The highlands and lochs

With the Commonwealth Games, The Ryder Cup and the unseasonally "warm" weather, there have been many visitors and tourists in Scotland....and we have noticed that the "must see" places have been quite busy but in the very high passes, it is just the locals braving the elements and out walking in the hills.

After a nice stay at the Glenmorie Hotel in Inverness we headed South along the shores of Lock Ness and to the home of the Nessie hunters. We visited a very interesting museum dedicated to the history and science of the legend of the Loch Ness Monster and then continued to follow the shoreline and take in the sights.

Autumn is well and truly here so there is alot of colour in the forests which line the roads and farms. Stayed at Loch Lomond (one of the larger lochs) and vsited a beautiful little place called Aberfoyle at the head of Loch Ard. Lots of walking trails, forests, fishing shacks an little quaint boat houses......just a picture.

If we ever come back, this is where we'll stay!

We are at Troon now ready to catch the ferry to the next section of our trip.....Ireland.

The North of Scotland

Picked up the car from Waverly Station which was only 5 minutes walk down a thousand narrow steps andthen back to the lane to pick up Wendy guarding the bags. It was a bit of a logistical operation but went well and so we headed north to the wilds of Scotland....but not before a stop at St Andrews, the home of golf.

Walked the hallowed fairways and up the 18th towards the club house, the Royal and Ancient Golf club of legend. The course was in very nice condition but very windy as it is renowned for and the rough is about waist high. Not many trees though! I did wonder how much the people playing had forked out for the pleasure.

Stayed the night in a quaint little B&B at Stonehaven, just south of Aberdeen and after checking out the magnificent ruins of the Dunottar castle

( the scene of much conflict in the Jacobian uprising), headed to Aberdeen ( the old town) and then to the Northern Highlands through some magnificent, undulating and very productive countryside. When driving through these back areas (off the motorways) you often need to dodge tractors and farm machinery on the narrow, windy, stone-walled roads.

We visited Pennan, a tiny fishing village crammed onto the shore directly under the cliffs. It was the set for the movie "Local Hero" which we saw before we left. The shore front wasn't wide enough to do a "three point" turn and I had to point the car into a doorway to turn around!

After knowing Wooli in storms, we reckon being in these places would be a bit scary during big seas .....which is what they were having.

Then we headed off for Inverness via Macduff and Banff, very quaint places on the coast and we also visited Cawdor Castle ( where Macbeth is supposed to have been set) and the Culloden battlefields where the Jacobite Rising was halted in 1746. The scene of the last "hand to hand" combat on British soil.

So much to see and do in this beautiful place!

Edinburgh

Arrived safely after an uneventful flight on EasyJet. It was crammed but OK. Our apartment is in the heart of the action on the Royal Mile (sort of like our Rocks area) and really nice although the lane we access it from(up some very steep stone stairs worn in the middle) is called Fleshmarket Close!

Did a tour of the city on one of those "topless" tour buses ( a bit breezy for the fringe) but it gave us a good insight into the layout of the city. It is really quite easy to get around but a bit steep and hilly in places. Edinburgh is a real tourist Mecca.Shops, pubs and restaurants all around.... and quite a few whisky outlets.

Did a tour of the castle which is very interesting and then wandered down the Royal Mile shopping.....and guess what? She found not one but two Christmas shops....and Grey Friar's Bobby!

That's when I headed up to Calton Hill to see the monuments and get another view of the city and then hoofed it back to town and somehow found myself in a quaint little pub having a pint and shooting the breeze with the barman.
We've seen so many old buildings and churches and monuments it's mind boggling.the cobbled streets and tiny, windy lanes transport you back to the 18th century when it would have been dirty, smelly crowded and probably dangerous. Little steeply staired lanes and alley ways everywhere. I reckon it is the city of "sandstone and steps"

We loved Edinburgh.....so much history and so much to see and do. The people were really friendly as well ....and easily understood!

Off to the North tomorrow.

Berlin 2

Have had difficulties with the blog. It doesnt seem to like big picture files so this is a follow up to the Berlin post with a few piccies to illustrate.

We loved Berlin,The parks, the trees, the culture, the monuments and history....modern and not so.

Tangermunde was a revelation and an experience we never would have had if not for our theme. A medieval walled city that just celebrated 1000 years.

Wendy looking st one of the old houses. Note the date over the door.


Germany has been wonderful. Off the Scotland for the next leg.

