Hello sunshine!

"Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special..."

I love the Christmas season! I love getting festive, putting up the tree and eating cinnamon biscuits and I love Christmas markets! And today I want to share my experiences with you about

the Scottish Christmas Market in Edinburgh and Glasgow

I’ve been in Edinburgh last Saturday and we arrived in the morning, so we had time to discover everything before the crowds got there, but it was already full.
As a German I have been to Christmas markets since I can remember, and I have this picture in my mind how it should be to get this festive feeling. I’ve acted in the nativity play for many years and sang without choir when I was in kindergarten.
And going on a Christmas market in another country is always an experience. I’ve seen American ones before which is more a spectacle, than a cosy togetherness. The Scottish Christmas market started way more reflective and festive than the American one.

The Christmas market in Edinburgh is located next to the train station with the big wheel and other attractions such as roundabouts. Because of the location it is split up in shacks and attraction area and the exits/ entries are separated by barriers.
I’ve never expected to see so many shacks with ’German sausag’ or ’German beer’ or ’Glühwein’, which made it look as if it would be similar to a German Christmas market. But it’s not!
Real German sausage is way different than the ones they sell here, which is so sad because this is what I was most excited about, but it’s okay. I will eat enough when I get back home. I don’t like Glühwein, but my friends told me that it was good as well as the beer.

Unexpectedly, there were a lot shacks selling handmade decoration, cards, candles and other beautiful things. Especially when it was dark in the afternoon, it looked so beautiful!
One highlight for me was the Christmas tree maze. Unfortunately, it was too expensive for me, but only looking at it was already so amazing!
All these lights and smells made me feel very festive and happy. It was not as good as the German original, but it was very nice and an experience I didn’t want to miss.
So, if you are in Scotland in December, go to the Christmas market in Edinburgh or Glasgow. Of course, the one in Edinburgh is bigger than the one in Glasgow and Edinburgh does not only have one, but I loved the lights in Glasgow! There were huge baubles made of lights and it lightened me up inside!

I hope you got an idea of the Scottish Christmas market and how it was for me. I really enjoyed it and I can absolutely recommend it!

Merry Christmas!❄

me in front of the three sisters of Glencoe

Hello sunshine!

OK let's start with the most obvious fact: I am a HUGE Harry Potter fan! *tada*
Honestly I had no idea that some parts of the Harry Potter movies were made in Scotland until I saw a flyer from an organization offering trips to the Glenfinnan Viaduct and the Alnwick Castle. But from that moment on I couldn't wait to get there and see everything!

So I booked exactly these tours and they were the best trips ever! I would recommend them a hundred times if you are such a potterhead as I am. And today I want to share my story about these trips with you and show you all the pictures I made (ok not all because I took like 10 000 - but the most beautiful ones)

Glenfinnan Viaduct

Loch Lomond

This was my first trip I ever made in Scotland and it was so good! We started at 7am on a Sunday morning in Paisley and drove in the direction of Fort Williams. I thought that I could get some sleep in the bus because I am NOT a morning person but after 45min the tour-guide told us that we arrived at our first stop. In the middle of nowhere we stopped at a cute cafe to see Loch Lomond. Unfortunately, it was raining but it was so beautiful!


As I had no idea where we had been and what to expect, I felt like I landed in Neverland. The powdery clouds and the slightly blinking sun were so magical and the perfect introduction for a Harry Potter tour!
After the necessary errands - toilet, coffee and cookies - we drove on along Loch Lomond. Even if it was raining the whole time, it was an amazing few!

Our second stop was very spontaneous. Thanks to our driver we stopped at a cute waterfall and got a unique feeling of Scotland: very windy, raining as you are in the shower and more beautiful than you can ever imagine!

