Tag Archives: Scotland

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Yet another Scottish whisky cruise…

Well, we finally did it.  We booked another proper vacation, the first one we’ve had since September 2017, when we visited Scotland the last time and cruised to Northern Ireland.  A lot has happened since that cruise occurred, although there have been a few things that are still the same.  For instance, we now live in Wiesbaden instead of Unterjettingen… but lingering issues that actually occurred right around the last time we were on the Hebridean Princess conspire to keep us connected to our old stomping grounds near Stuttgart.  That, and we kept our dentist down there.

Anyway, lately I’ve been feeling a bit crabby about life in general.  I will be the first to admit that everything that troubles me is, for the most part, a first world problem.  I still need a break sometimes.  So does Bill.  So in the past few days, we decided to book our vacation for 2019.  We gave some thought to going on a French barge cruise, which I’ve been wanting to do for ages.  But when we called about the specific one we were considering, we were told it was fully booked for when Bill had time off work.

I also want to go to Armenia… but Armenia in August is not the best idea, even though it looks like they are now embracing air conditioning.  It’s really hot there in the summer.  I’d rather go in late September or October.

So that led us to Hebridean Island Cruises again.  Although I’ve had a mishap every time we’ve been on that ship, it still remains my favorite of the ships I’ve tried so far.  It costs a mint to get onboard, but once you’ve paid, you’ve paid.  On four previous cruises, we’ve never had a bill at the end of the voyage.  And the voyage we booked is one that will take us to parts of Scotland we haven’t yet seen.  It will start in Inverness, when the coach picks us up and takes us to Invergordon.  Then, we’ll sail to Wick, through the Orkney Islands, and over the top of Scotland back to Oban eight nights later.

The cruise departs on August 5, 2019, so we had to pay for the whole thing yesterday.  It was a bit of an oucher… but they gave us a good discount.  We’ll be visiting eight distilleries.  Hopefully, this time, I won’t get norovirus like I did at the end of our first Scottish whisky cruise in 2016 (which, by the way, I think I picked up at a tasting off the ship).

This may be our last Scottish cruise for awhile, because I am really wanting to see some other parts of Europe.  We’ve been here for several years now, but the first time we lived in Germany, we made an effort to see more of the continent.  This time, we’ve stayed pretty close to Germany, with trips to Italy, France, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Belgium, Ireland, Scotland, and the Netherlands.  I’d like to visit Spain, Scandinavia, and more parts of eastern Europe.  I’ve been trying to do a real trip to Croatia for years.

Here’s a video about this awesome ship that started out as a car ferry in 1964, and for the past 30 years, has been the ultimate luxury experience.  Queen Elizabeth II and her family have sailed twice!

Prayers that this time, nothing bad will happen… I will come home healthy.  Bill will be healthy.  The dogs will be healthy.  And we won’t be too broke or inconvenienced!

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Every girl’s crazy ’bout a kilted man…

Three months ago, Bill and I were in Glasgow, Scotland, about to embark on our fourth cruise on Hebridean Princess.  While we were in Glasgow, we stopped into a kiltmaker’s shop and got Bill fitted for a kilt of his very own.  We decided to do it because we both love visiting Scotland, especially on Hebridean Princess.  Kilts are very welcome on that ship.  On all of our previous cruises on Hebridean Princess, Bill wore his dress blues on the formal nights.  The uniform, like kilts and tuxedos, has always been well-received on the ship.

Bill retired from the Army in 2014 and there comes a point at which it gets harder to do justice to the Army dress uniform.  I also learned that it might not even be appropriate for a retiree to wear the uniform on a cruise, though I doubt anyone would “bust” Bill on such a British cruise.  On each of our voyages, we have been among a very small number of Americans, none of whom have been affiliated with the military.  In fact, we have found that the Army uniform is quite a conversation starter, especially among the Brits who have also served in the military.  However, I was dying to see Bill in a kilt and kept pestering him to get one.  He finally gave in and indulged me.

While we were in Berlin, the finished kilt arrived.  Our very kind neighbor accepted our box for us while we were out of town.  Bill got the whole package, which included everything except a shirt and a belt and buckle.  Last night, he tried on his new Scottish duds.

Bill decided not to put on the Ghillie brogues (shoes), although they were included.  Below is a video I made of the kiltmaker showing us how the shoes should be tied.  He also didn’t put on the kilt pin, which was included.

 

The tartan used is County Donegal, since our last name is Irish.  Bill’s surname originated in Donegal.  The jackets are made in Donegal.

 

It took just under three months for the kilt to be made.  I think it’s because the tartan we used had to be ordered.  Otherwise, we probably would have had the kilt in late October or early November.  The kiltmaker made the kilt by hand and the quality is excellent.  It set Bill back about 900 GBP (approximately $1300).  But again, everything except the shirt was included in that price, even socks.   And Scots are not supposed to wear underwear under the kilt.  On the other hand, Bill is Irish.  😉

Anyway, for those who are wondering who made this marvelous outfit, here’s the link to the man responsible.  We are very pleased with the finished product, even though we probably could have had it made faster and cheaper at one of the other, larger kiltmakers.  I would highly recommend James Robertson Kiltmaker if you’re ever in Glasgow and looking to be kilted.

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Whisky distilleries I have known…

Although Bill and I usually make a point of going places on the weekends, he had to leave for Africa this morning.  Fortunately, I happened to be inspired to write today’s post thanks to a thread in one of the local Facebook groups.  A woman wrote that her husband loves scotch whisky and was interested in visiting some in Scotland while they are living in Germany.

Bill and I have so far been to eight whisky distilleries, entirely thanks to our sailings on Hebridean Island Cruises‘ Hebridean Princess.  Since Hebridean Princess mostly sails around Scotland and only occasionally ventures to other lands, there is a heavy emphasis on Scotland’s national drink on that ship.  Each of our four voyages on Hebridean Princess has included at least one stop at a whisky distillery.  We have even been to two of them twice.

Last year, Bill and I signed up for “The Spirit of Scotland” trip Hebridean was doing.  It was a whisky themed cruise, which meant we would be visiting different distilleries every day.  Last month, we cruised to Northern Ireland and Ireland and that trip also included a stop at a distillery in Scotland.  Although I don’t expect my readers to visit whisky distilleries via cruise ship, I thought today’s post could be a “one stop shop” for a look at the ones Bill and I have seen.

One thing you will learn if you come to Scotland intent on tasting whisky, is that there are several different styles of scotch whisky: Highland, Lowland, Speyside, Campbeltown, and Islay.  Bill and I visited Edinburgh at the end of our first Scotland trip in November 2012.  Although we had already been to a couple of distilleries, it was at the Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh that we got a really good introduction to the different styles of scotches out there, as well as the many different whiskeys made around the world.  If your trip involves a stop in Edinburgh, I would highly recommend going there first and visiting the Scotch Whisky Experience for a primer on the different types of Scottish spirits you will encounter.  You’ll also get to see a very impressive collection of scotches and even try a few.

 

Just some of the huge collection at the Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh.

 

The world’s largest bottle of Single Malt Scotch Whisky is at the Scotch Whisky Experience.

