Solipsism Gradient

Whew. Today it’s 8 days since we got back from our England/Scotland trip. As they say, traveling brings you two great joys: once when leaving, and once when coming back. While the trip was marvelous, it was great to be back, and one of of the first things I said was “now, please, give me a long time before mentioning trips to me again – at least a week or so!”

Then again, we went straight into a week-long marathon of straightening out various tangles, problems, and assorted troubles that had accumulated in the month we were away. Not to speak of thousands of e-mails and unread news. Anyway, most extremely urgent stuff has been taken care of, merely urgent stuff is being looked at, and “normal” life – whatever that means – will resume Real Soon Now. Possibly as soon as next weekend, anyway.

One unexpected find in our ship’s library was Alain de Botton‘s book, The Art of Travel. Well written and to the point, it’s one of the few travel books that actually discusses what the point of travelling may be. Highly recommended.

Posted by Rafael Fischmann:

Rainer Brockerhoff wrote:

We’re back. Will post details and photos as soon as everything gets sorted out.

Late happy birthday!!

We’re back. Will post details and photos as soon as everything gets sorted out.

Posted by Rainer Brockerhoff (away):
Now at a public library in Stratford-upon-Avon (England).

After two days at Cardiff, off we were again. This time we decided to find a hotel near London’s Paddington station, and explore from there. Yesterday we visited Bath and Salisbury – the Cathedral was simply wonderful – and today, Oxford and Stratford.

We’re scheduled to return Tuesday but – depending on availability – Sunday (tomorrow) may also be possible. More when we’re back…

Posted by Rainer Brockerhoff (away):
Now at public library in Cardiff (Wales).

For our second day in Glasgow, the weather was improved and we saw more of the city, driving about by bus. The Glasgow bus system is rather opaque, there are nearly 30 bus companies and there’s no central directory or coordinated bus map, nor a way to get definite information as to which bus to take from a certain point to another. As a result we got lost a few times. Even the natives seem to have trouble; when asking one we often were told “Ah, it’s just a ten-minute walk!”.

Anyway, we liked Glasgow very much, the wide, somewhat hilly streets in the centre reminded me of San Francisco around Van Ness avenue. There’s no shortage of historical buildings, museums, shops, and so forth.

Still, yesterday in the morning we went off early and jumped on a southbound train, arriving in Cardiff around 9PM, and are now safely ensconced in a Travelodge hotel near the station. An hour-long evening walk around the city centre immediately convinced us to stay on for at least another day; there are dozens of attractions within walking distance from the hotel and the natives are friendly.

More tomorrow, I hope. Stay tuned…

Posted by Rainer Brockerhoff (away):
At an Internet Cafe in Glasgow, Scotland (1.80 GBP/hour).

We didn’t stay an extra day in the Orkneys, after all; an extra week would have been more appropriate but time presses… so we took the ferry early in the morning and late at night were on the opposite side of Scotland, at Kyle of Lochalsh, near the bridge to Skye Island. We found yet another nice B&B and planned to spend the next two days on Skye.

Well, the weather – for the first time on our trip – didn’t cooperate. The day started cold and rainy, and after we took the bus to the small village of Portree on Skye it wasn’t much better. The rain let up for an hour or so, sufficient to see most of the town and snap some pictures, but then it closed in again, and when the next morning started out even worse, off we went again, by bus to Armadale, then by ferry to Mallaig, and by train to Glasgow. Here it’s a little better, hopefully the next day will be as good as the weather reports promise.

More later…