Chapter 13 - Scotland Update One - Edinburgh, Oban & Portree

Edinburgh -> Oban -> Portree

Our journey from Prague to Edinburgh was relatively uneventful - EasyJet actually did it easy - for us this is a first!

We arrived at Edinburgh airport and as usual our luggage came out...last! I was worried that it might have gone missing which is an EasyJet trademark. But it arrived safe and sound and we grab some cash at the currency exchange place by converting Czech Koruna and Polish zloty to pounds. Unfortunately, we get a "...what - you want to change Roubles as well" from the lady behind the counter - "you've got to be joking!" Oh well, I'm sure someone will need some Russian currency in the future!

We grab the local bus from the airport to down town Edinburgh and trundle up the hill past the Golden Mile to our hotel and meet up with our friend Denise in the foyer. Great to meet up with Laurie and Denise after all the planning that went into this part of the trip over a wine or two last Easter.

Dinner of cod and chips and a pint of local bitter for us all at the pub around the corner from the hotel sets us back a small fortune and sets the tone for eating out in Scotland for the next two weeks. It's EXPENSIVE!

Next morning, the girls take a walk into the city and Laurie and I walk the couple of km's to pick up the car - a VW Passat sedan - and we return to the hotel to see if all our luggage fits in the boot - which it does - phew!

Anne in Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Laurie has borrowed a GPS unit from a friend and the girl giving the directions is called Beverley. Unfortunately she's much less reliable than the Bev we had on our Insight Tour and she constantly gets lost and losing satellite reception.

After picking up our luggage and the girls we're off on our Scottish adventure - first to Stirling Castle which is wet but interesting and then on to the west coast seaside township of Oban. On the way, we spy our first Loch - and we took the high road beside Loch Lomond on our way to our destination for the next two days.

The approach to Stirling Castle

Defending the lowlands from the parapets of Stirling Castle

The battlements

The amazing roof structure in the main hall

The main courtyard

One of the restored formal rooms

Anne in the archway to the inner garden

Statue of Robert the Bruce guarding the castle

Loch Lomond - on our way to Oban after leaving Stirling Castle

Our B&B in Oban was a 15 minute walk from the town along the sea side but our bedrooms were so small that you couldn't swing a cat. We do find two small stuffed cats in the lounge room downstairs and we practice swinging these but even these can't do a full orbit in the bedroom without hitting the bedside lampshade.

Denise with the stuffed pussies!

Oban art along the seaside

Looking towards the township from our B&B

Our B&B - the double building in the
centre - our side with red eaves

Oban is not really quaint - it's a stepping off point to other west coast islands like Mull and is quite workmanlike. We find a fantastic seafood restaurant for dinner and the next day we explore the town before taking a boat trip out to a local seal colony and commercial fish farm. We walk up to the large amphitheatre-like monument above the town and then out to the ruined fortress along from our B&B before a pub meal and back to our micro bedrooms for the night.

The town - the great seafood restaurant is the left hand red roof

The Monument to a Dead Wife above the town

Two reprobates at the monument (Denise on the background)

Anne and Denise framed by a window at the monument

The local seal colony

Commercial fish (Atlantic Salmon) farming off the coast

Those two again - this time on the boat to the seal colony!

The old ruin along the seashore from our B&B

Local hospitality at the pub next door to the B&B

Me - grinning like I just swallowed a
cat (or was that a stuffed pussy, or a canary?)

Next morning, we leave Oban and head for the Isle of Skye. On the way, we stop at the ruined Stalker Castle on Loch Laich near Appin and then at the township of Fort William for coffee where we realise that we have the opportunity to ride the gondola up the the Ben Nevis ski fields.

The ruin of Stalker Castle

A few km's out of town, we turn off the main drag and into the carpark at the base of the ski fields before riding the gondola up to the highest lifted point accessible during summer. We then walk up to the top to get a better view of the highest peak in the British Isles - Ben Nevis.

ON the gondola to the Ben Nevis ski field

Looking back towards Fort William from the top

The ski field with Ben Nevis (snow covered) peeking its head top left

Three intrepid trekkers on the highest point we could go to

Back on the trail and we're off to the town of Portree on the Isle of Skye. Lunch is at a little cafe at Invergarry (in the middle of nowhere) run by ladies from the Scottish equivalent of our own CWA - home cooked soup, toasties and scones - delightful.

The cafe at Invergarry - Beryl and Joan from the CWA were very hospitable

Late in the day, we finally pull into Portree - a small fishing/tourist township towards the middle or the Isle.

Portree

Portree - the church is the grey building upper centre
with community hall and cottage hospital behind 

After a walk around town (which is crowded with British summer holiday tourists) we finally find a restaurant and book and when we return, we have a great repast of all things both local and exotic. Quite a memorable meal really!

Next day, we walk up to the highest point of the town for the views and photo opportunities before heading off to drive around the rest of the northern part of the Isle of Skye.

Monument on the highest point up behind the church

Surprisingly, these are like our crows albeit a different colour!

