We arrived by plane today in Amsterdam. As we crossed the coast from the North Sea it was striking to observe the flatness of the landscape and tidy organization of roadways below us. This was in stark contrast to the rugged mountains of Scotland, but to be expected since much of this country is ocean floor that has been reclaimed from the sea.

We are guests of Jacobien Ubbink and her family. We met Jacobien in 2013 while walking the Camino. As with many of the pilgrims we met on that journey, we have maintained contact and share many precious memories.

Jacobien’s home is located in the town of Lelystad in central Netherlands. This area was reclaimed from the sea in the 1960s. Her home is approximately 10 feet below sea level and on the shore of a canal. We walked along that canal and came to a pumping station and ship lock. The pumping station is one of the network that hold the sea at bay and discharge water from the reclaimed land to the water side of the elaborate network of dykes. It was our good fortune to arrive at the lock in time to watch a power barge enter the lock and descend from the lakeside impoundment 18 feet to the level of the canal.

We continued our walk to a Marina. While enjoying drinks and some snacks, storm clouds rolled in and unleashed a torrent of hail and rain. After the rain subsided we began the 20 minute walk back to Jacobien’s home. Unfortunately, we did not make it before round two fell upon us. We arrived soaked to the bone! Were that all then we could chock the experience up as just a matter of great fun. However, the small backpack that I was wearing contained our iPads and it was not sufficiently waterproof. Later in the evening we discovered that Christine‘s iPad would not turn on at all, and mine was not acting “normal”. I am writing these notes on my iPhone and hoping that my iPad will be in working order later this evening. The iPad is my principal vehicle for transferring photographs from my camera to you. I am keeping my fingers crossed! If you read this and there are no pictures then you know that the news is not good.

Peace Everyone. Pete

PS. We learned today that Holland and the Netherlands are not interchangeable terms for the same nation. “Holland” is actually two provinces, North Holland and South Holland, one containing Amsterdam and the other containing Rotterdam. The Netherlands are comprised of 12 different provinces.

PPS. The iPad is working, sort of. Christine’s is “dead”. Hopefully things will dry out more and improve.

We crammed a lot into this fog free day. But first of all we are so thankful NOT to have the 100 degree Fahrenheit (38c) temps that folks are enduring back home! We awoke to 48f and enjoyed a high of 65. A great last day in Scotland.

We spent the morning touring the National Museum of Scotland. This ultramodern hands-on museum features thousands of displays in the natural, physical, and human sciences that are suited to all age groups. We gave it a couple of hours, it deserves a full day.

We could not linger because we had a “date” with a smart, talented, and very personable young lady from back home. “Mickey” Ferguson is the granddaughter of Sandra and Marvin Ferguson, and daughter of Mark Ferguson and his wife, Margaret Costanzo-Ferguson. They represent 4 attorneys of impeccable reputation and skill. It is no wonder that Mickey sees her future following a similar professional path. She is pursuing her undergraduate curriculum at the University of Edinburgh, a world class institution with fees that compare favorably to those of a US state university. She has completed 2 years of a 4 year program and yet retains the excitement of a new enrollee. The 2 hours we shared with her and her friend Ben seemed to pass in minutes. Her parents and grandparents have much to be proud of in this special young woman!

Lunch and goodbyes behind us we proceeded to Holyroodhouse Palace, the Royal residence of Great Britain’s Queen when in Scotland. This remarkable palace and grounds date back to the 12th Century when it was first founded as an Augustinian Abbey. The ruins of the Abbey can be seen adjacent to the Royal Gardens. We toured the Royal Apartments which have served the heads of state since the 1500’s. This is a place where history was made. Room after room displays priceless tapestries and works of art. The furnishings and decor are hundreds of years old and yet in impeccable condition. Regrettably, photography within the Palace is prohibited.

