SCOTLAND
SCOTLAND
"Sweatness through dificulties." This is the motto fo the clan Fergusson of which my family belongs. The bee and the thistle also signify our strength during hardships. Being part (meaning 1/16 because I am such a mutt) of Scottish descent, it was great to be able to see where my ancestors had lived. Scotland is beautiful! The rolling hills and dales, the thick fog that clings to the ground, and the rocky shores all add to the beauty of the Scottish countryside. The people in Scotland are way more warm and friendly that people in England.
I was fortunate enough to be in Ediburough during the fringe festival, so everyone was having fun and the town put on its best for the time period I was there. And it was spectacular. Scotland seemed to be more relaxed and mystical than England. Watching the sunset from atop King Arthur's Seat with a bottle of wine was almost spiritual. As was watching fireworks from the same vantage point. I was great having my sister and her friends show me around. The people were outgoing and jolly, and even the haggis (the national dish--if you don't know what it is, you don't want to know) was good. And of course the scotches were great. I was a little too young too truly appreciate them, but for the first time in my life I was able to take a sip of a scotch and not feel like I was bein bowled over by a steamroller assaulting my tastebuds.
It's easy to see how golf originated in such a region. The rolling hills add a sense of serenity but also a knowlege that they aren't all that easy to traverse. The area around lockerbie is especially poignant considering the terrible trajedy of the airplane crash that occured there. It was also easy to picture the age of chivalry with knights trapsing through the countryside going through bog, forest, and fields thorugh the mist in order to pursue galant acts. The stone castles are monuments to past glory and strife. It was just so easy to project scenes of fairy tales and the such in the surroundings--for it is truly a storybook land.
Being able to witness Hadrian's wall and the site where the battle of Hastings took place was especially meaningful for a student of European History. There is so much of historical significance and it is all presented in a relaxed yet dignified manner. Scotland is a delight--especially to anyone of Scottish descent. Their pride is everpresent but their spirit does not interfere with their enjoyment of life, nor their hospitality.