 
 

Here goes…

1.  Isle of Arran Distillery

The Isle of Arran Distillery is, naturally, located on the Isle of Arran in Lochranza, at the northern end of the island.  The area around the distillery is absolutely beautiful and remote.  Arran is the first whisky distillery Bill and I ever visited and we have since been there twice.  Founded in 1995, the Isle of Arran Distillery has a very nice visitor’s center with a gift shop and a cafe.  Although you can drop in and take a tour, it is recommended that you book in advance, particularly during the summer.  Arran whiskies are excellent, but I am especially fond of Arran Gold, which is kind of like Bailey’s Irish Cream.  Tours are conducted all day and cost 8 GBP each.

 
 

The first casks of whisky made at Isle of Arran Distillery.  It was in 1998 when the first casks were opened, since it takes three years to make whisky.

 
 

Sorry my finger got caught by the camera.  This is the facade of the distillery.  We have toured it twice; both times, our guides were kilted gentlemen with delightful Scottish brogues who introduced us to their product.  When we visited last, in March 2016, the flags were at half mast because the founder, Harold Currie, had just died.  Harold Currie was the former director of Chivas.  

2.  Springbank Distillery

Springbank Distillery makes some of my favorite whiskies.  It’s also the other distillery Bill and I have visited twice.  I always enjoy visiting Springbank, because it’s one of just a few distilleries left in Campbeltown, Scotland.  There was a time when Campbeltown was home to many distilleries, but many of them closed at the start of the 20th century.  Today, Campbeltown is host to Springbank, Glen Scotia, and Glengyle.

Springbank is a very old style distillery and uses a lot of old fashioned equipment to create its spirits.  It’s also the only distillery in Scotland that performs every step of the whisky making process, from malting the barley to bottling the spirit.  For that reason alone, I think it’s worth a stop.  An added benefit is that there’s a great whisky shop just steps away from the distillery.  Tours are offered several times a day Monday through Friday and twice daily on Saturdays.  They have several different levels of tours available, too– everything from a basic trip through to distillery (7 GBP) to one that includes a personal tour with whisky legend Frank McHardy and lunch (100 GBP).

 
 
 

A fewshots of the Springbank Distillery.  The picture of the barrels was from our 2012 visit.  Last year, they did not show us the warehouse.

 

3. Glengoyne Distillery

We got a pretty special deal when we visited the Glengoyne Distillery in Dumgoyne, just north of Glasgow.  The ship had arranged for us to be able to blend our own whisky.  A simple tour is 9.50 GBP, but apparently we were all booked on the Malt Master Tour (65 GBP).  We all sat around a table and took whiskys from five different cask to make our own individual blends.  Bill and I still have our own blends.  We did taste them a couple of months ago, but haven’t had the heart to finish them yet.  Glengoyne is also notable because the distillery is located just north of the line that distinguishes Highland and Lowland whiskys.  Glengoyne’s stills are located in the Highland region; while just across the street, the maturing casks rest in the Lowlands.  This is another place well worth a visit if you’re into scotch.

 

I was standing in the Lowlands taking a picture of fellow passengers in the Highlands.

 

A shot of our “malt master” class.  It was pretty cool!

 
 
 

Different types of oaks used for the barrels.

 

And the resulting whisky…  Notice the bottles on the bottom have less in them.  This is known as the “angel’s share”, and it’s part of the process of evaporation that occurs when whisky is made.

 

4.  Laphroaig Distillery

Laphroaig Distillery is located on the Isle of Islay, an island every scotch drinker must visit.  Islay is home to a whole bunch of whisky distilleries.   It’s also a very beautiful place.  The Laphroaig Distillery and brand is currently owned by Beam Suntory, which is a subsidiary of the Japan’s Suntory.  Of all of the distilleries I’ve visited so far, I think Laphroaig’s visitor center is among the most impressive.  They have a really interesting exhibit you can look at while you wait for your tour to start.  They allow visitors to try the wort, too, which I recommend doing just once.  Just make sure they offer it to you in a disposable cup.  Trust me on this.  You should get a cup of your own at this distillery.

At the end of our tour, I distinctly remember they gifted us with souvenir whisky glasses.  A basic tour costs 10 GBP, though they have more detailed tours available at correspondingly higher prices.  You can even try your hand at cutting peat if you want to.

 
 
 

Barley being malted.  You will also see this at Springbank and Kilchoman Distilleries.

 

The Laphroaig Distillery also offers a great view of Port Ellen.

 

5.  Kilchoman Distillery

Kilchoman is one of the newest distilleries.  It opened in 2005 and is situated on a beautiful farm in a rural part of Islay.  It has the distinction of being the first distillery to be built on Islay in 124 years and, until recently, it was the westernmost distillery in Scotland.  That honor is now claimed by Abhainn Dearg Distillery on the Isle of Lewis.  Kilchoman also does its own malting and is one of only six distilleries in Scotland doing traditional floor maltings.  I really enjoyed touring Kilchoman, which also offers a liqueur as well as several different whiskys.  A basic tour at Kilchoman costs 7 GBP, while a premium tour runs 30 GBP and includes a tutored tasting.

One thing I do want to mention about this tour is that we were offered a taste of the wort there.  They passed around a communal container and, I’m pretty sure, that is where I picked up norovirus.  I got very sick with diarrhea and vomiting.  Fortunately, it happened in the wee hours of our very last night on the ship, so it didn’t devastate our cruise.  Still, it was a really stupid mistake on my part and one I hope to spare others from making.  It’s especially important to be mindful of hygiene when you’re on a cruise.

Floor malting.

 

Our guide pours drams for us to try.  I remember enjoying a very fresh scone on the way back to the ship.  The distillery has a nice cafe where one can have lunch.

 

6. Jura Distillery

Jura Distillery is located on the Isle of Jura, a tiny community that has only one road, one pub, and one distillery.  Only 200 people live on the Isle of Jura, which makes it a very interesting place to visit.  I remember our guide explaining to us that at Jura, it’s especially possible to see the effects whisky distilleries have on trees.  All of the trees near Jura Distillery were black.  Apparently, in the United Kingdom, the authorities can tell how much whisky is being distilled simply by looking at the trees.  Although I was getting a little fatigued of distilleries when we visited, I do remember thinking Jura’s history was especially interesting.  Tours cost 6 GBP.  Afterwards, you can visit the one pub on the island.

 
 

Jura’s Distillery.  I’m not sure they have a grocery store on Jura, but they sure do have whisky.

7. Oban Distillery

 

Oban Distillery was the last one we visited on our “scotch whisky” tour.  It’s a very compact place because it was built next to a cliff.  Originally established in 1794, Oban Distillery is actually older than the town of Oban itself.  I distinctly remember our guide telling us about Oban Distillery’s 14 year old malt, which is very well-regarded.  Three years ago, they also started selling a non age statement whisky called Little Bay.  Oban is one of the smallest distilleries in Scotland, mainly because when they were excavating the cliff behind the distillery, they found human remains.  Also, people started building on top of the cliff, which made expansion in its current location very difficult.

 
 
 

Oban Distillery also has a very informative exhibit available to peruse while you wait for your tour.

