Bagpipes, hilly greens and everything in between. Edinburgh, the Highlands and Shetland Islands

Wednesday May 24

I gave Lorna a big cuddle before going on my way via train from London to Edinburgh where I would be meeting my friend Cat, who used to live in Canberra but now lives in Melbourne. with fantastic timing, Cat is in Edinburgh at the same time as me as she is presenting at a conference. So we are playing husband and wife at an airbnb in the city.

Although my train doesn't leave until 10am, I needed to get up at 630am to be able to get to London first.

Our train stopped about 15 minutes (train time) outside of Edinburgh due to problems with the cable. We weren't getting given much information about when the train would be up and running but they said we couldn't leave the train. There was no air conditioning and it was a hot day. The elderly lady next to me seemed to be cooking in the sun, so I gave her my seat and walked down the train.  Trains are great and going on the budget option for any travel is always fine; you don't get the fine trimmings (who cares), but you know you are on the budget airline/train/bus etc when things go wrong.

The longer the delay, they eventually had to give us free water, then chips and muffins and wifi. Another passenger told me that the last time this happened on a train with him, the train lines didn't go back up until nearly midnight. As I planned my escape through the window, the train attendants eventually let us outside of the train 'until further notice; but said we couldn't go anywhere. I spoke to a nice English bloke who was sussing out the bus timetable. We were lucky that we were close to Edinburgh and had stopped at a country town on the way 'Dunbar'. So we got the bus to Edinburgh.

My about 6pm I arrived in Edinburgh, grotty, exhausted and a bit heatstroke like but relieved to have the nice English fellow help me out and be greeted by Cat with big smiles and hugs.

Our airbnb could not be any more central. We are right on the royal mile.

Have a look at the view from our window:

I can hear bagpipes from my window. The whole city is buzzing with buskers. Edinburgh  just has a generally good feeling about it. People are friendly and don't seem to be in a rush, probably as the population is not too big; about half a million.

A lady busker with Scottish costume, and mohawk traditionally weaves while singing Scottish folk songs.

Of course you realise after you take a photo that there is a sign asking for 1 pound per photo, well played my friend. Of course I'll give him a pound, imagine playing bagpipes for this long in that heavy attire in genuine heat (not just for Scotland, an actual warm day). Also, he's playing the bagpipes. :)

Thursday May 25

I started my day with my morning jog. I did want to visit 'Arthur's seat at some point, and I ended up jogging there by accident, so I just kept running up the mountain until the top. I love it when this happens; you stumble across beautiful things by accident.

Dad said that he could see me being an 'Edinbughrite'  and he is right. Dad also told a friend of his that 'the bush is Rasa's church', this is also true.These cool accents and this kind of beauty, who wouldn't want to live here? Arthur's seat...wow, spectacular.

Alas, another free walking tour, of course! Our guide Ben is a gem, wearing a kilt and promising to give all of today's tour earnings to the charity designated to Manchester's recent tragedy, what a champion.  It was interesting to hear that JK Rowling based a lot of her Harry Potter destinations on places in Edinburgh. I loved visiting and learning about the beautiful graveyards; how those affected from the plague were separated from the nobles (the only people who received a headstone). My friend Lewie from Shetland who studied in Edinburgh said that he bumped in to JK Rowling at a supermarket it Edinburgh when he studied there (they tried to both pick up the same newspaper at the same time). Lewie has also bumped in to Dylan Moran, the comedian famously known from 'Black Books' a couple of times in Edinburgh too.



I was happy to see that a doggy has a headstone. Greyfriars Bobby (1872) was a terrier who was said to have stayed by his owners grave for 14 years and was even given keys to the City and was able to vote!

The old Bank of Scotland, now a museum. There are many  fantastic, free museums to see in Scotland.

The top of Edinburgh Castle

My favourite view of Edinburgh Castle.

We learned about St Giles Cathedral and that there are carved angels playing bagpipes inside, this makes me happy. :)

There are loads of ghost tours around Edinburgh. Apparently there is no historical basis behind this, but a lot of Edinburgh lies underground, which makes for cool spooky stories at night. However.  many people here are buried as a result of the plague. Often where there are mysterious or strangely shaped mounds, it is shaped that way because of the large amount of bodies buried there. I think this makes for a good ghost story or two.

I went back to visit St Giles Cathedral this afternoon to have a look on the inside. It's great to see such a beautiful place being led by such enthusiastic volunteers.

One of the lovely volunteers taught me that Along the sides of the chapel are the knights’ stalls, which are capped by lavishly carved canopies with the helms and crests of the knights rising above. The richest effect of all, however, is reserved for the Sovereign’s stall at the west end of the chapel.


Friday May 26

Today has been HUGE! I'm in a it of a tough position with my navigating this trip as

1.I am crap with directions and maps regardless
2. My 3rd faulty phone died 3 days before my trip, so I'm using a cheapie phone that refuses to use my SD card for storage no matter what I do, so I cannot use any maps.

I woke up having had bad dreams. My dear brain seems to anticipate all change (whether it is good or not) as anxiety and trauma and I have nightmares when this happens. It's annoying but I remind myself that it's what my body does sometimes, that I am okay, everything is okay and then I go for a run and I feel better. This morning I felt dreadful and woke up with my heart beating very fast, each time I went to bed I had more nightmares. I felt emotionally very tired and did not want to bother navigating myself around with such few resources other than people on the street. But I decided to get on with it and I've had the best day in Edinburgh because of it.

I was told about a lovely hike through the Braid of Hermitage. I'm not sure if I heard my tour guide incorrectly when I thought he said it was a 15 minute walk. Perhaps he meant a 15 minute drive, or actually said a 50 minute walk? I have no idea. I didn't go in completely blind. I looked up the walk and it looked like it was about 5km away.

I ended up doing a 17km return run/walk hike and it was totally worth it. I'm really proud of myself for pushing on to make it happen too. When I asked people for directions and they said 'fucking hell it's a long way away, I can't even tell you which way to go as it's so far away I can't get my bearings'. I smiled and said, it's okay, I know it's a long way off!

Doggies love the Braid of Hermitage too.

I later went to find the train station in preparation for my upcoming trip to the Shetland Islands and then came across the most amazing buskers 'The Spinning Blowfish'. They were incredible; performing their own rendition 'Scottish style' of various rock and roll songs among their own original songs.

I ended up sitting and watching this band 'The Singing Blowfish' for ages. They had such a good attitude too. Everyone in Edinburgh today looks so gleeful because it's finally sunny. This band were amazing as they had a relaxed attitude towards donations and had a sense of humour; they seemed to be just happy to be there. I made a donation, of course! Scottish people have a good demeanor I think. There is a big crowd behind me, watching attentively or are dancing fanatically.

Again, through searching for something else (the train station), I not only  stumbled across this amazing band, I also found the national gallery and then thought while I was at it, I should visit the National museum.

I know it's not Scotland specific, but dinosaurs and taxidermy animals really do it for me.

My favorite exhibitions at the museum were Dolly the sheep-the first successfully cloned sheep and the creepy Millennium clock.

Saturday 26th May

My run to Arthur's seat this morning showed the Edinburgh Marathon being prepared. When I was in Spain two years ago, I also got to see another Marathon being prepared. I can't run Ultra Marathons or Marathons anymore because of my knees, but I'm so excited to see other people running them. I can appreciated how much training goes in to it, and  I feel my eyes welling up with tears when I see people of all walks of life pushing themselves over the finish line at 42km's or more.

Cat and I headed out on a day tour together today. It's great that we have today together, as Cat has been at her conference each day through the day while I be a tourist through the day and then at night we have our 'date night' of beer and a pub meal. We make a good pair, 2 single, independent and driven girls who have a good laugh together and look after each other.  We have a special friendship, as Cat moved from Canberra to Melbourne many years ago, but our friendship has always remained strong. I think I have drunk more in the past 2 weeks and eaten more fried food than I have in the ;past year, but hey, when in Rome (or the UK).


