Scotland in my heart, literally

In the beginning of March I went to a trip to Fairy Glen (more about that adventure hopefully soon),
I was truly taken away by the beauty of this country that Nory, our tourguide, introduced to us.

That is when it really occured to me - that I truly, madly, deeply love this country. Instead of a usual "smile pose" I spontaneously did a heart pose.

Here it is:

I really liked that picture and I soon started taking the "heart pictures" on different places in Scotland.

And soon I gathered a little "heart collection". 

You are welcome to have a look.

This one is from the top of a hill above Aviemore. 
Middle of March, the top was still full of snow.

This one is in the Aviemore national park resort. I have never seen such a beautiful lake with such a clear water.

This one is from slightly illegal visit at the Urquhart castle in the middle of the night.

This one is from the top of a hill above a tiny little village called Drumnadrochit, or "Drum" as the locals call it.
The loch that you can see is the famous Loch Ness. 
Can you spot a monster on the photo? :)

Now...Did I ever mention my "bluebell mania" before?
I am not sure about it. 
Well, sometime during May, the ground in Scotland turns violet, covered in thick layers of amazing bluebells. The best place to see them is the park near the Wallace monument. 
Once I entered that place during the bluebell season, my jaw dropped and I struggled to catch a breath. It was so beautiful...dreamy...and magical. I don´t think that words can describe how beautiful that place was and how I felt as if I just entered  paradise.  
(I also plan to devote a separate post to bluebells some time soon)
Anyhow...here is a heart picture as well.

And in the end...one of my favourite pictures.
During our West Highland Way, just walking through Glencoe, I saw this stone with a small heart on it. 
What a lovely, lovely place Scotland is, seriously!

Does it rain a lot?

Surprisingly (or not), that was one of the first questions that anyone, that knew that I moved to Scotland, would be asking me.

/ An alternative would be...so how is the weather, is it so bad?

So, for all those people, who still might be wondering...

>

...here is a small post about the rain and the famously known Scottish weather.

NOTE: If you go to Scotland, there is a high chance that you will get rained on, no matter the season. 

My parents gave me, with a half evil, half worried smile a practical present before I went there. 

Yes, you are right.

An  umbrella.

But not just "an umbrella". It was an umbrella with Alfons Mucha (yes, you are right again, my favourite painter) decorations. 

 It was really pretty.

...WAS...

In the first 3 weeks I have been in Scotland, I got many compliments about it.

After 3 weeks it broke.

Correction...the Scottish wind broke it.

(just for an illustration, it looked like the top left one)

Now, does this give you a slight idea about the Scottish weather yet?

When I arrived at the Edinburgh airport for the first time. It was grey and cloudy. We had one of those planes, which do not connect you directly to the airport hall. So we actually had to go down the stairs and walk there. 

And you know what? It started raining! Nice start, wasn´t it?

Well...it certainly did not upset me. It made me smile, I was expecting that.

What I was not expecting that much:

1. My hair would be turning into a dangerously looking afro style by the humid air almost 24/7.

2. That I would be sweating really badly even if it was cold outside - humidity once again.

3. That the strong and cold wind would give me tonsillitis in my second week there.

Okey...now it might seem really bad, doesnt it? It is not that bad...I think!

My Scottish professor, that taught me in Prague, said to me once "If it rains, just wait 5 minutes."

And this is very true!

The Scottish weather changes all the time, it rarely rains for days and days.

Yes, it is quite likely that you will get rained on, but try waiting for 5 minutes. :)

Speaking of which...When I came to Scotland...I never understood how is it that I am the only weirdo with an umbrella? Don´t they mind being rained on? Don´t they care?

No, they don´t. Because they are just bloody used to it.

And soon so did I. When the Scottish  wind did not approve of my Alfons Mucha umbrella, I tried walking around with this slightly broken one, until I realised that it is no fun and gave up on the concept of an umbrella.

The only time that the weather really did piss me off, when it literally pissed (excuse my French) throughout the whole day on our last day of the West Highland Way walk.

Our seemingly water-proof clothes (as it claimed) got soaked within an hour and for the remaining 8 hours we were trapped in multiple layers of thoroughly wet clothing.

Here my friend Jocelyn is trying to look brave. I, on the other hand, am looking at the ground, trying not to step in the puddle (again) or sink my feet in the mud (again).

Here I am trying to give it "thumbs up", but my face it not even a bit convincing. Ben Nevis in the background.

