Student Bloggers

The past few weeks of my trip have gone very quickly. I am now a month in and I feel rather comfortable here. One of my main goals when I came here was to see as much of Scotland (and Europe) as I could while I am here. So far I think I have been doing a good job taking different day trips offered through international student tours at the University and other various mini trips.

Loch Lomond, Inveraray, and Oban This has been one of my favorite day trips I have taken so far, but then again, this was my first one so it was probably a bit more exciting. After a mad rush by me and a friend of mine to get to the bus at 7:45 am on a Sunday we set off to our first location. We only knew for sure that we were heading to Inverary and Oban but the tour guides surprised us saying we had enough time to take a quick stop at Loch Lomond one of the most famous Lochs (lakes) in Scotland.

Loch Lomond is the largest inland body of water in Great Britain. When we saw it you could tell. It was a misty grey day (as many of them are here in Scotland) and you could barely make out the opposite sides of the shore. Coming from Minnesota I absolutely love lakes, not only are they beautiful but they remind me of home. Loch Lomond was an amazing sight, we weren’t there or the small town long but I would love to go back.

Inverary is a small town somewhere between Loch Lomond and Oban. Our tour stopped in this small seaside village to see its famous castle. Apparently, the castle had been featured in an episode of Downton Abbey. The castle was very different from the stone fortress-like castle I expect to see in Scotland but lovely nonetheless. The views of the fields and old bridges around the castle were also great sights.

Oban was the main destination on our trip. Oban is a seaside city on the west coast of Scotland. It is known as “the seafood capital of Scotland.” Unfortunately I didn’t have any seafood while in Oban because I was feeling a bit motion sick from the bus ride, but I heard from friends the fish and chips were excellent. There are a few other things to see in Oban other than the fish and the harbor. McCaig’s Tower is one of my favorite things I have seen in Scotland so far. It is a huge Colosseum like structure that overlooks Oban. It is darker stone than the old ancient ruins and gives you some great views of Oban and the sea. After leaving the tower we also saw some ruins of the old castle and some of the beautiful highland landscape. It was our first time in the highlands and it was as jaw dropping as we all hoped.

Dundee, Stonehaven, and Aberdeen This was the second day trip that I attended through the international student trips program. I really enjoyed our tour guides the first time around and was excited to see what else they had in store for us this time.

Our first stop was the fourth biggest city in Scotland, Dundee. This stop was mostly for the purpose of getting us off the bus and possibly getting a snack and stuff. There wasn't much to the city, especially when you are coming from a grand city like Edinburgh it is difficult to be impressed, but it was fun enough. We took this really cool huge group picture on these beautiful steps in Dundee.

The second stop, Stonehaven, is probably my favorite place I have been in Scotland thus far. Stonehaven is a small town that is visited because it is on the outskirts of a beautiful structure, Dunnottar Castle. Dunnottar castle is the inspiration for the castle of my favorite Disney princess, Merida from the movie Brave. The castle is a huge ruin that sits on cliffs of the North Sea. There were many different little hiking paths to see the castle. We were lucky to have a beautiful sunny day for this trip making the hikes really enjoyable. Below the castle there was also an amazing rocky beach with various caves around it that we could also explore. The inside of the castle was really interesting. I love seeing ruins and imagining how the people in this time used to live. I remember my friends and I getting unreasonably excited to see the place where people probably made bread. I also loved this place because there were many things for me to climb and explore!

Aberdeen was our last stop on our trip. This is the third largest city in Scotland behind Glasgow and Edinburgh. It is known as “The Silver City” because all of the buildings are made of grey granite. It is really an interesting sight. There is a very beautiful building called Marischal College that we went to see. We also walked some beautiful graveyards and saw a few different churches. The real highlight of Aberdeen was walking to the beach. This was the first sand beach I have seen in Scotland and it was amazing. I could sit on the beach and watch waves crash along the beach all day. We walked along the beach for a while then returned back to bus for our ride home. One thing I love about these tours I have been going on are that on the way home we watch a movie that is relevant to the things we saw on the trip. For this trip we watched Brave because we saw Dunnottar castle. It was really fun to compare the real thing and the animated movie version.

I have loved all of the different areas of Scotland I have seen so far. The big cities the small towns and everything in between. I am excited to explore more in the highlands, what I have seen so far is better than I could have ever imagined!