8. Bruichladdich

Finally, we have Bruichladdich, another Islay distillery located in Port Charlotte on the Isle of Islay.  Bill and I visited Bruichladdich last month while we were on our Northern Ireland cruise.  We were originally supposed to visit Bowmore, but that got cancelled.  Then we were going to visit Lagavulin, but then our itinerary got switched around.  So that’s how we ended up at Bruichladdich, which also makes The Botanist gins.  This distillery is another one I think is well worth seeing if only because of the very cool old equipment they still use.  One of the mashtuns is from the Victorian era and is one of only a few still in existence and the only one on the island.  They also use a still from 1881, which was when the distillery was founded.  And they have a still called Ugly Betty that is used for making gin.  This distillery also has a very colorful and interesting history best told by someone who sounds like a Scot.

We found the distillery to be very liberal about allowing tastings.  Our guide told us that if there was anything under 200 GBP we wanted to try, just let her know.  They have a really nice shop, too.  I brought home a beautiful wool blanket from there.

 
 
 

Very old equipment… this is from the Victorian era.

 

The two pictures above show the different ages of the washbacks.

 

Ugly Betty

 

1881!

 

If this post inspires you to visit any distilleries, I encourage you to bring a designated driver or hire a cab.  You don’t want to be driving drunk, especially in a place like Islay, which has a lot of narrow roads with tons of potholes.  Also, presuming that most of my readers are not used to driving on the left, it would be especially risky to drive after tasting whisky at the distilleries.

I think the way Bill and I visited these distilleries was pretty much ideal.  We had a coach that took us to them, so we were free to enjoy as much as we wanted.  On our whisky tour, we enjoyed the services of John Harbour, a professional tour guide.   Mr. Harbour was engaged by Hebridean Island Cruises for us and was with us the whole week, but you can also book him privately.  I would highly recommend him because he’s very knowledgable and will handle the driving.  Here’s a link to his Facebook page.

Although I’m not sure if Hebridean Island Cruises is going to be offering the Scotch Whisky tour again, I would recommend looking to them if your budget allows.  It’s a marvelous way to see Scotland, albeit not kid friendly and very expensive.  We did have a blast, though, and I don’t think I will ever forget how scotch whisky is made after seeing all of those distilleries!

 

Click here for a sequel to this post— eight more whisky distilleries I have known.

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Ten things I learned on our trip to Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Ireland…

From Mount Stewart House’s beautiful gardens…

It’s that time again.  When Bill and I take trips, I like to sum them up with a “ten things I learned” post.  Although we’ve been to Scotland three times and we visited Ireland last fall, this cruise on Hebridean Princess took us to Northern Ireland for the very first time.  You wouldn’t think there would be that much of a difference between Ireland and Northern Ireland… and, I guess, there isn’t that much in terms of how it looks and how warm the people are.  But we learned that there’s still some tension over the fact that Ireland and Northern Ireland are divided.  I will get more into that with this list.  For now, here’s the countdown in no particular order.

10.  There are a whole lot of Presbyterians in Northern Ireland!

I was born and raised Presbyterian, although I am not really a churchgoer these days.  To be honest, when I did used to go to church, I didn’t know that much about it.  I simply went because my parents made me.  It wasn’t until I was in college and worked as the cook at a Presbyterian church camp that I learned about what I was supposed to believe and realized that it’s a very Scottish religion.  Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised to see so many Presbyterian churches in Northern Ireland, but when we visited Derry, our tour guide told us the story of Presbyterians in that large city.  We visited the First Derry Presbyterian Church and The Blue Coat School Visitor Centre and I came to realize just how prevalent the faith is there.

9.  There’s still a lot of tension between British people and Irish people over Northern Ireland’s inclusion in the United Kingdom.

I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised that many Irish people would like to see their island nation reunited the way Germany has reclaimed its east.  As we listened to our Irish tour guide in Carlingford talk about growing up in Northern Ireland and visiting the Republic, I got a firsthand account of a man’s experience having to pass through checkpoints during a very volatile period in Irish history.  I had sympathy for our Irish guide’s viewpoints, although I admittedly don’t know as much about the subject as I should.

8.  Bill knows a lot about Irish folklore.

My husband seemed to impress a number of other passengers about how much he knows about Irish folklore.  It’s a special interest of his, since he has a lot of Irish ancestry.  He took a course at American University when he was a college student and learned a lot of the old stories.  It came in handy during our tour of Carlingford.

7.  The city of Derry has a connection to Harvey’s Bristol Cream, a favorite sherry of ours.

Although I’d be hard pressed to accurately retell the story as our tour guide told it, I was very surprised to find out how Bishop Harvey in Derry had a connection to Harvey’s Bristol Cream.

6.  If you visit an Irish restaurant in the Republic, you’re liable to hear old fashioned country music.  

Yes, I know country music comes from Scotland, Ireland, and the other isles up there, but I sure wasn’t expecting to hear “The Ballad of Jed Clampitt” in an Irish restaurant as we were discussing Irish folklore.  The music moved on nicely to “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” by Tammy Wynette and a number of other feel good classics from when I was a wee lass in the 70s.

5.  I learned more about the plight of Catholics in Northern Ireland.

Although I had heard a little about Catholic oppression by the British when we were in Ireland last November, I learned a bit more about religious persecution on this trip.  For example, when we visited Derry, our guide explained that the Catholics were mostly very poor and were forced to settle in a marshy area of the city.  Because they were so poor and many people often lived in one home, they were underrepresented in elections.  For years, only one person in a Catholic household was allowed to vote and they really suffered because of that rule, which only changed in the late 1960s.

4.  Every year in Carlingford, people are allowed to hunt Leprechauns for one day.

Our tour guide in Carlingford, a man named Dermott, explained that the town of Carlingford has a fund raiser that allows people to go up in the hills and “hunt” for Leprechauns.  It is technically illegal to hunt for them on any other day of the year.

3.  Crossing the border into Ireland from Northern Ireland is a non-event… for now.

Dermott, our guide in Carlingford, told us that as a young man, he had to submit to extreme vehicle searches whenever he wanted to visit Ireland.  Although he was born and raised in Northern Ireland, Dermott considers himself Irish and wants to see the island united as one country unto itself.  He told us of having the wheels and seats taken out of his car when he was a young man as border patrols looked for bombs or other weapons.  Today, one can cross into Ireland and not even notice.  But if Brexit comes to pass, that may change.

2.  Mount Stewart is a beautiful place!

Bill and I had the pleasure of visiting Scotland’s amazing Mount Stuart House in Bute, Scotland, on our first Hebridean cruise.  As the crow flies, Northern Ireland’s Mount Stewart isn’t that far away.  It’s also a very impressive place.  I really enjoyed the gardens at Mount Stewart, although I think I like Mount Stuart’s house a little more.

1.  The Titanic Experience in Belfast is amazing… and amazingly crowded!

I really didn’t know much about the Titanic, the ill fated cruise ship, before we visited Belfast last week.  I still don’t know that much about it because the Titanic Experience, while very comprehensive and impressive, is positively loaded with people.  I overheard some passengers on our cruise saying that France’s exhibit in Cherbourg is better.  Perhaps we will visit there and see for ourselves.

We really enjoyed ourselves in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Ireland.  I hope someday we will get to return.  At the very least, I need to sit down and watch the movie, Titanic.  I can’t believe I still haven’t seen it in the 20 years it’s been out.  Maybe this weekend…

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Hebridean Island Cruises

Scotland and Northern Ireland 2017, Part fourteen…

Monday morning, I awoke with a full-fledged cold.  I was coughing, hacking, and had woken up several times during the night to blow my nose and drink some water.  I was legitimately sick (and still am, though I’m getting better).  We had plans to visit a distillery on the beautiful island of Islay.  Bill and I visited Islay on our last Hebridean cruise and had the chance to visit a couple of whisky distilleries, Laphroaig and Kilchoman.  This time, we were supposed to visit Bowmore, but that was cancelled before we boarded the ship.  Then it got switched to Lagavulin, but since we didn’t do our itinerary as planned, that tour, too, was cancelled.

Islay happens to be rich with whisky distilleries, so the folks at Hebridean fixed us up with a tour at Bruichladdich, an old distillery that makes both whisky and gin.  Before we got on Islay’s schoolbus for a trip out to Port Charlotte, we had time to walk around.  Bill and I went to a tiny grocery store and bought some cough medicine and candy for me.  I’ve been sipping Covonia Chesty Cold formula ever since Monday.  I don’t know if it works like NyQuil, but it’s got booze in it and tastes like Jaegermeister.

With that taken care of, we were ready for our trip to the distillery.  Thanks to our whisky tour last year, Bill and I are very well versed as to how scotch is made.  I was pretty happy our guide did not take us through the process, but rather told us the distillery’s history and showed us the equipment.  The tour was short, sweet, and ended with some rather generous whisky tastings.  Bill and I left with a bottle of scotch, a bottle of gin, a wool throw for me, a music CD by Islay native Angela Paterson, who performed on our last cruise, and some soap.

We got back on the ship in the early afternoon, just in time for lunch, a ham buffet.  The captain would be taking us closer to Oban during the day.

A beautiful morning in Port Ellen.

I got a kick out of the sign… it’s perfect if you like your whisky.

A shot of Hebridean Princess in port.

Distillery time!

And the distillery shop, where I parted with some cash.

We were invited to try the barley.  I did, knowing that it wouldn’t make me sick like the wort did last time we did a distillery tour.

Mash!

Those vats were full of some very alcoholic brew…

The gin still, which the distillery picked up when another distillery was closing.

The spirit safe.

We visited the warehouse.  Lots of scotches in different barrels, everything from bourbon to sherry casks.

Bill enjoys a taste.  They were quite willing to let people try different whiskys.  We were told if there was one we wanted to try under 200 GBP, they would oblige.  I think the distillery was rewarded, because I witnessed one passenger spending over 500 GBP on whisky.

 

Down the hatch!

Moody skies for the drive back to Port Ellen.

The beautiful ham.

Lots of salads and pasta.

And more seafood… including oysters, shrimp, smoked salmon and trout, and the like…

I had a crab salad as a starter.

Bill had a sundae for dessert.

I had warm rice pudding with raspberry jam.  It was very satisfying… took me back to my childhood days in England.

After lunch, I was feeling a little under the weather, so I went back to our stateroom, packed my bags, and took a nap.  Two hours later, Bill woke me up to tell me to get ready for dinner.  I was tempted to go back to sleep.  Then he showed me a picture of dolphins he managed to get.  It’s not the best picture, but it’s still cool.

Too bad I was sleeping when this happened.

Monday night was the evening of our second gala.  I broke out my blue sequined gown, which rained shiny sparkles all over the place.  In retrospect, it was a little fancier than I usually go for.  The one thing the dress had going for it was that it was floor length, so I didn’t have to wear control top panty hose.  I wore knee highs instead, and pinned the top of the slit so my cheating wouldn’t show.  I felt a little silly at first in my sparkly gown, but eventually relaxed.  It’s not like I haven’t seen worse at any Army ball (sorry, it’s the truth).  And besides, Bill was there in his blues.

David Indge mingles with guests at the Captain’s Farewell Gala.

I was absolutely enchanted by the sunset in Castle Bay, so I had to go take pictures while Bill explained to another passenger that the Pentagon really was hit by a jet airliner on September 11, 2001.  I always defer to Bill when it comes to 9/11 because he was actually in the Pentagon that day.

David addresses everyone and introduces our captain, Trevor Bailey.

More gorgeous sunset pics.  I could look at these all day.

Bill is smiling because he doesn’t have to wear that jacket anymore!

Prepped for haggis.  They bring out the whisky beforehand.
 

Haggis!  This ceremony is a treat!  I got a good view this time, but my camera died and I had to switch to an iPhone.

I happened to be sitting under this bell, so I got to ring it a couple of times.  I think I almost went deaf the second time.

Haggis!  I couldn’t really taste it due to my sickness.  I have had it enough times to know it wasn’t a bad thing not to taste it, although haggis is not as horrible as it sounds.

Because I didn’t like the liver starter, our kind waiter, Mariusz, brought me smoked salmon.

Bill bravely tried the liver.  I don’t think it was a hit; we had some in Germany that actually tasted like chocolate of all things.

A nice palate cleansing sorbet.

I had turbot filet, which is a favorite.  

Bill had venison, which he loves…

Then we had creme brulee and a biscotti for dessert.

Our one selfie together.  Maybe I should have gotten someone to take our picture, but I don’t photograph very well, especially when I’m sick.

One more shot of my dashing Bill in his blues…

And Toby was kind enough to make me a Brandy Alexander.  It was fabulous.

Goodbye, folks…

 

The castle in Castle Bay.

A few more spectacular pictures!

 

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Hebridean Island Cruises

Scotland and Northern Ireland 2017, Part six…

The big clock, where everybody meets up in Glasgow…

 

And another British nanny sign!

 

In March 2016, when we took our Hebridean Scotch Whisky tour, The Spirit of Scotland, the train station had a couple of bars that were about to close.  They were open for our visit, but they had little stock.  We sat up in that bar for a couple of hours and drank beer until it was time to meet the ship.  Although the train station still has a place for beer drinking, we wisely opted to go to a restaurant outside of the station.  I think maybe next time, instead of meeting the coach, maybe it might be better to simply go to where the boat is.  A three hour ride on a coach isn’t all that much fun, even when it’s Hebridean Island Cruises offering it.

I think we were the first ones from our cruise to get to the train station.  Our guide, Bryan Hogg, was next.  He was easy to spot because he was wearing a kilt and had the telltale Hebridean luggage tags on his bags.  Hebridean Island Cruises employs qualified guides for each of its cruises.  Bryan lives in Edinburgh and is a freelance guide (and a marvelous one at that).  He guided our cruise and is also guiding this week’s cruise.  Here’s a link to his blog, which is probably more interesting than mine is.  It looks like his isn’t as updated as often, though.  He’s also on Facebook, though I don’t see a link to a business page.  We really enjoyed having Bryan as our guide this week.  He’s very friendly, funny, and relaxed… and he also knows a lot about Scotland and Ireland.

Just so you know, it’s not free to pee in the train station.  It costs 40p to pee…  

 

The view from our seat on the coach.

Bill is excited because the Brits have lap and shoulder belts on their buses.  You’re supposed to wear them because the Brits are pretty strict about safety.  However, I will go on record as being naughty all week because the damned things were too uncomfortable.  Bill was a good boy, though.  I’ll be sure to give him a cookie later.

