Haggis, and all things Scottish

Just got back from my first trip to Scotland! I went on a church retreat to an area called the Trossachs, and we stayed in a darling little backpackers hostel close to a town called Callander. It was fantastic, I met a lot of great people from sister churches in Scotland, and yes, I ate haggis. I'm a pretty picky eater, and if I haven't eaten something before, chances are that I won't touch it. But since this was a special Scottish dinner, I thought, well it won't kill me (hopefully). What is haggis, you ask? Well, it's basically sheep's, heart, liver, and lungs, minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock and traditionally boiled in the animal's stomach for several hours. One tries to forget this before one actually eats it...We also had a ceilidh, which is traditional Scottish dancing. It's a lot like American square dancing, and a ton of fun, even though many of us didn't have a clue what we were doing, and kept running into each other!

The Trossachs are absolutely gorgeous! We went on a steamboat cruise of Loch Katrina, which was amazing. And I got a photo of a real Scottish bagpiper! After the retreat, I went with my friend Wendy back to Edinburgh, and saw some of the sights. I got to go to a Starbucks that has got to have the best view of any Starbucks ever - you look right up at Edinburgh castle. Wow! I didn't get to see as much as I wanted to, thanks to time constraints and a sprained ankle (thanks to the ceilidh). Hopefully I can come back for a better look! I then hauled myself out the door at 3:00am the next morning, in order to drive to the airport 75 miles away. That was an experience. At least I had the road to myself, which is good, since I am not accustomed to driving on the left. All in all, I though Scotland was fantastic, and the people are soooo friendly!

Back in Germany, we still don't have a chancellor/chancellorette. I'm curious to see how this will play out, and whether the president will call for new elections, or who will win the fight to lead a possible grand coalition. Ach ja...