I just found a piece of paper given to me by some friends to my boyfriend who live in Livingston, Scotland. We visited them on our trip over there and started talking about the scottish language and how lovely it is. I asked for explanations to certain words, and got the short list:

eejit - idiot (sounds pretty much the same to me)
haver - talk rubbish (like in the song 500 miles: "when I haver, well I know I'm gonna be haverin' to you")
dour - miserable
numpty - daft, stupid
wheesht - shut up
stramash - conflict
birl - twirl, turn round
drookit - wet
laldie - energetic, enthusuatic
drouth [drooth] - thirst
mauchit - dirty, filthy
glaikit - ugly
scunner - fed up
gallus - brave, confident
fankle - mixed up
greet - cry
neep - turnip
canny - wise
teuchter - people from the highlands
braw - nice

Some of these words actually makes some sense!

Edinburgh Castle

On monday we went to see Edinburgh Castle, the most important castle in the Scottish history. The castle itself is situated on a hilltop. First you go through a huge gate connected to the outer wall, and then there are several large stone buildings, sort of like a little village, some connected and some standing by them selves, on different levels as you walk up to the actual castle.
As you walk along the steps and stairs you realise that your in the middle of an old military compound. To this day there's actually still a military regement living in one of the wings of the castle, and in one of the other wings they have a military museum with machines and guns.





In one of the grassy balconys (that's not a good word for them but I cant find a better) you find an old soldier dog cemetery (notice the headstones close to the wall).

The whole castle is surrounded by guards because they actually have the Scottish Honours in a separate museum where the kings and queens had their apartments. It's actually quite cool to follow the scottish history trail around in the rooms, and there's a long story to how the honours where kept safe during war, and then went missing, only to be discovered a hundred years afterwards in an old huge chest with a fake bottom. Of course, we weren't allowed to take pictures of them, otherwise I would have showned them to you.. :)

I'm sure some of you not-so-in-love-with-Scotland as myself must be thinking 'That all fine, but what's going on with you right now?' And to that I can tell you that I've started working again, with is really though because of the lovely weather and all. As soon as I see people heading to the beach I get really jealous. But I hang in there, thinkin' I'll get my chance during weekends. All though, it's weekend right now and I'm not at the beach (what am I doing in doors on this lovely hot summers day?!). I'm home alone and have rented a movie (Fried Green Tomatoes) and have bought crisps and Ben&Jerrys. Maybe I'll go out for a walk in a while, exercise is good, (or so I've been told).

The Wallace Monument

Here we go again. When we at Stirling Castle we realized we could actually see the William Wallace Monument, as it also stood up on a hilltop not far from the Castle. We took the drive through town and when we got there we realized - by god, what a hill! (I'm so glad I am healthy and fit..ish.. so that I had the strength to walk up.)

Here you see the William Wallace Monument with Mr Wallace himself standing watchful over Stirling county.

After that climb we went to our first BnB where we were going to stay two nights. It was situated in Inverkeithing, on the other side of the Forth River, close to Edinburgh. That night we took a pub-round (we call it 'pub-runda' in swedish) in Edinburgh and managed to find the cooolest pub in the whole of Scotland, Jekyll and Hyde in Frederick Street near Old Town, Edinburgh. It was completely redone to look like a mad scientists home with the darkness, the horror cabinets, the candelabers, the hidden doors in the bookshelf. Being a sci fi nerd my self, I fell in love with the place instantly!

The picture to the left shows a little alley we just stumbled upon in Edinburgh coming up from Market Street near the trainstation. Iit just like taken out of Oliver Twist or something similar?

The next day we went to the Deep Sea World where we saw sharks swimming above our heads. Unfortunately I didnt film it because the batteries had then ran out. Typically. All though, I managed to take a photo of a fake shark and it looks almost as scary as the real thing!

Grrr arrg.

That's all you get for tonight folks! Now I'm going to get comfy (is that how you write it?) with The Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann, and of course the obligatory chocolat. Some day I really have to think about quitting chocolat...but not today.

Haste ya back!

Stirling Castle

Just started transferring pictures to the computer and realized that I better divide it up into themes, starting with the first castle we went to, The Stirling Castle.

The first day that we were in Scotland we really didn't have the time to start sightseeing because we were just adjusting to driving on the left side of the road and trying to find our hotel in the million-city Glasgow, (which would have been really simpel if there just was one Mill Street instead of two)... The second day, we started out for Stirling Castle and then the William Wallace Monument (or as I constantly miss-said: 'The William Wallace Document'. I am a wee bit whimpsy, I am. I get that from my mother... ;)

The Stirling Castle is the second most important castle in all of Scotlands history, with only Edinburgh Castle toping it. It played a big role in many of the battles between scots and englishmen until it was destroyed in the 16th century and later rebuilt by the Stuarts (if I undetstood it correctly...)
Here's some pics, enjoy!

The inner wall, inside the courtyard, and looking out from the inner wall onto the outer defence, where I stood in the picture below.

Now, some of the more important historical persons of Scotland. Lets see.. there's me, Robert the Bruce and James Stuart the Fifth. In that order...

The view of Stirling Castle and from Stirling Castles outer defence.

Next post will be about the William Wallace monument, stay tuned!