 Today we  made our way to the ancient Scottish capital of Stirling, where the skyline is dominated by its castle and the iconic Wallace Monument. We stopped to hear tales of Scotland’s most famous patriot and his part in the medieval Wars of Independence. My friend Greg from Shetland, also studied in Sterling.

We then took to the back roads and drive through Scotland's scenic beauty and further into the Highlands. Glens, forests and rivers aplenty, we'll  journeyed through this  picturesque region before stopping for lunch at one of Scotland’s most famous whisky distilleries; Glenturret. We were given a tour of how the whiskey is made at Glenturret. The whiskey here is sold locally and to some specialty whiskey stores. It is made traditionally and the old fashioned way ion a small distillery. A part of the whiskey that is made at Glenturret goes in to 'The Famous Grouse' whiskey. I asked both tour guides if they understood the term 'that's grouse'. Neither of them had heard the expression.

After the chance to revive ourselves with a wee dram of the ‘water of life’ (whiskey), we headed to the Hermitage in the heart of Perthshire and take a short woodland walk to see the spectacular Black Linn Falls on the River Braan. I established that this Hermitage is different to my epic 17km run/walk/hike to the Braid of Hermitage.

A log end is filled with what looks like at least hundreds of coins. Can you see them? This isn't even a display or a monument, just a log on the side of the path in Hermitage. I'm not sure what the reason is behind the coins, but it looks so cool!

Our return journey we visited the quaint village of Dunkeld, in Macbeth country, where a stunning cathedral sits comfortably by the banks of the River Tay. Before returning back to Edinburgh we passed the iconic Forth Bridge, the new World Heritage Site.

Following Cat to the Dunkeld Cathedral.

The Wolf of Badenoch at Dunkeld Cathedral. The Cathedral volunteer informed us 'he was very bad man'. The volunteer said that half of the wolf ( the side facing the audience in this photo) is shiny due to people touching him to hope for better fertility, even though his many children were mostly had out of wedlock.

 

 


 Cat and I, being the nerds that we are, wanted to know the exactly what that phrase was derived from and looked it up in bed after a couple of glasses of Scottish Raspberry wine. All we could find was the urban dictionary definition 'An Australian phrase used when something is fucking awesome'. We have been able to catch up on everything in our lives; study, work, relationships with friends families and boys, annoyances, discussions about being a female in the modern world and societal expectations, all while having this beautiful green backdrop. I'll miss you Cat, but I know you will have a brilliant time in London and Poland.


Sunday May 28



Today I started to make my way to the Shetland Islands and cat made her way to London. I got up early and then realised that my flight actually was departing later and that my new shirts from the UK were not meant to be tumble dried on(my first time washing my clothes properly, I felt like I was being punished)! It's funny how these little things annoy you so much  when you are older. Travel teaches you to get over that pretty quickly, cause otherwise you will grind away at your travel companions and not get where you need to go (location wise and emotionally). 'Your very upset about the shirts aren't you' said Cat in a sympathetic tone. 'Yes', I replied and then she made me a cup of tea and reminded me that I could always buy new shirts and we could just spend more of the morning together. And it was lovely, we sipped on our tea and chatted and were able to walk to the station together.

The Shetland Islands are these tiny Islands off the coast of mainland Scotland. I have friends from the Shetland Islands (Lewie, Greg and Lizzie) from them staying with our family in Canberra as a part of this research project called 'Learning school/Global Classroom) in which my Mum ( a very dedicated teacher) has been involved with for many years now. One of the groups involved are people from the Shetland Islands. I'm blessed, because now I feel like I have brothers and sisters all over the world.

I intended to come to Shetland with more time but Lewie was actually marrying his fiance Theresa on the dates I was going to come! I could have come for a longer period on my own. But honestly, unless if I joined a tour group or tried to tag along with some grey nomads, it would have been very hard to be able to do much on my own.

Lewie and Theresa getting married not long ago in Croatia.

