17.10.09 Edinburgh city centre and Calton Hill

Just to show it doesn't always rain in Edinburgh! In fact, it is even sunny sometimes. Like today, when we decided to walk to town through the Meadows and then along the Mound and Royal Art Museum, from where this is the view. Overlooking Princes St Gardens with the Scott monument on the left and the Balmoral on the right. Iwona has promised CJ to take him there for dinner after she gets her first pay check! Yum!

This is the view the other way, back towards the Old Town. Can't get enough of the Edinburgh skyline!

After some shopping (necessary evil, shoes for Cees-Jan) we finally made it to Calton Hill, one of the most famous spots in Edinburgh with fantastic views over the city and a jolly collection of follies.

One of those is the National Scottish Monument, a copy of the Parthenon which was never finished because the council ran out of funds. Popular to climb on to, though a bit hard to get up. You might just be able to recognise Cees-Jan between the second and third column from the left.

Of course Iwona couldn't stay behind and here she is, showing how big those columns really are!

11.10.09 Scottish Borders

We went down south today to the county 'Scottish Borders', not the most original name but a stunningly beautiful area with hills, lakes, quaint little villages and sheep wandering along and on the roads. Although it was bright and sunny in Edinburgh the higher hills in the south appeared to have caught the clouds, which was a bit disapppointing but luckily we were treated to some dramatic skies.






We didn't really fancy a hike with grey skies and a blistering wind, though, so after enjoying all the beautiful scenery and fall colours we made our way back to the good old Pentland Hills. This picture was taken somewhere along the way, which is part of the 'scenic route' to Edinburgh coming to Scotland via the M6 and then up the 701 near Moffat. Recommended!






In the Pentlands we got windblown again, it seems worse there then everywhere else! Besides that we took the wrong route and instead of an easy stroll to the lake we had to climb three summits in the blowing wind! Great views from there though. On the way back we ran into these friendly Highlanders. Well, they looked friendly but we didn't climb the fence to make sure!

10.10.09 East Lothian

We decided to explore the east coast today, starting in the small town of Dunbar, which used to be an important port and still has old Victorian harbours and ruins of an old castle. Fishing is still strong here, and we got treated to a enormous seal being fed by a fisherman who was cleaning his fresh catch of the day on deck!

Our next stop after a drive through lovely country side was the ruins of Tantallon Castle, another notch on Cromwell's sleeve, yet famous for surviving a five-month siege from the English in the 16th century. It's impressive to walk around, from the six-story walls to the dungeon pit and the well, and the location is spectecular with the best views of Bass Rock you can find (see 13.09.09 North Berwick) , as well as the rolling hills of East Lothian.
The eye-catching colour of the castle is from the red sandstone, which is finely laminated and shows inpressive sedimentary structures, but that's where the excitement stops. It's only a sedimentaty rock after all.






It was another beautiful sunny day, by the way, Scotland hasn't been treating us as bad as some people suggested it would. Let's hope it stays that way!
Here's the view of Bass Rock, which is turning into one of our favourites!



This is actually a small island along the shore in Dunbar, but it illustrates nicely why Bass Rock is so white. It is not just the birds themselves, as we though first...



 

We finished our trip with a visit to Yellowcraig, a beach west of North Berwick just opposite Fidra Island (see 13.09.09 for more background).
Also a great place to find barnacles!

03.10.09 Arie and Clara 65!

We went to Holland this weekend to celebrate Cees-Jan's parents' 65th birthdays! We had a bit of a shock on our way to the airport as Iwona got a phone call from the hospital where she had a job interview the day before and she was offered the job! After lots of screaming and jumping she got over the first shock and bought a bottle of champagne to celebrate. Congrats babes!!

The party was on Saturday in a beach tent, so everyone got sandblasted on their way in because there was an incredible wind storm that day. It made for some awesome seas though! There were lots of family and old friends of Cees-Jan's parents, it was great to see everyone, and apart from my parents' birthdays there was more to celebrate:

Eva-Maria is not singing karaoke, as you may think, but announcing her engagement! The lucky man Ivo is standing next to her, their big day will be 28 May 2010. Congratulations!

Yes, we were there as well of course. The cheesy soft focus was just a bit of fun and not really meant to get on the internet, but my dad uploaded everything without my knowledge. Thanks dad!

More pictures of the day can be seen here

26.09.09 Firth of Forth continued

There was so much to see on this trip that we can only give a small impression really. The highlights of the north shore of the Forth are the towers, which used the be the nobility's mansions until they got out of fashion. The one pictured here in Clackmannan was unfortunately inaccessible but was worth going to because of the fantastic views of the Forth valley.
The tower in Alloa was open for viewing and very impressive, whereas the rest of the town wasn't very exciting. We also learned that Cromwell has certainly done his part destroying Scotland's heritage: nearly every ruin has his name on it!



The next stop was Stirling Castle, sitting at a spectacular location on a hill with marvelous views. We didn't go in the actual castle but walked around the nearby cemetery and church which were very scenic as well. So much that we ran into two weddings complete with bag pipes and ginger kilt-wearing groom who looked like a Viking.




This is the view from the Stirling Castle terrace. Forgot who the warrior was, but note the tower in the background, which has an open roof, something we've seen more often here. Doesn't this look like a scene from Lord of the Rings?








Our final stop was at Blackness (stress the last syllable!), the only thing worth seeing along the south shore of the Forth between Strirling and South Queensferry really. It has a nice small marina and, naturally, a castle, with nice views on the Forth Railway Bridge (see below).