Incredibly interesting landforms and wild rugged coastline predominate and we thoroughly enjoy the trip around this fairly desolate part of Scotland.

The Old Man of Storr (the volcanic neck to the left of the main mountain)

Me preparing the lunch table

Lunch beside a roadside tarn

At the northern tip of the Isle of Skye

A crofter's village nearby

The "Kilt" cliffs with waterfall cascading into the sea

Next morning, we rise to the patter of rain on the roof of our B&B and after breakfast, we head off towards Loch Ness and our next destination, Inverness.

Chapter 12 - Prague

Prague

Our trip to Prague from Krakow was brilliant - just lucky we discovered 'Leo Express' on the internet as most other transport options were more fraught and decidedly more convoluted. The private coach from Krakow to Bohumin just across the border into the Czech Republic was great - even had a hostie on board to serve tea and coffee. Then we board a Leo Express branded train for a 1st class train trip right into Prague - fantastic!

At Prague railway station we get off the train and see a taxi driver so we ask for the rate to take us to our hotel. He immediate quotes 500 Czech Koruna. We decline his generous offer and find an info booth downstairs where the girl at the counter makes a phone call and soon a taxi driver turns up for us and our bags and relieves us of only 180 Czech Koruna for the same trip. Our hotel is full of rustic charm and is air conditioned to boot which is great as it's 40 degrees plus for the first few days of our stay there.

We have 6 nights in Prague staying at the Palace Hotel near Charles Bridge. This is a great location right at the iconic bridge and only 5 minutes walk from the old city square. There are stacks of things to do and see in Prague - the famous Palace; the Cathedral; the main square with it's clock tower; the Jewish quarter with its museum, Synagogues and Cemetery; the swanky shopping streets and the plethora of museums and galleries. We do some tram travel but mostly, we walk everywhere. Easy!

Just a 'little' statue in a niche near the lift in our hotel

The Prague Castle (Palace) at night from across the river

Anne looking relaxed beside the river

The entry tower at the east end of the Charles Bridge

Me looking well...goofy - on the Charles Bridge

The gateway at the western end of the bridge
leading to the "Little Town"

These cars are for hire for a city tour - 1200 Koruna ($70) for 45 minutes

One downside of the city is the crowds at this time of the year - it's high summer, and there are tourists everywhere (as one would expect). It seems that an increasing number of people from the Asia-Pacific region are travelling to Europe, and Prague is a key destination for them, but they are not alone - there are people here from every country across the globe and they are very pushy, especially when travelling en masse - usually on walking tours around the city or just in a hurry to get somewhere. I think the locals feel the stress too and react accordingly.

We spend a day touring around the city by ourselves on foot (whilst our washing is at the laundry).

A shop with a name to jog one of our kid's memories about Prague

Statue of St Charles - or was it of a Prince or a King??

Walking up towards the main square

The Town Hall Tower and its famous clock

The celestial clock in to Tower

Looking back down the main lift well of the Tower

Looking out of the Tower with a random tourist in the foreground

The ancient Cathedral from the Tower

Anne looking fetching as she poses at the top of the Tower

BBQ'ing pork haunches on the spit alongside the main square

Our own walking tour was with a small group of about 20 people and takes 7 hours to complete but this includes a river cruise with morning tea and lunch. Very good value and a very informative guide.

The statue outside Prague Castle (Palace)

St Vitus Cathedral within the Prague Palace

The side of the Cathedral

Anne with the city of Prague stretching out behind her

The John Lennon memorial wall

View of the Old Cathedral from Prague Cathedral

Inside a chapel the Loreto Convent in the Upper City

Anne in a street behind the Loreto Church & Convent

Phil walking towards the Jewish Museum

The graveyard in the Jewish Quarter

Inside the Spanish Synagogue, Prague Jewish Quarter

Up the the National Museum at the top of the main street in Prague

Statue of a famous man on a horse

Picture of a famous woman in front of a famous statue

The Town Hall Tower of the so-called 'New Town' of Prague

Anne enjoying a craft brew at the famous micro brewery in Prague New Town

We  hook up with Lisa and Denise (from our Insight Tour) and have a couple of great meals with them including our last night where we hike up to the hill top above the river and have bread, cheese, ham and wine with them as the sun sets over the city.

Anne and I on the hilltop above Prague on our last night in the city

The Metronome - a moving sculpture on top of the hilltop parkland

Denise preparing our last supper in Prague. Lisa ably assisting in the background

Our fare for the night - very continental, Note the size of the bottle of white wine!

Anne an I against the Prague skyline as the sun sets on a perfect day

Sunset

The Prague Palace at dusk

The War Memorial

The reprobates on a bridge!

Fireworks on the horizon from the Charles Bridge

But soon it's time to head to the airport and pray that our EasyJet flight turns up to take us to Edinburgh for our rendezvous with Laurie and Denise, our travelling friends for the Scotland part of our travels. Surprisingly, EasyJet does the right thing this time (not like our previous experience with them) and our plane arrives, takes off and lands on time and the whole experience is without glitch. Amazing!!!

Next chapter - Scotland.