MSC Magnifica picture heavy fun review -- 12 days British Isles incl. DIY port trips

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Carn Liath (last post)

We lucked out on the weather…It was a mix of sun and clowds. No rain at all….but it was very windy…

especially on the rim of the broch it was hard to maintain an upright position.

I decided to rather sit down.

Here you see Tanja still standing…

Moments later she sort of tilted … but still struggled to keep walking …

And here she finally had to admit defeat and continue on all fours.

See Tarik also having to sit down in the upper left part of the picture? The person down in the right was one of the only other visitors – a family having a picknick in front of the entrance with stunning views of the sea.

Anyway – we absolutely adored our (free!) stop here at the broch and absolutely recommend visiting this site…As far as I know no tourist busses stop here (yet), which is absolutely wonderful, since the magic isn’t destroyed by the masses. Go see it as long as it’s not a mainstream attraction!

With this picture we’re leaving Carn Liath and head towards the more modern Scotland again. The next stop would be our last stop for today … the Helmsdale Highland Games!

Stay tuned!

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Helmsdale Highland Games (post one of seven)

Back to modern civilization! Arriving in Helmsdale, you had the option to drive onto the grounds, where the Games were held…but that would have cost a fee for the car, so we decided to park in town and walk.

There was a cover charge for each person. I think it was 6 pounds per adult and 3 pounds per kid. Once you paid you could walk onto the actual field. First thing you saw was the “amusement” section.

For such a tiny town like Helmsdale – quite impressive. We didn’t spend any time there though. We have pretty large fairs in Hannover two times each year as well and so we rather continued to find the “typically Scottish” stuff.

Lol – on the way we HAD to stop here though.

Granted, we have sweet stores as well on each fair, but I have to say we don’t have any sweets formed like a human set of teeth :-O . Quite bizarre.

But let’s continue with the amusement for the visitors before we get to the actual games. They had a huge tent set up. Let’s check it out.

First of all it felt good to get out of the wind and although the tent was shaking through some of the violent gusts, it didn’t collapse.

Inside they had many tables with local crafts which you could purchase. I flirted with some silver earrings depicting tiny thistles….but didn’t end up buying it… why not? I seriously have no clue and am bummed I didn’t.

 

Those stands in the back of the picture were interesting … but we were still too intimidated by our pub experience … we didn’t want to intrude into a discussion which was really none of our business … the upcoming election to decide if Scotland would strive for Independence from Great Britain or remain a part of it. The two “opponents” where ever present on our journey through Scotland. We had the impression that the further south you travelled the more “no thanks” signs were seen along the roads and the further north more “yes” signs crossed our path. What was interesting in this tent was that the two parties were placed right next to each other. I would have loved to take a closer look at their stuff – but since we were afraid of intruding, we just hurried past these two.

As I’m writing this the election is history. A wee bit more than 50 percent have voted to stay in the Union. Darn close call and leaves the impression of a divided population. I really hope this doesn’t cause too many digressions between the Scots… since one thing is for certain … no matter where we travelled, no matter who we talked to (yes or no voters) they ALL were proud Scots in utter love with Scotland. This nation is strong … and it’s people surely strong enough to maintain this patriotism, strength, tolerance and individuality even (or maybe even especially) within the Union. Go Scots! That’s all I’ll say on that political subject.

Sigh – where were we? Oh yes – the tent.

Somewhere in the further down part there was a drape separating off the last section of the tent. Behind that drape there was quite some racket going on. It sounded as if there were at least a hundred people chatting and laughing behind it…Since the drape was man-high, we had to lift up our camera above our heads and shoot a blind picture to get a glimpse…

Ahhh – mystery solved…. It’s the local pub! We were still too traumatized from the last pub, so we decided to skip that. But the folks behind that curtain sounded like they had a blast!

But we came here to see some Games, so let’s check that out. Brrr, back out into the chilly wind.

Stay tuned!

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Helmsdale Highland Games (post two of seven)

There were all kinds of competitions going on. Let’s start with the weirdest one.

Wellie- throwing ….

First a lady mounts that little wooden platform, turns her back to the field and takes aim…

There goes the boot soaring through the air

And this beautifully dressed gentleman measures the distance it flew.

I also read that the ladies have a Haggis-hurling contest…sadly we didn’t see that.

I assume this was some fly-fishing contest???

We only saw this cord zip through the air…do they have to hit the hula-hoop rings? No clue!

