A wee trip to Scotland – Aye!

The May half term holidays also saw one week of Scottish bliss – rolling green hills, spunky kilts and the ‘delicious’ Haggis – this trip had a lot of expectations! Not to mention, Gerard’s brother James was joining us... the Brick boys on the loose!

Our journey started in Edinburgh, a much talked about city. Interestingly, this beautiful city was built up vertically over the years, making the tall buildings and cobblestone streets weave in and out of one another. Highlights included the Edinburgh Castle perched on the hill (overlooking the whole city), The Royal Mile - the stretch between the castle and the official Scottish residence of the Queen) and of course the endless pubs and drinking locations.

Our Macbackpackers Tour of Scotland introduced us first to our tour leader – Ewan. What a legend. A typical Scot, donning kilt and with long hair and bushy beard, Ewan had exactly the right balance of humour, endless knowledge and Scottish Charm! He would have to be one of the funniest people we have ever met!

A wee run down of our Scotland trip:

• Gerard taking a dip in the freezing Loch Ness – fair to say ‘Nessy’ didn’t make a guest appearance.

• The ruins on Duntulm Castle –we picked the windiest day we have ever experienced to climb around the ruins, also perched high on the cliffs overlooking the ocean!

• The quiet village of Ullapool – fish and chips, yum!

• Isle of Skye – despite the rainy and misty weather, we still managed to take in the sites of Kilt Rock and Portree.

• Eilean Donan Castle & the Dunkeld Cathedral – both very old but beautifully preserved and maintained.

• Scottish dancing at the Skipinnish Ceilidh House – wow, what a workout! Lots of fun, clapping and partner swinging!

• Fairy Glen and Hope Hangs Branches – both very beautiful and mysterious hidden places, known to bring good luck and hide the elusive Scottish Fairies.

• James getting turned down after three hours of negotiations with a Frenchwoman.

A visit to Scotland was high on the priority list and it did not disappoint. If only we had more time.... sigh!

Berlin - "Hitting the Wall"

Of course we needed to escape the Royal Wedding madness and what better way to do that than to duck over to Berlin, a much anticipated mini-break. It did not fail to disappoint. Berlin itself isn’t exactly what you would call pretty (the Jay-Z song about the concrete jungle was actually written about Berlin), however we were instantly drawn to the uber-cool vibe, rich history and of course German Beer.

A free walking tour (always a must when you first reach a new destination – not only can you get your bearings but you are always introduced to the highlights) gave the Autumn House roomies a snap shot of what makes this city so unique. Checkpoint Charlie, The Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe, Brandenburg Gate, the site of Hitler’s bunker (you need a great imagination), Reichstag, to mention just a few. It is so amazing and so true that Berlin is still such a new city and still building itself! Also highly recommended was the ‘Alternative Tour’– definitely something that did not disappoint. It was very cool to see another side of Berlin; from Tacheles, a large old warehouse turned art gallery taken over by squatters and covered in graffiti, walls and walls of street art by truly gifted artists - to secret, hidden cafes and cinemas. The political and social messages left on the Eastside Gallery (a 1.5km section of the Berlin Wall, whereby 109 artists were invited to leave their unique mark on the wall) was very cool – but obviously left you with strong messages at the same time....

Sachsenhausen concentration camp was another sombre and thought provoking experience. Approximately 30km outside of Berlin, Sachsenhausen was not only prominent during the Nazi regime but also once the Soviets had gained power, used as a ‘special camp’. The amount of information, artefacts and knowledge gained made this visit a really rewarding one.

On a lighter note, the nightlife of Berlin had much to live up to. Our visit also coincided with May Day celebrations (strangely protests by day, but massive street parties by night), paving the way for boogying on the street... These festivities, teamed with good bars and pubs, even better beer and of course the amazing night kebabs (Gerard did not eat one Bratwurst!) ensured lots of laughs and fun!