The next time we went out of the bus, we were at Glencoe in front of the three sisters of Glencoe. And I know that I am repeating, but it was so beautiful!
The tour-guide hiked with us a few meters down into the valley and we took hundreds and thousands of pictures. Unfortunately, my camera was angry at me to turn it on and of in the rain and it decided to strike for the rest of the day. But if you want to see more pictures you should check out my Instagram @glitterisblack .

the black lake ~  Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

When we finally arrived at Glenfinnan the rain had stopped and we had time to explore the lake or as a Scot would say: the Loch. It was the filming location for a part of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - the scene at the black lake. Imagine yourself standing in front of a lake where Harry Potter was fighting against mermen.
To be honest I just prepared the following sketch in my Bullet Journal for this trip but the tour-guide gave us all the photos of the Harry Potter scenes! Because of him I was able to make such stunning pictures.

Glenfinnan Viaduct

The actual viaduct - the rail to Hogwarts - was our last destination. The hike up the hill was exhausting but that goes without saying. You can decide on your own how high you want to hike. For me the one and only possible view was the highest I could get to get the best angle for all the photos and videos. We were waiting on the hill for at least 30min to see the train crossing the bridge as it was in the Harry Potter movie.
Stupidly it restarted raining exactly when the train was out of our field of view and we had to hike up to the top to walk down on the other side of the hill. We ended up sodden and muddy at the train station where the train started (at platform 9 3/4 for Hogwarts? :D )
On the way back home we watched Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. It was the first time for me watching a Harry Potter movie in English and it was so funny, because I am used to the German voices!

Alnwick Castle

Starting again on another Sunday morning at 7am with a bus from Paisley, but this time in the direction of Edinburgh. Luckily we had a bit more time to wake up or nap a little bit before we stopped at the first location. After a 1.5 hours' drive we stopped in Dunbar and it was the first time I saw the North Sea from the "other side". It was so pretty!

me in front of the North Sea

It was not the classic sandy beach, more some stones with algae on it. I think it was ebb and that's why we had the chance to go that far. Our second mission in Dunbar was to get some coffee and breakfast (or second breakfast). It was more difficult than expected because on a Sunday morning at 8:30am no cafe shop is open. And there was only one supermarket which actually had not the best range but for an energy drink and some cookies it was enough.

The next destination was already Alnwick Caste and to get there we drove along the cost. It was an amazing drive and I couldn't get enough of watching the skyline. We were so lucky with the weather! All week it was cloudy and stormy but on Sunday morning we started together with the sun. It was toasty and without rain at all.

Outer bailey for Madam Hooch's Broomstick lessons

Arrived in Alnwick I felt like I came to Hogwarts. Despite the bagpipe music, it was a magical place! From the very first second I took so many photos and tried to find all the places I had seen in the Harry Potter movies before.
The castle is divided in an inner and outer bailey. And I think each Harry Potter Fan would recognize the outer bailey as the "classroom" for the broomstick lessons with Madam Hooch! It is just a walled meadow with a great view but with the movie in your mind you expect Nevile flying around or Hagrid crossing your way.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

The inner bailey is more famous even if you would not suppose so. It was used for the scene with Hagrid carrying the Christmas tree in the great hall but more important it was the filming location for the scene when Harry and Ron arrived at Hogwarts in the flying car and landed in the Whomping Willow.
The crazy thing is: there is no tree! And there has never been one. It was all computer-animated but if you really know the scene you can recognize where the flying car left the castle.

broomstick lessons

Moreover, the inner bailey is used for broomstick lessons for children and for me it was the perfect chance to take a picture of my flying on a broomstick. It was so funny!
And it is the entrance to the real castle. The Duke of Northumberland is still living in there with his family and that's why the castle is closed during the winter months and you are not allowed to take pictures inside the building.

Hogwarts ~ Alnwick Castle

Even if I skipped lunch for taking some more pictures, I was so happy that I got the most out of my time there. After less than 3 hours we had to leave the castle behind us and drove back home.
What I didn't know until then was that there is a surprise-stop on each tour they make! So when we drove back home we took a "wrong" junction and ended up at the Bamburgh Castle!
For me it looked like Kings Landing from Game of Thrones, but obviously it is not - unfortunately! But it was so beautiful to see a real sandy beach and get some more sea air.

Both trips were amazing and as I said I would recommend them again and again! For me the best part was taking pictures of places I always dreamed about and enjoying every second!

If you know some other good places I really have to see, feel free to share them in the comments below. I would appreciate every suggestion!

