Thanksgiving in Scotland

We have spent the last two Thanksgivings traveling and the three of us are beginning to think that would be a nice tradition to continue...we're thankful for the opportunities we've had to see such awesome places!

Thanksgiving day was a BUSY one! We started with a really lovely breakfast on the sun porch of our B&B. It was another gorgeous view and after we ate and checked out we decided to drive over to a neat viaduct we had seen from the breakfast room windows.

To our delight, nearby the viaduct were some ancient burial cairns just waiting to be explored! Really fascinating, and an unexpected surprise in our morning.

Then it was on to Culloden battlefield and Bonny Prince Charlie and those jaunty Jacobites.
(http://www.nts.org.uk/Culloden/Home/)
Another gem that we didn't expect to be as awesome as it was. We had a great time exploring the visitor's center and afterwards went out to explore the actual battlefield. It was very well marked and we took along audio guides to get background commentary as we went along.

We also came across a little thatch-roofed cottage. Absolutely charming. It ended up being one of our favorite photos of the trip and now you will find it on a canvas hanging in our living room. :)

the photo that really captured the beauty of our Scottish adventure for us

We had lunch at the visitor's center. I was going to comment earlier that Scottish food was not terribly appetizing, but as I've thought further about what I ate, I think I will amend that. Their desserts (except for the shortbread!) pale in comparison to Germany's, but for warm, filling, and savory food, I must say they fit the bill. I enjoyed almost every meal--even, and especially the one I had for Thanksgiving dinner, which you'll see below.

Then it was time to go look for Nessie. We drove along the shore of Loch Ness, down to the river cruiseship. It was a windy and chilly day, that occasionally broke into rain, but the views were just gorgeous.

the only Nessie we happened upon....

they were braver than i was at this point

We looked and looked, even on the sonar that was on the boat, but unfortunately no sign of the elusive water monster appeared. 

Nonetheless, we had a wonderful time out looking around and we found out some interesting information, like Loch Ness is the largest (by volume) fresh water lake in the British Isles, and in fact, has more freshwater than all the lakes in Britain and Wales combined!

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Urquhart Castle

We stopped by the Loch Ness Exhibition Center before we left. (http://www.lochness.com/home.aspx)
It was a fun exploration of all the myths and investigations that have surrounded the infamous Loch Ness Monster.

Then it was back on the road! We drove all the way back from the Highlands to Edinburgh and checked in at the last of our stops, the Edinburgh Lodge West End. (http://www.edinburghlodge.co.uk) It was a lovely Victorian townhouse within walking distance of most of what we wanted to explore in Edinburgh. It was our fanciest accommodation, and Joshua felt like royalty in his big bed. The girl at the front desk (who ALWAYS seemed to be working-I wonder if she ever gets to sleep!) was so friendly and welcoming. We really hit a homerun on this trip with our B&B's. They were all fantastic.

It had been a long day with a lot of driving, but it was Thanksgiving! So we headed out to find a feast. After finding a few recommended places full, we settled on the Haymarket pub in the historic Haymarket district, which is famous for a number of things, including the local football team who enlisted en masse to go fight WWI.
The service wasn't very quick, and our server was from Eastern Europe, not Scotland, but overall it was a good experience. Joshua and I enjoyed our quirky drinks.

And it was time to try the (in)famous haggis! I ordered the very traditional Scottish haggis, neeps, and tatties for my unconvential American Thanksgiving dinner. And you know what, it was DELICIOUS. Yes, I know what haggis is made of. But I am an adventurous taste-tester and decided if thousands of Scots love it (and it was on virtually every menu everywhere in different dishes) then it was worth a try.
And it wasn't the only time I had them on the trip. Definitely a plus.

traditional haggis, neeps, and tatties

And then back to our room for more game shows and much needed sleep for another full day ahead!

The battle of Bannockburn

Continuing with our William Wallace theme, we had tickets to go to the Bannockburn Heritage Center (Battle of Bannockburn: The Battle of Bannockburn) the next morning for a battle experience.

But first we had another delightful breakfast, visiting with Moira and Mary. Typical Scottish breakfast of coffee, tea, juice, toast, marmalade, meat, and eggs. This morning we had the opportunity to try Black Pudding for the first time. Let's just say that it doesn't go down on our list of favorites. ;) But the experience was awesome. We said good-bye to our hosts and headed out.

The Heritage Center is situated in Stirling and while it's not on the actual battle site, it is a great way to learn about what happened. We explored outside a bit before heading inside.

Inside we participate in the battle experience. It was really awesome. We were lucky to have the whole place to ourselves! First we learned about both sides, their tactics and weaponry and make up of their Armies. It was a combination of videos, replicas, and interactive hologram-type things. It's so hard to describe, but click on the link above to get a better idea!

This was one of the holograms. When you stood in front of the panel he appeared and began telling about his role in the battle. He moved and spoke just as if he were real!

Once we were all trained up, we moved into the battle room. The guys were on separate sides and they "played" the battle on a big round table. They took turns choosing where to place their soldiers and cavalry and had to make on-the-spot decisions just like in real battle.
After each decision, the battles would begin and they watched to see how they did. The Scots didn't fare as well when we were there as in the real battle, but it was a great learning experience!

Joshua listed the battle experience as one of his favorite things we did that week.

