I emptied my inbox

Feels good.

Isle of Skye

I had just gotten back from Germany last week when my flatmate invited me to come along on a camping/kayaking/hiking trip to the northwest of Scotland the same weekend. And along I came.

Edinburgh Life

I have spent a month in Edinburgh now, and here's what I have been up to:

My friend Kaitlin came up here from London, and we spent a few days hillwalking and whisky-distillery visiting in Pitlochry. The weather was decent, and Pitlochry quite charming. Especially, when the lady in the distillery who sold us the tickets for the tour recognized me from the pub where we had had a few pints the night before. I had asked for what I was always drinking - Guinness and Black - which sparked banter at the bar with several bar staff and locals who were making fun of people who ordered Guinness and Black, but mostly of the young man behind the bar who had admitted to this sin to make me feel better. Guinness and Black is Guinness beer with a big splash of blackcurrant cordial.

Hello Edinburgh

I'm living in Edinburgh now! When I tried to inform Facebook of my move, Facebook didn't like it very much. It wanted me to stay in Peebles, and tried to convince me this way:

Nice try, and very adorable, but too late.

My landlord in Peebles gave me a lift to the bus stop this afternoon and regretted it when he swearingly lifted my suitcase to put it in the car. But being British and a gentleman he couldn't possibly let me do that for him. I did have to lift it up the stairs to the first floor of my new place myself though.

A Peebles goodbye

I'm moving to Edinburgh in a few days, and I said goodbye to the Scottish Borders today by finally embarking on the one walk I had been planning to do ever since I got to Peebles. I felt well prepared after having done two walks with my landlord in the last two weeks, and the weather looked friendly enough, so off I went.

Tinto Hill

On Tintock tap, there is a mist,

And in that mist, there is a kist, 

And in that kist, there is a cup, 

And in that cup, there is a drap. 

Tak' up that cup, and drink that drap, 

that's in yon kist, on Tintock tap! 

I totally bonded with the locals when all I wanted was a hot bath.

I left my house this morning to go on a hike with my landlord. At that point my internet didn't work. Coming home all tired from steep climbs and strong winds and a bit tipsy from a post-hike pint my internet wasn't back yet. I was informed that this provider's service wasn't running in the whole 'hood. Unfortunately, there was a job application deadline looming, forcing me to search for broadband refuge in the local pub. I didn't want to go to the pub. I even called at my neighbours' to ask for their wifi password, but they weren't home. So I grabbed my computer and walked to the one and only pub in Peebles I know and that I'd been to three times before, the County Inn. I politely asked if their internet was working, but blimey, it was not! The barkeeper confirmed that they were using the same dysfunctional provider as I did. A bearded senior at the bar played sadly with his smartphone and sent me to the Crown across the street.

The day I crashed a networking event

If you have been looking for work lately you'll probably know how important networking is said to be. You might also know how awkward an experience this often is. I remember a few conferences I have been to when I was still doing university research where I didn't know anyone and found it quite difficult to make the first step towards a stranger, who probably felt as forlorn as myself. Everyone wearing suits didn't help the situation since most academics are not used to dressing formally, so they are uncomfortable to begin with.

Surprise

It's been quite a while since I was in Germany and I have meant to go back and visit for some time now. The thing is that the more I look at flights the more expensive they get. But after spending hours figuring out all possible connections between Edinburgh or Glasgow or Manchester or Newcastle and Hannover or Hamburg or Köln or Berlin, none of which were either affordable or practical, I eventually remembered my bonus miles I had with British Airways. I think they came together with a oneway flight to Australia and maybe one more return flight in Europe. But surprisingly, the number of collected miles was well beyond what I needed for a return flight from London to Hannover. And I could pick a date! This means I'll be at my mum's birthday this year for the first time since 2009 :)

Tweeddale Ramblers

After my walking weekend in Wales I didn't want to lose my momentum so I joined the local walking group, the Tweeddale Ramblers, for their weekly Sunday outing. I expected to meet a mixed group of friendly people possibly mostly older than me. I was right. Everyone but one other lady in her forties was well beyond retirement age. The eldest gentleman was 77 and on his fifth walk this week.