See you next time!♥

Hello sunshines!

As you may know I am currently studying abroad and luckily my family want to visit me! It is our plan to travel through most of Scotland within the 7 days they are here and I want to tell you how I planned the whole trip, what we did and where we stayed. So this will be a little report of my time with my family.

Before we started travelling we had to plan where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do. It was my idea to travel during that time and not to stay at one place, that's why I decided to plan the whole week and make a kind of relaxing holiday for my family - at least I tried!
It was my boyfriends wish to go to Loch Ness and my wish to see the Harry Potter bridge near Fort Williams (unawared me not knowing that I would be there before). And so our route shaped more and more and we ended up with 5 places we really wanted to see:
Glasgow - Edinburgh - Loch Ness - Glenfinnan Viaduct - Isle of Skye

But... because we only had one week in October we thought that it would be to much and to unpredictable to drive to the Isle of Skye and so we withdrew it from our list. We will come back to got there next year! Moreover I decided that I don't want to go to the Glenfinnan Viaduct again because it would take to much time to drive there and I have already seen it.

My Bullet Journal spread to plan our trip.

I'm so sorry that the page is in German but I painted it for my family and my dads' English is not that good. It says "Our Journey Through Scotland” and shows all the cities where we have our accommodations. Additionally I wrote some sights we could visit or recommended restaurants. And this is our plan!

MONDAY

The plane arrived in Glasgow around 3pm and I picked up my family there to go and get our car. We rent a skoda superb from sixt and my dad was our driver for this week! Wish us good luck driving on the left side for the first time! :D
Our first stop was my accommodation and then Glasgow. We had a hotel for one night and it was very good. The perfect start for an adventurous week.

TUESDAY

With a tasty breakfast in our tummies we walked to the Glasgow Cathedral and the cemetery to get an overview of the city. Unfortunately it was raining the whole time but we had so much fun walking through the rain.
We checked out of the Hotel before our walk so we had no time pressure. We just had to be in Edinburgh after 3pm, because there we had our next Airbnb. So we had time to walk along Queen Street and find some cute shops you don't have in Germany.
After a quick lunch we drove to Edinburgh. It was an easy drive because you just follow one street and then you're there. We had a beautiful flat in the city center and our view was amazing! Because it was only just 4pm we decided to explore Edinburgh and walked to the Castle. On our way we found some Whisky stores where my dad & my boyfriend could find some real Scottish Whisky.

Glasgow Cathedral

Edinburgh Castle

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday morning we startet early and drove to a car park near Arthur's Seat - in front of our flat were enough parking spaces but you have to pay for them and every Morrisons/ Sainsburys/ Tesco offers free parking. The mission was: hiking up to the top of Arthur's Seat!
You have to know that my family is not the "hiking-holidays" kind of family. We are more the "sitting on the pool and chill" type of people... So this hike was a real challenge for us but we wanted to walk all the way because of the amazing view and the beautiful landscape. And it was worth it!
We were so lucky with the weather. It was warm and sunny. It took us about 3 or 4 hours to walk up and down and in the end we were so exhausted but it was the most beautiful day I ever had!
First stepping out of comfort zones and surpass oneself is an amazing feeling. And second: spending the time with my family and not thinking of anything (Uni/ Gym/ Food/ Social Media...) was the best feeling ever.
I will remember this day as the most beautiful day of the year 2018!

Arthur's Seat Edinburgh

THURSDAY

On this day we started the real road trip through Scotland. We left our flat at 10am and drove to Perth. It is not a famous city and doesn't have that much to offer but a cute little coffee shop called the Bean Shop. My boyfriend loves coffee and I saw on Pinterest that they sell really good coffee.
Our next destination was Dundee where we just stopped to buy something to drink and go to the toilets. After this it was the plan to drive along the coast to Stonehaven but what I did not know was that even if you take the closest road to the sea, you still can't see anything. I was a bit disappointed because we saw nothing from the landscape and a bit angry about myself that I chose this road. But we found something to eat (Fish & Chips for the first time!) and drove on to Dunnotar Castle.
The castle was so beautiful. We didn't went into it because of the price but even the look at it and the coast next to it were amazing!
It was good to walk through the sea air and stretch the body after a day of driving because it was already 4pm and we were still not even near to our next airbnb, which was in Inverness.
Because of the time we decided to drive directly there and go without Aberdeen. And it was totally fine!
The last part of the drive was through the Highlands. And I mean THE HIGHLANDS! Driving up to 2000ft (ca. 600m) and down to 300ft was slightly dizzying but the landscape was more then stunning beautiful! This was the landscape I expected to see.  