After all of the folks who had arranged to be met at the train station were accounted for, we collected our lanyards, which basically served as our identification all week.  Wearing them around the neck identified us as members of the Hebridean Princess cruise, which allowed us admission to activities and coffee and tea breaks pre-arranged by the ship.  Yes, that’s right, the ship pays for your coffee breaks when you’re aboard Hebridean Princess.  You don’t pay admission fees to the activities arranged by the cruise line, either.  In fact, you don’t have to pay for anything once you get aboard, unless you want something from the tiny gift shop.  It’s probably the only cruise ship on the planet that does not require passengers to hand over a credit card immediately upon boarding.

We stopped at the airport to pick up a few other people, including a couple of perfumed ladies who acted as if they were long lost sisters.  They sat in front of us and immediately started chattering quite loudly, which quickly became annoying because I was also trying to listen to Bryan talk about points of interest on the way north.  I’ll also admit that Auntie Flow was putting me in a foul mood.

I noticed a spunky looking lady sitting across from us who had a can of gin and tonic.  I immediately thought she was cool as she sipped it.  I wish I had had the same foresight.  I ended up moving to another seat just before the rest stop and the lady with the gin and tonic congratulated me!  Below are a few pictures I got of our rest stop…

Looks like a nice town to stop in for a visit.  Maybe another time.  One of the passengers, a guy who is still aboard this week, purchased an ice cream cone during our stop.  He made everyone laugh when someone asked him if the ice cream was good and he said it was “Dee—light–ful!” in a very comical British accent.  All week, he was cracking us up because he was very comfortable in his own skin and not afraid to use a bib (a man after my own heart, for sure!).

The two pictures above are of Inveraray Castle, as we passed it on the way to Oban.  I wish I had gotten a shot of it on the way back to Glasgow, since the weather was a lot nicer that day.  Unfortunately, I was on the wrong side of the bus! 

 

We arrived in Oban at around 6:00pm or so.  It was raining and rather grim outside, but there was still a piper out there waiting to welcome us properly.  It was at this point that I learned our purser was to be the legendary David Indge, who was our purser on our second Hebridean cruise in 2012.  He truly is fabulous!  Queen Elizabeth II has been on Hebridean Princess twice and she liked Dave so much that she reportedly specifically requested his services during her cruises.  I can see why she liked him so much!

Here’s a brief clip of the piper.  He piped each party aboard, though some had already arrived at the ship before the coach got there.  Bear in mind that the Hebridean Princess carries, at most, 49 passengers at a time.  I think there were 45 on our cruise.

Here’s a shot of Oban that I took as we waited for the obligatory muster drill…

And here is an obligatory shot of Bill in his life jacket.  I do this every time we cruise.  I think this may be one of the better shots of him in his life jacket.

 

Most nights on Hebridean Princess, passengers dress up a bit for dinner.  On the first night, it’s permissible to dress casually.  That’s because there’s a lot to do once you get on the ship.  Before the muster drill, you have to unpack your stuff and leave your bags to be stowed during the cruise.  Depending on how light you travel, unpacking may or may not be a chore.  It usually is for me, because I am incapable of traveling light under any circumstances.

Another thing to know about Hebridean Princess is, again, almost everything is included, including booze.  That means you can drink all you want and no one will be making you sign any chits and you can try all sorts of stuff.

After the muster drill, it was time for dinner.  You can see below that we tried both the red and white wines with dinner… and had a little bubbly, too.

I had duck, which was lovely with potatoes and green beans…

Bill had salmon on top of potatoes and garnished with broccolini.

 

There was more to this meal, but it was one of the rare ones that I didn’t photograph completely.  I guess I was just overwhelmed by the abundance of excellence.  Our waiter last week was a friendly young Polish lad named Mariusz.  He took very good care of us… almost as good care as the bar staff!

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Hebridean Island Cruises

Scotland and Northern Ireland 2017, Part five…

We walked around a bit to burn off lunch, then headed to the drug store to pick up some necessary items for yours truly.  I never got around to visiting the store before we left Germany, so we needed to go to Boots, which is the well known drug store in the United Kingdom.  I bought razors, toothbrushes (complete with vibrating brushes), toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, and mouthwash.  I really needed to go shopping, right?  One thing I did bring, thank God, was feminine hygiene supplies.  Sorry for those who think this is TMI.  I know it is.  It’s also a big part of the story, though, so bear with me or just skip the next paragraph or two.  I will add a red asterisk to signal when it’s safe to read again for those who are squeamish.

Another one of Britain’s polite nanny signs.  I notice the Brits use more words on their signs than Americans do.  They also seem to use please and thank you more.  

Still with me?  Okay…  On the last night of our back to back Hebridean cruise in 2012, I unexpectedly started my period.  Since we had just bought new luggage, I had also somehow forgotten to stock it with the usual sanitary supplies.  We also got devastating news about our dog, MacGregor, who had, unbeknownst to us, been suffering from cancer.  The people at the kennel where he was staying had taken him to our vet, who had recommended euthanasia.  They had communicated that advice to us while we were on the ship.  Naturally, I was very upset about the dog, only to have Aunt Flow show up, too.

Fortunately, the fantastic assistant purser, Valeria (who was also on this last cruise with us), very kindly collected a few supplies for me from some of the staff members, since most of the people who sail on Hebridean Princess are well beyond the age of menstruation.  Anyway, it’s been my luck that I typically have my period when I travel.  Somehow, that’s just how it works out.  I swear I only have it for a week a month, and yet I seem to always get it at the worst times.  To date, I have not yet been on Hebridean Princess and not been menstruating part of the time.  It was the case last year, too, when I got really sick with norovirus (which was totally my fault and not due to poor hygiene on the ship).  But hopefully, God willing, Mother Nature will take pity on me soon.

* Gross part is done now.

So, I was fully stocked for our cruise and feeling pretty safe about things.  We stopped by the hotel, where I unloaded my supplies.  We were both still pretty full from lunch at dinnertime, so we decided to go looking for a bar.  On the way out of the hotel, we ran into another American couple.  They had just finished a trip around Scotland by car and stopped to chat with us as we were waiting for the elevator.  They were super nice to talk to, although I couldn’t help noticing the guy’s fly was down.  I hate it when stuff like that happens, because you almost want to say something, but people tend to shoot the messenger when you speak up in such circumstances.  So I kept my mouth shut and we walked around looking for a spot for a couple of drinks.

We finally settled on the Shilling Brewing Company, a pizza joint in a former bank that makes its own brews.  Sadly, they had none of their brews available on the night of our visit, but they did have some interesting local beers and good music playing.  We were on our second round when the American couple we met at the hotel came in.  They noticed us immediately, waved “hi”, and sat at the bar.  I noticed that the bar was full of young folks, which made me feel ancient.  The other couple was older than we were and I noticed they didn’t hang around for long.

At our table at Shilling Brewing Company.

This was dinner on Monday, September 11th… a special anniversary for us, since Bill was in the Pentagon on the day it was hit by a jetliner.  

Outside of the brewing company.  

 

The next morning, we had our last breakfast at Carlton George Hotel.  Bill went with an omelet, which was very large…

This was to be a theme for the week!

I had the much more manageable French Toast.

We had some time to kill until we were to meet the ship.  On our other Hebridean cruises, we’ve had to meet the ship’s representatives at Glasgow’s Central Train Station at about 4:00pm or so.  That’s because the ship was docked at Greenock, which is pretty close to Glasgow.  This time, we would be meeting the ship in Oban, which is about three hours north.  Consequently, we were to meet our guide and the bus to the ship at 2:15pm.  Checkout at the hotel was 11:00am.  We usually carry our bags from the hotel to the station, since it’s only a few blocks away.  This time, I demanded that we get a cab, since we had four bags that were pretty heavy.  Bill was reluctant, but eventually conceded.

This guy took us to the station…  I think it cost about 6 GBP, but it was worth every pence.

The Carlton George does not have a large left luggage room, so we decided to use the one at the train station.  It cost 6 GBP per bag, each of which were scanned by an x-ray machine like the ones you might find at the airport.  Given that there was a bomb left at a tube station in London last week, I can see why they’re careful.  The left luggage office serves as a lost and found and they’ll also wrap your luggage for you for a fee.  Our bags successfully ditched, we went searching for a place to spend our last hours in Glasgow.

Religious ad in the station.

I see another American export is turned into a joke.

 

We walked around Buchanan Street and I found the shop of my dreams, Hotel Chocolat.  We stopped in and I loaded up for some treats to soothe my “least favorite auntie”.  Hotel Chocolat is a chain, so if you happen to be in another UK city, you’re liable to find it.  And if you love chocolate, I highly recommend stopping in.

We left with a small bag of goodies.

Afterwards, we spent some time wandering around the city, working off breakfast.  I’m afraid it would have taken longer than we had.

But at least I got a few nice photos of Glasgow, which seems somehow more authentic to me than Edinburgh does… although I love both cities.

Finally, it was lunchtime, so we stopped at one of Glasgow’s many burger restaurants.  This one was called Handmade Burger Co. and it’s located near at least two other burger places, including Five Guys.  This is another UK chain and it does offer some interesting interpretations of burgers.  They have the usual beef burgers as well as veggie and chicken burgers.

Bill studies the menu.

I wasn’t too impressed with their beer selection.  Everything was in a bottle and there weren’t a lot of choices.  But we did manage to find a couple we hadn’t tried.

This is a normal sized burger– the HBC Cheese and Bacon, which I had without any fries.  I wasn’t all that wild about the beef on this, which was very seasoned and reminded me a little of sausage.  They also used a “relish” that was kind of sweet.  

Bill had a “small” burger, a Junior beef classic.

The outside of the restaurant.

 

Just before 1:00pm, we stopped by the Drum & Monkey, a pub we visited during our first visit to Glasgow in 2012.  To be honest, we probably should have had lunch there, too.  The atmosphere was a bit more to our liking.

The Drum & Monkey.

Bill was being responsible and watched me suck down a porter.

The Blackout Porter listed on the sign below.

The inside of this pub is very grand, with lots of dark wood and plenty of cask ales and whiskies.  The menu is traditional and it seems to be a popular place for businesspeople.  

I could have spent a couple of hours at the Drum & Monkey, but we didn’t have time.  The witching hour was getting close.  We made our way to the train station, picked up our bags, and waited by the big clock for the rest of our cruise mates to arrive.

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Hebridean Island Cruises

Scotland and Northern Ireland 2017, Part three…

We checked into the Carlton George Hotel in the early evening.  I booked three nights, even though we’ve been to Glasgow several times thanks to Hebridean Princess.  Although Glasgow is probably not as popular or tourist friendly as Edinburgh is, it remains a very nice place to visit with plenty of things to do and places to eat.  We made good use of our time there this visit.  The first order of business was to enjoy a cheeseburger, but not before we listened to an impressive array of hits played by a bagpiper who stationed himself near our hotel room.

This video admittedly sucks, but you get the idea…  Glad he wasn’t around all night.

I made a video of Bill’s reaction when he heard him play the Army song… you know, “The Army Goes Rolling Along”.  The guy knew all of the U.S. military “hits” and proceeded to play them all, everything from “Anchors Aweigh” to the “Marine’s Hymn”.  After that, he played a few Scottish hits and delved into pieces like the “Star Wars” theme.  He really had an impressive repertoire, although we’ve heard better bagpipers.  Fortunately, he didn’t stick around too long.  We passed him on our way to Five Guys and he was gone by the time we came back to the hotel.

Speaking of Five Guys… yes, it was the very same burger restaurant that has exploded in the United States.  Thanks to my status as a Virginia native and Bill’s time in the Army, which pretty much guarantees a stint living in northern Virginia, we have been familiar with Five Guys for years… even before they started franchising and went national.  I always shake my head when I see Five Guys outside of northern Virginia, since the family that founded it swore they would never expand into franchising.  And yet, there are plans to open Five Guys locations in Germany!  I hate to say it, but Germany could use a Five Guys.  It’s not easy finding really good American style burgers here, although we have found some places that offer somewhat decent facsimiles.

Anyway, Glasgow has a couple of Five Guys locations, as well as several other burger restaurants.  We decided to go to Five Guys for dinner on our first night, since we wanted something quick and painless.  The experience was very much like it is in the United States, as was the taste of the burger.  My only complaint was that when I got my cheeseburger, the cheese was not melted.  I am pretty grossed out by cold cheese, especially when it’s American cheese.  They put a ton of it on there, too.  I would say that if you are coming to Glasgow from the United States, you could probably skip the Five Guys experience and not miss it.  However, since we haven’t been to the States since 2014, we were glad to stop there.  Actually, since we ate nothing but fancy food on the ship, it was kind of nice to have a cheeseburger.

Very good… except for the excessive and unmelted cheese!!!

One goal met!  

This was the view from our table at breakfast in the hotel’s rooftop restaurant.

I had some rather extreme Eggs Benedict that I couldn’t finish.  The hotel offers a pretty nice breakfast which includes dishes made to order.  It does cost extra to get breakfast included, though.  I think we paid 75 GBP for three mornings of breakfasts for two.  We probably got ripped off, but it was sure convenient.

The next day was Sunday.  I had decided ahead of time that I wanted to visit the city of Stirling, which is a charming town about halfway between Glasgow and Edinburgh.  I was aware of the castle there, but also learned of a whisky distillery and a couple of other attractions.  It was raining on the day of our visit, which dampened things a little bit, but our hotel was located right next to the Queen Street train station, which made it easy to get to Stirling by rail.  It took about forty-five minutes.  Naturally, we were seated near fellow Americans.  Glasgow was positively rife with them.  😉

 

I get a kick out of British nannyism signs.  I have an album full of them on Facebook, which I will add to after I’ve written up this trip.

A memorial in Glasgow’s busy’s Central Railway Station.

A Glasgow pic.

To get to Stirling, we had to use the Queen Street Station, which was right next to our hotel.

Bill is excited.

This is a Baptist church in Stirling, which was one of the first things we saw there.  We don’t see too many Baptist churches like this one in the United States.

A couple of other shots as we made our way up a hill toward Stirling Castle.  Before we got there, we ran into the Stirling Old Town Jail…

 

We didn’t know it, but we happened to be in Stirling on the last day of the season for the Old Town Jail.  I love visiting jails because I’m kinky that way, so Bill and I bought tickets and took the tour.  We were there with three other visitors, led by an actor who repeatedly changed costumes as he told us about the jail’s history in character.  He treated us like new inmates at one point, which was more annoying than scary.  Kids probably appreciate it, though.