I actually wanted to go up Ben Nevis the next day, but it was raining so badly that it would not be worth it.

I guess when the weather makes you cancel your planes, it kind of sucks. 

But that could happen anywhere.

Honestly, I was a bit worried before I went to Scotland. 

(yes, I am a worrier, that´s who I am, I can´t help it, get over it) 

I was worried that the grey colours and the constant rain would be depressing, as I love the colours and the sun.

Sometimes...I did miss the sun a bit.

But...I never was depressed and the colours never were grey to me. :)

And you know what?

I got sunburnt!

Twice!

Once, even when it was just in the middle of March.

Ok, not such a big deal, apparently it is not that uncommon to get a sunburn there as people (Laurelin) enlightened me.

And to be fair, I get sunburnt pretty easily.

But still ;)

How do I not regret an unlived happy life?

Since I came back from Scotland, those thoughts have been burning me alive.

How do I not regret?

How do I live with myself knowing I made a terrible decision?

How do I move on?

How do I convince myself that I am not unhappy?

How do I stop blaming myself for what I did and did not do?

>no, I did not kill or injure anyone, but I disappointed myself, deeply...and few others<

Few months ago, I had the opportunity to decide whether I want to keep studying in Stirling or if I should finish off in Prague. That is when the regrets started.

But let´s go back a little and see how it all started.

How did I chose to study abroad in Stirling in the first place?

I actually got into University of Glasgow, Edinburgh Napier University and University of Dundee too. Once I was to decide, I went on google images, pictures like this one 

came up and the choice was clear. :)

It was 100% University of Stirling for me. Even the word "Stirling" sounds beautiful, doesn´t it?

As you see, my decision was not really based on much brain activity and it was the best one I could have made.

>Though when I was to do the same, I failed to switch off my doubtful brain...and that is what caused all the damage.<

From the very beginning in Scotland, actually from the moment the wheels of the plane touched the runway in Edinburgh airport on the 31st of January, I knew that everything was going to be fine and my concerns about what awaits for me in the unknown were away. 

And...I was the happiest there I can ever recall. 

I met wonderful people, I enjoyed the uni, I loved the language, the country, the customs, the hikes and how everything was so unlike in the Czech Republic. And I was an adult, I communicated with my parents rarely and noone controlled me. It was just me, a 22 year-old person in a foreign country living an adult life.

I did miss my family, our dogs and friends at times, but nothing major.

And I knew....I knew that it was the right place for me. 

By mid-April I applied for finishing my studies at the University of Stirling. The answer was positive, yes I could. However, I would have to finish within 2, instead of 1 year that I had left. They would not acknowledge 1 year of credits that I earned back home.
>Pure bureaucracy<

 My bachelor studies in Prague are for 4 years already and if I went to Scotland it would mean that it would be 5 years in the end. My brain analysed that as additional time = additional costs for my parents who kindly support me throughout my studies.

I actually went to counselling because of that and...once I was leaving the room, I had to go to a toilet. Out of 6 empty cabins I chose one with this paper stuck inside.

I had to laugh when I saw it. If that was not an answer to my doubting mind, what was then?

And yet, I was trapped in the process of making decisions for about 3 painful months and in the end I made a wrong one.

When the crucial deadline of really having to make a decision approached, I did the exact opposite that the random person advised.

I flushed my hopes and dreams down the toilet!

I listened to my brain. 

I thought that 2 more years of studies would be too much. 

I already went for an extra year abroad during my high-school... and so I thought that I am not the youngest and that it would not be fair to my parents if they had to support me for one more extra year.

I thought that I should not burden anymore.

I thought that loosing the opportunity of earning a double diploma, since I already studied 3 years for it, would be too high price.

No matter how cliché this is going to sound..I made a decision, based on what my brain told me to do and I did not listen to my heart. I made a decision thinking would be "good for me", not "what I really want". And my heart is so angry at my brain, like it never was.

I regret.

I regret leaving Scotland.

I regret, leaving my friends in Scotland.

I regret, having to study at Uni, that is so hard, that I feel suffocated and not having any free time. I feel like it sucks out my energy and the remaining bits of good mood from me.
I regret not being a part of the community of the Green and Blue Space (http://www.julieisinscotland.blogspot.cz/2014/10/green-and-blue-space-my-story.html) anymore.

I regret, that I am in a position of a child again, when I was an adult already.

I can´t stand living in Prague.