I got a lift to Broughton where we started the 12 km circular walk. It followed the John Buchan Way to Cowiemuir Hass and over the ridge of the Broughton Heights – Broomy Side – Green Law – Pyked Stane (from where we could almost see Edinburgh and Glasgow) – down to a road and up again Langlaw Hill with an ancient fort and a few dead lambs on top and back to Broughton for a pint and a scone in the tea house. During the walk, we took three breaks for coffee and lunch. Everyone was super friendly and super nice and made me feel very youthful indeed. To underline this, I praised the qualities of a proper map case by mentioning its use as a sledge. Our walk leader wasn't convinced and wanted me to demonstrate - although not with his map case. Finding myself in front of a nice steep snow field I retrieved a plastic bag with an extra jumper from my backpack, sat down on it, and down the hill I went. In the end, I turned a few times over in the soft grass under the cheering of the gang.

You probably won't believe that three of my fellow walkers, two of which could be my grandparents, grabbed their insulated seating cushions and went right after me. But I was too polite to take pictures.

More Wales

I meant to write a detailed report about what happened in Wales over Easter, but Katharina already did a great job here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Snowy Easter Holiday in Wales

I had a great few days in North Wales, which were best captured in Katharina's videos on her facebook page, but that's gone and so are the videos. I'll just mention that they involved stunts abusing using her waterproof - and quite sturdy - map case.

Frostbite

No, this is not another rant about the ongoing wintry conditions in Scotland even though they are annoying. No, I just discovered that I have chilblains (Frostbeulen) on my right foot! I didn't think that such a thing was an actual medical condition and not just an exaggeration for cold feet, but Wikipedia proved me wrong. I noticed a few days ago that my big toe and my pinky toe were swollen, sore, and itchy at night, but didn't make the connection to the icy feet I had had the other day. I should take them more seriously I think, and so should you.

Smitten

I usually don't walk into churches unless I have a good reason. I had a great reason yesterday, when the Peebles choir gave a charity concert for Comic Relief (known for their Red Nose Day).

More Barcelona

And here's proof that I didn't just steal the Barcelona pics from the Internetz but actually went there myself. For this I had to steal Kaitlin's pictures though.

Barcelona

Fat baby at Placa de Catalunya

Peebles

Peebles

I recently moved to Peebles which is a small town in the midst of the rolling hills of the Scottish Borders, by bus one hour south of Edinburgh. I rented a house here where I'll be staying and receiving guests until Easter. Peebles is very pretty and a great starting point for many walks. Here are a few pictures to whet your appetite. Interested?

Goodbye, Old Friends

Yesterday, Paul and I walked the Kelvin Walkway, a 10 miles (16 km) long walk from Glasgow to Milngavie, the official starting point of the West Highland Way. The walk would have been nice if there hadn't been as much litter everywhere, but the sun came out, it didn't rain, and it was great to stretch the legs for a bit again.

Glasgow's river Clyde after sunrise

The walk follows the river Kelvin and starts where it meets the river Clyde. The second half of the walk was quite muddy in places so that once back home again I thoroughly cleaned my boots and inspected them to see if I can restore their waterproofness. When I filled them with water, however, the water came out through the fabric not only in the parts where seams had come loose or broken, but everywhere. So today, when my housemate Pete asked me to join him to go to Tiso, a big outdoor store, I came along and had someone look at my old boots. The diagnosis was serious, the condition terminal.

Apparently, the GoreTex membrane, which makes fabric boots waterproof, doesn't last forever. Not only can it get destroyed by heat and dirt, but just the wear and tear and friction of the regular use wears the membrane down after just a few years. I don't want good walking boots to last only for a few years, though. They cost a lot, it takes a while to pick the right ones, they need to be broken in and cared for, and I get attached to them. Even though I got my old pair for a pretty good price I was sad to see them go. I remember buying them from a very cute outdoor shop salesman at Tiso in Aberdeen, doing many walks with them in Germany, Scotland, England, Wales and Iceland, never getting any blisters. Even though I didn't like their look (too big, too blue), they did serve me well. I left them at the Glasgow Tiso, where I'm sure the staff find them a good home. The laces and the memories are all I'm left with.

