Fringe festival is keeping downtown Edinburgh busy in every street corner
Best seats on the double decker
Left: Balmoral hotel, right: National Archives of Scotland
Where all the tourist busses like to hang out
Sir Walter Scott Monument
Plenty of seats built for birds
No shortage of street stalls or entertainers
Perfect weather for hanging out at Princes Street Gardens. Must not happen that often in the Scottish climate
Climbing up the Castle Hill
Festivals have taken over the New Assembly Hall
The Edinburgh Castle. Every city needs one
Preparing for a military tattoo performance at the Castle yard
Relaxing our feet and warming up at a café on the Royal Mile
Something old and something new, not always a pretty combination
Edinburgh is still waiting for the tram line, now estimated to launch in 2014
These guys don't look too happy, eh?
Pucing the Japanese taiko drum inside St. John's curch
Off to see how the Royal family travelled the seven seas
Entering the Royal Yacht Britannia
This is where you drive the ship, but steering wheel is actually downstairs. Hmm.
Pick your flags and post a status update to your navy mates
A nice parking spot you picked for the Rolls. Now how do I get it out?
A quick gin from the bar before continuing the tour?
Fine selection of Remy Martin
Forget the sea buffees on Viking Line, this is how real dining looks like
Arrr, where's me pint?
Stickers from nordic countries and a fine selection of on board entertainment (such as Technotronic and Eagles)
Was it laundry day today=
Immaculate engine room that looks like it's never been used (it has)
Into the Museum of Scotland, to see what the Scotts are all about
Heavy machinery for weaving kilts I suppose
1971 Tyrrell driven by Jackie Stewart in Monaco
Where it all started...
Enjoying the Victoria Street views
Tip a cow! Big one
All the elderly people have gone to see the tattoo and left their rides here (the busses, probably not the bikes)
Polka band show gathering up the crowds
Playing with fire
Enthusiastic audience member
Culane House Hotel - small but elegant
Always keep in mind: it's this side of the road
Watch out for that Vauxhall
Rulers of the Highlands
Twisted narrow roads ahead for the next 300 miles
So this is where they shoot the promotional videos for cars
Down to the mountain river we go
First pitstop: The Glenlivet distillery
What to do with all the empty bottles
Highland cattle: keep the distance or you may run into trouble with these wild beasts
This is what the weather looks like most of the time
Next distillery stop: Glenfiddich
Industrial espionage inside the factory
Whisky, very early on in the process
Fermentation in process
Distillation, where you crank up the alcohol %
Balvenie castle ruins (not The Balvenie distillery)
View from the Morven B&B, right in the heart of Dufftown
Ceilidh Night at the Dufftown Royal British Legion
That's how you do the dance
All together now
Cashmere origins explained at Johnstons of Elgin
Cawdor castle entrance
Who's that gone shopping there?
No entry into the labyrinth
Funny little garden. Ok, not so little
River Ness in Inverness, how poetic
The North's answer to palm trees
Inverness Castle, a fairly modern incarnation from 1836
City bunnies at the heart of Inverness
None shall pass, less you pay the toll
Cromarty Bridge traffic heading up north
Welcome to Tain, careful now or you'll miss it
Dornoch town center, now you've seen it
Sandy beaches of Dornoch, until the tide comes
Riders on the storm, kinda
Beach stones full of life
Time to climb up, the tide is starting to catch us
Here it is now, the famous Loch Ness
So calm, not a monster in sight
Wait, there it is! I see it!
Arriving in Fort Augustus
Caledonian Canal steps
Speedboat goes monster hunting
At the end of Loch Ness
Old Oich Bridge badly in need of restauration
Climbing up the canal steps takes at least half an hour
Swans waiting for their turn at the canal, but they'd be better off flying
This as close as you can expect to get to Ol' Nessie
Princess and her bed at Glengarry Castle Hotel
...and the mighy prince
Hotel sheep in the yard, just hoping there's no lamb for dinner
Our room was at the top left corner
More ruins: the Invergarry Castle
Taking the river walk
Morning mist coming down the hills
Loch Oich looking o(ic)h so peaceful
Pure wallpaper material
Fort William, the outdoor capital of UK they say
We're going up, but not coming down like this
Some nervousness detected inside the gondola lift
Going up the Aonach Mor
It just gets steeper and steeper
Downhill bikers enjoying the ride
Ben Nevis is too far, so we chose to conquer this viewpoint instead
Gliding down to the city
Fort William in the distance on the left
Say "cheese on top of the world"!
Honey, that wasn't our rental Ford
Glenfinnan monument and its majestic surroundings
Glenfinnan viaduct a.k.a the Harry Potter railway
Another lovely view from our guesthouse room in Newtonmore
What, you dare to call me a geek?
The last travel day starts with a tour in Pitlochry
Our route of choice turned out to be a dead end
Stirling castle yard
Cows and roundabouts, such a typical scenery in Scotland
Approaching Tampere-Pirkkala "international" airport. The end!
