TravelStream™ news feed for member schlossie on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/schlossie en-us Copyright ©2012 TravelPod.com Tue, 14 Dec 2010 20:06:54 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/scotland-2003/1179331440/tpod.html http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/scotland-2003/1179331440/tpod.html#comment Travel Blogs http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/scotland-2003/1179331440/tpod.html Wed, 15 Dec 2010 01:06:54 +0000 Scotland - 5 days of castles, highland games and great people

Scotland trip - Aberdeen, United Kingdom

Aberdeen, United Kingdom

In 2003 we decided spontaneously to take a quick trip to Scotland - 5 days only. We flew into Aberdeen and picked up our rental car. We paid for the extra insurance which would cover all damage we could possibly cause driving on the "other" side of the road. We felt good, we had arrived and were ready to start our vacation and eventually we did leave the parking lot daring to attempt driving on the road.

We arrived at the Roselynd house where we had reserved our room. The house was nice, very Victorian. I felt like I was at grandma's. Breakfast was amazing and our host couldn't have been friendlier. We were surprised with the look of the houses in Aberdeen. It seems as if every house is built of the same granite rock. As far as you can see every house seems to look the same. I'm sure Aberdeen residents would not agree :)








We took possession of our room and went straight for a walk through Aberdeen, where we found nice gardens and friendly pubs inviting us to come in on this particularly cold day. So we did. We found a woman that had already spent a few hours too much in the bar and insisted on inviting us for shots. The bartender was giving us signs and was shaking his head and while she did order an occasional shot he only gave her a teeny tiny bit and the rest was filled up with water. She was fun and we had a great time talking to her. She asked whether we knew that friend of hers that lives in Germany. Sure did, it's a small place you know.

The owner told us stories about his pub, Aberdeen and the surrounding area. When the time came to say good bye and head back to Roselynds' he wouldn't let us leave without a beautiful Scotland calendar to spread the word about his bar. It was our first day in Aberdeen and we felt most welcome.









2 out of the 5 days of our stay were spent exploring castles. And that was time spent well. We chose to follow the castle trail and the drive was just as beautiful as the castles themselves. Here's what we've seen:

Dunnator Castle:
This castle is very close to our hotel location and near the town of Stonehaven which we fell in love with. The castle itself is in ruins, but the location is quite impressive. It is surrounded by steep cliffs on three sides with waves crashing in ******* the rock. We hiked down to the beach near the entry area just to get another perspective of Dunnator. It's beautiful. At one time the castle held the royal crown jewels. You would think at this location they would be save, but the castle was attacked and taken more than once.





Braemar Castle:
(
http://www.braemarscotland.co.uk/visiti ng_braemar/Braemar%20 castle.htm - sorry I'm unable to add the link to this section)


There is such a sad lovestory to this castle: The ghost who haunts Braemar Castle is one of a woman who lost her life after a very sad misunderstanding. Two hundred years ago a young couple went to Braemar Castle for their wedding night. The wedding night was their first experience. The groom left the bedroom early in in the morning, without leaving a message for his wife. When she woke up, the young woman was worried not seeing her husband. She looked for him in the whole castle but couldn't find him. Desperate, she thought the wedding night had been disappointing for the young man and that he left her. Ashamed and very sad, she threw herself out of the window of the bedroom. The poor girl was wrong. Her husband hadn't left her, he had gone hunting when she was asleep, and when he came back, he was welcomed by the horrible news. The women still appears to young couples staying overnight. Maybe it is to tell the groom not to leave his wife, or maybe it is to protect and reassure the bride.

Crathes Castle:
What a gorgeous place, the beautiful gardens of Crathes castle made me feel like I had entered the estate of the sleeping beauty. But as beautiful as the castle is, there is always a dark side. Two skeletons have been found during renovation work: One of a woman and one of a baby. The baby is said to be the child of a man who preferred to kill the baby and it's mother to hide the relationship. The apparitions continue, even after the bodies have been discovered. They must be looking for something other than discovery or maybe there is more to be found.



Castle Craigievar:
Of course this castle has a ghost story as well. The Blue Bedroom is the haunt of one of the Gordon clan members, who fell from a window. Well not really fell - he has been pushed to his death by "Red" Sir John Forbes, a noble. Several people heard the steps of the unfortunate Gordon climbing the stairs to the Blue Bedroom, as if he was living the moment before his death again and again.












