While it was time to take off and travel more of Scotland, I really was quite reluctant about it because it meant having to leave K&E!! I still miss hanging out with them for a beer (or 20 in the case of K & I, lol!! AND whiskey on occasion!!) or for a delicious home cooked meal! I had my first Cullen Skink there, and though I’m not at all a fish fan, the soup was VERY delicious and had no fishy taste to it at all!! I miss the lean event we did together on the garage, driving around town in style, being shown all the exclusive and local parts of the area, the awesome conversation and company, and Sunday night burritos!! Yea, I wasn’t looking forward to leaving, but it was time…
When looking up where to go next, I settled on Aberdeen then on to the Highlands, which are in central Scotland. I was first thinking to keep going north from Aberdeen along the coast, but it would have been trickier to get around since I didn’t have a car and only relied on buses and trains. Which brings me to a point… Scotland visitors would definitely benefit from renting a car!!! There are sooooooo many nooks and crannies to see in Scotland that aren’t possible to see because the buses don’t go there, or they only go there on Tuesdays, etc, etc.!! So if you really want to get into Scotland, rent a car!! Or a car AND a chauffeur, which is how it would have to be in my case because they drive on the “wrong” side of the road and I could totally see myself killing myself within the first few minutes of attempting to drive alone!!
Moving on… I happened to find a train ticket to Aberdeen in first class for only 3 pounds more than the 2nd class ticket. Having never traveled any mode of transportation in first class before, I thought heck, why not?! And man oh man was it ever worth it!!! Free food! Free booze!! Free WiFi!!! Comfy seats!!! I can’t say that I would have paid much more than 10 pounds more than the 2nd class seat to get a 1st class seat, but then again… Now that I know all the perks of 1st class, well it certainly made me want to always go that way!! But I’m too cheap to do that!! Or rather, the more I spend in one way means the less I can spend in traveling!! So being thrifty always wins out!!
Aberdeen is an interesting mix of a place. It is modern yet built in an old style. The whole city is quite grey due to the granite they use on many of the buildings, both old and modern. It is a very industrious town and has lots of oil business there and ship yards for various tasks such as fishing, oil, etc. Funnily enough I learned that Aberdeen is where my sister’s place of work is based out of! It’s definitely just a business place, with some character in the old buildings and the cemetery in the center of town, but that was about it.
Luckily I had only planned to simply get there, spend a few hours walking around (which I almost got lost at one point, lol!!) and then head out via the bus to Huntly. And that’s what I stuck to doing. I checked my luggage into the storage facility at the train station, walked around, then gathered my luggage and waited for my bus.
Ramblintraveler 