Prior to the jail’s opening in 1847, people who crossed the law in Stirling were thrown into the Tolbooth Gaol, which was a horrible place to be punished.  Compared to the Tolbooth, Stirling’s old jail was visionary.  Prisoners were fed, kept in cells by themselves, and paid to work, although they were all addressed by number rather than name.

The attraction itself is interesting, if not kind of corny in the way it’s presented.  I would say it’s probably a fun place for older kids to see.  An added bonus is that you get to climb the tower and see lovely views of Stirling, although it was pretty cloudy and rainy when we visited.

One of a few cells we visited.

This sign has a typo.  I couldn’t help but notice.

This was one shot I got.  We were told prisoners were not allowed to take in this view when they were in the tiny courtyard for exercise.

This was an interesting form of punishment.  Basically, prisoners worked hard all day at nothing.

For once, I didn’t make Bill pose for a shot.

 

A couple more foggy shots.

Bill poses by the tower before we finished the tour of the jail.

Mind the steps.

These four shots are of spots around Stirling, taken before and after we visited the castle.

A gate to the cemetery, I think.  I thought it looked artsy.

The entrance to Stirling Castle.

 

To be honest, I don’t have a whole lot of patience for visiting houses and castles.  For some reason, I tend to get bored quickly in them.  I also don’t like crowds, and Stirling Castle was pretty crowded, even on a rainy Sunday.  Nevertheless, we did stay awhile I got some photos.  I think my enthusiasm was dampened by the misty weather.  It made me want to find a nice pub and drink.  I did enjoy the Queen Anne Garden pictured below, despite the rain.  The flowers smelled so good!

As a musical person, this exhibit was interesting to me…  

The Great Hall, I believe…

I don’t know how, but it took this visit to find out how significant unicorns are to Scots…  They were all over Stirling Castle and elsewhere in Scotland.  I am a horse lover, yet somehow never noticed all the fantastic unicorns in the land of much of my ancestry.  The above photos were taken in the King’s and Queen’s bedrooms.  Unicorns are Scotland’s national animal.

Once we’d had enough of the crowds, we headed back down the hill and visited a pub we’d passed on the way in.  It happened to be packed with people, though we did manage to score the last table.  The guy over my shoulder felt a little like the Grim Reaper.  He was standing right behind me for most of our stay.  It kind of gave me the willies.

I am sporting the drowned rat look, thanks to the wet weather.

Scottish style macaroni and cheese.  It was good, but the cheese was fairly strong.  Bill probably would have liked it better than I did.

I liked his spicy pasta dish.  We probably should have traded!

After lunch, we headed back to the train station.  We were a little too late for the 2:45pm train back to Glasgow, so we stopped in the Coffee House pictured below.

I didn’t take note of the opening hours when we walked in…

Bill got a cup of coffee and I had a mocha.  We had been sitting there for about ten minutes when the barista abruptly kicked everyone out.  We hadn’t realized that she was closing at 3:00.  There was another American couple there and the male half made me laugh when he mimicked the barista with a flat, “Get out!”  We saw a few other hapless folks unaware of the hours walking in and getting kicked out promptly and very bluntly.  Having worked in the service industry, I completely understand the sentiment, although it was a little off putting.  Oh well.  At least I got my mocha.

On the way back to Glasgow, the train was pretty packed.  Some very kind gentleman offered me his seat until the conductor found two for Bill and me to sit together.  I was heartened by how genuinely kind the guy was to me.  In America or even in Germany, I would have expected total indifference.

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Hebridean Island Cruises

Scotland and Northern Ireland 2017, Part two…

We left Stuttgart for our trip to Scotland and Northern Ireland on Saturday, September 9, 2017.  I was in a pretty edgy state, thanks to a full summer of worrying.  Although we probably take more trips than most Americans, I have gotten used to traveling a lot since we moved back to Germany in 2014.  Travel is one of the main reasons I like living over here, and we hadn’t had a trip since my birthday in June, when we drove to Belgium.  I was itching to get out of Deutschland, which only sounds crazy if you aren’t living here as an American.

As I mentioned previously, I booked a cruise on Hebridean Princess about a year ago.  It’s necessary for us to book well in advance when we cruise on the Princess because it’s very expensive.  We chose the Call of the Emerald Isle cruise, which would take us from Oban, an adorable city in Scotland, to ports in Northern Ireland.  We also had a couple of stops in the Republic of Ireland.

This was technically our fourth trip on Hebridean Princess.  Our very first trip on Hebridean Princess was in November 2012, when we took two five night cruises back to back to celebrate our tenth anniversary.  We took our third cruise with them in March 2016, a scotch whisky themed trip, which you can read about in this blog.  Fair warning.  That series was divided into fourteen parts and I imagine this series will be similarly lengthy!  If you like whisky and are interested in distilleries in Scotland, it might be worth reading.  I did write about our first trip, but it was before I had a travel blog, so it’s not a very detailed description.

Since Bill and I are in better financial straits than we’ve ever been, I decided to make this trip as upper class as possible.  I booked business class tickets on British Airways and got us a Club Executive room at the Carlton George Hotel in Glasgow, which is our hotel of choice when we’re in Glasgow because they offer a nice executive lounge and a free minibar ;-).  I did not upgrade our stateroom on Hebridean Princess, though, since doing so requires quite a lot more money.  We stayed in Loch Harport, a category H stateroom which is their cheapest “room”, all the way at the bottom of the ship.  The cabins in H have no windows or portholes, but they are otherwise pretty nice.  More on the stateroom in a later post.  We have now stayed in all of the “cheap” rooms with twin/king sized beds, so I can later offer a comparison of the three.

Because Bill changed companies in July, we weren’t sure if he was going to be able to accompany me on this cruise.  Had he not come with me, I probably would have either gone alone or Bill’s mom might have come with me.  Fortunately, Bill’s mom is a good friend and we get along great!  However, she did recently have hip surgery and I was a little concerned about the prospect of her staying in an “H” room, since getting to and from there involves climbing and descending a lot of steps.  Hebridean Princess doesn’t have any elevators.  As it turned out, Bill’s new boss was very accommodating, so we were able to take this unforgettable trip together.  If he is reading this post, I want to thank him from the bottom of my heart.

So Saturday, September 9th was the big day.  We dropped off our dogs, Zane and Arran, at Dog Holiday bright and early in the morning, then headed for the airport.  We checked in on British Airways, enjoying a brief wait since we were using their Club Europe (business class) service.  After we checked in, we were whisked through security.  One thing I noticed on this trip, our first using the airport since we visited Ireland last November, was that Stuttgart has invested in a new security method that only takes a couple of seconds and doesn’t involve any intimate scans or pat downs.  I liked it very much and hope to see its use become more common.

After we passed through security, went up to the very pleasant but small lounge in Stuttgart’s airport.  A delightfully cheerful German lady was running things that day.  I remember her well, since her extreme cheerfulness is kind of an anomaly in these parts.

For those who are curious about British Airways’ lounge in Stuttgart, here it is…  You get free WiFi, drinks, and snacks.  It was the smallest and least impressive of the lounges we used on this trip, but it was still pretty nice.