Those contests were held on a little, off to the side field. Let’s mosey on over to the big main field, okay?

Here also they had many competitions going on at the same time. They had athletic stuff like high jump:

A bike race

(riding around with an insane speed on a wet grass circle … Scots can be hazardous sometimes)

 

 

 

and of course there's more ... stay tuned!

Stef

 

[Shelley61]

Helmsdale Highland Games (post two of seven)

There were all kinds of competitions going on. Let’s start with the weirdest one.

Wellie- throwing ….

First a lady mounts that little wooden platform, turns her back to the field and takes aim…

 

Fun fact for you - the wellie throwing is more commonly known as "Welly Wanging" (rhymes with "hanging")! Don't worry - even us Brits don't understand our oddities sometimes! ;)

[Holiday Planner]

Love the look of Cairn Liath ...what fabulous views. We have a favourite apartment which we rent in Fort Augustus (on the shores of Loch Ness) from time to time. Cairn Liath is now on my list for a visit next time!

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Fun fact for you - the wellie throwing is more commonly known as "Welly Wanging" (rhymes with "hanging")! Don't worry - even us Brits don't understand our oddities sometimes! ;)

 

 

:)Lol -- thank you! I really didn't know what the actual name was -- in fact, there are several "particularly Scottish" disciplines coming up in the fourth and fifth post covering this event, where I'll most definitely need help in what the heck they're called:o:confused::D.

 

Lol -- so far I think your "oddities" are very charming and entertaining:D.

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Love the look of Cairn Liath ...what fabulous views. We have a favourite apartment which we rent in Fort Augustus (on the shores of Loch Ness) from time to time. Cairn Liath is now on my list for a visit next time!

 

:D:D:DYay -- I've persuaded someone to visit!

 

:):):)I'm a happy review writer right now!

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Helmsdale Highland Games (post three of seven)

They had all kinds of different running events:

For adults as well as kids…

But I just have to tell you about the biggest (awe inspiring) running event, which started right when we were there.

The hill race!

Quite a few people started off running like crazy at the same spot the bikes had started earlier. But they ran straight off the grounds …

? Where are they headed ?

Well – look at this mountain. If you look closely, you can see a small line reaching up from the lower left to the upper right.

See it? You can even make out the two teensy weensy people in bright yellow vests standing along the path and the additional two standing right by the “turn around” pole underneath the Scottish flag.

Wait --- here’s a closeup of the latter.

Oh, and I loved the single German flag in the picture of the whole mountain…

here’s a bonus flag picture:

But let’s get back to the hill race.

Isn’t that an insanely strenuous race track? They run up that mountain (because I refuse to call that a mere hill), turn around and run back down to the start and finish line….OH MY GOD! I would collapse half way --- no--- quarter way up that hill. Amazing.

One of the track supervisors up on that hill took a picture facing down:

Foreign picture:

Isn’t that soooo high up and far away?

Anyway, we thought it would take ages until the first runners would return, probably crawling on all fourths….but no!

Look – there’s the first one returning, just about to cross the Finish line – and looking rather well!

 

Those Scots must be a tough mix between humans, cheetahs and mountain goats. (Lol -- we really should have paid attention here -- because we had an "easy" hike up a Scottish "hill" planned for our stop in Greenock -- yikes...wait how that turned out.)

Stay tuned!

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Helmsdale Highland Games (post four of seven)

And now a photo session of this peculiar Scottish game (about which I have no idea what it’s called):

A guy in a kilt picks up this ….. aehm…metal klutz???

Swings it back and forth …

damn, look at those thighs!

And finally hurls it up in the air

but will it go over the mark without tearing it down?

this was I believe his third try….

we held our thumbs…

Yes!!!!! Whoohoooo…

…and the “klutz” even falls neatly onto the mattress.

Whew, look at what a dent it causes … I don’t even want to guess how heavy that is.

Lol … I might have to add the strength of a Grizzly to my list of animal traits.

Stay tuned!

Stef

[denisey]

Oh My! It is a very good thing that Scotsman wore something under his kilt!!!! ;)

 

I may just have to wander to our local Highland games this year, they look like great fun!

[Shelley61]

It apparently is imaginatively entitled "weight over the bar"!

 

For advanced athletes the weight is 4 stone (56lb or 25kg)!!!! :eek:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weight_throw#Weight_throw_for_height

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Helmsdale Highland Games (post five of seven)

After showing you some male thighs … I thought maybe you’d love a handsome behind in a kilt as well … here you go

…you’re welcome. … and for everybody not interested in male behinds … ain’t that a cool vehicle? How much fun it must be to zip over those vast hills with one of those.