Castle Stalker:
We drove what seemed and probably was hours through the Scottish highlands to see this castle at Loch Linnhe. I love the picturesque location of this castle. The castle was built about 1446 and guess what I have no ghost stories to tell. Only one quirky fact maybe: In 1840 the roof either fell in or was perhaps removed to avoid roof-tax and the castle was abandoned. Inevitably you'll have to stop for lunch some time. Give "Haggis" a try, but don't google what's in it or you'll ruin your appetite...


Glen Coe,
This beautiful mountain scape has also been witness to a horrible event. The massacre of Glencoe. The infamy of the massacre is not so much in the numbers killed, but in the way it was carried out. In 1691 King William the Third ordered all the clan chiefs to sign an oath of allegiance by 1st January 1692. Maclain of Glencoe delayed signing the oath and when he arrived in Fort William on 31st December 1691, he found he had to go to a different location. Difficult travelling and the absence of a sheriff meant that Maclain did not sign the oath until 6th January 1692. Maclain returned to Glencoe believing his signature was accepted. It was however decided to punish Maclain. Campbell of Glenlyon led a group of some 128 soldiers who stayed with the MacDonalds for some 12 daysand then turned on their hosts in the early morning of 13th February, killing 38 of them whilst some tried to escape into the snowy hills. The infamy of the massacre is "murder under trust" murder of those who had offered them hospitality.











Highland games:
We were lucky to be there while the highland games took place. We enjoyed watching dancing, sporting and back pipe competitions. I would definitely suggest going if you are in Scotland during Highland games.











The "Malt & Whisky Trail":

Of course we had to follow this trail as well, but we couldn't find the distillery we wanted to see: Glenfiddich. So we kept on searching for another distillery close by: Aberlour. Unfortunately by the time we arrived, they were just about closing. But friendly as the Scottish people are we still got to take a quick tour, get a taste of the Aberlour Whisky which is no longer produced and keep our shot glasses. [My favorite location during this whole trip would have to be the beautiful pack horse bridge to which a tiny sign alerted us on our drive into Aberlour (South end of the village. Located next to the cemetery). I'm glad we stopped as I love to look at the pictures we took that day. There are two little stone bridges that cross over the "Burn of Aberlour", which flows into the river Spey. This pack horse bridge is still standing today only because it was rebuilt for the price of £5 by Robert Duff in 1729. It felt like we were the first people to have found this spot and this picture to me truly represents what I was looking for in Scotland. Oh I promise I'll be back!


Stonehaven:
We loved this little town by the ocean. It's very picturesque and intimate. I can't say that there's anything specific to see, I just loved to stroll through the streets while listening to the waves crashing in.













On our last day we took a straight an easy drive on the coastal trail to Balmedie. We took one last look at the ocean, thought of the hospitality, quietness and peace and abundant natural beauty we experienced during our 5 day vacation.




Too short, yes definetely too short...
]]> http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/virginia/1180056900/tpod.html http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/virginia/1180056900/tpod.html#comment Travel Blogs http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/virginia/1180056900/tpod.html Thu, 23 Oct 2008 01:35:43 +0000 All our VA travels

Mason Neck State Park - Mason Neck State Park, VA

Mason Neck State Park, VA

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Potomac Point Winery - Stafford, VA

Stafford, VA

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Skyline Drive - front royal, VA

front royal, VA

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Great Falls - great falls, VA

great falls, VA

Great Falls is really pretty. The fee for the whole car is very doable and allows you to come back for 2 more days. There are 3 overlooks and lots of BBQ stations. I love this location. You'll get to see lots of mansions on your way to the falls and once there you'll forget that you're just 15 minutes outside of DC. Someday I'll figure out how to get to the MD side with the rope bridge...
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Colonial Beach - Colonial Beach, VA

Colonial Beach, VA

I only have pictures from this entry. It was a daytrip and driving took us much longer than expected (as usual...). The scene was nice, there was music playing on the porch of a bar right by the river, but I would never swim in the Potomac. Sorry can't do.
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Maymont - Richmond, VA