We had a quick lunch at the cafe and then headed out to the Highlands, stopping at the House of Bruar to do some shopping on the way. The House of Bruar: Scottish Country Clothing

Moira had graciously called ahead and booked us a night at a bed and breakfast near Inverness and we got in after dark (of course) so we didn't get to look around very much. We did have a brilliant dinner at a place nearby (Culloden Moor Inn) where I think I had a very British meal of shepherd's pie. 

We played cards in the sitting room at B&B and then headed to bed to rest up for a VERY busy Thanksgiving day.

Joshua got his own room!

Once Upon a Time in Scotland

A friend asked me for hotel and travel recommendations for Scotland and it occurred to me that I STILL have not uploaded photos from our "brilliant" trip back in November. It was perhaps our most favorite trip of our European adventure this time and I have struggled being able to put it all into words. That plus the frustration of not being able to upload edited photos from the Mac to the blog...
I think what I'll do is just start talking and see where we go. Warning--I may ramble a bit. ;)

When we asked the boy what he wanted to see most while we were in Europe, we did not expect him to say Scotland. He loves Roman history, he hadn't been to the Eiffel Tower, he's always been intrigued by the Northern Lights. But he has been up to his ears in William Wallace and Robert the Bruce. We got him an audio program of the G.A Henty book In Freedom's Cause, which told the story of their heroic battles and heroism. He listened to it every night for weeks, brought it along in the car, talked only about Scotland. He even developed a pretty awesome Scottish brogue. And that was that. Scotland was at the top of his list and it never changed.

So when we knew we were coming back to the U.S. for sure, we scrambled around to work in a trip between his play, the moving company packing our stuff, and needing to ship our car. Our plan was to drive to Normandy and check out the beaches and some other WWII history, take the Chunnel to England and drive across England with a few stops on the way. Everything was very carefully planned. And then the Paris terror attacks happened. And all of France was off-limits to American military personnel. So not only could we not go see Normandy, the only other way across the English Channel was by an 8-hr long ferry ride from the Netherlands. So at the last minute, we decided to fly.

I booked the flights, dropping our two travel days off our time away since we wouldn't need them. And I'll just say now, we ALL wish we would have kept those extra days to spend in Scotland!

We flew from Frankfurt to Edinburgh-no problems at all. We had reserved a rental car and when we got there we had the fun surprise of it being a manual transmission--something we hadn't considered! We knew we'd be driving on the "wrong" side of the road, but the stick shift made it a little extra fun. ;) And I will say that the Soldier tackled it, as he does pretty much everything, with no sweat. I'm glad I wasn't driving....

We stayed the first couple of nights just outside of Stirling. Joshua's main interest was seeing Stirling Bridge, Stirling Castle, and the William Wallace Monument. I had booked a bed & breakfast called West Plean House. (West Plean House - B&B) It was highly rated on various travel sites and for a good reason. It was perhaps the most delightful stay we had the entire time we were in Europe (Berchtesgaden with the pool and cake may be a close second...). We were warmly greeted, even though we arrived late, with tea and shortbread cookies in the sitting room.

We headed out to eat at a place recommended but between the VERY DARK streets (apparently the Scottish are big energy conservers---nothing is lit up after dark, which was by 4pm!) we settled on another place (The Lake House) that looked promising. And it was--it was "brilliant," actually! We found out that everything good in Scotland was "brilliant."  We loved listening to our waitress's accent and I think she liked listening to ours. :) The boy pronounced his burger (from Scottish beef) the best burger he has ever had...

The next morning we came to breakfast and Moira, the most gracious hostess, greeted us and delighted Joshua with her Scottish accent as she served our breakfast and answered our questions about the history of the home and Scotland in general. We had a lovely conversation with the other guests, particularly a Miss Mary, who is a regular visitor from the Scottish Island of Barra. I wish I had taken photos of every little thing there so it would never leave my memory...

After breakfast we did a little strolling around the grounds. Of course, it was late November so there wasn't really anything growing, but the land was beautiful and had the requisite sheep in residence. We checked out the Stone Age cabin on the grounds and Moira told us that some of the filming for the tv show Outlander was done on their property the summer before.

Stone-Age cabin on the grounds of the West Plean House

This reminded me so much of The Secret Garden

Then  it was time to head to the main event. We hiked up the path to the William Wallace Monument, then hiked up the stairs to the top of the monument for a look over the river and the original battle site. Joshua was in heaven. Wallace Monument | Stirling Tourist Attraction | Home
                                       

replica of Wallace's claymore

where the actual Battle of Stirling Bridge took place

After soaking in as much of Scotland's ill-fated wars of Independence as we could in the morning, we headed to Stirling Castle for the afternoon. We took a guided tour of the castle and heard great stories and legends of the goings on at the impressive fortress over hundreds of years.

the great hall

We also explored the Scottish military museum at the castle.

the underground bakery-did you know it was primary men who were cooks?

After our tour of the castle, and a nice little stop for tea and cake (it's Great Britain, after all) we did a little exploring around the town of Stirling.

nice hostel!

I found a delightful yarn shop and loaded my backpack with Scottish wool to take home and make into something wonderful. I'm still pondering what that wonderful is...

That night we ate at the Highland Gate, which wasn't as good as the Lake House. Our standards were pretty high by that point.
And that was the end of our first full day.

I do have to add that the guys became very interested in British game shows while we were there, and most evenings I feel asleep to the sounds of dings and bells and cute British accents cheering.