Berlin

What a magnificent city! From the ruins and rubble of WW2 and the East/West division of the "Cold War", Berlin has evolved into a vibrant, green, dynamic city full of history, culture and life.

Our overnight flight from Hong Kong went quite smoothly and again we were thankful for the upgraded seats. Frankfurt is a large, sprawling business centre and a transport hub. After some initial difficulties with the sat nav, we eventually found our way out into the country areas and headed for Eisenach, an old medieval town where Martin Luther translated the Bible from Latin, supposedly in the Wartburg Castle.

Unfortunately time was against us. It was our first day and it took a little longer than I had exepected to orient ourselves and come to terms with navigating in a foreign language so we didn't see as much as we would have liked....but enough to be impressed!


We stayed the night in a lodge, which, to be frank was not quite what was portrayed on line but turned put to be quite OK with very helpful owners and a beautiful location. The owner brews his own beer and has his own "bier" garten" which seems to be very well patronised.
The next day we happened upon a really interesting museum of the area which gave an insight into The Degenhardts. As it turns out, they were miners in Germany and came to Australia in the gold rush times.
Our stay in Altenau was brief but really interesting and reinforced for us that having a theme can take you to areas that tourists rarely visit.









We visited the main icons including Check Point Charlie and the remnants of the wall and something I wasn't expecting.......a Christmas shop!



The next day we headed out to Potsdam which was an important city for the Prussians. Frederick the Great had his summer palace here.....the equivalent of our Wooli house....only a bit bigger!

It is called the Schloss Sanssouci and the size of the place is staggering, and the gardens, fountains and woodlands are just amazing. We couldn't imagine how much work goes into maintaining such a huge estate in pristine order. Very tidy!



On Sunday we headed out to Tangermunde to follow the Pieper side of the family that also come out in the 1840s. It is about two hours away through beautiful open country, forests, lanes, tiny villages and hamlets.
We were amazed at just how much the Germans are into renewable energy. Solar panels on many houses and buildings, huge arrays of solar panels in paddocks near villages and these incredible wind farms were so common we didn't notice them after a while. In some parts, the horizon was just covered in windmills! It seems to us we could learn a fair bit from the Germans.

When we finally arrived we were amazed at what we saw. A truly medieval, walled town complete with castle, churches and higgeldy, piggeldy streets lined with tiny houses all from the 1600s when it was rebuilt after a fire. (They burnt the culprit at the stake...but I'm not sure what sort of trial she got!)

We found the church, St Stephens ( not hard given it is one of the largest buildings in the town) that the Piepers and Salaus were members of. It was very impressive and represented the wealth of the town in the 15th Century. The family had responsibility for maintaining the huge church organ.


This picture is of the gate in the wall you go through to get in to the town and the one below is of Wendy checking out one of the old houses. The one she is looking at dates from 1619 as you can see on the quite exotic carvings.
The town is really well preserved as it wasn't affected very much by the war and is still a thriving community today.

We even followed up a lead from Wendy's cousin, Ian, regarding Pieper relatives still living in the town. We were only one cobbled street away so we decided to knock on their door and were't they surprised to see us, all the way from Australia.....unannounced!
Wolfgang and his wife brought us in to their home and then got their children and grandchild to come and translate. They showed us an impressive family tree and some very old photo albums. There seems to be quite a few of these Piepers!




Anyway, we are off to Edinburgh today after a very interesting visit to Germany. Our "genealogical" theme to date has certainly taken us off the beaten track with surprisingly welcome experiences.

Berlin

What a magnificent city! From the ruins and rubble of WW2 and the East/West division of the "Cold War", Berlin has evolved into a vibrant, green, dynamic city full of history, culture and life.

Our overnight flight from Hong Kong went quite smoothly and again we were thankful for the upgraded seats. Frankfurt is a large, sprawling business centre and a transport hub. After some initial difficulties with the sat nav, we eventually found our way out into the country areas and headed for Eisenach, an old medieval town where Martin Luther translated the Bible from Latin, supposedly in the Wartburg Castle.

Unfortunately time was against us. It was our first day and it took a little longer than I had exepected to orient ourselves and come to terms with navigating in a foreign language so we didn't see as much as we would have liked....but enough to be impressed!

We stayed the night in a lodge, which, to be frank was not quite what was portrayed on line but turned put to be quite OK with very helpful owners and a beautiful location. The owner brews his own beer and has his own "bier" garten" which seems to be very well patronised.
The next day we happened upon a really interesting museum of the area which gave an insight into The Degenhardts. As it turns out, they were miners in Germany and came to Australia in the gold rush times.


