Sightseeing in Scotland

After the trip to Munich/Stuttgart and London and before the Schützenfest and the trip to China and Taiwan, there was a trip to Scotland in between because when you have passed all your exams you have to trot half the globe as a reward.

Jokes aside, we took the sleeper train from London to Scotland just simply because I wanted to check out the university there. Besides the tuition fee, I don’t believe I will study in Scotland due to its weather conditions as it will become blatantly apparent in this article.

In the morning, we arrived at Glasgow Central Station because that was the final station of the sleeper train. As mentioned in my London article, it was a pain in the arse to wake up that early but the train station was clearly marked so even with a drowsy mind, navigation was possible.

Before we did anything, we dropped off the luggage at the hotel because check-in was in the afternoon and dragging pieces of luggage through a city, especially like cobbled-stoned Glasgow is a pain in the arse. So after breakfast, the pieces of luggage off at the hotel, we were off as well.

My first stop was Glasgow University because I wanted to have it checked out. Much to my surprise the university was quite far away from the city centre and the students at the university have their own city centre so to say with all the important stores and then some more.

Since the university was quite large, every street beyond a certain point led up to the university but every street was uphill and it was quite the walk. The university was on top of a hill, which makes the view from up there amazing but the walk up was a pain in the arse.

Now looking back, I should have taken the bus to save myself that trip but I didn’t know back then. We walked around the very old campus and it looked amazing. However, this whole time it was raining which made the trip a bit miserable.

Locals there can tell you that it will rain all day every day in Glasgow so better to wear warm clothes and always bring an umbrella. If it should rain every now and then, it would be fine but if it should rain every day I will become very depressive after a few days.

After lunch (may I add that the food was delicious) at a local pub, we strolled down the shopping street for the university students and ended up at the botanical garden not far from the university. The botanical garden was quite large and had every plant imaginable there.

I found the greenhouse very informative but there were herb gardens, flower gardens and a rose garden that had plenty of stories to tell as well. The botanical garden had greens and park benches so with a book, the botanical garden would be a great place to spend an afternoon.

After our stroll through the botanical garden, we decided to check out the city centre of Glasgow. Even though all the stores may be the same around the world, going to the city centre is about the people and the architecture.

Since the day took quite a toll on my energy levels, we stayed in the hotel for the rest of the evening. We bought some snacks and dinner at the supermarket and spent the evening watching television and relaxing.

Bright and early, the next morning after breakfast, we made our way to the train station and took the next train heading to Balloch since if you don’t take a tour, there isn’t much to see in Glasgow itself besides the things we saw the day before.

On that day, I had the time of my life trying to pronounce the town name because it was just so fun, and I have no idea why. The reason we headed to Balloch was that in Balloch was Loch Lomond, the not-so-famous Loch in Scotland without a mythical creature but with plenty of gore-filled history.

In Loch Lomond, we took a boat tour of the lake. On board, there was a wide selection of afternoon teas and small snacks to choose from. However, I was there for the story which was told and the beautiful landscape I got to see.

Now looking back, I can´t say I remember the information passed along on the tour but I do remember learning a lot about the area and its wildlife and I did enjoy the views so that must count as something.

After the hour-long boat tour, we hiked up to the Balloch Castle and I can just say we greatly underestimated the hike which awaited us. Unlike most people, we didn’t go up to the castle through the front gates so to speak. We went along the lake and ended up at the bottom of the castle hill.

Walking up was exhausting but I can now say it was totally worth it even if the castle itself was not quite as interesting the view from the top was magnificent. From up there the whole Loch Lomond was visible and on a sunny day quite the view to behold.

After the castle, we went back to Glasgow and went shopping for the fun of it, followed by a lovely dinner at a local pub. It was a great day even with the changing of the weather and the occasional rain shower.

The very next morning we took the next train to Edinburgh. I can´t say the train ride was pleasant since it was overcrowded for some reason and having two luggages in a crowded train is not fun at all.

When we arrived in Edinburgh, we immediately went for lunch at an Indian near the train station and I still can´t say that Indian is for me because it is always too spicy even though I opted for the not spicy option, Indian food was still very good despite my tongue being on fire the whole time.

After lunch, we walked to the hotel since we couldn’t find the bus stop which turned out to be a ridiculous idea since we were in Scotland and there were no streets which were flat. All of them went downhill or uphill and we were unfortunate enough to drag our luggage uphill which gave me muscle ache for the rest of the day.

