Hullo Brits! And (Mostly) Sunny Scotland--Who knew??

 Slàinte Mhath... from the Wandering Berkmans! 

And bonjour from Lyon, France!  We arrived earlier this month for a two month stay  before heading back to the US for the holidays.  But more on that next time!  

We can sincerely say that Scotland exceeded our expectations! And our expectations were high knowing we had a wonderful friends reunion planned.  

But first-- our travels brought us to the welcoming arms of my sister Christina and BIL Codge in England-- can every arrival at the airport be this lovely?  We could get used to this!

Christina and Codge were the consummate hosts, supplying our farm-living Airbnb with breakfast items and snacks for our arrival and showing us around their favorite haunts.   Note for future reference-- don't book a place near farms in the summer.  Day 3 and 4 we had to keep the windows completely closed because the tilling of the nearby farm made the air fragrant with the smell of fresh manure-- nice!  

Here in Bury St. Edmunds at the Nutshell, that was until 2016 the smallest pub in Britain! We made sure to join the ranks of those who signed a bill of currency and had it attached to the ceiling of this 15 ft x 7 ft charmer. 

On our "must see" list after seeing the movie "The Dig" was Sutton Hoo, where in 1939 the remains of Anglo Saxon ships and burial sites were discovered.  Very much worth a visit!

It was a special surprise to be able to lunch and have a walkabout (see how British we are now) with Codge's son Will and daughter Florence-- our nephew and great niece!  Not to brag but our visit to Woodbridge that day also led to a sighting and brief encounter with the MIL of Andrew Lloyd Webber and her very formal pup, I mean dog, ("He's not a pup." ) named Douglas (under her stern eye I wouldn't dream of calling him "Doug"!). We really enjoyed spending time and talking with Florence and Will-- we hope to meet the rest of the family on our next visit!  

We spent a beautiful sunny day at the seaside in picturesque Aldeburgh.  

Here a resident shows their pride for the new King.  Perhaps you've heard of him? 

A former shipbuilding town and now just a doll of a place for seaside holiday. The Tudor-style city hall is 400 years old and still in use.  

The beach is made up of smooth stones, no sand, so the locals have this sweet tradition of painting stones and tossing them back with the rest of them so that they may be a fun find.  A group of kids under 10 sold these painted stones to us, the  American tourists who ate up their moxie and entrepreneurship.    We can't resist kids selling stuff! 

 

We bid Codge a fond farewell and thanks for a terrific visit!   Christina joined us on the train to Edinburgh for a weekend jaunt for her and a one month stay for us.  On the docket-- a reunion with our friends the McDades from 40 years ago when the Varelas lived in Taipei, Taiwan!  But first...

Charming Burntisland (pronounced 'burnt island", instead of the pronunciation gymnastics we were attempting with   "burn-tis-land") !  

Seaside, charming town center with all amenities needed, and both train and bus access to Edinburgh and other nearby towns.  And a fantastic walking path along the water to our favorite beach cafe in Aberdour--  Sands, A Place by the Sea.  History has it that Mary Queen of Scots vacationed in Burntisland... at least once! 

Our airbnb was a walk to all this so it made for a great place to stay for a month. One hike in particular we knew we needed to take was to The Binn, a volcanic neck on a hill that serves as a backdrop to the town.  Sure, we lost the path a bit and stepped into more than one cow paddy but we never claimed to be Lewis and Clark.

 

A rainy day (one of the few!) had us taking the train to nearby Kirkcaldy where we took in the remarkably good display of the history of the town at the library.  Who knew Kirkcaldy was the linoleum center of the world for a good spell?? Oh yeah, we also went to the beach. 

 Finally reunion day arrived!  And the when wonderful Audrey picked us up, the hugs couldn't have been sweeter! 

We met up with more of the McDade/McAnaw clan at the Royal and Ancient Golf Club in picturesque St. Andrew's where Audrey and husband John live.  

