North of the border.
Having explored Nottingham reasonably thoroughly it was time to collect the hire car, install the GPS and head off. Our little voice told us to take our first turn – sadly the signposting said NO!..........and that was the first of many corners that didn’t turn out quite right! It was however much much easier negotiating the cities and roadworks etc without having to rely on the map.
We visited St Alkmund’s Church in Derby in search of family history (Grandparents x4?) were married here and then nearby Quarndon. I don’t mind coming from this part of England – it is rather pleasant. Our plan was to stay overnight in the Lakes District but there were far too many people and it seemed that everything was full so we headed instead to the wonderful area around Hadrian’s Wall and found a pretty little B & B on top of the hill and quite close to the wall itself. I was really pleased to see a woodpecker feeding in the garden while I was having breakfast. It was hard to get a decent photo and sadly my breakfast got cold while I was trying – I had a lovely time however. Later we climbed to the top of the hill and to the wall near Walltown Crags before heading across the border over the Cairngorms and to the Moray Firth.
Varie and Richard Parker live in a little cottage (Kirktoun via Duffus) on the driveway to Gordonstoun School. I am sitting in the lounge room looking over the fields where cows are grazing. There are lots of little finches at the bird feeder and earlier I saw a male chaffinch. The mist has lifted and the travellers are content!
We have had a most enjoyable day walking along the beach at Moray Firth. It probably would have been better if I hadn’t been attacked by the waves – but then Tony and Varie would have had nothing to laugh at! The paths are lined with gorse, rosehips, harebells, apples, thistles and dandelions.
Our explorations continued to see many wonderful old ruins, graveyards, and villages – Kilross Cathedral, Spynie Castle, Elgin Cathedral, Duffus Castle and the villages of Hopeman, Lossiemouth, Findhorn, Florres and the school at Gordonstoun have been part of our grand tour. We have been to the butchers, the Co-op, tasted the haggis and the black pudding, watched the airforce at play (or practice), consumed the Australian and NZ wine and been entertained by the birds at the feeder.
This is our last day in Scotland (Sunday) – tomorrow we head for Edinburgh and then we fly to Frankfurt.
It was rainy on the way to Edinburgh and our photos were not so good. Our flight to Frankfurt was smooth - finding the shuttle bus to the hotel was not - but all eventually was right. It was an easy transfer to the railway next day and a speedy train trip to Cologne – a truly wonderful city on the banks of the Rhine. It seems that Germans eat a lot – they must do to fill up all the restaurants and beer halls. We have done our bit!
Cologne Cathedral was as good as I had hoped – so large and so overpowering – impossible to do it justice with our cameras. We have walked many kilometres and seen a good slice of the city. It certainly makes you wonder how a city overcomes its past. Photos of Cologne in 1945 show a city that is largely flattened and yet, so much survived and so much has been rebuilt. The mood of most of the people seems very positive and cheerful. Tony is making a good attempt at his German (perhaps that is why people around us seem to laugh a lot), though it is clear tghat many people involved in hospitality have excellent English There do not seem to be many Australians around.
Wonderful Cologne - on the aerial phtograph Tony is pointing to our hotel - we are amazingly close to the Cathedral and the river.
The high roof and some of the wonderful stained glass
Our next exciting event is to travel to Staudernheim and the pre wedding festivities.
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