Week 27: Scotland

This week I had to travel for a client visit, and figured it was a perfect opportunity to spend the weekend exploring another country since my flight was already covered, so that’s how I ended up in Scotland. My friend Natalia and I had 2 free days to see what we could before heading to the client, so we did our best to make the most of it. Our trip began with an evening landing in Glasgow, where we visited their Christmas market. Unlike the cute and festive ones in mainland Europe, this one as more like a carnival that mashed food from a variety of cultures to create a greasy culinary delight for those who attended. Options included crepes (France), waffles (Belgium), Greek pastries, and the traditional sausage and bun that is well known to the United Kingdom.

Saturday we went on a tour of the Scottish highlands, which included some gorgeous scenery from places like Glencoe in the rolling hills to Oban on the coast. Our guide was kind enough to speak a much clearer version of English so that those in attendance could understand-most of the people I talked to would slow down as if speaking to a foreigner and then when another Scot approached promptly switch back to the original brogue. Our trip went from fields to castles and was interspersed with traditional Scottish music, and so we passed a delightful day seeing the country.

Sunday we decided to stay in Glasgow and were not disappointed by the variety of activities there. Along our morning walk we ran into hundreds of people dressed as Santa Claus as they finished a road race for charity. We got some hot chocolate and enjoyed traditional English scones during our ventures, as well as sampling Scottish shortbread and some whisky fudge. After the culinary portion was over, we headed over to the Sharmanka kinetic gallery, an experience that critics described as “grotesque”. It is a collection of sculptures by a Russian artist living in Scotland. However, unlike traditional sculpture, these are connected to each-other and to pulleys and motors, and move in time to a lights and music display. It is an eerie experience to be sure, and one I hardly understood as I am not an art lover. However, it was worth the visit to see some unique pieces and a form of art I hadn’t had the pleasure of viewing before. After this excursion, it was off to client meetings for the rest of my time in the country, so I have nothing more to report.