L to R: John, Christina, Audrey, mom Janette, some rando lady, and Frank (Audrey's brother and my brother Andrew's brother from another mother)

Forever conquering, we  Americans show all present what's up on the Swilcan Bridge.  Jack Nicklaus may have said his farewell to golf from this infamous bridge but I think we made for a more memorable shot. Speaking of shots, no, we did not play a few holes on this noted course and yes, we realize all our golf friends are thinking this visit was wasted on us but hey, remember this picture!

 

This special day continued with a delicious vegan lunch and cake in Audrey and John's home to belatedly celebrate Christina's birthday!  We also had the great fortune to meet Frank's wife Elaine and their son Christopher, and McDade sister Pamela (who was born after we left Taiwan) and her son Aiden.  Elaine and Don were infinitely patient as we reminisced for hours about our Taiwan days.  My family in Wisconsin and Codge with daughter Jane and grandkids Elsie and Evie joined us on Skype for more memories.  It was tough to say goodbye.... so we didn't! We made plans to meet again one more time before leaving Scotland.  

We bid Christina a fond farewell and thanks for some terrific times together over the week as she returned to her home in England.  And the Scottish exploration continued for us...

...which included a portion of the Fife Coastal Path from Burntisland to Aberdour.  Yes, our journey was but a wee fraction of the 116 miles possible but when we came to the aforementioned cafe Sands in Aberdour, tea and scones were calling us.  

 

 

Outlander Alert!   Aberdour Castle was the site used as the French monastery in Season 1 of the show. 

We have now become Outlander authorities.  OK, not really-- we don't know squat about it but who could resist such regal fashion?  

For our first two weeks in Scotland we relied on the great mass transit available to us from Burntisland. Dunfermline was a treat-- birthplace to Andrew Carnegie (pronounced 'cahr-NAY-ghee"-- who knew??)  and Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull (that one's for you, Bruce), an expansive and  beautiful park and home to the Abbey and cathedral which hold the remains of King Robert I, jauntily known as Robert the Bruce.  Take a look at the top of the cathedral-- all you "Robert"s out there, feel free to use this as your new profile pic.  

And of course, there is Edinburgh.  Only 30 min by train, we went in often those first car-free weeks.  It was only after deciding months ago on Edinburgh that we realized the Festival Fringe would be going on while we were there.  That's why car rentals and bookings were so expensive!  Waiting to rent a car until after the festival was good thinking on Planner Berkman's part (travel tip alert!)

The guide for the festival was ginormous and intimidating-- instead of booking ahead of time we opted to go with the flow and see what was available on that particular day.  And there was advertising galore-- posters, people handing out flyers, street performances.   Ultimately we saw some comedy shows, a short play and documentary shorts from the International Film Fest.  And as shown above, the city was in party mode but not in an overwhelming way.  And remarkably clean for a festival!

Other sites of note-- the Tattoo Arena next to Edinburgh Castle (which we did not tour bc those in the know said Sterling Castle was less crowded and just as great) is built in 7 weeks for the festival and then taken down 4 months later.  Ever since 1950.  Crazy

We just happened by the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and ended up there for 2 hours-- what a place! Not only is the main hall stunning but the gallery features the portraits of Scots from all walks of life.    

Don and I chose the preferred medium for our portraits.  Don is willing to grow out his hair and beard if he can look this amazing in marble.  My choice-- to be revealed later in this post.  

We did a brief tour inside the controversially modern-looking  Scottish Parliament Building off the Royal Mile .  The General Assembly chamber was more  function than beauty.  We were sorry Parliament wasn't in session-- we just wanted to be able to yell "Objection!!" And maybe give ourselves a key to the city? 

We met up with fellow nomadic travelers Laura and Graham in Edinburgh and had a great time trading travel stories and tips.  Stuff all your socks and underwear in your travel pillow to save weight in your luggage-- why didn't we ever think of that??   

Once we had a car, we headed off to more distant cities--

The sculpture collection at Jupiter Artland in Steadings was great fun to discovery over the many acres of this private property with public access.   

The owner's little cottage and pool.  The geodesic building to the left is set up for vodka tastings.  That and the pool can be rented -- for a pittance, I'm sure.   