So I ventured out on my 48 hours in Shetland. Lewie and his wife Theresa are champions as they offered to host me literally on the day they got back from their wedding week, thanks guys!

The plane to Shetland is the smallest plane I have been on. Once we had boarded the plane, we were stuck in this hot little plane for an hour without moving; something to do with luggage issues because someone brought pets on the plane which confused the plane staff ...and me...

When I arrived at the airport, I felt like I was Ben Stiller in 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' film adaptation; in the part where he arrives in Iceland airport. I ask the guy at the tourist information if the bus outside which says 'Lerwick' is the bus that leave at 1355 to Lerwick. The man tells me that is the only bus at the airport then introduces me to the bus driver. I told Greg earlier that I was worried I might not have time to get my baggage and the bus in time. 'You'll have time' said Greg. 'It's really not a big airport'.

I had no way of telling Greg that I was going to be late in catching the bus to Lerwick, so Greg and his dad Geoff/Jeff  just turned up at Sumburgh airport to meet me. Greg later told me that most flights to Shetland are usually delayed for one reason or another. The issue with the planes became such a problem that they had to get politicians involved. Greg said that they usually look up online to see if the planes have landed or just look up.

As we are driving from the airport, my breath is taken away by the scenery. I feel as though I am going to cry, I am so overwhelemed with the beauty. This is always how I imagined Scotland to be; rugged, green and wild.

We stop to have a cup of tea and a cupcake at Greg's family home where I meet Greg's Mum and his brother Brendan. They are such a sweet family. Shetlander's are really sweet and welcoming people again with the excellent Scottish sense of humour. They apologise for today's weather and talk about how yesterday was ' a nice hot day' (18 degrees Celsius).

I knew that Shetland was a cold climate but boy golly. It's the end of Spring and tomorrow will be a top of 11 degrees. The UK days this time of year are so interesting though as the sun rises at about 430am and does not set until about eleven o clock at night. I knew that Shetland was small, but it is very small indeed! There are about 10000 people who live in the mainland. Many of the car roads are one way, so cars take turns going through when they come in from opposite directions. It is customary to wave at every car when you come through and sometimes you need to stop to let sheep cross the road. It's lamb birth season, lucky for me! I love the sheep and lambies very much, they are so sweet.

We meet up with Lizzie, her husband Andrew and 2 year old son Archer at a cafe on the way home. This is part of a new 'entertainment centre' only developed in the last year or so.Lizzie, who I have not seen in 6 years says 'you look exactly the same'. I say to Lizzie that she does too, aside from having a husband and baby! When Lizzie was in Australia for global classroom, she didn't intend on returning to Shetland but then she fell in love with a Shetlander and now they have a lovely little family. Lizzie talked about how it can be funny what you find when you are looking somewhere else. It's great that you can still connect with people who you haven't seen in so long, when your lives are so different and you live on other sides of the planet to each other.



Greg made me a gin at his group house where his housemates are all lying in the sun outside with a drink whole I am till wearing my beanie. Greg and I catch up on talks about family and relationships. Greg shows me the latest videos he has made; including a video about locally made Shetland knitwear for Japan and animation of a Shetland house which will be shown at a Highland Film festival soon.  They are beautiful videos. Greg is very driven and talented in his work.

Here are some of the links to Greg's work:

https://vimeo.com/115923863

https://youtu.be/Js9FIO7nPR0



Greg and I have dinner together at a nearby restaurant where share some whiskey salmon. The fish in Shetland is fresh and delicious ( as is the lamb as you would expect). Lewie told me that about 30% of the consumable fish in the UK comes from Shetland.

Lewie meets us at the restaurant later for a drink, he has just returned from Croatia where he has married his beautiful bride Theresa. Congratulations Lewie and Theresa!

Before you know it, it's already 11pm, that happens when it's light all day. I set up camp in Lewie and Theresa's beautiful home; a country home which they have been spending the last 2 years renovating. Lewie has kindly taken the next two days off work to show me around.




