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A Day Trip to Gibraltar

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Staying more than a week in Malaga was too much and we desperately needed to find something to do in order not to get crazy, so we rented a car and drove to Gibraltar which was just a couple of hours away.
Crossing into the British territory of Gibraltar was quite interesting as the border was pretty much just a air strip with booths on one side. The air strip was operational with planes and helicopters on it, but while there were no departures people were walking, driving and cycling across. Gibraltar is pretty much just a rock and it was beautiful seeing it from a distance at the border.
What struck me when we got into town was how narrow and packed the streets were. It was nearly impossible to find a spacious enough place to park. Even the motorbikes were lined up with just a few centimeters between them. Being a Wednesday afternoon in winter time I was also surprised by how many people were out on the streets.
It just took us a few hours walking up to the top of the mountain, then another two to see what there was to see in the city. The mountain had a castle, a cave and World War tunnels and the city was pretty much just like any other British town. In other words it was perfect for a day trip, but not much more than that.

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London Calling

After meeting up with my American friend in the British Capital, we decided to go to get some fish and chips and cider for a little picnic up in South Clapham. Why Clapham? Because that is where it is said that you can get the best fish&chips in London. We went to a place called Fishclub, which has gotten several prices for their traditional fast food, and it sure did live up to its reputation.  After a few hours in the park, where it was way too cold, we went to go clubbing in the city, but were surprised that we did2 not get to stay longer than until 12, when the pubs closed. The following day we went for pub breakfast, which was quite a cultural experience: the pub was packed with people already at 11am. Mostly men, some with children around, making themselves ready for the football game that was going on later that day. After the late breakfast we went to see Big Ben and The London Eye before the time ran out and we had to catch the our train to Brussels.
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Scotch and Haggis in the land of the Kilt!

After packing my bag, I flew from Stavanger to Aberdeen in the North of Scotland. The flight was only about and hour, and then I went down to Glasgow by train to have a four year reunion with the people who I went on an AFS exchange year with in Austria in 2006/2007. Even with years passing without seeing each other, it was as we got on just where we left each other four years ago. We went out seeing the nightlife in Glasgow, ate Haggis and visited the castle where J.K Rowling got her inspiration for Harry Potter and where several of the movie scenes were shot. Saturday was spent in Edinburgh, where a comedy festival was going on, so the streets were packed with people, including Elaine Davidson, the woman who has the Guinness World Record for being the most pierced woman in the world. 

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