Scotland:

From Athens, Sigi and I flew to Freiburg, Germany to stay at his sister's place while we planned the next leg of our trip. After a few days, we had organized flights to the UK and Ireland. I believe on a Thursday, we flew into London and after a few connections boarded an overnight bus to Edinburgh, where we had planned to spend the weekend before heading back to London. Scotland was awesome. Unfortunately, this is around the time that I began to slack in terms of camera duty (London was the worst). We spent a lot of time walking all around Edinburgh and I have no pictures to show for it; however, for some of the more touristy excursions I made sure to bring the camera along. One such excursion was to the Edinburgh Castle:

View of the castle from Princes' Street

Scottish National War Memorial

The castle also housed many Scottish museums, including the Scottish National War Museum and several other museums dedicated to specific regiments. The Scottish Crown Jewels and Regalia are also within the castle walls, but could not be photographed and were under strict supervision. Photos were only allowed in a few sections:

Various medals from the War Museum

This is a cell door from the old castle jail that has some crazy historic graffiti.

And another

These boards helped highlight some of the carvings of key historic figures or  general historic significance.

Several inmates tried to forge banknotes using bone carvings to bribe the prison guards.

Here are a few more pics of the castle grounds and the inside of the Great Hall:

Alright, enough of the castle... As we were walking around one day, Sigi and I stumbled upon the "Scottish Whiskey Experience," an exhibit that details the history of Scottish Whiskey making through the ages. It seemed like a must see haha, so we decided to check it out. As it turns out, the exhibit is far more educational than I would have imagined. And yes, there was some whiskey "appreciating" at the end of the tour but I can assure you that Sigi and I remained highly professional. Here are some photos:

The experience began with a creepy Disney World type ride that described the whiskey-making process.

A self-guided tour followed.

The exhibit was also home to the largest Scottish whiskey collection in the world.

The tour ended with a tasting session aided by a "whiskey expert."

We were given a whiskey from each of the four whiskey producing regions of Scotland. Each one actually had a very distinct taste due to the conditions and methods that are common in each region.

On our last day in Edinburgh, we made a trip to the outskirts of town in order to climb to the top of Arthur's Seat, the highest peak overlooking the city. The weather was less than optimal that day so we were freezing and the wind could have easily knocked you off your feet if you weren't careful. Nonetheless, I managed to snap a few photos:

A view of Arthur's seat from the castle

My hair will give you at least some idea of how strong the wind was.

Well, that just about wraps up our stay in Scotland. Regrettably, we were only in Edinburgh for a few days, but yet again my travels have not let me down. We met some amazing people during our stay and had a blast. On Sunday night we said our goodbyes and boarded the bus back to London...