Richmond, VA

Welcome to my absolute favorite getaway: Maymont plantation in Richmond. The foundation is doing a spectacular job keeping the property up and beautifully landscaped. I've been here in any season and the gardening constantly changes. Talk about a great deal. Admission is free. So if you're short on cash you can visit anyway. Just make a donation some other day when you're back and your wallet has recovered. You all know how much I LOVE freebies. I gladly donate money to them just for the fact that they don't charge. This is quite an estate. You start off entering through a gate and already pass by a beautiful butterfly garden that also (this is where the ladies room is - very important for the ladies...) from here on you pass by a huge fountain and to your right are rolling hills. What a welcome change from the tiny little patches of green in the DC area. You're torn about continue walking through the big lawn where people spread their blankets and enjoy hanging out or follow the signs to the Italian garden. I usually follow the Italian garden because I can't wait to see all the flowers. And what a nice job they do. Arrangements change with every season and it's there's always one gorgeous colorful carpet of flowers waiting for you. From the Italian Garden a giant fountain leads down the steps to the Japanese garden. You can't quite see it from up here, but once down there it's amazing. The lake has little stepping stones, where you can walk through the lake with the fish swimming right up to you. Japanese maples, little bridges, grotto's and a gorgeous waterfall make you feel a world away from DC. Once you're done exploring the Japanese garden discover the beautiful hills of the estate, the carriage house, the pavillions, the animal habitats and the estate. And finally here's someone who did it right. Thank you Mrs. Dooley for creating this beautiful garden and building a house that is cozy and not ridiculously large. There's someone that has some sense and that is hard to come by in times when people feel like they are entitled to "bigger things". This lady had all the money, but she had her priorities right. I've taken friends, family and hubby to Maymont and I'll be back. It's just that beautiful and ever changing! Schlossie
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Chincoteague - Chincoteague, VA

Chincoteague, VA

Oh boy - I'll have to start of with apologizing. We took this trip a loooooong time ago and all I remember is a very very long drive from DC and lots of water. It's funny because normally I'm drawn to water, but if there's too much water and not much land to go with then I feel a bit uncomfortable. This is not to put down any of Chincoteagues beauty. I loved the lighthouse on Assateague, despite not seeing any wild horses. It's really pretty & quaint. In fact my husband keeps nagging me about going back, so for sure one of these days we'll be back and probably stay overnight. I'll be sure to update this travelogue then. Until then I only have pictures - I'm sorry :( Schlossie
]]> http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/2006-mexico/1200711300/tpod.html http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/2006-mexico/1200711300/tpod.html#comment Travel Blogs http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/2006-mexico/1200711300/tpod.html Tue, 26 Feb 2008 03:14:16 +0000 Dreamvacation - Mexico Mayan Ruins, pristine beaches and Tequila!

