Where the Haggis am I (thanks for the title Sis!); my time in Scotland

Hiiiii everyone!!! Update!!!! My first week and almost my second week is over, and I have SO MUCH FREE TIME. Like this morning I didn't get out of bed until 2 pm because I was reading a book for 3 hours. I'm trying to decide if I should enjoy this free time or go find some more stuff to do (like I usually do). I've had suggestions like working for a soup kitchen and have been seriously considering the idea. But a blog post about school to come; first, Scotland!!!

I had a week off in between my language course and actual Uni so I headed to Scotland to see my beautiful and wonderful sister in the land of weird looking cows, Haggis, and the Loch Ness monster!!!

I took a plane from Berlin to Edinburgh and then a bus from Edinburgh to Glasgow. Edinburgh, for the 10 minutes I was there, was beautiful! Castles on hills, hills, castles on hills.... but seriously it was cool. But alas, I had to leave to see Whitney in Glasgow. Hoping for the same time of magical atmosphere, I hopped on a bus and before I knew it, set foot into Glasgow's bus station. Whitney soon found me to my wonderful delight!

We headed straight for Chipotle like Mexican food (which we all know is not proper Mexican food). Despite the lack of lard in the beans and the cilantro in the rice, it was nice to have a tortilla filled with pieces of meet in my mouth. Then Whitney suggested we "hire a car" to get us to her place because it involved walking up a hill. Ummm ok. Why not. It was cheap, only 5 pounds.

So let me mention here the lack of public transportation in Glasgow to me is comical coming from Berlin: I have a tram that drops me 5 minutes from my house, and yet Whitney has to walk a half hour everyday to get to school. And the subway is the cutest subway I have ever seen. There is one subway. It makes a ring around the city. That's it. Well at least it has the cute factor!

Whitney is basically reliving her freshmen year. It's very different from what I'm doing. I live in an apartment with Germans, trying to learn a language, therefore making classes somewhat of a new experience. My university is not a campus, but sprawled throughout the middle of Berlin, literally a 5 minute walk from the capitol building.

For Whitney, her classes seem to be cake. Her campus is in a city but is for the most part a campus. She had a week called Fresher's week, for all of the new students. Also the party culture there is very different from Berlin. They drink A LOT. And the dress up in little short dresses and don't wear jackets when they go out. In Berlin, everyone just wears big jackets and coat checks it.

But anywayssss, got there and went shopping for food and drinks. Came back with pizza and apple cider (not Bulmer's sadly :( Whitney and her friends drink something called Brother's). We ate, got dressed for a night out that apparently happens every week with her flat. I opted for a pair of black jeans and a nice top. Whitney said I would be slightly underdressed but not big deal. Got to the club and everyone was in short dresses... without jackets!! And here I was with my big peacoat. But alas, it was a fun night!



The next day we woke up and Whitney showed me around Glasgow. Glasgow is kinda dreary honestly. It rains there a lot. But her school is beautiful. I couldn't help but sing the theme song to Harry Potter over and over in my head. The cool part about Scotland is all of the museums are free so we headed into one in her University. A lot of medical stuff in it, including this fetus. Then headed to another museum where I found a puzzle to work on. Whitney was skeptical but I finished all of it! So ha sis :) That half hour of waiting was worth it.








The last thing to see in Glasgow was the cathedral. I can't remember why it was so special, but it was beautiful!



Oh yeah and there's something about putting cones on statues in Glasgow. Whenever the cone disappears, it always reappears at some point....



The next day we headed to the Highlands. Whitney booked a last minute bus tour all the way up the most Northern city and then back down. After 360 miles of travel and a 12 hour tour, I felt like I got to know a bit of the beautiful Scotland landscape. I had no idea how many lakes there were, apparently formed from ice bergs. Highlights include: Loch Ness (we took a boat ride on the actual lake where Nessie lives! I was hoping for a sighting, but alas, she didn't make an appearance), Glen Coe, these three big mountains whose names I can't remember, but really all very, very beautiful.










That night we headed to a Caleigh, a classic Scottish dance. It's a mix between country and something else, meaning I had absolutely not idea what I was doing. I paired up with a guy in a kilt, thinking it would be a good idea; he could show me the ropes. Mistake. He hated that I was his partner because I couldn't do anything right. Won't make that mistake again. Great night, made it home in time for Whitney to take her first midterm!



The next day we headed back to Edinburgh for a day. We met some people in our hostel (Whitney's first hostel experience! I hope she liked it) and headed out for some expensive drinks with them. (Another note: Scotland is expensive. Everything costs way too much money!!!) But we made some new friends and even managed to dance a bit.



The next morning we woke up early (for me, early is before 10 nowadays) and headed out for breakfast with one of our new friends. I had haggis for the first and last time! It was.... ok. Would definitely not order it again. We then headed out for a day in Edinburgh. We saw so much including the outside of the castle, hike around Arthur's seat, and a few museums in between. I loved Edinburgh, and would definitely visit again.







The trip was a success. It was great to spend a few days with my sis in her stomping ground for the next few months.

And lastly a departing video from hour hike: