Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
The Palace of Holyroodhouse or Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, Scotland is the official residence of the Queen in Scotland. It is located at the east end of the Royal Mile – directly opposite to the Scottish parliament. It was once the guesthouse of the Abbey of Holyrood now lying in ruins. It was built from the year 1671 on and the Queen stays here at least one week each year. Continue reading “Palace of Holyroodhouse”
Local transport in Edinburgh, Scotland is mostly based on busses. Two transport companies get you around on numerous lines. And it is quite easy: you can pay £1.60 for a single trip or £4 for a day ticket. Just remember that you have to pay the exact amount when entering the bus – you’ll get no change. Continue reading “The Tramway”
Our flight back from Edinburgh to London was scheduled for 7 am – not so easy if you want to be at the airport two hours before the flight. Therefore I decided to invest the money and stay at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel directly at the airport. I don’t know if it was worth the big amount of GBP but it made travelling much easier. Continue reading “Next to the airport”
The Isle of Skye is the biggest island of the Inner Hebrides in Scotland. Guide books label it as the most interesting sight of the country. The island contains many archaeological findings, rough mountains, medieval castles and nice landscapes. Capital of the island is the city of Portree.
Continue reading “Isle of Skye”
Close to Glenfinnan, Scotland you can find a famous viaduct used for the railway track between Mallaig and Fort William. It was built from 1897 on and is 380 meters long; the highest pillars are 30 meters in size. Formerly it was important to the fishing industry, today normal local transport trains and a special tourist train – “The Jacobite” – use the track. Continue reading “Waiting for the Hogwarts Express”
The Eilean Donan Castle is a castle protected by Loch Duich in the village Dornie belonging to Kyle of Lochalsh, Scotland. It is located on a land tongue that is flooded during high water. To keep it accessible a stone bridge has been built from the shore to the castle. The castle was created since the year 1220 and it honors the Celtic Saint Donnán of Eigg from the 6th CE. Continue reading “Castle on an island”
When you get to Loch Ness and are disappointed that you didn’t find Nessie (the famous monster in the lake) there isn’t too much else to do. You might get to Inverness or Fort Augustus – but you definitely shouldn’t miss Urquhart Castle near Drumnadrochit. It is the ruin of a castle built in the year 1230 directly at the shore of Loch Ness. Continue reading “Urquhart Castle”
If you get into the Highlands of Scotland you will see that all signs get bilingual: the names of places are written in Gaelic and English. Gaelic is a set of three languages spoken in Ireland and Scotland. They are close to each other and quite close to the Irish language. Continue reading “Tha gradh agam ort!”
The Loch Ness is a famous lake in northern Scotland. It is the second largest lake after Loch Lomond and because of its depth it contains by far the most water of all sweetwater lakes in Scotland. At its northern end you can find the city of Inverness, in the south Fort Augustus is located. At the middle on the western shore you can find the well-known Urquhart Castle close to Drumnadrochit. Continue reading “Loch Ness”
When we went to Scotland we didn’t want to stay in Edinburgh all the time – we wanted to see the Highlands, Loch Ness and the Isle of Skye. Therefore we rented a car at the airport of Edinburgh. I had already driven different cars in various countries around the globe but still I was a bit afraid because I never was driving on the left side of the road. Continue reading “Driving on the wrong side”