I can´t stand the city and the contiguous chaos and the stress that it spreads.

I can´t stand how horrible, ignorant and antagonistic people are to each other here.

I can´t stand that instead of cycling through a beautiful countryside to Uni and observing bunnies and deers, I have to take a tram and be there stuck with angry and smelly people for 45 minutes twice a day.

I can´t stand how badly my Uni treats students. Since when does the negative motivation work?!?!?

I can´t stand myself for choosing the wrong choice.

My friend Rachel wrote that a study-abroad experience truly is just a snap-shot in one´s life. And she is right, people move to places and once a chapter of their life is finished, they move on.

But I can´t.

I can´t move on, because I know how happy I was and how unhappy I am and that it is me who caused this. 

Somehow...I can´t close the chapter. 

I can´t close off the happy memories and yet at the same time it is so painful to recall them, because I know that I could have continued in them...and I chose not to.

Does the time heal?

I tend to forget slightly how much I hate myself and how much I hate it here...but once I travel and come back, it hits me. 

Now I know...

I know that I would not have double diploma (an American and European one), but it would not matter to me. 

I would have to work to support myself.

I could have been cycling to Uni everyday seeing the bunnies and deers, 

I could have engaged in extra-curricular activities that actually made sense (again http://www.julieisinscotland.blogspot.cz/2014/10/green-and-blue-space-my-story.html).

I could have been among really good friends who did this video for me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypFCD7LW9xY
and I gave that up.
I know that it confuses my parents when they randomly come to my room and find me crying, but I cannot help it.

 I could have been bloody happy!

...and I chose not to.

4 horrible moments in Scotland

All my posts here have been rather positive so far...and no wonder, I love Scotland, I loved my stay and my experience was almost perfect. Almost...

You know what...a study abroad is such a good thing and I would definitely recommend it to everyone. Studying in Scotland especially is great and studying in Stirling in particular.

But it would not be true, if I said that my stay in Stirling was rosy at all times. Of course everyone might have different experience, but here is a list of the times, when I did not enjoy myself.

1. When a family member that I never thought of not seeing again passed away. It hits you hard, when you are abroad, separated from your family and all you can do is to cry while calling them via Skype. 

Loosing someone is hard, loosing someone when you are miles away even harder.

Nevertheless, I had a lot of support inside Scotland too. Laurelin that took me for a day trip-hike, Hazel that I was always able to talk to, my flatmates that were really nice and considerate to me...and Courtney and Rachel that did not let me be alone.

So I guess the lesson learnt is...you just never know when are going to see a person for the last time, don´t take anything for granted and if you think that a person should know how you feel about him or her...just say it!

2. People would always tell me "careful, Stirling can be a dangerous place". Honestly said...if you think that Stirling can be dangerous, you should go to Prague. 

There is no place on Earth where I would feel that safe...except those 3 next instances.

When a dead body of random person was found during the second week of my stay in Stirling on a spot that I was able to see from my room. 

Actually, for first 2 days we did not know what was going on there, 24/7 there were police cars and policemen guiding that place and forensic people coming in and out. 

The discussions in the Union street (where my flat was) gone wild, some suggested that people might be cookign drugs or something. Few days later, the Stirling Observer released an article saying that a dead body was found and everyone went silent in a shock.

My flatmate Lisa joked about and said: "Julie, this is going to teach you not going anywhere alone in the dark" :)
(I never bought a bus pass, because I thought it would be a shame to ride a bus in such a beautiful country if I can simply walk).
But my friend Theo said: "you know, there is not really much to be afriad not, that place is probably the safest in Stirling right now".

Later on, we found out that that poor bloke had a sudden heart attack. But I never really told my parents, there were worried enough with me being away and this would be a bit too much.

3. When there was a report that a girl, a University of Stirling student, was raped in one of the underpasses in Stirling. 

Now...those underpasses? Not nice places let alone. How many times was I going through them? 2-4 a day. The thought of a girl being raped there...terrible. That really made me rather scared at that time.

Later on, the girl confessed that it was a false report, she was angry at her boyfriend and did not think of anything better, but reporting this.

3. When I had a bike accident. 

To be fair, I have to say, that I was not much of a skilled bike-rider on the left side of the road. My bike was too small for me and the breaks were not really breaking well, or maybe almost not at all.

And so we are back to the lovely underpasses. 

On late morning, I was cycling slightly faster than I would usually be to Uni, because I was about to have a meeting about my possible future studies there. Not that I was late, but the fact that the meeting was important for me and I hate even the though of being late made me cycle a little faster that usual.

