The post The Half Timbered houses of Monschau appeared first on Hit The Frog and Toad.
]]>To English speakers, they look similar to ‘Tudor Style’ houses, where parts of the outside walls have wooden beams, but that is where the comparison stops. These “half-timbered” houses are very traditional “German” structures and are, usually, hundreds of years old. There are strict regulations about how these houses can be renovated and even which materials are permitted. Fortunately, there seems to be no shortage of enthusiasts who are happy to maintain these absolutely beautiful quaint medieval houses.
There are two popular routes in Germany – the Romantic Road (Romantische Straße) and the German Timber-Frame Road (Deutsche Fachwerkstraße), where you can find the most beautiful medieval little towns and villages of Germany.
We did not do these routes, but we did visit Monschau, one the towns featured on the routes. Monschau is perhaps one of the most romantic little villages in Germany. The Half-timbered houses, the meandering Rur River, the hilly Eifel range and easy access make Monschau a popular tourist destination.
The river Rur, runs through the town and has many bridges. Note the planter box with red flowers. They were everywhere, adding to the “romantic” feeling of the town.
While cars are allowed in parts of the town, it is discouraged and parking is, of course, impossible. So we parked at the edge of town and walked in. The town lies in a narrow valley, carved by the Rur River and is a flat stroll. The river runs through the town and there are numerous little bridges, adding extra charm to the whole place.
There is a small square in the middle of the town where people can sit, enjoy a coffee, cool drink or a meal, served by the many cafes and restaurants. Just delightful and the weather was fabulous.
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]]>The post Cube Houses in Rotterdam appeared first on Hit The Frog and Toad.
]]>What a spectacular project! The story goes that the design was inspired by trees in a forest and, with some imagination, you can “see” that connection. They are “cubes” tilted to a 45 degree angle and then (somehow) merged together into this complex that is quite stunning. As you go into the complex and look up, you see quite an interesting and spectacular view.
From the outside they look strange and you cannot help but wonder what they would look like inside. Well, it turns out you can go inside! One them is open to the public and, for a small fee, you can go see how it would be to live in one. So I did.
It was . . different. Obviously lots of strange angles, not a single window was vertical, each is slanted. There are three floors inside and lots of steps – narrow steps, some more like a “ladder” than a staircase. The angles did present some challenges regarding interior decor. See the picture of two guys sitting on a small bench in a corner. They looked uncomfortable and they would hit their head if not careful.
To visit the cube houses, we parked the car in an underground carpark and exited in this really cool building called “Markthal” (the market hall). It was shaped in a giant arch and filled with lots of food places (like a food court). The most spectacular part was the painted ceiling We could not stop wandering around, gaping up at the bright colors and designs.
The whole area between this market hall and the cube houses was a “happening” place. Cafes, people walking, bike riding, just hanging out.
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]]>The post Cobblestone streets appeared first on Hit The Frog and Toad.
]]>When I grew up in the Netherlands, I thought nothing of it, but now, with Linda, I am seeing Europe “through her eyes”. In other words, I now “see” the details that surprise her, things that are “common” in Europe, but rarely seen in the US.
One such occasion happened to us while we were walking through the cobblestone streets of Bruges in Belgium.
We spotted these guys, paving sections of the street that had been opened up for some replacement of underground pipes. I had grown up seeing this all the time so thought little of it. To Linda however, it was “WOW! he is hand laying EVERY SINGLE paver”!
Check out the video on how he was going about it. Note that he was (on the fly) laying them in a pattern while at the same time, placing them so that the road section was slightly higher in the middle (to ensure water run-off). If you look carefully, you’ll see a string down the center of the road. That is the “high point” of the road and each side slopes slightly down from there. It was excellent to see him doing this so effortlessly.
Note that this happens ALL OVER places in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany etc. Not just in older parts of a town but even in new developments. There are different kinds (shapes) of cobblestones and they get laid in a variety of different kinds of patterns.
This is how they build streets, perhaps because the streets are (often) too narrow for large concrete trucks, perhaps it’s just how they like to do it.
Who knows, but it’s pretty cool..
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]]>The post Waffles, French Fries, Chocolate and Beer – things to do in Bruges appeared first on Hit The Frog and Toad.
]]>It did not disappoint.