We were fortunate to have one more afternoon together with the McDade clan, this time joined by youngest sister Fiona.  They showed us around beautiful  Falkland where not only did we tour the castle grounds with a tennis court from 1539 (def pre-McEnroe)  but we also got in another Outlander recreation!

A backhand to knock the socks off of Sir Andy Murray!

The statue of my likeness will be made of willow branches, like this one of Mary Queen of Scots.  I like the "back to nature" aspect of it and the yogi-positioning.  Falcon is optional.

Outlander alert! See "Frank" lovingly point to Claire in the window of their BnB in "Inverness", where they spent their honeymoon-- season 2!

On the way to Glasgow, we stopped by to see the amazing Kelpies--  made of steel plates, they're massive and incredible, with a freaky legend behind them.  We only wish we could have seen them at night!

The arrangement of displays at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum  in Glasgow had us looking at suspended skulls next to ancient artifacts next to a Dali next to a resin sculpture of Elvis circa 1970's Vegas.  Add to that a live performance from the enormous church organ in the main hall and our visit was a memorable one. 

Other than haggis and whiskey, we knew little of the cuisine Scotland is famous (or infamous) for.  Knowing full well neither of us was haggis-bound, we found some delicious alternatives.

Ok, maybe this wasn't one of them.  The McDades confirmed deep-fried Mars bars are pretty nasty but we gave them one better-- deep fried butter!  They were baffled.  USA!

Audrey and John arranged for a vegan lunch for Christina's birthday and it was both beautiful and delicious!  Camera shy-- the vegan haggis rolls!  

As the capital city, naturally Edinburgh is home to restaurants of many different cuisines.  What can we say-- we miss Spain!  Tapas were on the bill for our first meal there.  Calamares fritos, queso manchego, chorizo, aceitunas, y pan con tomate.  Tan rico todo!

We try-- we really do-- to catch a vegan meal when we can so in Dunfermline we happened upon 269 Vegan which featured waffles on the menu.  Poor Don hasn't had a waffle in ages (lactose!) so he was thrilled to indulge his 5 year old self.  We also split a "rueben" and lentil soup.  Ok, I had the soup... cumin-laden! 

Our local pub, also called the Sands,  kept us well fed, just a walk away.  The crab cakes were delish, the mushy peas just, well, mushy, but Don came to love and order on 3 separate occasions his beloved jacket potato with chicken, vegan cheese and sweet chili sauce.  

I appreciate a dram of whiskey that comes with its own wee pitcher of water to put in as much or as little as one likes.  Also widely available-- Guinness 0 (zero alcohol)-- quite tasty!  

The Sands also has a veg version of haggis (the brown blob) served alongside tatties (mashed potatoes, top) and neeps (mashed turnips, bottom).  All served with a whiskey cream sauce and oatcakes.  Sacrilegious in its own right, perhaps-- I made it more so by bypassing the cream sauce and eating it with sweet chili sauce hahaha. 

I also tried (twice!) the veg version of the traditional Scottish breakfast, advertised  here at another local haunt.   Does that make me an honorary Scot?  Quick, hand me the bagpipes-- I feel a wee pipe song coming on!

When in the UK, one must try Coronation Chicken!  Opinion-- very tasty!  I'm a sucker for curry seasoning and raisins.  Don stayed verrrry far away.  

This pumpkin risotto was dairy free and Don was all over it.  Paired with a tomato salad with pine nuts and he was in heaven.   

Armed with great experiences, wonderful family and friends and mostly sunny weather, we came to the conclusion that we'd put England and Scotland on the list of places to return.  Thanks to all for making it such a memorable stay!

This post's SOL is of none other than Andrew, our vibrant tour guide at Sterling Castle.  I need his voice on my VM outgoing and GPS.  

Next up-- We'll be spending 5 days with our friends the Wornings tooling around Bordeaux via auto, and later in October will spend 3 days with the Rossini and Saunier families near Marseilles until we leave for the US mid November.  Brief stop in NJ for doctor visits and then to NM for Thanksgiving.  Christmas in Mexico City! We feel well and are as always  grateful for being able to do what we do.  We hope you all are well!  

Thanks for following along!

Don and Monica

England, Scotland