Dunnotar Castle

FRIDAY

After the long drive on Thursday we wanted to reduce the time we spend in the car. Our main destination was Oban where we had our last Airbnb for this week and we drove "directly" there. That means we drove alone Loch Ness and stopped at some beautiful observation points. We had lunch in a cute restaurant in Fort William and saw the other coast of Scotland. We arrived in Oban at 4pm and my family visited a distillery and a few Whisky shops to buy some alcohol as a souvenir.
Unfortunately our for-last and last Airbnb were not that beautiful and it felt a bit disgusting, but I could live with that for one night.
As always we spend our evenings with playing cards and watching Netflix. If was so cozy and I felt like I was at home even if we were far away from home.

Loch Ness

SATURDAY

Now we had seen most of the country and only Loch Lomond was still on my list, which was perfect for the way back to Paisley. It was raining the whole day but this so typical Scotland that it was the best weather for this drive.
Back in Paisley we ate lunch at my favorite Pizzeria and then it was time for shopping in Glasgow!

Loch Lomond

SUNDAY

Honestly, for me the weekend was difficult. Knowing that you will be alone again in a few hours is so hard, because you know that you will miss them and you can't do anything against it. I know that in the time of Skype and Whatsapp you're never that far away from someone... but it's not the same!
During this week I was as happy as I have never been before in Scotland and it feels so sad to let them go...

All in all it was the best week I ever had since I am here! The landscape was amazing and all these impressions were stunning beautiful! We drove more then 500miles (800km) and it feels like we have seen most of the country!

If you have some advice where I still have to go or what I should see, feel free to tell them in the comments below!

See you next time!♥

Hello sunshines!

Wie ihr vielleicht wisst, studiere ich aktuell in Schottland und gücklicher Weise war mich vor zwei Wochen meine Familie besuchen! Wir hatten geplant in den 7 Tagen die sie hier waren, durch ganz Schottland zu reisen und ich möchte euch heute erzählen, wie ich alles geplant habe, was wir gemacht haben und wo wir unsere Unterkünfte hatten. Es wird also ein kleiner Reisebericht über die Zeit mit meiner Familie.

Bevor wir losreisen konnten, haben wir genau geplant wo wir überall hin möchten und was wir alles erleben wollten. Da es meine Idee war die ganze Zeit über zu reisen anstatt an einem Ort zu bleiben, habe ich die Planung übernommen und meiner Familie einen entspannten Urlaub zaubern wollen - oder habe es zumindest versucht!
Mein Freund hatte sich gewünscht zum Loch Ness zu fahren und ich wollte unbedingt die berühmte Harry Potter Brücke sehen in der Nähe von Fort William (Unwissendes ich, das nicht wusste, dass ich bis dahin schon da gewesen sein werde). Und so nahm unsere Route immer mehr und mehr Form an und letztendlich wollten wir zu diesen 5 Orten:
Glasgow - Edinburgh - Loch Ness - Glenfinnan Viaduct - Isle of Skye

ABER...da wir nur eine Woche im Oktober dafür zur Verfügung hatten,dachten wir uns dass es zu viel und zu unberechenbar wäre zur Isle of Skye zu fahren und haben es deshalb von unserer Liste wieder gestrichen. Wir werden dafür ein anderes Mal wiederkommen! Außerdem haben wir das Glenfinnan Viadukt ausgelassen, da ich ja bereits dort war und es sonst einfach zu viel gewesen wäre.