Since we were ten minutes early, we couldn’t check in just yet so we just waited in the lobby and recovered from the uphill battle. After dropping off all the luggage in the room, we headed out immediately since I had never been to Edinburgh before, and I was dying to explore it.

Both of us were still slightly exhausted, so we took the bus to the last stop and just got off. On the way there we passed plenty of interesting sights. I still will say I have great respect for bus drivers because being able to navigate the smallest roads in the biggest bus is a fascinating skill to possess.

We ended up at a port along the coast and there was not much there besides a huge naval ship. So, we took the next tram back into the city. I mean there was a huge shopping mall there, but it closed too soon so we didn’t enter it.

If I can be honest, I don’t remember where we got off exactly but we walked a bit before ending up at the Royal Mile. Starting at the very start of the royal mile, we walked all the way up to Edinburgh castle, at least the foot of it because the castle was closed off due to the tattoo.

When walking through Edinburgh the whole day, we saw a lot of tour buses filling the streets with plenty of performers inside. Some are already dressed in their costumes or military uniforms, and some getting ready when they get there.

Funnily enough, walking a lot is exhausting so we went down the hill to the hotel again, had a lovely dinner and relaxed a bit before the tattoo started. Since the tattoo lasts until midnight and I don´t want to miss out on the tattoo so I had to rest.

Then around 8 pm, we walked up the hill again to the castle to be met with a crowd of people who were ready to see an extraordinary military tattoo at Edinburgh Castle. Even though there were plenty of people, we managed to find the seats quite easily with the volunteers helping out at the tattoo.

The time at the tattoo was filled with plenty of dancing, singing and all-round amazing performances from all over the world. The costumes were great, the music was fantastic, and the whole experience was amazing.

It was almost sad when the tattoo ended. We knew the tattoo came to an end when the fireworks started filling the night sky. However, when it ended it was like setting foot back into reality and it was sad with a small hopeful spark.

Somehow we made it through the crowds and went back to the hotel to go back to sleep because the flight in the morning was quite early in the morning. 8 am early and for those people who have read some articles written by me know that I don’t like to wake up early.

I had a past of bad sleeping habits and knowing I have to wake up early in the morning, will destroy my sleep. So as predicted, I didn’t sleep well. However, I still managed the airport procedure without much of a hassle so I am going to say I did well.

When my foot met German soil, I needed to immediately set foot back to reality. The next thing I knew after gathering my bags at the luggage belt was looking for the next train to my next destination. It felt as if I didn’t have a rest before I was onto the next thing.

Which is a good description for my whole summer vacation. Even though I had a great time in England and every other country I have been it, it just feels like I was already thinking about the next move rather than enjoying the city I am in.

Nonetheless, I really liked being in England and I liked exploring Scotland. In all honesty, I can´t say that I am going to move to Scotland for university or any other reason, I would love to go back just for vacation since Scotland has such a rich culture and magnificent countryside.

Even though the city and the people are also great, I enjoyed the countryside more than I thought I would. What would make a trip to Scotland even better is if the weather would be less malicious. Don’t get me wrong, we did have great weather much to my surprise, but it could be better.

Despite going to Scotland in the summer months, it was bloody cold and oddly rainy despite the sun being out the majority of the time. After those days, I still can´t say I like the weather. Part of a great trip for me is great weather because bad weather makes me grumpy.

So the better the weather the better the trip since I am not complaining about every part of the bloody trip. Nevertheless, I seriously really enjoyed my trip to Scotland. What I wish to do in the future is to take part in a tour.

Because the Scottish countryside is as mentioned magnificent and the history just as amazing. And I would love to learn more about the culture since after watching Tattoo in person I am just itching to find out more about the culture which includes clans and gore.

Scottish battles are just so fascinating since English battles by comparison are more proper (for the lack of better words) but it just seems that Scottish battles don’t have rules so everything is possible. And I just find that amazing.

Until I can find out more about Scotland and its bloody history, I will leave it as this. Travelling to the UK is a great experience to learn more about a different culture and fascinating history. The UK also has great countryside to offer. And if you are not into that there are bustling cities to explore. So a little bit for everyone and a place I would revisit and heavily recommend.