Our AirBnB is right on the edge of the old town center and nothing is more than a 10 minute walk from our front door. Truly a case of “Location, location, location”! We have 4 nights there, which means 3, full, glorious days to explore this historic place. To give you some idea of old this place is, it was founded in the 9th century and gained “City” status in the 12th century!
Befor we go explore the town itself, we wanted to get a feel for the place with a boat ride through the canals. This is a great introduction to the town, especially informative thanks to the commentary from the guide. The 1 hour trip navigates through about 5 miles of canals (which is just a small portion of what is available in the city) and passes under a dozen or so old stone bridges. All along the way, the driver of the boat points out interesting spots and provides some info about it.
The rest of the day was spent just walking through the old, cobblestoned streets, marveling at the magnificent architecture of days gone by. The atmosphere is wonderful, relaxed, yet exciting, there are plenty of people about, yet not too crowded – all doing what we are doing. . . walking, looking, and generally being happy about being there.
During our wanderings, we make a mental list of things to do and see – naturally, they include everything that Belgium is famous for: Chocolate, Waffles and Beer – oh, and French Fries. Note that in an attempt to balance the diet out a bit, we also bought some Brussels Sprouts!
The next day we visit the Chocolate museum, yes, a museum dedicated to the history and art form of making chocolate. The tour tells you AAALLLLL about the cocoa beans, the history of how they arrived in Belgium, how they were processed etc. etc. A tad boring, because let’s face it, we just wanted the free chocolate. We got there eventually – free samples and a demonstration – yeah!
One interesting point to note is that the chocolate in Belgium is so good because of the high quality of the Belgian dairy products. Their milks and creams are world class and, added to their centuries old experience of making chocolate, it makes perfect sense.
The funny story here is the frequent talk about chocolate and “kinds of pralines”. This made perfect sense to me, but seemed to confuse Linda. We concluded that we were using the same word, but clearly had different understanding of things (this happens to us regularly as I grew up in the Netherlands and Linda is born and raised in California. We often have conversations about a topic, where neither seems to “get” what the other is talking about, yet the words we use are the same).
So it turns out this was another one of those situations. To Linda “Praline” is a “FLAVOR”, as in “Pralines and Cream” Ice Cream from Baskin Robbins, which, by the way, does not include chocolate. To me (and the folk in Belgium) a praline is a Chocolate filled with something Yummy (think of a box of See’s Candy). The stores are full of these “pralines” and each store makes their own versions. Consequently, every conceivable shape, color and filling is available. Once we realized we each had a different understanding of the word, it all made sense, but it sure had us confused there for a while.
However, misunderstanding or not, that did not get in the way of us eating chocolate – waaay too much of it.
After the chocolate museum, we wanted lunch and decided a waffle would be in order. We find a place that specializes in waffles and made a selection. Their offerings were quite widespread, sweet or savory, regular or crispy. We selected one that came with ice cream, hot chocolate fudge, whipped cream and strawberries. We decided to have one normal one and one crispy one so we could each have a half of both and compare. Just FYI, they were both divine, but we both felt the crispy one was slightly more “divinerer”.
One of Linda’s high school friends suggested we visit the Salvador Dali museum, right here in the middle of Bruges. So we did! It was a small museum, showing a private collection, but highly interesting nevertheless. We saw pieces that were a variation of his famous “melting clock” and more. Interesting to learn he not only did paintings, but sketched and sculpted too. He even meddled in cinematography and worked with Walt Disney on the Bambi movie.
We must say though, that he had a strange mind, some of his work was outright “bizarre”, but always creative, interesting and eccentric.
Those that know us, know that neither of us is a beer drinker. That said, we heard SO much about Belgian Beer, that we felt we had to try some. Belgium is famous for their huge beer variety and many small boutique breweries. Two of those breweries were are located in Bruges, so we that is where we headed next. To our delight they offered a flight of beer with 6 different beers from their own brewery. We shared of course, both the beers and the huge (freshly baked) pretzel with mustard.
The 6 beers included a “fruity” flavored one, two dark beers, a semi dark and two “blond” beers. We did not care to much for the fruity flavor, the two blond ones were “OK”, but we really liked the dark beers. So much so, we later bought a dark beer at the supermarket to try in our room. Quite delicious!
