Scotland 2009 - Part 1

Arriving In Edinburgh

Tuesday - September 8th 2009

We always wanted to visit Scotland and in September of 2009 we finally made it to the Highlands. Claudia and I decided to rent a car and to drive from Edinburgh to Inverness, Fort William and Glasgow.

Frist we drove from Salzburg to Munich Airport, because our KLM Air France flight departed there at 7am. We arrived in Edinburgh via Amsterdam around noon. Then we took the airport bus to the city and from there we walked to our bed & breakfast.

We stayed at a nice B&B called Six Mary's Place. It was conviniently located, since it took us only 20 minutes by foot, or 10 minutes by bus to the inner city. Our room was really fine. It was clean and offered a bathroom and a TV, nothing special, but we enjoyed our stay there.

Six Mary's Place

Six Mary's Place

After we got our room and dropped our luggage off, we walked back to the inner city to have lunch.

Balmoral Hotel

Edinburgh

Edinburgh

After lunch we walked to High Street which leads to the castle, but unfortunately the weather got worse and so we enjoyed a hot cup of coffee at Starbucks. Since we couldn't spend the whole afternoon in a coffee house, we crossed the street and had an ice cold beer in a lovely pub. Drinking a good beer was more fun than sightseeing in the cold and rainy Scottish weather.

Edinburgh High Street

Edinburgh High Street

Edinburgh High Street

Edinburgh High Street

Pub

We decided to visit Edinburgh Castle on the next day and so we went back to our B&B to warm up and to get ready for the evening. After a hot shower the sky cleared up and the sun was shining again. Back in the inner city we had dinner at The Baked Potato Shop. Claudia chose a potato with corn spread, while I ordered one topped with egg salad. Both were delicious and really big.

Baked Potatoe with Corn

Baked Potatoe with Egg Salad

The weather was getting better and so we just walked around the city and took some photos, since  Edinburgh is a very beautiful old town with lots of great architecture. Later we went to the Hard Rock Cafe, where we spent the rest of the evening with some cold beers.

Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Scotland 2009 - Part 2

Edinburgh Castle

Wednesday - September 9th 2009

Today the weather was really nice, the sun was shinning and there was no cloud in the sky. After breakfast we took the bus to the city, bought some food for lunch at Marks & Spencer and then walked to Edinburgh Castle.

Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh

The queue for the tickets was already long and so it took us some time to get into the fortress. Finally we were inside the castle and from the castle courtyard we had an amazing view over Edinburgh, we could even see the sea in the distance.

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh seen from the Castle

Edinburgh seen from the Castle

Edinburgh Castle was built on Castle Rock and offers several museums. We saw all of them. One was very interesting, because it showed the functions of the castle throughout the centuries. The castle also housed the Scottish National War Memorial and the National War Museum, which were very interesting as well. The highlight of the castle tour was the One O'Clock Gun Ceremony. The gun was established in 1861 as a time signal for ships in the Firth of Forth. 

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle

Before we left the castle, we visited the treasury room to see Scotland's Crowne Juwels, and we had a wonderful lunch outside while enjoying the nice weather.

Edinburgh Castle

After the castle we walked through the city to Carlton Hill and later we did some shopping on Princess Street.

Carlton Hill

View from Carlton Hill

View from Carlton Hill

Carlton Hill

Edinburgh

Later we returned to our B&B to relax and get ready for the evening. Since we weren't that hungry, we decided to have dinner at the Baked Potato Shop again. Afterwards we spent the rest of the evening with some beers and fries at the Hard Rock Cafe again.

Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Hard Rock Cafe Edinburgh

Scotland 2009 - Part 3

On the Road To Inverness

Thursday - September 10th 2009

Today we left Edinburgh, but first we had to pick up our car at the airport. After breakfast we took the bus to the airport where we wanted to pick up our rental car. We booked a Ford Focus, but they run out of compact cars and so they offered us a Mercedes instead. Unfortunately I wasn't old enough and so we got an Opel/Vauxhall Insigna, which was also very comfortable and a great car.

Our Car - Opel/Vauxhall Insignia

After we got the car, we were on our way to Inverness. However driving on the left side was not as easy as I thought. When we left Europcar, I drove on the right side until people on the sidewalk waved to tell me that I was on the wrong lane. On our way to the north we stopped in Perth at a huge Tesco supermarket to buy some snacks for lunch, like noodle salads and hummus.

Lunch - Pasta Salad, Hummus and Rolls

Our next stop was Blair Castle, where we just walked around the property and enjoyed the landscape with all the animals. Before we continued our journey, we had a cup of coffee in the charming coffee house inside the castle.

Blair Castle

Blair Castle

Blair Castle

Blair Castle

Blair Castle

Blair Castle

In the late afternoon we finally arrived at out bed & breakfast in Inverness. It was called Carbisdale Guesthouse and it was run by a very friendly couple. Our room was nice and offered a TV and a bathroom.

Carbisdale Guesthouse

Our Room

Bathroom

After we unloaded our stuff in our room, we walked to the inner city and just strolled around Inverness, a very lovely small city.

Inverness

Inverness

Inverness

Inverness

Inverness

Inverness

Inverness

Inverness

Inverness

Since we were already hungry, we decided to have dinner at the Spanish tapas bar named La Tortilla Asesina. The restaurant wasn't very big, but the food was really good. Later we enjoyed a cold beer at a local pub.

La Tortilla Asesina

Dinner with Tapas