Bullet Journal Seite für die Schottlandreise

Montag

Das Flugzeug landete gegen 15:00 Uhr am Glasgow Airport und ich habe meine Familie abgeholt, damit wir direkt unser Mietauto abholen konnten. Wir hatten uns bei Sixt einen Skoda Superb ausgesucht und mein Papa wurde zum Fahrer auserkohren für diese Woche! - Wünscht uns viel Glück beim Fahren auf der linken Straßenseite!
Unser erster Stopp war mein Wohnheim und danach ging es nach Glasgow. Für die erste Nacht hatten wir ein Hotel gemietet und das war ziemlich gut. Der perfekte Start für eine abenteuerliche Woche!

Dienstag

Mit einem leckeren Frühstück im Bauch sind wir losgelaufen zur Glasgow Cathedral und dessen Friedhof um einen schönen Ausblick zu bekommen. Leider hat es die ganze Zeit geregnet, aber wir hatten trotzdem ziemlich viel Spaß beim durch den Regen laufen.
Wir hatten schon vor unserem Ausflug ausgecheckt, weshalb wir keinerlei Zeitdruck hatten. Wir sollten lediglich irgendwann nach 15:00 Uhr in Edinburgh sein. Also hatten wir genug Zeit um uns die Queen Street anzuschauen und ein paar kleine Shops zu durchstöbern die man in Deutschland nicht hat.
Nach einem schnellen Mittagessen sind wir dann auch schon losgefahren nach Edinburgh. Es war ein einfacher Weg, da man einfach nur einer Straße folgen musste und dann auch schon da war. Wir hatten eine unglaublich schöne Wohnung mitten im Zentrum der Stadt und mit einem atemberaubenden Ausblick! Da es erst 16:00 Uhr war als wir alles ausgepackt hatten, haben wir uns dazu entschieden noch ein bisschen Edinburgh zu erkunden und zum Castle hoch zu laufen. Auf unserem Weg haben wir ein paar Whisky Shops entdeckt in denen mein Papa und mein Freund sich einen schottischen Wisky ausgesucht haben als kleines Mitbringsel.

Glasgow Cathedral

Edinburgh Castle

Mittwoch

Mittwoch morgen sind wir relativ zeitig losgefahren um mit dem Auto etwas näher ran an Arthur's Seat zu parken. Wir hatten zwar einige Parkplätze direkt vor unserem Haus, aber die musste man bezahlen und jeder Morrisons/ Tesco/ Sainsbury's bietet kostenlos welche an. Die Mission war: auf den Berg hoch wandern!
Ihr müsst wissen dass wir nicht so die Wander-Urlauber sind, sondern eher zu denjenigen gehören die am Pool liegen bleiben... Deswegen war dieser Aufstieg für uns eine echte Herausforderung, aber wir wollten es unbedingt schaffen um diesen fantastischen Ausblick sehen zu können. Und es hat sich gelohnt!
Wir hatten so viel Glück mit dem Wetter! Es war warm und sonnig, was die Tage zuvor noch unmöglich schien. Insgesamt haben wir ungefähr 3 oder 4 Stunden gebraucht um hoch und runter zu steigen und am Ende waren wir alle erschöpft, aber es war der schönste Tag den ich je hier hatte!
Erstens aus der Komfort-Zone herauszutreten und sich selbst zu überwinden soetwas zu tun, ist ein mega tolles Gefühl! Und zweitens war es so schön Zeit mit meiner Familie zu verbringen und über nichts nachdenken zu müssen.
Ich werd diesen Tag auf jeden Fall als den schönsten Tag 2018 in Erinnerung behalten!

