Travel Guide - Scotland - Malin + Heidi + Julia - IGS Obere Aar

Travel Guide

 Scotland

Malin + Heidi + Julia

Travel Guide

Table of Contents
 • Introduction of Scotland - Page 2

 • Edinburgh - Page 4

 • Scotland flag and its history - Page 6

 • Culture - Page 7
 • Literature - Robert Louis Stevenson
 • Music - Amy Mcdonald
 • Sports - Darts

 • Sightseeings - Page 9
 • Loch Ness
 • Edinburgh Castle
 • Melrose Abbey

 • Recipe - Page 10

 • Interviews - Page 11
 • Mrs. Nunes
 • Felin

 1

Introduction of Scotland
How many people live in the country?

In 2018 5.438 million people lived in Scotland.

What languages are spoken?

Scottish English is the official language that is spoken
within the government and schools.
Other languages spoken are Scots Lallans, a West
Germanic language with several dialects and Scots
Gaelic, an old Celtic language.

 How big is the country?

 Scotland is about 80077 square kilometers big.

 The coastline is 11,803 kilometers long. The number of
 offshore islands is almost 800. 600 of them are off the
 west coast of Scotland.

 What is the weather like?

 In January and February the temperature is about 5
 degrees to 7 degrees celsius.

 There is a Scottish saying: „If you don´t like the weather,
 wait five minutes!“
 The reason for this phrase is that the weather in
 Scotland is changing very quickly and it varies a lot
 between the regions.
 The Western part of the country is very rainy, the
 Eastern part is sunny.
 The highest temperature will be in July/August with
 about 19 degrees celsius.

Winter in Scotland lasts from mid-november to early march. January and February are the coldest
months. Although it snows regularly in winter, it is really the exception and depends on the region.

Is there a lot of nature, or more cities?

There is a lot of nature with just a few large
cities like Glasgow (600.000), Edinburgh,
Aberdeen and Dundee (the ones with more
than 100.000 people). There is also a jagged
coast with a lot of lakes and deep cutted
sea arms called loch (Loch Ness e.g.)
The highest mountain is the Ben Nevis with
1.345 meters, the largest lake is the Loch
Lomond with 56 square kilometers and the
longest river is the River Tay with 93
kilometers.

 2

Do you know anything about politics or religion?

Politics: Scotland is part of the United Kingdom (UK). It has its own parliament in Edinburgh and a
First Minister but no Chief of State. Also areas like foreign affairs, defense etc. are managed by
the British parliament in London.

In September 2014 the Scottish residents decided in the Scottish independence referendum with
55,3 % NO to 44,7 % YES votes to remain part of the United Kingdom.

Religion: 54% of the population are Protestants with a Calvinistic orientation. 44 percent of the
population does not belong to any fraternity.

What currency do they use?

The currency used in Scotland is the Pound Sterling.
Pound sterling (Gbp) 
1 Pound is 1,19 EUR

As hard money there are 5,10,20 and 50 pence and 1 and
2 pounds. As banknote there are 5,10,20,50 pounds and 1£ banknotes.

In Scotland you can‘t pay with Euro and debit cards. You can only use debit cards to withdraw/
take out money from your account. But with a credit card you can pay almost everywhere.

 3

Edinburgh
How many people live in the city?

Edinburgh has 518.500 residents raised from 513.210
in 2017, whereby 48,7% are men and 51,3% are
women. Most of the residents are Scottish citizens.

Are there any famous places that you must see as a tourist? What are they?

There exist lots of urban legends about Edinburgh’s streets and cemeteries. Some people offer
special „ghost tours“ every evening for interested tourists. One of these spots is for example
Greyfriars Kirkyard. Holyrood Palace also called „Palace of Holyroodhouse“ is the residence of the
British Queen in Scotland. The palace is at the east end of „Royal Mile“ which connects most
tourist attractions in Edinburgh’s Old Town.

The former cathedral St Giles’ Cathedral,
also called „High Kirk of Edinburgh“, is the
main church of the Church of Scotland and
one of the most famous sightseeing spots in
Edinburgh.

How old is the city? Do you know anything about its history?

First documentary mention comes from the year 854. The name Edinburgh is from the gododdini
king Clydno Eiddyn who built the first fortress on the hills there.

 In 1093 the first castle was
 mentioned, which developed to the
 still existing Edinburgh Castle.