Last on our list is French Fries, or “Frites” as they are known here (you pronounce it as “freet”, with a silent “S”).
We saw a street vendor on the main Market Square that seemed to be very popular so went there and ordered a portion, with Mayonnaise, which is the Go-To dressing here in Belgium and the Netherlands. We think we may have had set our expectations too high, because, while very good, the fries were nothing we have not tasted before. Don’t get me wrong, they were awesome, but we realized we were expecting to taste something extra special, something that would blow our taste buds away, but did not have that experience. We DID enjoy the mayonnaise sauce though, creamy and quite a nice companion to the taste of the fries.
So, as we are sure you have realized by now, we have each gained about 50 lbs, but, hey, we had fun
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]]>The post Dutch Canals and Waterways appeared first on Hit The Frog and Toad.
]]>Most people take those two somewhat for granted, but there is a connection between the canals and waterways and windmills that is not that well known. You see, the most of the windmills were created as “pumps” – to pump the water out of areas that are subject to flooding. When you realize that 2/5 (almost a half) of the entire country of the Netherlands lies BELOW sea-level it comes as no surprise why windmills even existed. Of course, some windmills are also used to grind wheat into flour, but their original use was to move water.
Over the centuries, the Dutch have become leading experts in managing water. So much so that they “export” their flood-control expertise, which is as old as the Netherlands itself and, as global seas rise, the Dutch are on the front lines in dealing with flooding and sea-level rise. They are now “going all around the world consulting and selling their engineering expertise,” says journalist Jeff Goodell, author of the 2017 book “The Water Will Come” They are “trying to export that expertise; it’s their growth industry. … It’s their Silicon Valley.” And coastal cities in the U.S. and elsewhere are hoping Dutch ingenuity will work for them as well in fighting back the encroaching seas.
Their prowess is very evident all over the place. We visited places like Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Leiden, Gouda, Alphen aan den Rijn, and Delft and saw water everywhere. Most of these rivers and canals are connected, creating a vast network of waterways across all of the Netherlands that will rival the road network in every way you can imagine. Goods are transported in barges of all sizes, similar to the trucking industry in the US.
Barges like this transport good all over the Netherlands.
No surprise then that “water” plays a huge role in everyday life of many Dutch people – they LOVE everything that has to do with water; boating, swimming, wind surfing and, of course iceskating (remember how the Dutch dominated the Speed Skating events at the Winter Olympics?), if it involves water, the Dutch are into it!
The weather was kind to us and the moment the sun breaks out and temperatures reach anywhere above 60-65F, the Dutch are out on the water (or near the water). Enjoying a drink at Cafes along the canals, outing on pleasure boats on the rivers, bike riding along the rivers, you name it, the Dutch are there doing it.
The images throughout this blog are a testament to all that activity. We tried to capture the waterways and all the activity that goes on on around (and on) the water.
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]]>The post Delft Blue Porcelain appeared first on Hit The Frog and Toad.
]]>So we decided to visit the official Royal Delft Blue porcelain museum, located in the town of Delft, from where the line gets its name.
The museum is called “De Porceleyne Fles”, which translates into “the porcelain bottle”.
The museum is super interesting and offers a self-guided tour. You get a headset, that when held against the various hotspots in the museum, tells you about the item on display in that part of the museum. The headsets come in a variety of languages, so is truly a multi-cultural experience.
We learned about the history of this earthenware. Its roots lie in the Dutch appreciation of Chinese porcelain, which also featured a white and blue look. Initially, the dutch potters copied that look, but the Chinese imports were still preferred as the porcelain was of higher quality (meaning it did not break as easily). However, when turmoil in China caused the import to dry up, the Dutch potters’ offerings picked up considerably and the increased competition led to a higher quality of porcelain. The Dutch pottery industry thrived and grew to a large number of potteries – 34 of them just in Delft alone!
Things changed however with the French occupation of Holland combined with the the UK-based Wedgwood pottery which was of superior quality and, finally, to the discovery of a clay that that dried to a “bone white” color, thus eliminating the need to glaze the stoneware first, before painting the final designs.
As a result, the Delft Blue porcelain pottery industry collapsed, with the “Porceleyne Fles” being the only surviving pottery in Delft. This was the year 1840 (they were founded in 1653, so was already over 200 years old).
