Edinburgh - Johnshaven

This morning we are a bit exhausted and tired. We sleep in and check out of the hotel straight away. We leave our luggage at the hotel and head off to explore Edinburgh. One thing becomes clear very quickly: we like the city a lot. Especially the many taverns, pubs and stone houses make up the charm of this city. Of course, the kilt-wearing bagpipers on the streets also add to the charm. The castle is beautifully situated on a mountain. We go there to enjoy the sunshine and the view of the city.

We then head towards Holyrood Palace. Unfortunately, we have to hurry because we already need to pick up our rental car in the afternoon. But before that we want to try the Scottish cuisine and sit comfortably outside a pub and order fried halloumi (the vegetarian version of fish & chips) and nachos. We return to the airport with the double-decker bus. We deliberately chose to pick up the car at the airport and not in the city, so that we don’t have to start driving on the left side of the road in the biggest traffic chaos. We booked a small car for the few days, but wisely with an automatic gearbox. We are given an upgrade and a much bigger car - our one and only small piece of hand luggage is now thrown around in the huge boot of the car. The first few minutes in the car are pretty tense, Nicolas at the wheel (on the right side), Annina navigating (on the left) and everything is the wrong way round, especially the roundabouts are confusing. We quickly get used to British driving, though, and immediately speed off heading north. Our first stop is at the Standing Stones of Lundin. These three (originally four) stones were placed by Druids about 3000 years ago. We have to walk across a golf course to get to them.

After a photo session we drive to our first Airbnb in Johnshaven. We pick up the key from John in his pub. The place is right by the sea and the accommodation is furnished in a very English style.