Scotland. Oooooo.

How does one summarize four days spent in the most beautiful country in the world?

I've always been partial to London and England, stating that they are respectively the most wonderful city and country on earth. However, after spending a long-weekend in Scotland, I have to admit that my vote has changed positions.

Let me begin on a Thursday afternoon in February, for that is when this journey begins. My roommate (Beth from Minnesota) also works at London South Bank University. Together we made plans to skip work on Friday and spend 4 days in Scotland. We bought our train tickets, knowing perfectly well that we'd be sprinting from our office desks to the train station.

When Thursday rolled around I could be found sitting at my desk with luggage stuffed underneath, anxiously watching the clock. When it was finally time to depart I grabbed my bags and ran to meet Beth at the tube (Underground) station. We took the tube north to Kings Cross Station where we switched to an overground train that would take us the 5-hour journey to Scotland. We made it onto our train with just 10 minutes to spare.

The train filled up rapidly. Beth and I had selected a 4-person table on the train, wishing in our heads that no one would sit with us, and thus leave us room to put our feet up and sleep. We weren't so lucky, or maybe we were. An English woman, middle-aged, sat next to Beth, and the seat nearest me was soon filled by a man in his 60s. Our new travel buddies were not the typical people you find on the tube --- you know, the ones in the "zone" who would rather eat their hand off than talk to a total stranger. On the contrary, these two new additions were lovely. The woman was very independent and told us of her work experience and travels that have taken her all over the world. She lived in Japan for a few years, followed by a few years working in NYC. Turns out her best friend from America lives in Carmel, Indiana. Small small world. The man at our table was a British radiologist. He's been retired for a few years, but he spends his spare time writing a book on radiology, and he travels with his wife to visit their daughter who recently moved to Australia.

After a bit of chatting the man got up to buy our table drinks and snacks from the "train trolley." He came back to our table with 2 bottles of wine and some flapjacks (delicious, rich granola-bar type treat). It was such a random and brilliant train ride. Beth and I chatted with this well-traveled, well-educated man and woman as if we had known them for years. As if they were our parents' good friends who were catching up with us after only seeing us through annual Christmas cards. The train arrival in Edinburgh, Scotland, was bittersweet. Goodbye to our new friends and hello to a Scottish adventure.

Beth and I stayed in the 'Budget Backpackers' hostel on Thursday night. Well-rested on Friday morning we made our way to the Haggis tour Office where our bus would depart. We met up with 2 of our other friends here as well.

I could blog for hours about the next three days of our trip, but my words really can't do Scotland justice. Pictures capture a small fraction of the country's beauty, but I feel they are still not enough. Perhaps being a traveler it's easy for me to say, "Just go to Scotland. You have to see this first-hand." But seriously, if you are ever planning a trip to Europe, set aside at least a few days for Scotland, and more specifically the Scottish Highlands.

I traveled to Scotland three years ago, but my time was spent in the city and I never ventured out to the Highlands or countryside. I was impressed by what Scotland had to offer in terms of scenery, people, and history. Our tour guide/driver, Russell, told us story after story while we drove through the Highlands. Some were true stories of battles and William Wallace and the brave Scots. Others were legends that have been passed down for centuries, told to explain how certain mountains and lochs came into existence. My 3-day bus tour of the Scottish Highlands is somewhat of a blur... It sounds incredibly cheezy, but I think it's possible that I was blinded by an overwhelming amount of beauty, history and folk tales. My trip to Scotland long exceeded my expetations and has left me with the highest respect for the country, its history and its people.