The pottery struggled and changed hands a few times until, in 1876 it was sold to a local engineer with a vision. Under his reign new (and vastly improved), methods of production were introduced, that resulted in superior porcelain earthenware that captured the attention of people around the world.
This period was truly the “turnaround” of the Delft Blue line of earthenware, culminating in 1919, when the term “Royal” was added to the name, making it “Royal Delft Blue”, a name it still has today.
The strength of the line allowed scope for some diversification and new product lines were introduced. Lines like Black Delft pottery and even a line of industrial, architectural glazed tiles were introduced. Collaboration with local Dutch artists also produced product lines for special interest groups, but all had one thing in common; the Baking and Glazing process.
This baking and glazing process is still a very “manual” one, honoring the time-tested methods that gave the line its reputation. Molds are made by hand, the clay mix is prepared by hand, poured into the molds by hand, placed into the ovens, one-by-one, by hand, painted by hand, then backed again and, finally, manually inspected before deemed to be “perfect” for sale. Needless to say, this manual process makes the pieces expensive, partially due to the time and number of people involved, but also because this process limits the sheer number of pieces that can be made. Each mold can only be used between 80 and 100 times.
Quite a fascinating history of rise, collapse and comeback, mostly thanks to one man with a vision and some natural marketing instincts. The Royal Delft Blue Porcelain is a great Dutch “success story”!
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]]>The post The Jacobite Steam Train appeared first on Hit The Frog and Toad.
]]>The train is very real though and the ride is described as the “greatest railway journey in the world”. The “journey” and is an 84 mile round trip From Fort William to Malaig, a small town on the very west coast of Scotland.
The trip takes you past a list of impressive extremes. Starting near the highest mountain in Britain, Ben Nevis, it visits Britain’s most westerly mainland railway station, Arisaig; passes close by the deepest freshwater loch in Britain, Loch Morar and the shortest river in Britain, River Morar, finally arriving next to the deepest seawater loch in Europe, Loch Nevis!
The Jacobite Steam Train stops on the way to Mallaig at the village of Glenfinnan, the location of the viaduct is that the train crosses over.
Today, the train ride and the famous viaduct are (extremely) popular tourist attractions, The Harry Potter franchise certainly helped with that as was clear by the huge amount of Harry Potter merchandise on offer in local gift shops.
The day before our ride, we went to the “lookout” where we can see the Jacobite Steam Train crossing that viaduct. The railway publishes a timetable listing the times the train can be seen making the crossing. There are 4 times per day this happens as the train runs twice a day and returns along the same route.
We arrived with ample time for the crossing, but found an overwhelming amount of tourists already there! Bus loads fulls of them! Did I mention this was a popular tourist attraction?
The best views of the train crossing (the pictures you always see in the brochures) are only possible after a hike up the hill and using a long telephoto lens. We had the lens, but the hike was too strenuous and lengthy so we had to make do with the shot you see here.
The next day we actually took the ride. We booked tickets well before we even left the US – and we were glad we did as there were no tickets available anytime during the week were in Fort William!
When we arrived, we were somewhat perplexed to see there was no Steam Engine. Instead, there was a diesel locomotive and we later learned that the smoke from the steam engine had caused some wild fires along the way due the the dry conditions. The fire department had requested they not use the steam locomotive until they had some rain. This did not dampen our enthusiasm however so we got on with high expectations.
When we boarded, the couple next to us offered us a small bottle of champagne. They had done the ride before and came prepared (unlike ourselves) with some delightful refreshments and were kind enough to share!
The ride was indeed “spectacular”, passing through some absolutely beautiful Scottish scenery. The following video shows a bit of that.
The train stops at Malaig, a small fishing town on the West Coast of Scotland. We had an hour and a half there, perfect for some lunch. We found a cozy pub and ordered some food. Fish and Chips for Linda and Haggis and “Neeps” for Albert.
After lunch and a nice stroll through the town, we headed back and re-boarded the train for the return trip.
The train also passes the silvery beaches of Morar, a location where other famous movies like “Highlander” and “Local Hero” were filmed.
A delightful day!
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]]>The post The road to Applecross appeared first on Hit The Frog and Toad.
