Tag: monument

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Wallace Monument & Folk Night

Went back up to the Wallace Monument to actually go inside; the views from the top were quite good but more welcomed was the breeze cooling me off from the Scottish heat wave (80 deg) – which doesn’t seem like much but is actually pretty serious because Scotland is not equipped for weather above like 70, and we actually had to have class online today because our teacher couldn’t get here because the train lines are melting. Then we went to the Birds and Bees pub where we ate and enjoyed a Scottish and Irish Folk band, and taught us a wee dance.

Folk Night Band Video

Folk Night Dance Video 1

Folk Night Dance Video 2

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Glasgow

Today’s ISS day trip was into Glasgow. Saw the Duke of Wellington Statue in the square, which has apparently had a cone on its head since the 90s, and whenever it gets taken off it just gets replaced quickly. Then we went onto the Kelvingrove Art Museum; of course all the paintings were beautiful but I was really taken away by the hanging heads – I couldn’t find a plaque so I have no idea what the story is behind them, but it’s quite alarming to be exploring the beautiful old castle like architecture then turn the corner and suddenly there’s a bunch of bipolar heads screaming in the air (spookily lit up I might add). We continued to the Botanical Gardens, and for somebody who cannot keep plants alive, I was really in my happy place walking among these towering plants. Glasgow’s a cute enough town, but not a whole lot to do, so we went around shopping for the rest of the afternoon after eating lunch at Wellingtons, which is apparently a very British and very popular chain, like a Mcdonald’s the way it’s on every corner. We also had our first hint of the classic Scottish rain, but it only lasted maybe 5 minutes.

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The Back Walk

Walked along the Back Walk trails behind the Stirling Castle. All these areas have loads of small trails going all about, and I’ve found my favorite way of hiking around is to only have the vaguest general idea of where I might want to end up and just see where the random trail I pick takes me – there tends to be some cool statues along the way as well, and sometimes a Beheading Stone. At the bottom of the trail I landed in an open area where I have been told sometimes Highland cows hang out, but there were only sheep today, so the hunt continues. That spot was right next to the King’s Knot which is kind of just an interesting landscaping choice (I read the plaque but can’t remember the actual history behind it). Then for dinner, we walked over to Bridge of Allen again.

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Edinburgh

Day trip into Edinburgh where we explored Calton Hill and the National Museum of Scotland (and passed by the Forth Bridges on our way there). One of my classes then went together to the Edinburgh Dungeons (which was not at all what I was expecting after having done zero research: part semi hasted house and part heightened dramatized history lessons) and it was quite a good time – even though we got hanged (literally a ride at the end – basically a mini tower of terror). We also stopped by the Frankenstein Bar since that’s the first book we’re reading in that class.

Frankestein Bar Video

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Stirling Castle

Today I just took a casual stroll through Stirling Castle after class, as you do. For dinner we went into town to try some Scotland favorites: pizza crunch (deep fried pizza), fried haggis, and a fried Mars bar; pizza could have been really good if it had come with more dipping sauce on the side, but the others were really good.

Stirling Castle Video

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Dumyat Hill

After class we hiked up Dumyat hill, there was about a 10 minute walk up to the trailhead which I think was the steepest part, but then we spent about 2 hours on the hill where there was lots of different paths you could take all around. It was an absolutely beautiful day, now just waiting for the allergy medicine to kick in to recover from all the grass.

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William Wallace Monument*

Well, my luggage didn’t make it, but I have arrived to Stirling. I’ve started to meet all the other international students, and a couple of us wandered up to the William Wallace Monument – which is just a 20 min walk from campus; the inside wasn’t open but there’s lots of different trails around the base.

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Munich, Last Day

We took a couple different routes on the Hop-Off-Hop-Off buses so I feel like we really got to see a lot of the city. That includes Marienplatz, St. Michael’s church, the eternal flame monument for those lost in WWII, Nymphenburg Palace, Olympic Park where we went to the top of the tower, a market where we saw a maypole,  Odeonsplatz, and the English Gardens. The gardens were beautiful, and we stumbled across a place where apparently a lot of people go to surf the little waves coming out from under the bridge.

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Last Day in Budapest

We visited the Shoes on the Danube, a memorial there to honor those lost in WWII. We also went through the Labyrinth, naturally made, but now used in connection to Dracula; they were quite creepy with very few lights, fog, and opera music echoing throughout accompanied by wax figures as a masquerade ball. We took the funicular down Buda Hill, rode the Budapest Eye, and as we were sitting having a milkshake to cool down, a random parade came by as there are multiple festivals happening around here, but what mostly caught my attention was the guy having to wear a fur coat in 90 degrees. We had a great dinner where we cooked our own meat on a lava rock (I had some Mangalica Pork, mostly because I was really intrigued by the concept of eating a fuzzy pig). And then we were supposed to take an overnight train tonight to Munich, but we ended up missing that one, but we were able to get another train to Munich tomorrow morning and a hotel room in the same hotel we stayed in last night so it all worked out. Plus we were glad to be able to take a shower after sweating all day.

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Margaret Island

The cruise is over but we are still hanging around Europe for a little while, so we checked into our hotel where we got a very fancy room for just one night. We explored the city a little more and visited the oldest church in Budapest, the Roman ruins of which can be seen through glass in the floor of the new church built over it. We took a tour of Margaret Island on some electric scooters – the traffic was crazy but it was quite a fun way to get around. Margaret Island is located in between Buda and Pest (on one side of the Danube is Buda and the other is Pest – the two cities joined a while ago, first being called Pestbuda, but since Buda was the previous capital they decided to put that first). The island is so beautiful, basically just a giant park as there are no residences and no cars are allowed to drive around, and it contains an English rose garden, a Japanese garden, a zoo, and a waterpark, as well as a fountain that does a light show in the evening and lots of green space.