So, as much of a fan of fabric boots I am, I decided to get leather boots this time. Leather naturally has waterproof qualities (it's skin, after all), however, the term waterproof is relative. There are leather boots out there which have a GoreTex membrane as well, just to be on the safe side. Once the membrane is gone after a few years of serious use, the leather, if well cared for, will still provide a decent waterproofness. I tried a few of them on, and they do feel much stiffer than my old Columbia fabric boots, the smooth leather ones even more so than the nubuck leather ones. Also, it seems like most female hikers have smaller feet than me, so that there weren't many women's boots that came in my size. I bought  a pair of men's Meindl Burma Pro boots with GoreTex and MFS padding around the ankle. The one detail that I am not crazy about is the Vibram soles, which are known for their quick abrasion. But since these boots can be resoled if need be that's not a major issue. I can't wait to break them in!

Navigation Workshop

Next time I go unemployed in Scotland I'll pick a better time of the year. Because what use is it to have plenty of time on your hands if you can't use it properly? If it was summer I'd grab my backpack and be off walking around Scotland. I really haven't thought this through properly. And cuddling up at home is not a great option either, since my current home is cold, even equipped with hat, scarf, blanket, and tea.

So, in order to get out and socialize I signed up for a Meetup group, the Scottish Hillwalking and Activities group, that organize hillwalking, rockclimbing and other social events in and around Glasgow. So far I've joined two events, a beginner's rockclimbing class in a climbing hall that is a converted church, and a navigation weekend workshop in the Scottish highlands. The climbing class was very nice and relatively cheap, and if I go there a few more times I might be eventually confident enough to belay other people without letting them fall.

The navigation workshop happened last weekend in Crianlarich, a little village in the highlands, on the route of the West Highland Way (WHW) which, in 2011, had been the first multiday walk I did. We actually skipped this part of the WHW because it went along a road and we wanted to save our energy for the prettier parts. Last weekend however, I did walk around the area, to practice using a map and a compass. The workshop consisted of a theory session in the morning, in the Crianlarich Youth Hostel, and a practice session in the afternoon, on the hill. Scotland showed itself from its worst side. While it was only cold and windy with knee-deep snow on Saturday (we left the trails in order to simulate getting lost and because the instructor doesn't really like trails), it rained, snowed, and sleeted during the whole Sunday. My boots finally gave up the ghost and were soaked with icy water by the end of the day.

But being a nerd I really liked the compass/map part of the ordeal, and even when I hadn't been able to feel my toes for a few hours I could still smile when I actually ended up where I had planned to end up just by using the compass. There's so much more to a compass than a needle showing to magnetic north! With some practice and experience (and a good map) you can use the compass to identify your position when you get lost even when you can't see far. You can climb mountains that don't have any paths at all, or find the quickest way off the mountain if the weather turns bad. The only problem is that using a compass is much more fun in conditions where you don't really need one. From the little experience I gained over the last weekend I can say that in shitty weather I rather follow anyone who seems to have an idea which way to go than get my hands cold by using my compass.

All in all it was a very nice weekend. I met friendly people, I finally found an excuse to get new boots, and in the end, we all indulged in huge portions of fish and chips at the chippy in Tyndrum.

A rare sunny day in Edinburgh

Calton Hill with the National and the Nelson Monument.

The Edinburgh Castle

View from Castle Hill.

Stairs from Royal Mile down to Grassmarket.

Some random guy jumping in my picture.

Scottish Parliament. Went to a whisky tasting here, saw a bunch of whisky industry representatives among which at least one who starred in the movie "The Angel's Share".

Holyrood Palace and Abbey with Salisbury Crags in the background. I remember sitting up there many years ago.

Some thug attempting to steal a royal pruning device.