]]>Applecross is a small community on the far western shores of Scotland. It’s “claim to fame” is the road in and out.
This road to Applecross takes you through some of the most desolate parts of Scotland, on one of those single-track roads I wrote of before. That would be a challenge on its own, but this road is riddled with steep inclines and multiple switch-backs (a.k.a hair-pin bends), making the road quite a challenge to do.
There were warning signs at the beginning of the drive alerting drivers to what to expect and actually recommending against attempting the drive if you are a learner-driver or have a fear of heights.
My sister had informed us of this road and my not-always-sound sense of adventure screamed “I NEED TO DO THAT”.
And so it was we did “the road to Applecross”.
The road is everything that you can imagine reading the previous paragraph. Desolate. Steep. Switchbacks. VERY Narrow roads (with oncoming traffic) yet hauntingly beautiful.
I should mention here that our rental car has a manual transmission and has the steering wheel on the “wrong side”. So I was kinda glad I we endeavored on this adventure more than a week after arriving in Scotland, so I had “somewhat” gotten used to driving on the left and changing gears using my left hand.
We had picked a day without rain (the thought of driving this road in the rain was just not even a consideration).
The weather actually turned out to be better than we had hoped for. Sunny and clear.
As a result, the views were spectacular. We could see all the way to the Isle of Skye, Scotland’s largest island. We could clearly see the Cuillin mountains, the main mountain range on Skye, which are normally shrouded in low-hanging mist.
After an exhilarating drive we eventually reached the town of Applecross only to find most of it closed. We really felt like having a nice coffee or tea, but the local Inn and Cafe were both closed (and, yes, that was all there was. Did I mention this place was remote?)
So, after walking around, lusting after a hot drink, we decided to continue on. We had the choice of returning the way we came, or to continue via the coast, a longer, but easier drive. Linda made the suggestion to do the coast road arguing it may be our one-and-only opportunity to see that section. I am so happy she made that suggestion as more spectacular views and scenery were to be seen.
Beautiful farms (complete with the famous Highland Cows), remote communities that make you wonder “why here” and generally beautiful vistas of islands and seashore.
We eventually made it back to our AirBnB just outside of Plockton, where we finally had that, well deserved, cup of tea, and a “wee dram”.
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]]>The post The Glenturret Distillery appeared first on Hit The Frog and Toad.
]]>On occasion, Linda and I both enjoy a glass of Single Malt Scotch Whiskey so we were determined to visit at least one distillery when in Scotland.
A natural choice was the Dewar’s distillery as it was close to the AirBnB we were sharing with my sister.
Alas, it was closed so we started to look for others that were not too far away to drive to. As it turned out, The Glenturret Distillery, Scotland’s oldest whiskey distillery was less than one hour away! We booked for the tour and off we went.
The tour was awesome!
The tour guide explained that the Glenturret distillery still operates with the original equipment and “only” produces 200,000 liters of whiskey per year, way less than some of the larger, better known, brands. They like it that way though, as it allows them to maintain a more, “hand crafted” approach, honoring the traditional distilling methods that are hundreds of years old. They even measure their alcohol content without any modern devices, instead using a method with water and glass tubes. Many of the other (perhaps better known) distilleries have had to automate these processes in order to speed-up and increase their production.
The Glenturret Distillery also, quite proudly, announced that just earlier this year several of their whiskeys had won awards. In March 2023 The Glenturret Triple Wood received the International Wine and Spirit Competition’s (IWSC) highest accolade with a score of 99. Then, in April 2023, two of their other whiskeys were awarded the Grand Gold Award at the International Trophy Awards. The winning whiskeys were The Glenturret 10 Years Old and the The Glenturret 15 Years Old, very prestigious labels they have achieved multiple times.
When touring the plant, it was very evident this was a traditional and small distillery. There was only a single still and the roasting machine (for barley) was 126 years old and still in use. They made the comment that the original manufacturer had gone out of business, simply because their machines never broke down – not surprising, but quite amazing.
They get their water for the distillation process from Loch Turret, not the river Turret that runs right past the plant. The main reason they don’t uses that water is the amount of sheep in the pastures that the creek runs through.
By the way, “Glen” is the Scottish word for “Valley” so the distillery’s name literally means “Valley of Turret” and the distillery lies at the entrance to the valley.
