Armadale and the Ferry to Mallaig

We took a ferry ride from Armadale on the Isle of Skye back to Mallaig on the mainland.


The ferry


View of Armadale Castle from the ferry


The Sound of Sleat


Arriving in Mallaig

Northern Isle of Skye

We took a tour of the northern part of the Isle of Skye and loved what we saw!


Waterfall near the Old Man of Storr


The Old Man of Storr


Another photo at the waterfall


A windy afternoon with the Old Man of Storr in the distance


Northeastern Isle of Skye


Northeastern Isle of Skye


Kilt Rock


Uig

Portree

From Inverness we took a bus to Portree on the Isle of Skye. The island was gorgeous and the landscape was much different than we expected. We opted for Portree as our base since it is the largest city on the island (~ 2000 people) . From Portree, we could explore the island and take a tour of the harbor. The town of Portree was lovely and everyone we met was friendly.


View of the harbor


View from our hotel a little after 10 pm


Another view of the harbor


One of the streets in Portree


Another group doing a harbor tour. The boat we were on was similar to this one.


On our harbor tour


We even saw a seal!

Caledonian Canal, Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle

From Inverness, we took a short cruise on the Caledonian Canal, which leads to Loch Ness. Our boat trip ended on the shore of Urquhart Castle, where we spent some time exploring the ruins. This was one of my favorite parts of the trip.


Caledonian Canal


Loch Ness


Approaching Urquhart Castle (on Loch Ness)


Urquhart Castle


Urquhart Castle


Urquhart Castle


Urquhart Castle

Fort George

From Inverness, we took a bus ride to Fort George.

Inverness

We took a train up to Inverness and spent the next few days exploring the Highlands.


Inverness Cathedral


Inverness


Inverness

Stirling

We took a day trip to Stirling, a city about an hour from Edinburgh.


Mar's Wark, the facade of an old home


Later in the day we saw a bagpiper playing in front of Mar's Wark.


Stirling Castle


View from Stirling Castle


Another view from Stirling Castle

Edinburgh

We recently went to Scotland for a little more than a week. I had heard from family and coworkers that it is a beautiful place to visit, and they were definitely right. We visited a handful of cities and in the coming days we will post some of our favorite photos from each place.

We started and ended our trip in Edinburgh, where we took in most of the big sites.


Edinburgh Castle


Edinburgh Castle and the grounds of St. Cuthbert Parish


The Royal Mile


Scottish Parliament


Holyrood Palace


Holyrood Abbey


Holyrood Abbey


View from Calton Hill

Beautiful Evening

This evening there was a huge rainbow across the sky. The full arc was there for about 30 minutes but the edges were visible for nearly an hour. There definitely are advantages to living on a hill when there a views like this!

Freiburg im Breisgau

We get a three-day weekend for Pentacost, so we wanted to take advantage of the extra day. We opted to go to Freiburg, which is less than two hours away. We visited the Cathedral and climbed the tower, walked to the top of the Schlossberg and climbed its observation tower, and wandered throughout the city.


Neues Rathaus


The square around the Cathedral


Historisches Kaufhaus


A beautiful street


View of the Cathedral from the Stadtpark


The Schlossberg. The observation tower is visible at the top of the mountain.


View of the Cathedral and old town from the Schlossberg's observation tower


On the Schlossberg observation tower


On the Schlossberg observation tower


The observation tower


Martinstor


View of the Schlossberg from the Cathedral Tower


In the Cathedral's Tower