June 29 - Edinburgh

Edinburgh, Scotland

This morning we woke up to D-E-N-S-E fog, or as it's called here "the Haar."  We had arrived outside of Edinburgh, Scotland but we could not launch the tenders to take us ashore until we could actually SEE the shore.  So everything was delayed by nearly two hours.  But once we got going it was a great day (except for the pitching and rolling of the roller-coaster-esque ride on the tenders from the ship to shore!) for both of us as we went on separate tours.  

Braveheart Country Castle Tour

I left first around 10 am and boarded a bus.  We headed out of Edinburgh and the farther we went the warmer and sunnier it got.  Just the reverse when we returned a little after 5 pm.  Along the way we saw the "magical, mystical horses" that surface out of the lochs...well they were sculptures of the famous "kelpies."

After 45 minutes we arrived at Stirling Castle which was home to King John IV of Scotland, and subsequently John V and John VI.  It was very interesting and a big complex to tour.  Very cool, again, to be walking where kings and their people walked some five hundred years ago.  

The castle overlooked the valley where William Wallace fought the English and won a monumental battle for the people of Scotland.  If the name is not familiar to you, Wallace was the character played by Mel Gibson in the film "Braveheart!"  After the castle we went to the Wallace Memorial and climbed the VERY steep path to monumental tower before heading back to the ship just before we cast off for tomorrow's adventure on the Orkney Islands of Scotland.

Bagpipes & Whiskey Adventure
While I was off exploring castles and ancient Scottish battles, Kim went into town to learn how to play the bagpipes and sample Scottish whiskey.  What was MOST interesting was that this was the FIRST time this excursion/adventure had been offered by Viking cruises and Kim and her group got to be the initial guests!