Needless to say, the tour ended with a tasting. We got to sample two different whiskeys, their “10 year old” version and one with a hint of “Peat”, a smokey flavor that comes from toasting the barley with heat from burning Peat, the locally sourced organic material that, when dried and turned into briquettes, burns nicely, very similar to coal.
We really liked the peated version, so much so, we ordered a bottle online, it will be delivered to my sister’s house in Gouda, the Netherlands where it will be waiting for us when we get there.
As a small side note, the Glenturret distillery used to have a cat, to get ride of the mice that inevitably will enter the rooms where the barrels are left to age. This cat, named Towser, was entered in the Guinness Book of Records for having caught the largest number of mice ever caught by a cat. No idea how they counted this cat’s conquests, but the book of records state it was a massive 28,899 mice in her lifetime. She lived until the grand old age of 24! There is a statue with a plaque of her in their courtyard.
Now we can’t wait until we get that bottle when we next see my sister.
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]]>The post The Isle of Skye appeared first on Hit The Frog and Toad.
]]>We are staying in a lovely thatched cottage in the small town of Plockton, just above the, very Scottish-named town called “The Kyle of Lochalsh”. “The Kyle”, as it is locally referred to, is the gateway to the Isle of Sky, with a bridge that crosses Loch Duich.
We decided to tour the island, knowing it is a large island and impossible to completely navigate it in a single day. We decided therefore to do the Northern section, which ended up taking the full day anyway. But was totally worth it.
Our first stop was the quaint town of Portree. While very picturesque, it was heavily visited by tourists, tourbus loads full of them. We wondered around the main town square and managed to get a coffee, but our hearts were not “in it” due to the crowds, so we continued on.
Just out of town we spotted our first Highland Cow (locally pronounced as “Hee-land Coo”. They have log hair that is bright orange and have big horns giving them a somewhat ominous look. They are gentle giants though and did not mind us walking up to take some shots close up.
Traveling further northwards, we came upon “The Old Man of Storr”, a rocky outcrop on the side of small mountain that is a famous Isle of Skye landmark and a popular place to visit by hikers. Just like Portree, the parking spot at the trailhead was packed and you couldn’t actually see the Man of Storr from there. Hoping for a better view, we continued on,, but realized the best views were from the South, from where we had just come from.
We also came across lots of waterfalls, and sheep. . . lots of sheep.
Speaking of sheep, the sheep here have horns. No, they are not rams, they are sheep. The species is called “Scottish Blackface” and is the most common sheep breed in the UK (yes we had to look that up). Suffice to say “they are everywhere”, no matter how remote a location, there they are.
As seen throughout Scotland, we constantly come across these white-washed houses, in the middle of nowhere. Some might be farm houses, but many do not appear to be anywhere near a farm. We concluded that the Scots just like their solitude (and the remote locations of their castles seem to confirm that as as well).
As we turned a corner (we are now at the very top, northern-end, of Skye) we spotted a ruined “something” on the cliff-side.
We were hoping we could get closer so kept an eye out for signs. Sure enough, less than two miles further was a sign to the ruins of “Duntulm Castle” and yes, could go up to, and into, those ruins. Eager to find out more about the history, we did some research and found that the castle was built in the 14th and 15th century. Sir Donald MacDonald of Sleat owned it until 1732 when he built a new residence and robbed much of the old castle’s stones as building material.
The castle overlooks the Sound of Shiant, towards the Outer Hebrides, the most western island group of Scotland. You can just see them (that thin sliver of blue) on the horizon in the picture below. With the location where it was (right on the cliffs overlooking the sound), you can Imagine it could be very windy. Is it was when we were there, a quite bitter wind, making the scramble around and the stroll to, the ruins quite the challenge. We had an awesome time though and it brought back memories from my childhood, seeing and visiting quite a few of these kind of ruined castles.
Our final stop of the day was an open air museum not far from this castle. The museum consisted of a bunch of old buildings and reflected what life was this remote location on the island. It really makes you appreciate living in more modern times, with basic things like running water, heated rooms, electricity and functioning bathrooms.
We were now all the way around the top-end of Skye and headed back to our cosy AirBnB for a nice meal and glass of Mingle Malt Scotch Whiskey.
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