To clarify there are two underpasses.
When I was about to go through the first one, I remember slowing down considerately because there was a woman and a little toddler. The second one however is more dangerous one, it is sort of in a curve and you cannot see the person on the other side till the very last moment.
And all of a sudden there was another cyclist infront of me.
In a split second, that seemed long as a lifetime, I hit the breaks, but reliased they do not work well so I decided to slide the bike to one side to avoid the crash. My brain, used to riding and cycling on the right side, sent a signal to my hands to slide to the right side as oppose to the left one as I should have. That resulted in an immediate collision with the other cyclist. Though if I slid to the left...I would have hit the wall.

The guy was similarly shocked as I was, but started blaming the crash on me, saying how fast I was and that simply was not true. I was in too much of a shock to say something. He was concerned about his bike and once he repaired it, he left.
I looked at my left hand though and the first thought that went through my head was "Oh no, my watch is broken". Then I noticed that the skin on my knuckles on my hand is torn and unattached on many places. I marveled at it for a while, but somehow unable to realise that I was hurt. I looked down and found out my stockings are torn too. 

But I remembered that I had an important meeting and I continued riding to Uni, I didn´t want to be late, remember. 

Soon though I felt my hand getting wet on the handlebar. I realised that there is blood splashing from it and also the blood from the wound on my knee made my stockings and the shoe went and dirty too.

 At this point, it could be added that I hate the sight of blood, yes even my own, and I tend to feel dizzy at first and faint few moments later.

This time...I knew that I just had to made it to Uni, so I kept on cycling for another 3 miles, went to Uni, scared above mentioned Theo on the way, entered the Green and Blue space office, said: "girls, I had a bike accident" and started crying like a baby :). I did not hurt much, I was just in a shock from the accident, that that person did not help me and from seeing the blood.

Laurelin (above mentioned angel) assesed the wound, said that the knee needs stitches and the finger an X-ray and Italian daredevil Giulia (who is now an owner of the bike :) ) accompanied me to the hospital and calmed me down. The knee did need stitched, but the finger was just badly swolen and bruised.

All and all I can conclude that although, there were few hiccups during the stay, I had people that were ready to help me out and that I could rely on - what more can I wish for?

Thank you my friends!

Green and Blue Space, my story

This post is devoted to a very special space,
the Green and Blue Space.

Dear food huddle people...this is what I really wanted to say that day, few weeks ago, but I did not have the possibility to print the whole thing out and so I improvised. Here is a longer version of the story that I had to say.

Throughout my stay in Scotland my friends and relatives were asking me:
"So...you have been up to what, again?", "You were volunteering for who?"
I guess...here is the answer to your questions.

GBS and Me
I was acquainted with the Green and Blue Space on one Thursday evening in early March. I was told that there is going to be a food huddle, a regular event where people bring and share food and talk about environmental issues, that I am invited to.
Well, I just finished cooking dinner, so I thought, I might as well put it in a plastic box and give food huddle a go. I have been encountered with a group of friendly looking people who quickly proceeded in eating my dinner.
(That night was a special celebrating of winning a funding for a gardening project of which I knew very little. Nothing...to be precise. So I did not really get why is everyone so happy, nor was I expecting that in few months I would be happily working on it :) )
Not really knowing what to make of the people and rather hungry I later watched a fast-speaking Italian chic giving a presentation about light polution.
And that night it came to me...those people are seriously amazing, I want to know them better!

 To be fair, I need to confess that looking back I am not that entirely sure whether it was the possibility of heating up my food in the microwave or the possibility of getting to know interesting people, that drew me back in the Green and Blue Space the following day. :D

Anyway, the fact is that I did come back, microwaved my food, sat on the sofa and a hippie looking girl from the Shetland Islands started talking to me. It was probably Laura (her laid-back attitude to life and calming voice) who actually made me feel really comfortable in the place and the way she talked about the Green and Blue Space really made me want to be a part of all the activities that they do.

I always knew that the Green and Blue Space existed. I am not really one of those people who would be like "So it´s based in the Uni, eh?"..."In the Atrium?...ok, interesting, never noticed it...good to know."
The thing is though that I never really had the courage to come in. Why is that? The people...they just seemed cool...like very cool. And...I was not sure whether I belonged there.