 

Here’s another sporty competition. …again, a guy in a kilt throws heavy stuff around…this time a hammer and the goal is distance instead of height.

I absolutely love the white house on top of that hill with the trees in the back...Can you imagine sitting in that cool conservatory, looking down to the North Sea? Sigh. Brilliant!

After the throws they seem to help each other retrieving the hammer.

I just liked this picture because I managed to get sheep on a hill, the Scottish flag and at least three different tartans combined in one single picture. Lol – the hot donuts stand is sort of a bonus plus point.

The cabers.

I really would have loved to see these in use…but while we were there, they just laid around. Bummer.

And this is what everybody is hoping to bring home.

Every winner of a competition gets one of those – they’re not only granted for sporty competitions. They also had musical competitions going on as well. Sadly we missed the highland dancers…I’ve never seen them in real life and I was a little disappointed to have missed them… but we did hear the pipers…and I’ll show you in the next post.

Stay tuned!

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Oh My! It is a very good thing that Scotsman wore something under his kilt!!!! ;)

 

I may just have to wander to our local Highland games this year, they look like great fun!

 

lol -- I was relieved about that as well:D ... be assured that otherwise I wouldn't have posted the picture because of intimacy reasons.

 

Where do you live that you have local highland games? I'm sorry if you already told me and I forgot:o.

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

It apparently is imaginatively entitled "weight over the bar"!

 

For advanced athletes the weight is 4 stone (56lb or 25kg)!!!! :eek:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weight_throw#Weight_throw_for_height

 

 

 

:pthanks for the info!:p

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Helmsdale Highland Games (post six of seven)

The pipers.

Sadly we missed the band on their way from the town center to the Games field … but we did get to enjoy some of the single piping competitions.

They have to walk up and down on this table and play several tunes. I think two are a given and the third can be chosen individually. The music of the bagpipes was the perfect soundtrack for the games. It just all fit.

They had a female piper compete as well:

And I guess the ladies don’t have to wear a kilt.

The jury sat in a little hut behind the table. That was probably one of the most cozy places around … since the wind was really getting quite obnoxious. Lol – maybe that was the reason we discovered a whole new way to watch the pipers. See the big blue and white van in the back of the table?

All the elderly folk had retreated into their strategically parked vehicles to watch the show… this was so strange … the whole line of parked cars… every single one occupied by senior citizens, happily watching from their premium seats. It was a feeling like in the old drive in movie theaters they had in the States.

But enough of that. We`ll leave the pipers and the entire Games with this picture (which I like a lot!)

All that’s left to show you are some pictures of the beautiful surroundings of Helmsdale until we finally end this very long and exciting port day. Thanks for having endured all my ramblings with such patience.

Stay tuned!

Stef

[windjamming]

Stef, I enjoy all of your reviews and adventures, but I have to say, the recent posts on the Highland Games have been even more spectacular. What an interesting, out of the ordinary experience you captured! I only had a vague idea of the Games but had no idea how varied and creative the competitions were.

 

You've definitely piqued my interest in a British Isles cruise!

 

And...the Internet thanks you for the pics of the handsome Scotsmen in kilts!

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Stef, I enjoy all of your reviews and adventures, but I have to say, the recent posts on the Highland Games have been even more spectacular. What an interesting, out of the ordinary experience you captured! I only had a vague idea of the Games but had no idea how varied and creative the competitions were.

 

You've definitely piqued my interest in a British Isles cruise!

 

And...the Internet thanks you for the pics of the handsome Scotsmen in kilts!

 

:pthanks for the praise!:p

 

:)...and I'll continue trying to get you convinced about doing a British Isles cruise ... trust me -- I have lots more cool stuff to report on...we have barely started:rolleyes::cool:!

 

:DLol -- you're welcome, internet.

 

Stef

[denisey]

But enough of that. We`ll leave the pipers and the entire Games with this picture (which I like a lot!)

All that’s left to show you are some pictures of the beautiful surroundings of Helmsdale until we finally end this very long and exciting port day. Thanks for having endured all my ramblings with such patience.

Stay tuned!

Stef

 

Wow! Great picture to sum the Games up!

