were no longer aloud. Beautiful...Again. I like to wonder rich houses with big history and imagine how the life there would be like..to wonder about the families, generations and destinies witnessed by these walls...
When we left the Hopetoun House, the estate was clothing. I was too late to buy the little book with photos about the manor :( On our way back, we took the forest road..and saw a lot of (and I mean A LOT OF) rabbits and squals. Great Britain has just a few main roads..and for the rest, everything is connected by little country roads, where even 2 cars would hardly pass by at the same time (from the opposite dirrections I mean). BUT those roads are FANTASTICALLY BEAUTIFUL..real magic, U feel like in some fantasy fairytale wood. Big trees surrounding the road from all sides often so that u do not see the sky. Beautiful.
Hopetoun House
Large Library
Small Library
The Front Stairs
The Bruce Bedchamber
White Satin Bedchamber
The Yellow Drawing Room
Entrance Hall
The Red Drawing Room
The State Dining Room
Butler's Pantry
Again, when we got on the big road..we were stuck in the traffic jam - reason --> urgent repairs. There is a bridge that connects south of Scotland with the rest of the country..just above Edinburgh. To cross the bridge..u have to pay 1 pound..the bridge is blocked by the check posts. Men in the little cabins collect the money.
And again..soon enough we were off the main road..diving into Scottisch country side. Pretty. We arrived in Crieff and found our hotel pretty fast. Very cute. I liked my room. The only min point ( but a big one) was that In Great Britain they have separate crans for hot and cold water...so u either have very cold..or very hot water running..Man..annoying like hell. Especially in the evening, when I was cleaning my face from the make-up. I had to fill in the sink with both hot and cold water in order to make it warm and then stoop low above it. Not a nice feeling after getting used to the Dutch comfort. The only way to have warm water - was shower. And I did :) Twice every day. LOVE it :)))
We had our supper at the hotel restaurant. Pretty good, BUT very expensive. We decided to have our dinner every time elsewhere..to get the REAL taste of Scotland.
Later, in my bad I was thinking about Scotland I saw so far, about beautiful houses and nature..and about choices I did in my life. Many things came clear. I was starring at the window with my light-sensitive eyes for ages. It was very quiet. And peaceful. All my hot temper disappeared. I was enjoying the silence and thinking of what happened to me in the past. Slept very-very deep that night.
P.S. Other days and many pictures will follow.