How has GPS changed me?
I have always had a bit of a volunteer in me (have quite a rich history in that) and also, I have been carrying around for quite some time thoughts about our environment.

But only Green and Blue Space was able to help me put my thoughts into words and the words into actions. 

I have always been interested in the environmental issues, however everything seemed too complex and also the news you tend to hear from media are so bloody negative that almost makes you give up on trying to make a change.

However, Green and Blue Space taught me, that it is not true. You can start with the smallest things and everything that you do matters. 

Eventually, throughout the year I have participated on various volunteering events:

Gowan hill clean up

With the help of the Stirling council and the organisation called "Keep Scotland Beautiful" we have spent one Sunday morning cleaning up a hill near the Stirling castle from all the rubbish that people unfortunately even here tend to leave behind sometimes.

 Airthrey Loch clean up 

We have, with the help of kayaking club that lent us boats, taken out 80 kg of rubbish from the Uni loch within few hours.

Blackout

On one Friday evening we have been going through all the University buildings, checking all the rooms for any electrical devices that have not been switched off. This was done in a purpose of demonstrating of how people don´t care enough about this and how can we safe electricity consumption.

(I was on of the volunteer leaders that had assigned a section of a building to go through and the moustache was painted by Laurelin to make me look more recognisable)

FOOD HUDDLES

This is a fantastic invention, seriously!

Every Thursday evening we gather and share the food that we prepared for each other. 

Because we care about what we consume, most of the food is organic and local. Moreover, since some of us might be allergic or just feel strongly about the food ethics, there usually is a range of meals.

You name it - vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free.

Also, different cousines are encouraged.

 I have tasted greek, thai, dutch and german specialities.

However, food is only the first part of the huddle. 

Once we full our empty stomachs with scandalously delicious food there is always a volunteer who has a presentation about a certain environmental topic. I have heard a presentation about light pollution, water and recycling etc

One week, the person who was supposed to do his/her talk could not do it anymore and so I volunteered and did a presentation on a topic that I have been carrying around in my head for some time - THE WASTE.

Now, it was a really hard job for me. 
Firstly, I researched so much information about the topic, that I did not know how do I select the very most important and relevant information. Secondly, the circumstances in my personal life were rather uneasy around that time. And thirdly, the saying "practise makes perfect" simply does not work with me. What am I refering to? Me and public speaking - I have done it so so so many times (I have even had a class of public speaking for one semester) and still feel very uncomfortable and nervous when I have to speak infront of other people.

But you know what?

It was totally worth it!

St. Andrews

As mentioned previously the Green and Blue Space was awarded a financial support to start up a gardening project. To seek inspiration, we travelled to the St. Andrews and talked to the local gardening team.

Cleaning up AKD and Alexander Court

This was probably the most demanding work during the whole semester. Once the semesterwere ending, we put posters on all the visible place to inform students that they can donate their stuff, that they want to get rid of to the Green and Blue Space. A lot of them did so
It would be fair to say that at one point each of us might have been at the edge of breaking down. The amount of rubbish as well as valuable stuff was just too much.
In case you are wondering what would happen to it if we never came to those two dorms...they would be thrown out and end up in a landfill.
Results:
- 800kg of food, around 300kg unopened
- another 3 tonnes of clothes, mini furnitures, cutlery, electronic - most of it in good state.

So here is a lists of steps that we took, to illustrate that hassle :) :
Step 1: Collecting all the stuff and putting it in bags.
Step 2: Transporting the bags is a container.
Step 3: We realise that there is food in those bags and it might go off - so we go through all of those bags to separate left-behind food.
Step 4: We realise that we have too much stuff and the container is filling quickly. So we move every single bag and place it better.
Step 5: We start taking the bags from the container to the Green and Blue Space.
Step 6: We start weighing the stuff  according to different cathegories and sorting the to the Green and Blue Space storage.
Step 7: We realise that the storage is not big enough for the amount of stuff that keeps coming in. We rethink the space usage and re-arrange everything.
Step 8: Putting the stuff on the display of the Green and Blue Space and letting students take whatever they want or need and making them promise that in case the don´t need something they will bring it back instead of throwing it away.

This is us, infront of the container, slightly exhausted, but feeling accomplished!

GARDENING




As a part of the gardening project we were planting the plant during June and also eating delicious strawberries.

FEAST
In September most of the plants that we put in the ground grew. We suddenly had loads of onions, salats, potatoes, carrots, rhubarbs and marrows. 

