Berlin is a wonderfully diverse and dynamic city, and especially intriguing to visit as a tourist with an interest in history. In particular, Berlin is the place to go if you like learning about 20th century history, and, more specifically, World War II and the Cold War. I’ve written about a number of Berlin’s WWII…
Dramatic Dunnottar Castle
As I wrote in my overview of Aberdeenshire castles, my expectation was that the Dunnottar Castle ruins would be worth about a half-hour’s visit. I’d seen photos, and its setting – on a cliff-edged finger of land extending out into the North Sea – made for some very dramatic photography. In those photos, however, it…
Balmoral Castle tour: a review
If you’ve ever seen a film involving Queen Victoria, you’ve heard of Balmoral Castle. This is the place the queen used as her escape: her place in the country. She loved Scotland, and this location in Aberdeenshire is stunning, with its rolling hills and deep forests. As I was planning my October trip to Scotland,…
A maritime-themed weekend in Hamburg
I’ve visited Amsterdam – about two and a half hours from home – more times than I can count. Hamburg is only slightly further away – three hours by car – and I’d never been there. It was time. My husband, Albert, and I decided to spend a weekend in Hamburg and I was fortunate…
Discovering the Legend of King Arthur in Cornwall
The following is a guest post by Georgie Mack of Journey with Georgie. I ended up in Cornwall largely by mistake. To cut a long story short, a misleadingly titled university (Who would have thought “the University of Exeter” was, in reality, not even in the same county as Exeter?) and a poor understanding of…
Mercure Hotel Hamburg City: a review
I expected Mercure Hotel Hamburg City to be a cookie-cutter hotel. You know the sort: identical furniture to every other hotel in its class, usually in shades of brown and red. As a four-star, I expected the furniture to be the standard: a bed with plain headboard, two end tables, reading lamps, a desk, a…
Craigievar Castle, Scotland
There’s something about the fact that Craigievar Castle in Aberdeenshire is pink that makes it conjure fairy-tale visions. Or maybe it’s that it’s taller than it is wide: think “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!” Either way, it’s an enchanting sight when you first spot it from a distance and do a double-take at its…
Aberdeenshire castles worth visiting
If you happen to be a regular reader of Rachel’s Ruminations, you’ll know I love castles. So when I planned a trip to visit my son in Aberdeen, Scotland, Aberdeenshire castles had to be on the list. My friend, Kate, and I spent most of our week further north, in the Scottish Highlands, exploring Kate’s…
Wick Heritage Museum, Scotland
The leaflet advertising the Wick Heritage Museum compares the museum to the TARDIS. If you’re a Doctor Who fan, you’ll know exactly what that means: Doctor Who’s form of transportation, a blue police box (Time And Relative Dimension In Space), is bigger on the inside than the outside. Outside, the museum is small and unimpressive:…