Arthur's Seat

Donnerstag

An diesen Tag haben wir den richtigen "Road-Trip" durch Schottland gestartet. Wir haben früh um 10:00 Uhr unser AirBnB verlassen uns sind nach Perth gefahren. Eine Stadt die nicht viel zu bieten hat, aber ich hatte auf Pinterest gesehen dass es dort einen süßen Kaffee-Shop geben soll, the Bean Shop. Mein Freund liebt Kaffee und deshalb mussten wir dort unbedingt hin.
Das nächste Ziel war dann Dundee, wo wir nur gestoppt haben um etwas zu trinken zu kaufen und auf Toilette zu gehen. Danach war es unser Plan entlang der Küste nach Stonehaven zu fahren. Was ich nicht wusste war, dass selbst wenn man die küsten-nähste Straße entlang fährt, man nichts vom Meer sehen kann. Ich war echt enttäuscht von diesem Teil der Strecke und wütend auf mich selbst, dass ich diese Route rausgesucht hatte. Aber immerhin haben wir zwischendurch etwas zu Essen gefunden (Fish and Chips!) und sind zum Dunnotar Castle gekommen.
Das Castle selbst ist unfassbar schön. Wir sind in die Burg selbst nicht reingegangen, weil uns der Eintritt zu teuer war, aber auch von Außen war es ein atemberaubender Anblick! Es tat so gut endlich Meeresluft einzuatmen, die See zu riechen und die Gliedmaßen etwas auszustrecken, nachdem wir den ganzen Tag im Auto verbracht hatten. Da es danach aber schon fast 16:00 Uhr war und wir noch nicht einmal in der Nähe unserer nächsten Unterkunft waren, haben wir beschlossen direkt dort hin zu fahren und auf Aberdeen zu verzichten. Und wir haben nichts verpasst!
Das letzte Stück sind wir direkt durch die Highlands gefahren. Und ich mine DIE HIGHLANDS! Fast 600m hoch und wieder runter war zwar leicht schwindelerregend, aber die Landschaft war so unbeschreiblich schön, dass man alles vergessen hat! Das war das Schottland was ich erwartet und worauf ich mich gefreut hatte!

Dunnotar Castle

Freitag

Nach der langen Fahrt am Donnerstag, wollten wir die Zeit im Auto etwas verkürzen. Unser Hauptziel war unser AirBnB in Oban und wir sind quasi "direkt" dahin gefahren. Das bedeutet wir sind am kompletten Loch Ness entlang gefahren und haben immer wieder an Aussichtsplattformen gehalten. Mittagessen hatten wir in einem typisch schottischen Restaurant in Fort William und danach ging es an die andere Küste Schottlands. Wir sind gegen 16:00 Uhr in Oban angekommen und meine Familie hatte noch genug Zeit um die örtliche Destillerie aufzusuchen und Whisky zu probieren.
Leiden waren unser letztes und vorletztes AirBnB etwas unangenehm, aber für eine Nacht ging das schon mal.
Wie immer haben wir unseren Abend mit Karten spielen und Netflix ausklingen lassen. Es war so gemütlich und ich habe mich zum ersten Mal in diesem fremden Land zu Hause gefühlt.

Loch Ness

Samstag

Jetzt hatten wir fast alles von Schottland gesehen und nur noch Loch Lomond stand auf meiner Liste, was perfekt war, da es auf dem Weg zurück nach Paisley lag. Es hat zwar den ganzen Tag geregnet, aber da das so typisch schottisch ist, hat es super gepasst.
Nachdem wir dann in meiner Lieblingspizzaria essen waren, ging es nach Glasgow zum shopping!

Loch Lomond

Sonntag

Ehrlich gesagt, war dieses Wochenende für mich etwas schwierig. Zu wissen dass du in wenigen Stundien wieder allein in deinem Zimmer sitzt und all deine Lieben vermissen wirst ist hart, weil man nichts dagegen tun kann. Ich weiß in einer Zeit von Skype und Whatsapp ist man nie so wirklich alleine, aber es ist nicht das gleiche. In dieser Woche war ich so glücklich wie noch nie hier in Schottland und es traurig, dass diese Woche jetzt vorbei ist...

Insgesamt war es aber die beste Woche die ich je hier hatte und ein unvergesslicher Urlaub! Die Landschaft war wahnsinning schön und all die Eindrücke die man bekommen hat, werden mir noch lange im Gedächtnis bleiben! Wir sind alles in allem mehr als 800km gefahren und haben gefühlt das ganze Land gesehen!

Falls ihr trotzdem noch irgendwelche Tipps habt, was ich unbedingt noch sehen muss, dann immer her damit! Schreibt es einfach unten in die Kommentare.

Bis zum nächsten Mal!♥