Isn´t it just brilliant, few months ago we were planting tiny seeds and suddenly we had so much food that we almost did not know how to consume it all.
On one Friday afternoon we gathered to present the project to wider audience and I brought a chocolate cake that I baked earlier that day. That feeling that you are eating a cake made with a gigantic marrow that you planted only few months ago is almost impossible to describe.

Fashion show "ECO-CHIC"
For the Freshers week the Green and Blue Space organised a fashion show. Kind volunteers were showing on an improvised catwalk outfits that were made up from the donated clothes and accessories.
I helped with organising it, choosing the outfits and doing make-up for our models! The all looked gorgeous :) .





In the end of the show, feeling accomplished and tired and the same time, I asked my friend Giulia to take a picture with me.

Here are our the Julie & Giulia photos.
We are - of course - dressed in the donated clothes that anyone can now take from the Green and Blue Space.

A reward?

Please let´s not mistake it with the concept "I am going to help out here and there and then I will feel better about myself"... the feeling I get out of working with the crowd is far greater than that. Don´t do it, so that you would make it to the honour volunteer wall. Although, seeing your photo among the other people feels rather brilliant. :)

Working in Green and Blue Space I learned more about the environment, about myself and I have met fantastic people who will hopefully remain my lifelong friends.
Cleaning up the dorms, for example, was very hard, sorting more than 3 tonnes of left-behind stuff even harder. But once the Green and Blue Space re-opened for the students they all started taking it. The stuff started disappearing within a speed of light. You know what that means? Those people did not buy new goods and are probably going to bring them back once they won´t be needing it anymore instead of throwing it away.
 It means that this perfectly fine stuff is hopefully not going to end up in landfill and I partially contributed to this that is what is so incredibely rewarding and that is what counts!

I can confidently say that it (and I mean mostly the inspiring company of clever, determined and very kind and supporting people) had helped me grow on personal level.

Without an exaggeration, the Green and Blue Space became my safe haven, where I spent every spare minute possible.

And you know what?

They truly are incredible! They have so much on their plate already and they are not afraid to start up new project! 

This year they are going to actively engage volunteers and train them for different positions, depending on their interest!

FYI

I did not volunteer forthe Green and Blue Space, so that it would look good on my CV.
And, if you are considering that...I am sorry, but your are not doing that right.
Well, yeah, it is going to look brilliant, but that´s not the point. I volunteered because I wanted to have good fun, participate on amazing work that actually has a good purpose, meet irresistable people and make a change.

My advice? 
Don´t hesitate, don´t let the amazingness of the people scare you, pop by the Green and Blue Space...put your thoughts into words, words in actions and you will have an experience that you will be hanging on to once you go back home.

Lastly.....a message to the Green and Blue Space:



Thank you for taking me under your wings and allowing me be a part of the Green and Blue Dream Team!

Thank you for making me see the valuable things in life.

Thank you for changing my life.

Edinburgh Fringe

Well this festival certainly was on my bucket list.

Some 6 years ago I read an article about it in a newspaper where there were 4 full pages devoted to it.

Some background for a start?

Edinburgh Fringe festival is the largest arts festival in the world.

 It takes place every August and last for the whole month! The history goes back to the year 1947 when 8 theatre groups came to a festival to Edinburgh with the mission of trying to wake up the cultural life in Europe after the Second World War.

Gradually it grown into an enormous size. 

This year had 3,193 shows and 49 497 performances. 

Others cities

Last year my friend Lexie pointed out that there is also a similar festival taking place in Prague - Prague Fringe. The Fringe festival went beyond the Scottish borders. I Europe I went to a show  and went to one show and loved it.

Smartphone app

The fact is that the amount of shows is overwhelming and it is not easy to choose from them. The organisators of the festival organised the phone app which you can download for free and make your own planned of the shows, which suit you according to the time and topics. 

The earliest shows starts around 9 in the morning and the latest can be very late at night.

The people on the performances are singing, dancing, doing theatre and comedy performance in the classic venues. The topics range from sports, environment, philosophy, arts, etc. 

"When I did this show in Australia"

The shows are more or less same every day, at the same times. Some speakers do same their shows 25 days in a row. The speakers however sometimes make a common mistake. The starts saying "when I was doing this show yesterday" ,"I screwed up the joke this time", "people seemed to enjoy the show more yesterday"...etc. 

Well, this is not a nice thing to hear. Deliver me a unique experience, don´t remind me that you do this often or every day....that takes a lot of my enjoynment of it.