Tulum & Playa del Carmen - Tulum, Mexico

Tulum, Mexico

T U L U M & P L A Y A D E L C A R M E N On our last day hubby & I decided we could not leave Mexico without having seen any Mayan ruins. My brother and sister in law wanted to spend the day at the hotel they paid for dearly, which also meant each couple had some much needed time for two :) Now we just had to get through the generally aggravating process of waiting for the car we reserved the day before. We wanted to leave bright and early so we could reach the ruins before the midday heat. Our reservation was for 07:30 am, but nobody showed up until 08:00 am. By 08:45 we finally managed to pull the car on the road towards Playa del Carmen and arrived in Tulum close to noon. The sun was burning down ferociously and that did put a damper on our mood. We made a lazy decision to not carry our towels with us, although we knew how beautiful the beach at Tulum was and that YOU CAN swim there, but we were just grumpy at that point and it's our own fault that we let that bad start get to us. We decided to tour Tulum on our own. Another bad decision. We walked the ruins for what seemed hours, jumping from shadow to shadow, ohhing and ahhing at the details we saw, but I know for a fact that we missed out on most of Tulum's hostory. We didn't know what we were looking at. I've got to say - we always do this. I'm not sure why - maybe we prefer to roam freely or want to save the extra money, but it means we miss out on a lot of stuff too and generally we're bummed out afterwards (see Pompei). Maybe it's time to learn this lesson. The good news is that you don't need to know Tulum's history for a photo safari, which is exactly what I set out to do. We did have a little brochure that explained the different buildings and their purposes, plus there are little information plates at some spots. Like the one before you walk through the wall into the city. It explained that "regular" folks probably did not live within the city walls, but somewhere on the outskirts so they are close enough to work for the rich people. Sounds like any major modern city, right? It's funny to compare that time to ours and hubby & I were joking that - had we lived way back when - we probably wouldn't have been allowed in the city. So it was fun to stand in someones driveway and think to myself: "Look at me now! Ha Ha - I'm in your driveway and there's nothing you can do about it!". I know stupid me, but there really was one house that looked like it had a driveway - maybe to park the horse? Probably not and I would probably know more about it had I taken the tour.... Touchy subject - let's not go there :) To me the most beautiful place in Tulum is on top of the clifs, looking at the ruins & the ocean. The watercolor is just amazing. It looks out of this world. You'll probably see some sort of ruins on any vacation, but the location just makes this particular one so special to me. By now we were drenched in sweat and it would have been lovely to take a dip in the ocean, but guess who had no towels to dry up afterwards... Oh well, I guess I could label the first half day of this trip "Making the least out of your trip". The second half will better though - I promise. We walked back to our car (we knew that a train was driving from/to the parking lot - but it wasn't far) and decided to tour the the little bazaar outside until our stomachs started to grumble and we knew lunch was overdue. We decided to stop at the Aventura & Spa Hotel, which is just gorgeous. You arrive in the lobby and everything smells really really good, there are huge sofas along the wall where people just lay back and relax, silent spa songs playing from the speakers. I don't think I need to say more than that the bathroom sink was surrounded by flower petals... It felt so good to be here after frying in the sun (you cannot hide from it in Tulum). Needless to say we decided to spend lunch hidden from he sun in the big cabana hut by the pool. The food was pretty much the same as it was at the Moon Palace, but it tasted better! Really and there was a bigger variety. I took advantage of all sorts of different pasta's, appetizers, salads and later on desserts, while hubby robbed the meat counter. It was soooooo good. Now we just needed to survey the area and find a good place to relax a little bit. I already told you the jelly-fish story in the second entry, so obviously that wasn't the place to cool down. We walked the breaker wall for a little bit, the ocean was hitting it hard and it was nice to watch. Water color here wasn't the beautiful turquoise you know from Cancun or Tulum either (just like the Moon Palace). There are plenty of Palace hotels that are located in "turquoise" areas though (LeBlanc, Sun Palace, Xpu-Ha, Cozumel). It wasn't a big deal for us, because we had the day at Xel-Ha, seen it in Tulum and will be there shortly in Playa del Carmen. Landscaping at this hotel is top notch. I loved the waterfall and garden paths that they created at the Aventura & Spa and they even had a roman bath perfect for use during bad weather (covered). That's something I haven't seen done so nicely at any other Palace hotel. Very nice, I could definetely see myself on a rainy day in this pool. Just looking at the rain pooring down, why I safely get to play fish in the water. I finally found the perfect spot: A pool lounger half submerged in the water. I took a quick swim in the cold water, which felt heavenly and then quickly fell asleep. I could not have been any happier. Once awake and fully restored I ordered a nice cocktail from the waitor that constantly serviced our area. I certainly could have stayed here, but we had to get to Playa del Carmen. Eventually we managed to get out of the loungers and back into our car, back on the way north - next stop: Playa del Carmen. We stopped at the Playacar Palace, which was a bit harder to find then the other Palace Hotels, but we found it nonetheless. The hotel itself was gorgeous - all white and tropical. But we didn't want to spend a lot of time here, we wanted to see a local beach. So my hubby went for a quality tequila shot and we were on the road trying to find a parking spot. We followed the signs to the beach and then stopped at I think it was #38. We were not really sure if we could park here, but we couldn't find a different spot so we just stayed close to a condo complex. When we reached the beachfront I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was late afternoon and the sun covered everything in a beautiful golden glow, the water color was amazing and small boutique hotels had set up quite spectacular beach loungers. Loungers is not really the right word. How about beds in the sand enclosed with flowing white curtains? One hotel caught my attention in particular with it's cute little bungalows right on the beach. I liked it so much I made it the first thing I researched when back at home. That hotel is the Shangri-La Caribe and we are planning on staying here in the near future. We went for a long walk on the beach - it wasn't hot any more - just nice & warm. Locals were out with their kids, while someone plaid with his dog and music was playing from radios, a marina was in the distance and the sun slowly started to set. My husband spent some time in the water, while I stayed on the beach, soaking in the impressions to remember them on a particular rainy day. And that's how our last day in Mexico ended, back at the hotel we had one last dinner, slept one last time in our beautiful room, creating our own good-bye cocktail the next morning, before they took our wristbands and sent a van to take us away... I hope you enjoyed the journey as much as I did and I would love to hear from you in my guest book. Adios, Schlossie PS: One last funny (?) story about Mexico. You better plan on going soon, Mayan's predict the end of the world for 12/21/2012. Well.. really they are not sure. Maybe someone was slacking and didn't carry on the calendar or it really is judgement day ...
]]> http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/2006-mexico/1200711180/tpod.html http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/2006-mexico/1200711180/tpod.html#comment Travel Blogs http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/2006-mexico/1200711180/tpod.html Tue, 26 Feb 2008 03:02:49 +0000 Dreamvacation - Mexico Mayan Ruins, pristine beaches and Tequila!

