SCOTLAND - ŠKOTSKA

A lot of Scottish probably don’t know much about Slovenia. But we have some things in common. Some part of Slovenians are also known as very hard up - saep, perhaps because we inhabit similar mountainous landscape. In Slovenia one can find a similar dish to haggis – it is called krvavica, which would be translated as blood-sausage.

I like Scotland. Definitely! All of it. Even the short encounters with midgets, from which I escaped into my car and slept there instead in a tent… Somehow I don’t like big towns. Especially driving my own car on “the wrong side of the road” (left). So I skipped Edinburgh and also Glasgow.  But there were plenty of smaller towns, which gave me the feeling about Scottish life in a city (Falkirk, Stirling, Invernes, Oban…). Somehow I didn’t find fun in the pubs – they are just too expensive and noisy. I prefer peace and quiet. Beside obvious sights, from castles, monuments, lakes,  I also discovered  interesting sights on the roofs. Chimneys! They are so common but also special and different.  You should look up sometimes, while walking along the street. And even your home street won’t be the same anymore!

Driving on a small roads was fun. Sometimes early in the morning I forgot on which side of the road I should drive. But after a few hundred meters everything went fine. I even become virtual friend with so many drivers waving me after stopping along the road to give them the way on a tight road.

Parking fees must be a night mare for Scottish. Well, I had time, so I skiped paying the fee as often as it was possible. I prefered to walk from the suburbs and spend some pounds for a lunch instead. It is amazing, how much could I spend on parking machines! Considering a few short stops near the tourist places every day, that would come more than  200 pounds in a month, which is the same I have payed fot the petrol… And yes, I admit, a few times I was running out of change and I left a notice on the car screen. “I went to get the change!” Luckily I wasn’t fined, but I got scared once… Fines must be expensive in Scotland?! When I got back from walking along small town on the north east coast, there was a peace of paper on my car. When I unfold it, I had to smile. It wasn’t a fine, but a greeting from unknown Slovenian couple who passed by. They were surprised to find a Slovenian car so far away from home…

And Whisky of course! I have visited some distilleries – finding out, that it is forbidden to take pictures inside. I just wonder, how many distilleries cot  a fire because of that? Just in case, I obeyed the rules. I also tested some whiskey. But just a few drops, as I don’t drink much, especially when driving. As a rare user of this epic drink I have to disappoint you – I didn’t find much difference between Scottish and Irish  whiskey, which I had chance to taste some weeks after that. I can’t tell which one is better…

Best spots:

Falkirk wheel  -  St. Andrews  - Blair Castle, Highlander’s parade and Highland games
Pitlochry, gardens and small distillery  -  Lochness lake  - Isle of Skye  -
Fort William and Glenfinnan viaduct (Harry Potter) – New Lanark (Unesco)

Zgodba o škotskih piškotih:
http://napotki.blogspot.com/2012/12/skotska-najboljsi-piskoti.html

unforgettable hotels
http://travelfrog.jimdo.com/