Monday May 29

As you can imagine, my morning run in Shetland is totally grouse. I think that Lewie and Greg may have gotten tired of me saying that everything here is 'cute', but it totally is.  When I say 'cute', I mean unique, adorable and lovely. I've taken a lot of photos of my favourite signage in Shetland.

On a 5km run I see only one car.

50 meters later...

Shetland ponies! I did a self elected project about Shetland ponies in primary school. Yes, all my dreams have finally come true, my punk-like, stocky, apathetic and adorable horsey friends.

Lewie takes me on an epic tour of the Island, we visit a castle, do a couple of hours of walking across cliffs and historical monuments and I get some historical knowledge and localised knowledge from Lewie. I'm really grateful. Without Lewie it would have been basically impossible for me to have seen all of this and it would have not been the same experience.  The teachings you will have about a place from locals is invaluable.

 

I learn that here, where the North sea meets the Atlantic Ocean is some of the most dangerous water in the world.

 

Shetland troll at the local museum.

We finish our day with Greg and Theresa, drinking wine and eating local fish and chips. I get a little look at the new thriller TV show 'Shetland' where Theresa and Greg are both extras in the show. I've always wanted to be an extra, it sounds like such fun!  Theresa talked to me about the process involved in being an extra; having photos taken for hours to be shown for a few seconds in one episode in a picture of a suspect's dead wife. These actually got asked about by her on screen x husband but he was rejected and she married Lewie later instead. :) Of course, Shetland style, all through the episode of Shetland that was showcased to me, Lewie and Theresa were pointing out all the extras that they knew. The weather in Shetland does add to a mystery /thriller TV show. I asked Lewie and Theresa if any locals were upset that the TV show depicts Shetland to be a place where lots of murders happen (which do not happen in reality. Theresa and Lewie said that the Shetland Islanders are not upset by this; the show has boosted tourism in Shetland and has been able to show off Shetland's beautiful landscapes. I'm hoping that I can introduce this show to our families weekly movie night when I return to Canberra.

Hey Greg is famous! Greg as an extra on 'Shetland'.

Tuesday May 30

Lewie takes me on another tour through other parts of the Island.

Testing out Theresa's exercise bike. Not a bad view outside hey?

Lewie at Scalloway Castle: number one tour guide for Shetland as voted by Rasa on Trip Advisor

Shetland language is also grouse.

People use old broken boats as shed roofs= also grouse.

Cute/kwoot.

Lols.

Shetland bus memorial. was the nickname of a clandestine special operations group that made a permanent link between Shetland, Scotland, and German-occupied Norway from 1941 until the Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany ended on 8 May 1945. The main purpose of the group was to transfer agents in and out of Norway and supply them with weapons, radios and other supplies. They would also bring out Norwegians who feared arrest by the Germans. Sometimes the group was involved in special operations, like the failed attack on particular German battleships.The friendship between Norway and Shetland appears to stay strong. After I leave, Lewie will be helping host some exchange- type work colleagues from Norway in Shetland.

These lambies can tell I am a new comer too.

 

 

Lewie proves to be a local celebrity. He knows basically everyone here. Everyone greets each other 'Hi Aye'. Even people who don't 'know' Lewie, know him because he is in a Shetland folk band band. Everywhere we walked,  a person would say hello to Lewie. . Lewie did just arrive back from getting married to Theresa in Croatia. Sob when each person congratulated Lewie in the Street, quickly Lewie or I would clarify who I was,  to ensure there was no confusion.

I love all the little stories about Shetland life, day to day. When people are getting married, there are often life size dolls set up in wedding gear at particular gates with photos of the faces on them of the married couple to be. Lewie showed me locals pubs which are volunteer run and then money from the pub goes back in to the community. this is my first time hearing of a permanent not for profit pub. There is a huge emphasis on community here, which is lovely. There are many 'honesty boxes'   set around town, where people are giving away fresh eggs, vegetables,newspapers and such where people can take what they like and make a donation. Lewie showed me one of the community halls, which will often be empty but once a month there will be a sign 'Chinese night' where a family rents the hall to sell Chinese food.

