NETHERLANDS – ENGLAND – SCOTLAND
If you think that there´s not enough time to see the great nature of Scotland, to get a party started in Amsterdam and to see the cultural difference between Slovakia and UK lifestyle on an everyday basis, you are wrong. We did it, and all in just seven days.
Our school trip started at 7 PM in Myjava. We travelled the whole night and a half of the next day by bus, till we got to Amsterdam. We crossed three borders. In Amsterdam, we boarded a ship and travelled another 15 hours to Newcastle. Traveling by ship was an amazing experience, we had the opportunity to see a stunning sunset and an even more beautiful sunrise. We also saw some oil platforms and wind turbines in the North Sea, and we joined a party on board. I had the opportunity to talk to some passengers and some guys from the Netherlands. They said that this kind of travel was common for them. When they wanted to go to the UK, it was cheaper than taking a plane.
The next morning after breakfast, we travelled from Newcastle to Alnwick castle, where the scene of a quidditch game in Harry Potter was filmed. After couple of hours in the typical British town of Alnwick, our trip continued, and in a few hours, we crossed another border. This was almost our final destination. We had reached Scotland’s border. A couple of hours later we were standing on the beautiful sandy beach of Portobello. We could feel the cold North Sea water with our bare feet.
That same night we met our ” Scottish host families”, and we stayed with them for three nights. Even though we didn’t spend that much time together, I think we got on very well. We lived with an older couple that had a kid and three dogs in their house. We felt like part of their family, and they were really friendly and nice. They welcomed us with their traditional food, fish and chips, and we also talked about a lot of things each day. One of the things I really wanted to know about was the issue of Brexit in the UK and what was the point of view of people of Scotland. After asking this question a little smile on John´s face came, he said that it was just a mess and that they didn´t even know what was really going on and how the close future would look. He didn’t like the way how it had been organized, but he agreed with it.
As we were staying in the families at night, we were also active during days. We travelled a good distance around Southern Scotland. We saw the biggest cities Glasgow and Edinburgh with all their beauty in daily rush hour. Scottish Kilts with bagpipe sounds in Glasgow’s main square and Edinburgh Castle were the highlights of the unbelievable spirit of these cities.
We can’t forget Scotland’s beautiful nature. A picnic on the boat when voyaging Loch Lomond Lake (the largest lake in Great Britain by its surface area), Rosslyn Chapel, Scottish castles and great views from green Scottish hills with nice weather, gave us one of the greatest nature scenarios that Scotland could have.
After three unforgettable days in Scotland we crossed the border and headed back to England. We spent some time in Newcastle and shipped back to Amsterdam by boat. The next morning, we spent in the open-air museum of Dutch windmills and traditional craft industry, and then we headed to Amsterdam by train. After having a quick lunch, the afternoon Amsterdam ´party´ started. The spirit of the city was indescribable. You can see many different types of people and nationalities. Typical coffee shops, smiles everywhere, Amsterdam Canals, police officers on horses or bikes, ´the red-light district´ and a lot of other things make this city unique. We went shopping, then we visited a Marihuana museum, ate Japanese food and floated through the canals. I think for getting the real party started you need more time but we did our best with what we had.
It was an amazing time and in the close future I’m planning to visit this amazing city again.
Before sunset, we got back to our bus and started on our way back home. With an amazing experience, a lot of pictures, plenty of souvenirs, and great memories we were telling our stories to the teachers which we were thankful for being part of the trip.