Isla Mujeres - Isla Mujeres, Mexico

Isla Mujeres, Mexico

I S L A M U J E R E S This pretty little island is just a few miles off shore from Cancun and was named after its previous owner: the Mayan moon goddess - a woman. Population is less than 20,000 and as of 2005 there were 121 taxis, 500 golf carts, and 1500 moped scooters on the island :) Isla Mujeres has many beautiful coral reefs perfect for snorkeling and is home to a population of sea turtles. Cubans like to stop here on their way to the United States. Our hotel stay included a free trip, so how could we not go? There's only one thing I would do different in retrospect. Do yourself a favor and put on your swim suit in the morning before you get on the bus. It gets very hectic once you arrive on the island. By the time I had my towel, locker and snorkel gear (you'll have to get in a different line for each) they were already doing a second call for the snorkelling tour and I was one of the last to get on the boat, though I can assure you I had wasted NO time. Not to mention there's no place to change, so I had to use the bathrooms. They had wet floors which felt a little gross. It was about 09:00 am when the bus picked us up at our hotel and took us to the boat dock in Cancun. The ride took about half an hour. Once on the boat it took another 45 min to reach Isla Mujeres. During the ride the crew told us about programs we could choose from once we reach the island (there are charges for these additional activites): ~Snorkeling ~Scuba diving ~Tour around the island ~Swimming with dolphins (I'd prefer to see them swim in the ocean...) Once on the island we had about 20 minutes to get ready before the boat left for the snorkeling tour we wanted to do ($20.00 per Person). Like I said before, it was all a little hectic, but still enjoyable. The boat ride that took us to the reef didn't take long at all. But the fact that we were now out in the middle of the ocean scared me a bit. Oh well no time to be scared - because I had to fight with the instructor. He really wanted me to spit in my goggles to prevent them from fogging up, which is great but GROSS! No way I was going to do that. Well, he had the last word: "If you're not going to spit in them then I'll spit in them for you." Given that choice I took my finger and mopped out my goggles with a little spit - vowing to feed the instructor to the first available shark. I don't even want to think about the fact that these goggles are re-used... Once on the spot we started snorkeling, following our instructor and creating our own school of fish. The weather was rainy, but still nice and warm. All the running around before the trip had made me really thirsty and the fact of breathing the salty air through the snorkel time after time didn't help at all. The whole snorkeling tour took about 45min, but I was out of the water 15 minutes into the tour. I've never been sooo sea-sick. I didn't know you could get seasick while in the water, but all the motion just did it and I went back to the boat when I started to feel light headed. It was nice to see that I wasn't the only one that didn't make it. There were some others too, like the nice man that decided to swim in his tighty-whities... I was still bummed out though, because the snorkeling had been quite spectacular. We saw mantaray, schools of fish and colorful coral reefs in crystal clear water. That just reminded me: I have never seen a live coral reef. Wherever I've snorkeled before they were dead. For you divers out there - you can visit the "Manchones" (=Cross of the Bay), which is a sunken cross with a mermaid carved out in the middle. The cross has been sunk as a tribute to all the men and women who died by the sea. I'm fascinated by sunken "objects". Totally unrelated, but I just looked for a video that showed diving on isla mujeres and I came accross this, isn't that beautfiul? You divers probably know all about bubble rings :) Once back on the island it was about time for lunch (included) and they gave us two hours until we would meet at the dock before heading to the north end of the island. The ride was really beautiful, because the weather switched between rain and shine and whenever the sun came out again, everything around us just opened up in bright turquoise colors. Here's a picture I took while the boat was in a rainy patch, but the sun was shining above the island. Unfortunately I got a drop on my lense: Probably one of my most favorite pictures I ever took. Upon arrival at the north end we had one hour to shop, which we started as a group. Our guides horded us into their preferred shops, which I didn't like at all. It felt very crowded and I want to shop freely. That quickly aggravated me so much that I quit shopping and went on a photo safari. Probably one of the better ideas I've had in a while and I love the pictures I took that day. I've met so many nice people, for example I ran into an old man. You know this game, where you try to step out of someones way and they do the same and you both end up in each others way again? I did that a couple of times with him and then he burst into laughter and asked if we should just start to dance :) I saw beautifully painted houses, stray kittens, houses that were ruins and... ...the most amazing and breathtaking cemetary ever. I took the next picture on Playa del Norte walking along the beach. This is my favorite picture, which made me forget all seasickness and grudge about the shopping push. For the ride home they put on a hell of a show, where you'll just laugh yourself silly. They truly truly earned their tip! I don't have any more good stories about Isla Mujeres. Intially I didn't want to go, because I heard many bad things about the trip included in our hotel stay: Activities cost extra, if you don't buy the extra activities you'll be bored out of your mind, stressful, shopping push.... And while all that was true it still was a very enjoyable experience and looking at back at my pictures I'm just grateful that I got to go!
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