“The Scots think of it as their capital; they’re too possessive. Edinburgh belongs to the world”- Richard Demarco
“Fernweh” is a German term that means a deep longing and yearning for distant places. The closest word in the English language to “fernweh” is “wanderlust” but that doesn’t describe the painful desire to travel, that is associated with “fernweh”.
I have deep Scottish roots and quite a bit of DNA from Scotland, so it felt like a natural starting point for my European travels. With the internet and a Rick Steves’ guidebook, I began planning my trip for the Spring of 2021, Unfortunately, his little thing called Covid required that the plan be put off until October of 2022.
My trip began in New Orleans with stopovers in Atlanta and Toronto. Apparently using Delta airline points puts you on WestJet, which is a Canadian airline. I recommend that you do not fly anywhere through Canada. I would even think twice about flying TO CANADA to get TO CANADA. My 9 hour layover in Toronto was pretty miserable. Toronto Pearson Airport is so plain and boring. I considered traveling into Toronto on the Union Pearson Express, but my brain was filled with all of the things that could go wrong with that detour.
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I really made every effort to travel light by carrying a small rolling suitcase and a backpack.
I was determined NOT to check my bag. The longer I wagged around a suitcase, backpack, and CPAP machine, the heavier it became. I had eliminated as many liquids as possible by using toothpaste tabletshttps://amzn.to/46BkK6m and shampoo bars https://amzn.to/3Reiw8F. Even after all of this preparation, my backpack weight was killing me, so I threw away a new shirt and some Anti Monkey Butt powderhttps://amzn.to/3Gh9QIe before I even left the airport.
I spent some time getting a chair massage. The odd position caused me to have a painful charlie horse! So, now in addition to aching back and neck, I couldn’t move my leg . The attendant didn’t speak English, so she was confused as to why I kept standing up during the massage. Gratefully, it ended just before I burst into tears from the terrible pain.
I hobbled around the concourse for a while, swapping my luggage from hand to hand and desperately needing a nap. I knew they had nap pods in some airports but not in Toronto, so I decided to pay extra to sit in the Plaza Premium Lounge. This fee included some upholstered chairs and an odd assortment of buffet food. After a few hours, I felt the need to change scenery, so I staggered to my Departure Gate which naturally was the very last one at the end of the airport.
In celebration of my upcoming trip, I thought it was appropriate to use henna dye to tattoo a mandala design on my hands. My excitement got a little out of control and the design finally ended past my wrists. The outcome was an unfortunate reddish brown sepia that just smeared all together. I can’t blame the ink itself, It was clearly user error. https://amzn.to/3GgSrQf
This did garner much attention and more than one bystander had a puzzled look on their face. They really wanted to know the story behind this body art. It’s not often that you see a clearly Anglo -Saxon, 60 year old woman with henna covered hands.
Finally….Edinburgh
My flight left Toronto at 9 p.m. and arrived in Edinburgh about 9 a.m. My travel partner, Jana, arrived the day before and had already caught up on her sleep. Dizziness, delirium and exhaustion had taken over, so I went straight to bed for a 2 hour nap. I really felt a little drunk and realized that jet lag is a real thing.
We stayed at the http://Premium Inn Royal Mile . This was a budget friendly option which offered a restaurant on-site.
The breakfast included the mandatory baked beans and blood sausage. The hotel has a laundry facility and it is in walking distance of the train station and downtown sites. Ubers and taxis were available. The hotel will give you top sheets and a wash cloth on request. This “top sheet, “no top sheet” debate is always an issue for Americans . I am definitely a top sheet fan and a hot sleeper. If you read my blog, 5 Products That Are A Woman’s Best Friend, you know that duvet feather bedding is not going to work for me.
We didn’t book a guided tour and that would have probably been a smart thing to do.
We spent the first full day just sort of wandering around. As we trudged up down the Royal Mile, we did see more tartan stores than you can imagine and retro clothing stores on every block. We toured churches and cemeteries and took photos of Greyfriars Kirkyard. Our timing was a little off and we seemed to be too late to see several sights like Holyrood Palace, but we did tour Edinburgh Castle.
Cameron is one of my Scottish surnames; I was always in search of Cameron books and tartans. I also felt an obligation to test out as many pastries as possible. I actually prefer the scones in the U.S. to those in Britain. They were extremely dry and I just didn’t love them. I did fall completely in love with Walker’s Ecclefechan Tarts.https://amzn.to/47vsVTi I’m not certain how many boxes I consumed but it was more than 3. I still think about those tarts. They are next to impossible to find the U.S. but Amazon does occasionally have them available.