We were in Club Europe, which is British Airways’ business class in Europe.  Basically, the seats are the same as they are in coach, except you don’t have anyone sitting in the middle.  Instead, you get this cute little table thing in the center seat.  Business class also entitles you to a meal and free drinks.

A couple of aerial shots of Stuttgart as we took off.

This was the food they served us.  The first photo is chicken with some sort of potato salad, that I didn’t touch.  There was also bread, salad, and key lime pie (which was pretty good).

I also enjoyed champagne.  

Bill had the “beef panini” with red wine.  This was the same food they served us yesterday on our return flight from Glasgow to London, although the red wine was a cabernet.  

And here’s an aerial shot of London as we were about to land at Heathrow.

A word about Heathrow Airport…  This was probably my first experience there since the late 1970s, when my dad retired from the Air Force after his last job as base engineer at Mildenhall Air Force Base.  I seem to remember we flew Pan Am, which is a long defunct airline.  Because I was a small child in the late 70s, I have no memories of Heathrow during that time and only the vaguest memories of Dulles Airport, which was where we landed when we arrived stateside.  Consequently, I had no idea of what a zoo Heathrow is.  Sure, I had heard stories about it, but I wasn’t quite prepared for the madness of the place.  I thought Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris was bad.  Heathrow gives it a good run for its money.  I think I will try to avoid using it in the future, if I can.

This is actually not as chaotic looking as the airport was at the time.

We landed at Heathrow at about noon and had to go through border control.  The guy who stamped us into the country had one of those mustaches that curls up on either side.  He was very charming and we had no problems getting through.  Next, I’m pretty sure we went through customs, then another very obnoxious turn through security, which was complete bedlam.  After that, we found our way to British Airways’ enormous south lounge.  I say “south lounge”, because there is also a smaller north lounge, which apparently gets very busy.  There is a sign out front that says if you have a long layover, you should use the south lounge, so that’s what we did.  It, too, was a total madhouse, though slightly less obnoxious than the airport’s facilities for the masses.  Imagine being a captive audience at a large mall which is completely overrun with people, most of whom are walking slowly and not watching where they’re going.  It reminded me of Breuningerland in Sindelfingen during the Christmas season.

We spent our four hour layover trying the many drinks and snacks offered in the lounge.  There wasn’t a lot of seating available, since apparently a lot of people are either frequent flyers or booked business class on British Airways.  We sat near a man who spent over an hour on the phone speaking what must have been some sort of East Indian language.  He was pleasant enough, but it was like eavesdropping on tech support, since he was clearly talking business and seemed to be instructing someone.

There are a couple of other lounges for first class passengers.  They are closely guarded by staffers who shoo away any lowly business class passengers trying to sneak in.  The British Airways lounge also has a spa, which I was tempted to try.  I never got around to it.

At about four o’clock, it was time for our flight to Glasgow.  We had to go through yet another annoying security feature.  When we first arrived at the airport after our Stuttgart flight, we had to go through a scanner which involved showing our tickets and having a photo taken.  When it was time to board our flight to Glasgow, we had to go through the same type of scanner and another photo was taken.  Of course, the second photo came after I had spent four hours in a packed lounge drinking wine.  And, naturally, it didn’t work properly when it was my turn.  I had to have an agent help me through, which was irritating.  I probably looked pissed off in my second photo.

Once we were settled into our seats, it was time to lift off.  We enjoyed an uneventful flight to Glasgow after a short weather related delay.  I enjoyed British Airways’ new safety film.

They showed this on three of our four flights…  It’s pretty clever.  Sadly, at first, I only recognized Thandie Newton.  After the third viewing, I also recognized Gillian Anderson, even though I never watched the X Files.


Upon landing in Glasgow, we collected our bags and took a cab into the big city.

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Hebridean Island Cruises, Northern Ireland, Scotland

Scotland and Northern Ireland 2017, Part one…

If there ever was a time when Bill and I badly needed a vacation, I think September 2017 might go down as one of those times.  I can think of a few other times when we needed a break.  Oddly, they were also in September.  I remember September 2008.  It was the first time we lived in Germany together and Bill had been working very hard on some stuff for EUCOM.  Later, he was surprised by a mandatory trip to the Republic of Georgia.  He was burned out and pissed off and he sent me an email that read simply, “I think we should go to Belgium and see Mannekin Pis.”  And we did.  We went to Brussels and spent that Labor Day weekend completely loaded on Belgian beer and we visited Mannekin Pis.

The other trip that comes to mind happened over Labor Day weekend in 2005, right after Hurricane Katrina decimated New Orleans.  Again, Bill had been working hard and was totally exasperated with his job.  He decided to take me on my first (and at this time, only) trip out west.  We worried that the trip would have to be cancelled due to the hurricane and the fact that Bill was in the National Guard at the time.  Fortunately, we were able to go on our brief trip to Anacortes and Seattle in Washington State and we had a fantastic time.

2017 is different.  Bill has been working very hard.  It’s been a pretty stressful summer.  Lately, we’ve had to travel with our dogs because it’s hard to find good doggie care.  Over a year ago, I booked us a cruise on Hebridean Princess, a wonderful Scottish luxury cruise vessel that we have had the great pleasure of sailing on three times before.

For months, we’ve been wondering if Bill would get to go on the trip, since his company changed and he hasn’t built up any leave yet.  We’ve had a number of other recent nuisances and mishaps that made us yearn for a vacation.  It was with great pleasure that we boarded our British Airways flights to London and Glasgow for this year’s cruise, which will take us round trip from Oban to Northern Ireland.  Neither Bill nor I have ever been to Northern Ireland, although we did visit Ireland last year for our anniversary.

Hebridean Island Cruises owns just one ship, the tiny Hebridean Princess, which hosts just 49 passengers at a time.  Hebridean cruises are quite expensive, however; once you have paid your fare, you don’t have to pay for anything else.  You don’t pay for booze, excursions, entry into attractions, or tips.  You can spend money on something from the ship’s tiny shop or if you want an expensive wine or something, but really, once you’ve paid, you’re done worrying.  They even pick you up in Glasgow and either take you by coach to wherever Princess is leaving from or fly you to where you need to be on a chartered flight.

I should mention that Hebridean also leases the Royal Crown river boat and they offer several river boat cruises in the summer.  But, for the most part, the Princess, which was built in 1964 and was originally a car ferry, is where the action is.  The staff on the ship consists of many Scots, along with crew from Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the Czech Republic.

For this trip, I decided to go all out and booked business class air on British Airways.  It was our first time flying on British Airways, so we had no idea what their business class would be like.  After experiencing the hell of Heathrow Airport, I will say that it’s probably worth it to shell out the extra bucks, if only because you can use their lounge.  The lounge is probably going to be crowded, but it won’t be as bad as the rest of the airport.

We are currently staying in the Carlton George Hotel in Glasgow.  We have stayed here twice before. I keep coming back because the rooms feature “free” minibars.  I got us an executive “Club” room, which allows access to the hotel’s executive lounge.

We have been in Glasgow for three days now and will leave for our cruise tomorrow.  I already have lots of material for posts to come.  I look forward to writing the story of this trip.  For now, I just want to say that my posts may or may not be regular since we will be on a ship.  When we get back to Stuttgart next week, there will be plenty of updates.  Stay tuned!

This is one place we’ve visited…
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