Our day concluded with dinner and a lengthy stroll along the restored Union Canal. This 54 mile waterway which opened in 1822 was once a principle artery of commerce between Edinburgh and Glasgow, linking Scotland’s east and west. It fell into disrepair and was closed to commercial traffic in 1933, officially closing in 1965. In a move akin to the “Rails to Trails” movement within the United States, the canal was restored and reopened in 2002. It now provides recreational opportunities for canal boats, canoes, kayakers, hikers, and bicyclists. Christine and I envision a time in the near future when we will voyage the considerable canal system of Great Britain.

(Nov. 20, 2018 Note: We have chartered a 61 foot “narrow boat” for 3 weeks in the Spring of 2019. We are the captain and crew. We will be joined for parts of that “adventure” on the canals of England by our friend Kris from the 2013 Camino, and friends Tom and Nanci who we met on the 2018 Camino.)

We fly to Amsterdam in the morning and thus will begin a new chapter to this journey.

Peace Everyone. Pete

It is 4 am on the morning of May 28th, our last full day in Scotland. We are far enough north on the globe that dawn has begun after the abbreviated darkness that fell at 11 pm. We have been in a bit of a fog the last 2 days, literally and figuratively. Today will be our last full day in the United Kingdom and tomorrow will bring a bittersweet departure for the Continent.

By my count we have put 66 days of this journey behind us with 25 to go. We have visited 11 countries and territories with 7 yet before us. We are tired, yet excited to see the places and friends that await us. We talk more and more about home, yet we also speak of “the next thing”. In addition to venturing out with our camper, we are giving serious thought to renting a canal boat for a couple of weeks next year and plying the inland waterways of England. This has been something on our “bucket list” for decades but encountering one of these vessels yesterday reignited the discussion.

We have wandered the streets of Edinburgh…

Toasted Christine’s brother in law with “a wee dram” of his favorite whisky, Lagavulin…

Stumbled upon a “royal wedding” in miniature…

Watched street performers…

Witnessed the start of a marathon…

And toured Edinburgh Castle…

We have continued to enjoy the culture, food, and exceptional ales found in Irish and Scottish pubs. I have favored the traditional cask ales that have virtually no carbonation, are served near room temperature, and are brewed in small batches. They must be drawn from the barrel by a hand pump since there is no pressure to drive them from the tap.

We continue to meet friendly people and briefly become a part of their own story. Later today we will meet the granddaughter of friends from home who is studying archeology here at the University of Edinburgh. Our meeting place will be at the grave and monument of Scotland’s most famous canine, Greyfriar’s Bobby, who spent 14 years standing watch at his master’s grave until his own death on January 14th, 1872.

It’s time to try and catch another hour of sleep.

Peace Everyone. Pete

PS. The monument to Sir Walter Scott. Second largest monument to a writer in the world.

Miss Agnes Toward was born in 1886 in Glasgow, Scotland. Her Father died when she was 3, her two sisters each died in infancy, one at 6 months from whooping cough, and the other at 1 year from abdominal tuberculosis caused by consuming infected raw milk.

In 1911 she and her mother rented a nearby 4 room middle-class tenement at 145 Buccleuch Street. In the early years financial need caused them to take on a boarder who occupied the only bedroom. Agnes and her mother slept in box beds that were located in the closets.

Agnes received the basic compulsory education of the day and then continued her education at her mother’s encouragement and expense. She became Glasgow’s first female “short hand stenographic typist”. Her mother died in 1939. Agnes went on to rent the tenement until her death in 1975.

What is remarkable is that Agnes changed virtually nothing within her 19th Century flat. She installed an electric light in 1960, yet continued to use the gas lights. They are still in operation today. The flat contains her original furnishings, personal effects, including toiletries and a jar of jam that she made in 1929, even the original coal fired cook stove.

The successor who purchased the apartment had the foresight to preserve the unit and contents in their original state, selling them 7 years later to Scotland’s National Trust. The Trust presents Agnes’s flat in its original state as an extraordinary window into Glasgow life of the late 19th and early 20th Century.

Peace Everyone. Pete

PS. We leave tomorrow for Edinburgh. We will be there 3 nights and then close the Scotland “chapter” of this journey as we return to the Continent.