The crazy life on the Royal mile

The venues are not the only places that the performances are happening. The whole Edinburgh lives and sparkles. There are street artists are taking up every inch of the Royalmile (the main street in Edinburgh) doing their best to attract your attention, give you their leaflet.

My experience

I went to 5 shows all together. 

2 of them were comedies and 3 of them were targetted on the up-coming referendum. This is a very unusual topic that was covered in many many shows this year.

I really enjoyed myself seeing all that shows.

Freestival

The prices of the shows ranges from 5 to 50 pounds, but a part of the Festival is also so-called Freestival. All the shows there are for free. But what the tradition is, that you give few coins to the artist when you are exiting the place. Usually 2 to 5 pounds should be fine... depending on how much you liked the show.

Glen Cosby

What was very unique for me that at one point I was looking on my phone and I saw that one of the shows saying that the speaker in Glen Cosby. 

Glen Cosby was my media studies teacher 5 years ago when I was in England. It was him who introduced me to the beauty of critical thinking and made me think that this is something I would like to study further.

So I googled his show instantly and found out that he switched from teaching to baking. Yes, he does baking shows right now.

I went to see the place that he is and asked the assistant people and found out that he left already. BUT!!!! On my way back from that place I run into him and his husband! He actually remembered me and had a really good chat. 

What a highlight!

More information about the festival on their webpage.

Dumyat, vol.2

After numerous days of a persistent cold I decided to tolerate the annoying symptoms no longer.

What did I do then?

I went for a hike. A bit risky, maybe...but should definitely be worth it I thought.

Where else would I go then ... good old Dumyat.

How come I have not been there yet since I arrived in Stirling for the second time (technically third, but the first time was 10 years ago, so that does not count) ? 

No idea.

A link to my first ever hike up the Dumyat hill (8 months ago)

The hike?

What can I say...the joy of being able to climb that hill is almost undescribable. 

Although, quite short of breath, I was the happiest person there. I took a few pictures as a proof. Mind you there...I am not good at taking pictures of myself at all - which you will see just now.

¨

Arghh...the sun is in my eye!

Aaand just about to sneeze in 3, 2, 1...

Not capturing the whole face, whatever....

Finally an attempt to smile?

Went wrong of course.

Moooving on!

Did I mention how beautiful view of Stirling you can have from climbing Dumyat half way?

And those two pictures are for my friend Hazel...when in February we climbed up Dumyat, we thought that this tree is dead and we were quite sad, because it is a stunning one.

And now I find...it is alive!

Sheep are fluffy occupants of this hill, make it look cosy and also slightly make you feel like an inappropriate intruder.

Let´s look behind back again, shall we? Isn´t the hilly country just gorgeous?

Someone discovered how to make panorama pictures with a camera, so here is the first one.

 And one from of the top of the Dumyat hill.

 And another one of the Dumyat and the rest of the Ochilds.

The top of the hill

Reaching the top of the hill is unbelievable satifaction...and I don´t mean it in a sense "yeah, I did it", but it is incredibly rewarding on it´s own. 

The time that you spent bathing in your own sweat it just truly worth the view. The view is breath-taking - no panarama picture can ever capture that. It is as if the nature wanted to embrace you and you wanted to embrace it back.

The other day I had a conversation with my friend about meditation. I have never done it, but what I did there - I just sat there, closed my eyes and listened.

I listened to the wind gently blowing in my ears, I listened to my heartbeat calming down, I listened to the grass, I listened the bees flying by and I listened to the sheep occassionally calling each other.

In the end, I had no idea, how long I sat there, but if I ever felt relaxed (and I am not usually able to do that), it was yesterday, up on the Dumyat hill.

And, there is another horrible picture of me, on the top of the hill.

Right after this picture the battery in my camera gave up and unfortunately prevented me from capturing a really amazing situation.

On my way back there was a sheep standing on the opposite hill and since sun was setting, what you actually saw was the silhouette of the sheep on the top of the hill. 

Honestly, a brilliant highlight of the whole hike.

Lastly...

3 things :

1. Those of you who climb the hill, say to each other "yes we did it in five minutes less then last time", don´t even look around and hurry back down...you are doing it wrong.
2. Those of you who leave rubbish behind, you rot in hell.
3. Those of you who ignore the rubbish, you rot in hell too.

FYI...a curly anonymous person picked up and binned properly all of it.

Peace.