 

I live in the Seattle (the top, left hand side of the US). The Highland games are at the end of July in the foothills of our mountains, so it looks a little authentic. I think they hold Highland games all over the US, quite a lot of us have some Scots in us (and Irish, and German, and Italian...)

 

And I have the feeling this wasn't the best port on the trip!

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Helmsdale (last post)

We didn’t have time to venture inside of Helmsdale, but we did see some moving stuff – both emotionally and naturally.

Let’s start with the emotionally moving sight.

These are two pictures dedicated to the emigrants of the Highlands. We thought this monument to be very moving. The pictures don’t grasp the intensity of it… I guess you must see it in real life.

The way the husband looks determined out to the sea, which will bring them to their new life far away and how the wife looks back longingly to their home –Scotland and finally the way the child questioningly looks at the father … asking why…? caused a giant lump in my throat.

Sigh , I guess we have one last history side track heading your way for this day.

Ready? I promise to keep it short … it has been a long day and I don’t want to overwhelm you.

Leaving the Highlands

There was a time for the Highlands mainly between 1830 and 1855, when the local production of Kelp and the raising of black cattle wasn’t profitable anymore. The landlords at the time decided to switch to sheep instead…but for sheep you need space …

...LOTS of space!

There were many, many people living in the hills who were basically in the way. Several failed crops and insanely low passage fees convinced many locals to emigrate. The passage fees to Australia were as low as ONE POUND per person for a while when sponsored by the landlords! It would be naïve, to believe that all inhabitants left by free will though. Many were forced, their huts burned down and were only left with the decision to starve or leave. Many found a new home in Canada, the US, Australia or New Zealand.

The Highland population at the start of this eviction period (1831) made up for 8,5% of the total population in Scotland …. A hundred years later in 1931, they represented not more than 2,6%. The beautiful empty landscape we enjoy so much today is partially due to an immense forced exodus of its inhabitants. Scary stuff.

Now with this knowledge, you might look at the following pictures with split feelings. However, past is past and today we have to live with our history (and nobody is more experienced in that than a German I believe. I mean there were two world wars and we started them BOTH – and I don’t even want to go into detail about some of the ghastly stuff that happened here).

The nowaday Highland - Scots get to live in this “created” solitude and natural splendor … as long as they (and all of us) don’t forget how it came into being, I think that’s perfectly fine.

So I urge you to still enjoy the following pictures:

And that’s it folks! We managed to conclude another port day! Whoohoo!

And what a relief, we made it back to the ship in time, so my first “scary” port day was over. I had some emergency plans laid out for those ports, where I thought we could end up missing the ship … being Invergordon, Belfast and Greenock…but I was still relieved that we didn’t need it for this first shaky day. Heck, with a rental car you never know and in Belfast we had so much distance planned to cover with a tight schedule of public transport, that I thought I ‘d better be prepared for the worst…

 

Anyway… Invergordon …check!

 

Stay tuned!

Stef

[windjamming]

And I have the feeling this wasn't the best port on the trip!

 

Ahem...we're still waiting on Dublin!! Stef?? Stef??? :D

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Wow! Great picture to sum the Games up!

 

I live in the Seattle

 

 

And I have the feeling this wasn't the best port on the trip!

 

:eek::(Ooops -- the coffee---Seattle...you told me already... I really forgot. Please forgive me:o!

 

:DLol -- every port was "special" in its own way. I'll let you decide after all ports which you thought was "best".:D

 

Stef

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Ahem...we're still waiting on Dublin!! Stef?? Stef??? :D

 

lol -- patience my dear, patience! We'll get to Dublin sooner or later ... and I'm pretty certain, I'll have you glued to the screen once I finally drop the bomb shell:D.

 

Stef

[bridgetjonesni]

Jeepers, you braved Northern Irish public transport on a port day?! Yikes! It's bad enough using it to get to work on time most of the time ;) Greatly enjoying the Scottish posts and waiting patiently (if nervously) to see what you made of my own homeland!

[spinnaker2]

The bombshell... Oh no!

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Jeepers, you braved Northern Irish public transport on a port day?! Yikes! It's bad enough using it to get to work on time most of the time ;) Greatly enjoying the Scottish posts and waiting patiently (if nervously) to see what you made of my own homeland!

 

:Dwe PLANNED on using public transport, yes...but wait how it ended up...Belfast will be the next port up, so you'll be able to read all about it pretty soon.:o However, there are two dinners and an entire sea day heading your way first. Hang in there.

 

Stef