Our stay in Altenau was brief but really interesting and reinforced for us that having a theme can take you to areas that tourists rarely visit.




We visited the main icons in Berlin including Check Point Charlie and the remnants of the "Berlin Wall" and something I wasn't expecting.......a Christmas shop!

The next day we headed out to Potsdam which was an important city for the Prussians. Frederick the Great had his summer palace here.....the equivalent of our Wooli house....only a bit bigger!

It is called the Schloss Sanssouci and the size of the place is staggering, and the gardens, fountains and woodlands are just amazing. We couldn't imagine how much work goes into maintaining such a huge estate in pristine order. Very tidy!

On Sunday we headed out to Tangermunde to follow the Pieper side of the family that also come out in the 1840s. It is about two hours away through beautiful open country, forests, lanes, tiny villages and hamlets.
We were amazed at just how much the Germans are into renewable energy. Solar panels on many houses and buildings, huge arrays of solar panels in paddocks near villages and these incredible wind farms were so common we didn't notice them after a while. In some parts, the horizon was just covered in windmills! It seems to us we could learn a fair bit from the Germans.

When we finally arrived we were amazed at what we saw. A truly medieval, walled town complete with castle, churches and higgeldy, piggeldy streets lined with tiny houses all from the 1600s when it was rebuilt after a fire. (They burnt the culprit at the stake...but I'm not sure what sort of trial she got!)

We found the church, St Stephens ( not hard given it is one of the largest buildings in the town) that the Piepers and Salaus were members of. It was very impressive and represented the wealth of the town in the 15th Century. The family had responsibility for maintaining the huge church organ.

This picture is of the gate in the wall you go through to get in to the town and the one below is of Wendy checking out one of the old houses. The one she is looking at dates from 1619 as you can see on the quite exotic carvings.
The town is really well preserved as it wasn't affected very much by the war and is still a thriving community today.

We even followed up a lead from Wendy's cousin, Ian, regarding Pieper relatives still living in the town. We were only one cobbled street away so we decided to knock on their door and were't they surprised to see us, all the way from Australia.....unannounced!
Wolfgang and his wife brought us in to their home and then got their children and grandchild to come and translate. They showed us an impressive family tree and some very old photo albums. There seems to be quite a few of these Piepers!




Anyway, we are off to Edinburgh today after a very interesting visit to Germany. Our "genealogical" theme to date has certainly taken us off the beaten track with surprisingly welcome experiences.

Hong Kong

Well here we are in Hong Kong, comfortably ensconced in the Salisbury Hotel in our room overlooking Victoria Harbour.........and what a magnificent scene it is. It almost rivals Sydney and is certainly one of the most picturesque in the world.
Our flight over went very smoothly and we both agree that the upgrade was worth the money. Premium Economy is nothing on business, but significantly better than economy.

We got to our hotel quite late and up early (couldnt sleep) ........and then remembered how long flights knock you about. Came good after a spot of shopping and a trip across the harbour on the iconic White Star Line ferries. It was interesting mixing it with the locals and getting a feel for the old Hong Kong, the sounds, smells and movement. The smog certainly hasn't improved and there is a constant haze in the air. Wendy reckons HK has a distinctive smell and she seems to have a "crinkle" in her nose when she says it!

Hong Kong is a nocturnal city, a bit like Las Vegas. It really doesn't get going until the sun goes down and all the neon lights start up. After an explore and orientation, we had a rest back at our hotel (which is quite swank) and then headed out into the hustle and bustle of Nathan Rd and the back alleys. We were peckish and we checked out a number of eateries frequented by the locals but some of the dishes looked decidedly "genuine" with live things in the windows, so we had time and we explored until we found a really nice place upstairs with excellent Peking Duck. I've never eaten it before and it was delicious!

Our plan was to be on the harbour foreshore to photograph the Symphony of Lights at 8 o'clock but, and it wasn't a surprise, the show was cancelled because of the typhoon. Yes that's correct, the typhoon. All day it's been blowy and squally (umbrellas flying everywhere) but it picked up in the evening and they made it a level 8 warning! Each time we come to HK we seem to run into a typhoon.
It was impossible to photograph (nearly got blown into the harbour) and I tried for a couple of shots from our room through the window.... but I don't think they will be good enough quality to print.

Anyway, it's almost time to check out and do our last round of the shops before we head to the airport this afternoon for the next leg to Frankfurt. Looking out the window, the rain seems to have eased and the squalls lessening.
Here's hoping!