The two weeks we spent in Glasgow since I last wrote were nothing short of magical. We moved into our friend’s amazing apartment and all felt right in the world. To give you an idea of how low our standards have gotten, I almost cried on our first day there because she had a sharp knife and a cutting board! 😂To be able to prep carrots for the first time since May was amazing!
I saw a post on Instagram about how Ubers need a smell rating and I think that Air BnBs need one even more! If there is anyone reading this that works for Air BnB please consider my suggestion. It would help A LOT! And, just so you know, a scented plug-in doesn’t count. We know that it is a band aid for some other underlying issue and it is your responsibility for finding and remedying it. Just saying.
Dave has been in a busy season with work so it was awesome that on Friday the 27th of September he took the day off and we caught the train to Edinburgh for the weekend. I am happy to report that it was as wonderful as people say it is. It definitely lived up to the hype. We arrived early in the afternoon on Friday and were able to check into our hotel early. We had never stayed at a Yotel before and it was lovely. I highly recommend it and will definitely consider staying at one again. It was also in a great location so it made it very easy to walk to all the sites.
The sun stayed out for us and it was luxurious. We did and saw a lot (see the copious amount of pictures shared below) and we also took our time and rested when we felt like it. And by rested I mean grabbed a pint at some of the coolest pubs we’ve visited since we’ve been in Europe. The Last Drop (1477), The White Hart Inn (1516) and Greyfriars Bobby (1873) were definitely the most noteworthy. I did a little research before we went and it felt good to just go where the spirit moved us. After we checked in on Friday, we walked Queen Street to the Royal Mile and strolled through Old Town and Grassmarket. The Castle was all booked up so we made reservations to go on Saturday.
Saturday we started our day in Stockbridge and had a delicious breakfast at Cafe Gallo. Then we explored a little in that area. We visited Circus Lane and Bailie Bar (1870s). Then we followed a path along the River Leith to Dean Village which was super cute! Next it was time to go to the Edinburgh Castle. The castle was nothing short of spectacular and definitely worth the visit even just for the views alone. We also really enjoyed the National War Museum.
After we toured the Castle we went to the Writers Museum that is crammed in a tower in Lady Stair’s Close just off the Royal Mile and celebrates the lives of three giants of Scottish Literature – Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson. After checking that out we found another cute pub called Jolly Judge which dates back to the 1600s. We finished off our Saturday with a walk past City Chambers, Holyrood Palace and a climb up the Salisbury Crags in Holyrood Park to get a view of Arthur’s Seat and the town. It was VERY windy and a great way to end the day.
On Sunday Dave slept in while I hiked up Calton Hill which is a UNESCO World Heritage site known as “the Athens of the North”. After that I met up with Dave at the enormous National Museum where we spent hours learning about Scottish history, science, art and much much more. You could easily spend an entire day taking it all in. It was a truly wonderful weekend and nice to have that quality time together.
Last week in Glasgow continued its wonderfulness. I took the train to Stirling on Tuesday. Toured the Castle and the Church of the Holy Rude, saw the Old Town Jail and just enjoyed wandering around town. I accidentally got on the wrong train coming back to Glasgow and ended up in Edinburgh again!🤣It added about an hour and 45 minutes to my trip, and I was able to finish the book I was reading. As you have heard the Scottish Countryside is beautiful so it offered lovely views for my trip.
On the 5th of October we bid farewell to Glasgow. My heart was very full from our amazing stay. I am completely enchanted by Scotland and I already can’t wait to go back. Now we are in Bergen, Norway for three weeks. We got settled in our place on Saturday evening and went to the grocery store. Which was a good thing because they were all closed on Sunday. The store is only a 15 minute walk away and is about 200 steps from the street to our third floor apartment. The reward for the climb is one amazing view.
Sunday we made breakfast and then hiked up one of the seven main mountains that surround Bergen. They Seven Mountains are Ulriken 643 m (2110 ft), Fløyfjellet 400 m (1300 ft), Rundemanen 568 m (1684 ft), Sandviksfjellet 417 m (1368ft), Damsgårdfjellet 317 m (1040 ft), Lyderhorn 396 m (1299 ft) and Løvstakken 477 m (1565 ft). We hiked Mount Ulriken. After a hearty warm-up climb there were 1333 steps that lead to the summit. It was a rigorous hike and it was comical to have kids that didn’t even look old enough to stand pass us on the trail. I swear Norwegians are part mountain goat! It is said that Norway is one of the top 10 healthiest countries in the World and it makes sense because it is too expensive to do anything other than exercise. Dave bought himself a beer at the summit and it was $10 for less than 12 ounces of beer! To give you another example. Our weekly grocery shopping has typically been running us around $35. When we went to the store on Saturday night it cost $90! It is good motivation for us to eat and drink at home.
Yesterday the sun came out and so I went out and did some more exploring. I walked past Lake Tvetevannet on my way to see the incredible Fantoft Stave Church that is in an enchanted forest. The church was built in Sogn in 1170 and moved to Fantoft in 1883 and has some of the most amazing woodwork I’ve ever seen! You can read more about it here if you like. https://fantoftstavkirke.no/historie-2/ From there I walked to see Gamlehaugen Castle, which is the King’s official residence in Bergen, and saw some spectacular fall colors along Nordåsvannet Bay. The forecast for the foreseeable future is rain and we’re trying to manifest at least one clear night so that we can see the Northern Lights while we’re here.
Dave left for a Crypto Currency Conference in Amsterdam this morning and will be there until Friday. I’m hoping there are some breaks in the rain so that I am able to do some more exploring, and there is no bad weather just bad clothing. Amiright? Next weekend, if it is clear, our plan is to hike three more of the mountains. There is a path that leads up to Sandviksfjellet and goes over Rundemanen on the way to Floyfjellet. It takes 2-3 hours so hopefully we will be able to conquer all three. I’m also excited to be in a country of my heritage. My maternal grandmother was 100% Norwegian. We’ve never been to Norway so I’m excited to learn more about this country and its people during our time here.
Sending you love wherever you are!
Alison 🙂
