Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands

Edinburgh

We booked through D-Reizen, but unfortunately without a transfer. How were we going to do that, hire a taxi or what? We asked the hotel if they had a transfer service, but they referred us to the tram. After much hesitation, I went for the tram and did not regret it for a second. At home we downloaded the M tickets app and bought tickets through the app. You have to order tickets for 10 pounds, but later we found out that you can also share tickets. The return tickets from the airport to the center were £8.50 per person. We have booked a day ticket for bus and tram in the center for 4 pounds. And so we made our own hop on hop off bus. At the airport you walk out the door and you walk right into the tram. You swipe your ticket in the app, then it is activated and when the inspector comes, you show your phone, very simple. The tram has free WiFi and very nice, large luggage racks for your suitcase. It's just ideal and in 30 minutes you are in the center of Edinburgh. It was a five minute walk to the hotel in our case, not a penny of pain. Next time we'll just take the tram again.

We were not allowed to check in at our hotel before 3 p.m., luckily we were allowed to leave the suitcases behind and so we explored the city very early. Great city, many impressions! Funny taxis, telephone booths that are still in operation, double-decker buses and just the old familiar red buses. A must see is definitely the castle! There are several here, but this one you can't miss, towers above everything and everyone! It seems that even every day at 13.00 a cannon is still fired, but unfortunately we did not get that.

The Castle in EdinburghThe Castle in Edinburgh

Furthermore, you should of course not skip the many pubs with the types of beer and the many types of whiskey. Many of the pubs often have live music too! And of course Bobby is also worth a visit. Bobby is a dog who has been watching over his owner's grave for fourteen, until he eventually dies too.

Bobby is also buried in the same cemetery as his owner, he is just inside the gates of the cemetery. The cemetery is behind the Greyfriars Bobby pub. Be sure to take a look here because it is very impressive and really appeals to the imagination. There seems to be a story that Harry Potter was proverbially born in the Elephant House, where J.K. Rowling first put it on paper. I can imagine it because all the buildings and everything appeals to the imagination in Edinburgh.

A pub in the centerA pub in the center

After a fish and chips with a Lager in Haymarket it was time for bed. Haymarket looks like a neat restaurant from the outside and then you go in. You imagine yourself in a living room with armchairs, a bookcase and of course a very large bar. Haymarket is actually a pub, you order food at the bar, they don't serve. Nice to take a look inside here. But bedtime, because we're going on a Highlands tour with Grayline.

Highlands tour

I can certainly recommend Grayline. They will pick you up from your hotel in the morning, in the evening the drop off is somewhere else but no more than a 5 or 10 minute walk from your hotel. We had Dougie as driver (Douglas officially). He's funny, has a lovely Scottish accent, so you're missing half of his story, but he knows an awful lot about the history. The first stop was in Callander, half an hour to have breakfast. We had already done this, so we only took a few pictures. Callander is also known as the gateway to the Highlands. From here you drive into the Highlands. The second stop is for 10 minutes at Glencoe. Beautiful and if you're not in love with the Highlands yet, you won't be!

GlencoeGlencoe

Loch Ness

A surprise at Glencoe, a young lad was here playing the bagpipes at full throttle. I thought that was great! I'm glad that the youth also know how to play the bagpipes, because I don't want to think about that dying out, that would be a shame. Then after a long drive we arrived at Fort Augustus, better known as Loch Ness. If you want to do this trip, keep in mind that the main part of the trip is Loch Ness and the rest is just an afterthought. Here you could book a boat trip for 13 pounds per person and you will stop here for at least two hours!

Loch NessLoch Ness

Nessie not found unfortunately and on again. You pass the most beautiful castles, the most beautiful places, but you literally pass everywhere. Unfortunately the bus does not stop for photos etc. We did get a good impression of the Highlands, so much so that we decided to go back ourselves with a camper and then make a round trip.

Arthur's Seat

The next morning we had to get up early because we wanted to photograph the sunrise from Arthurs Seat. A tip: don't go right up the mountainon!! We went up the mountain to the right, a steep toddler path you are already at the end of the mountain and then you come there and it turns out that you have to go down a long way again, to finally be able to go up on the left. So start on the left that will save you a lot of frustration and effort. The view over the city was disappointing, of course it just started to fog when we got to the top, so everything was fine.

The hotel

We will definitely go back to Scotland and Edinburgh. Where I will definitely not go again is hotel Piries. What a bad hotel, so bad I really have never experienced! Check-in was only allowed from 3 p.m., if you wanted to check in after 11 a.m. you could do that for a fee of £10. Suitcases could be stored for free. We had a room at the bottom of the stairs. My husband said that is very noisy, they said no because this is only a small hotel with few guests. Well you could hear everyone coming in, going upstairs etc. Our room overlooked the courtyard garden but you didn't have to open the window as the staff were smoking under the window. There were dirty stains on the bed (I think Rob Geus's bull has been around for a long time), the towels were very conveniently draped on this. On the first morning at breakfast, the clerk came in, grabs a handful of muffins from the breakfast buffet and eats them at the counter. The sandwiches were from yesterday, so hard not to get through. We had been to Arthurs Seat, arrived at 10:08 am and were not allowed to have breakfast because breakfast stopped at 10 am. We were allowed to have a cup of coffee, but it would be put in the room on the bill. While we were still there, we saw the breakfast staff just put the sandwiches back in a bag with the new sandwiches. And meanwhile, the receptionist started making sandwiches for himself. Really no service this hotel, stay far away from here.