grumeti peking

British Isles, a cruise trip, august 2013 *download PDF*

Summer in the city ? No, on a cruise ship and going north !
A new destination and an experience for us. Starting point Hamburg. Being a person who worries too much, we did fly a day early to avoid any possible problem like airline-strike, weather hazard etc. A good choice as it made us stay in the Vier Jahreszeiten Hotel at the shore of the Innenalster. Beautiful view and great weather, sunny but not hot and just a few steps away from the street cafes. Sunday, everybody is outdoors enjoying the sun, the food, the drinks and we trying very hard to integrate! Monday afternoon, our check-in time for the cruise, the ship was anchored in the Hafencity, with max. 650 passengers, not too huge and crowed.

Welcome to our home for the next 14 days, with a drink in our hands, cheers. Unfortunately the cruise commences after 18h and means we are sound asleep when we pass the end of the river Elbe and the estuary at midnight. First day we just see north-sea water around us, our first stop after 24h at sea, Edinburgh. The old city is busy with students, tourists and festivals, so it seems. Gosh, I am trying to imagine how it looks like during calmer times. The sightseeing tour provides just a glimpse of history and present. We decide to disappear into the crowd. Get a feel for the High Street ( Royal Mile ) and its performers.

In the evening the Military Tattoo is our program, not sure what to expect. Edinburgh Castle is situated above the city on a rock. The arena is just in front of it, 6500 seats for the audience. Our seats, high up on the side opposite the musician entrance, are great. Excellent view and sound. The Tattoo is very international, China, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Mongolia and many more. Just amazing and far away from military music!

The next day we have to try another famous ‘thing’ from Scotland, whisky. Sorry to say still not a fan of it.

Invergordon and Inverness are waiting for us. The east coast has cliffs and long, deep bays, called Firth. This generates a tongue twister as one of the biggest is called, Firth of Forth. All surrounded by the highlands and its sparse nature. Beautiful in August as the heath is blooming. We visit the Dunrobin Castle and have blue sky, what else should we want ?

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