I got to meet more of the Global classroom kids, including Louise, who was working at one of the cafe's. Lewie introduced me. Louise visited Canberra with Global classroom and apparently cried when she left Canberra. I asked if this was because of a relationship ending. Lewie said it was just because she loved Canberra so much. :)

There seems to be a lot of Aussie ties here. we walked past a house where someone was hanging an Australian flag down their window.


We went on for a walk by St Ninian's Isle near Lerwick where Viking treasure was found by a child in 1958. Photos of the treasure look just amazing. Unfortunately the treasure is kept in Edinburgh, not Shetland, probably so that it can be properly secured.

 We finished up the Lewie tour today by the Sumburgh lighthouse, to enjoy the walk, the lighthouse , all of the beautiful birds in Shetland...including...PUFFINS! So of course, a lighthouse walk plus animals makes this part of the Shetland tour, probably my favourite. The lighthouse has only recently been shifted to run on it's own automatically. I know that living in a lighthouse would be lonely, but I love the idea of it. Lewie also watched 'Round the Twist' as a kid in Shetland.

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The Shetland word for Puffins is 'Tammie Norrie'. The little wings of the puffin move so quickly, it looks like an ineffective way to fly but they fly fast and far. Puffins are very sweet looking as you can see.

Where, where, where, where's puffin? Oh, there he is!

Waiting at the Sumburgh airport on the way back, we saw some local artists paintings of musicians and Lewie said 'oh hey there is a painting of me' very casually.

Yep, I have famous friends in Shetland. Lewie showed me a drawing of another drawing of a violinist who is apparently dating a Canberra boy, long distance (from the Army band) who she met while they were both performing at the Edinburgh tattoo.

Here are some You tube links to Lewie's music:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY4siI-p_y4


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkW0eOfQCy8



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWMYZsMujw4



It's been an amazing 48 hours in Shetland, Hi Aye and see you soon. Thank you so much to Greg and family, Lewie and Theresa for being such wonderful hosts and taking care of me in Shetland. Scotland is such a winner and Shetland is my favourite place in Scotland. Yeps, I'm gonna say it (without having done hardly any travel in Scotland), Shetland is number 1 in Scotland.

I make  my way back to Edinburgh on the little plane from Sunburgh. I am told with enthusiasm by the sweet Sunburgh flight attendant 'the flight will run on time today'. The flight does not run on time and is bumpy as hell, and that's okay. I must have been looking pretty green by the end as a lovely Scottish lady on the flight was asking if I was okay. I thought I might barf, but it's so lovely for people to ask how you are going. It means a lot to a solo traveler.

I realised in my Edinburgh accommodation for tonight that I booked accommodation close to the city, not the airport, as I thought I did, oh well! I get to stay in Bruntsfield tonight, a less touristy area of the city which I ran through a few days ago to go on my Braid of Hermitage hike. It's a cool area here, Lewie used to live here too. My airbnb host is kind and really helpful. My South African room mates ask if I want to have dinner with them. Normally I would say yes, but it's an early start tomorrow and a big day of travel, making my way to the Canary Islands and I am already exhausted. It's nice to be asked though. Airbnb, no matter what the experience, in my opinion, is always better than a hotel, as you get to meet people and experience the personality of a person's home. My host provides me with some breakfast for my early start, the supermarket is across the road, I have a cactus plant on my bedside and I am happy.

I make my way tomorrow to Canary Islands, where I will spend a couple of nights in Gran Canaria (hopefully to surf) and then to Lanzarote where I ahve had a young man Patricio on the website 'couchsurfing' offer to host me.  This will be a first time for both of us. No matter what this will make a good blog post! I get a good feeling about this. I think it's amazing that people offer to host travelers for free. Patro and I intend to practice our languages with each other and I'll be sure to contribute to the house however I can. Spanish people are so very hospitable.

I'll be in the Canary Islands for about a month, so I will try and blog weekly.

Thank you Scotland, you are amazing.

Love Rasa