On day two, we enjoyed Afternoon Tea at The Witchery. This hotel/restaurant is on the Royal Mile at the gates of Edinburgh Castle. We were excited to be seated next to a bride and groom in all their traditional Scottish wedding attire. The Witchery takes it name from hundreds of men and women accused of being witches who were burned at the stake, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
The building that houses The Witchery is spectacular to see, if not a little tricky to maneuver. It’s not a place that I would recommend for people with mobility issues as it is an uphill climb.
We spent our last night dining at Ivy On the Square by St Andrew Square near Princes Street. Our visit to Scotland took place at the end of the Pandemic lockdown but restaurants still required reservations. Our options were fairly limited but we enjoyed this dinner.
To the Highlands We Go
From the beginning of trip planning I wanted to drive to the Highlands and back down the western coast. Initially, I booked through an individual on Turo, but at the last minute he changed the pick up location to the outskirts of Edinburgh, so we cancelled.
We used a car rental facility near the train station and booked a sweet little hybrid Prius. Honestly, I am not sure that I could have driven alone. It took so much navigation to manage all the hundreds of “roundabouts” that we came across. I’m not even sure that there is a redlight in the country of Scotland. Jana would give me advance notice of every upcoming turn. I occasionally also required reminders regarding what side of the road we should be on. I highly recommend that you have someone to act as navigator.
How Do you Spend A Day In Pitlochry?
Our first stop was Pitlochry where we had lunch at Inn on the Tay We walked the path over the river bridge and saw the Pitlochry Dam from a distance. Pitlochry is the home of Heathergems, a handcrafted jewelry shop and viewing gallery. Their pieces are created from natural Scotch Heather grown nearby. My purchases included a small heather Christmas tree ornament and bracelets for the granddaughters.
On our stroll through the village. we came across some unusual wooden yard sculptures and unique floral decorations. It was a very quiet and picturesque little village. Pitlochry is a village in the Perth and Kincross council area of Scotland. http://pitlochry-scotland.co.uk
Inverness was our destination for the next few days.
We booked a sweet Bed and Breakfast called Lenach Farms which was located on Culloden Moors. This beautiful isolated property was located on rolling hills with a working farm and muddy narrow roads. The property was less than half a mile from Culloden Battlefield and quarter of a mile from the historically significant Clava Cairns.
I literally showered in the dark.
Our room held twin beds and a table. There was a tiny desk and a refrigerator. The room was probably a 9×9. I mean it was little! The bathroom contained a tiny shower, but was missing an overhead light. Jana was afraid to go into the bathroom and was skipping around the room acting crazy so I decided to video her.
I am pretty certain that the cottage was haunted. I caught some orbs floating in our room while I was videoing her. The Ghosts didn’t keep us from sleeping, we were way too tired to be bothered with spirits.
I intentionally planned BNB stays on the days that we would be needing to do laundry. The inn keeper at Lenach Farms did our laundry for a small fee. Be prepared for slightly damp clothing and a little stiffness. Dryers are not all created equal, thanks to energy saving features required in the U.K. We found that our clothing was never really dry.
Breakfast was served overlooking the beautiful horse pasture and the indoor clothesline which contained our drying laundry. I was thankful we were the only guests there on that day. I didn’t want to air my clean laundry to stranger
Inverness was filled with antique stores and fun places to shop for treasures.
I was on a “junk journal” kick at the time and apparently had big plans to mass produce some journals to sell. I purchased antique cigarette cards, random documents, and pretty papers. We stopped whenever we spied a “Charity Shop” sign. The prices were very good in most stores and they had so much old stuff! We did ship back quite a few boxes on our trip. Of course there were some treasures that I passed up because of the shipping complications.
A very popular Inverness shop is Leakey’s Bookshop containing Scotland’s largest selection of secondhand books, maps and prints. I could have spent days in that bookstore and not seen everything.
During our shopping we did of course find a T.J. Maxx . I picked out a sweater that I thought might come in handy and tried to purchase it, but was denied because my credit card wasn’t signed. The cashier looked at me like I was crazy when I suggested that I just sign the card there, so I could complete the transaction. Apparently signing your credit card is only mandatory at the Inverness T.J. Maxx because it wasn’t a problem anywhere else. The credit card remains unsigned.
Honestly, it is very exhausting and stressful to maneuver a foreign country.
I recommend that you don’t worry too much about what you miss but smile more about what you do experience. There were some places such as Cawdor Castle which we hated to miss but you cannot see everything. Give yourself a break and save some things for another visit. Keep notes on what you do each day. Write a short diary. I know there is so much that I have forgotten, but I still laugh out loud at the most random times about something we said or did. It’s one of those “you had to be there” moments whenever I think about simple things like putting gas in the car.
Join me for Part II when we head to Lockness, Urquart Castle, Cameron Museum and Oban.
Happy travels,
Penny
Mrs. Grave Dodger