 4

In 1437 Edinburgh became the capital city of Scotland.
The Parliaments of England and Scotland passed Acts of Union in 1707 and connected the two
kingdoms to the Kingdom of Great Britain.
Edinburgh is also called the city of the seven hills and has been used as location in the popular
Harry Potter movies.

 5

Scotland flag and its history

 The story about the Scottish flag
 started with king Hungus in the 9.
 century. In a battle against the
 Anglo-Saxons apostle Andreas
 affirmed king Hungus that he will
 win the fight. In the morning of the
 battle appeared a diagonal cross of
 clouds at the blue sky. This scared
 the enemies and they surrendered.
 Since this happening the flag
 shown a white Andreas cross on
 blue ground for the sky. It is one of
 the oldest flag in the world.

There is also an alternative Scottish flag since the 13. century. The flag was mentioned with king
William I. called William the Lion. The flag shows a standing lion on gold ground with lilies frame
and is reserved for the Scottish monarchs. But you find this flag still now when the Scottish
national football team is playing.
- Julia

 6

Culture
Literature - Robert Louis Stevenson

 Robert Louis Stevenson is a Scottish author born during the victorian
 period in 1850 in Edinburgh. His nanny told him lots of spooky stories
 every evening when he was a child, so that he had nightmares.

 He got famous with his books „Treasure Island“ and „The strange
 case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde“. The first idea for „Treasure Island“
 was the drawing of a treasure map for his step-son. Maybe the
 spooky stories have been the inspiration for the book about Dr. Jekyll
 and Mr. Hyde.

 He had tuberculosis and died in the age of 44.

- Malin

Music - Amy Mcdonald

 Amy Macdonald is a scottish singer, songwriter, gitarist and
 musician. When she was twelve years old, she bought a CD
 from Travis “The Man Who“. She was so fascinated from
 his music, so she want to make her own music too. Amy
 wanted to play guitar, so she learned it herself.
 She wrote the song „This ist the life“. In 2008 this song was
 on position one from the UK charts. She wrote also the
 song „Mr. Rock & Roll“. With this song she was on position
 twelve in the UK charts and the British charts.

 7

Amy was guest in the shows „ The Ellen“ and „The late show with Craig Ferguson“.
In 2009 Amy got the ECHO newcomer international award for the album „This is the life“ and in
2011 the ECHO newcomer international award for her album „A curios thing“.
- Heidi

Sports - Darts

The begin of the dart sport was around 1860 in England. Before the Darts were used as wappons
like arrow and arch since 2.400 years.
1896 an english carpenter Brian Gamlin created the dartboard with a diameter of 45 centimeters.
There are single, double and triple fields from 1 to 20 Points. The middle field is named Bull's Eye
with 50 points. Highest field is the triple twenty with 60 Points. The most famous game is 501. The
rules are that the players must reduce with their 3 darts the points from 501 to 0. This is possible
with 9 darts.
Later Darts developed to a professional sport game. The most successful player was Phil Taylor
called "The Power“.

In his period of 30 year Darts became so popular that competitions were shown on television.
The Scottish actual famous dart players are Peter Wright "Snakebite" and Gary Anderson "The
Flying Scotsman". Both became World Champion and are still in the Top 10 of the World Dart
League PDC (Professional Dart Council).

- Julia

 8

Sightseeings
Loch Ness

Loch Ness is a large, deep, freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands. It is 37 kilometers (23 miles)
away from Inverness. The surface of Loch Ness is 16 meters (52 feet) above sea level. It is the
second largest Scottish loch with 56 square kilometers (22 square miles) after Loch Lomond and
is very deep.

Loch Ness is popular for sightings of the Loch Ness monster, also known as „Nessie".
Half a million visitors are coming to Loch Ness every year.
- Malin

Edinburgh Castle

The town’s landmark Edinburgh Castle is good 800 years old. It is build on the Castle Rock.
Before there was a fortress on this hill. From the 12th century to now it was destroyed and rebuild
after many battles. Many monarchs were owner of this castle. Most of them build the castle
bigger as before so that it is now a very large one. Today parts of the castle are used by the
British Army.
- Julia

Melrose Abbey

Melrose Abbey has been constructed in 1136. That means it is 884 years old. Over 50 years
buildings have been added. Melrose Abbey has been often attacked. In 1322 Edward II from
England ruined Melrose Abbey partially. It has been constructed again with the help from
Robert the Bruce.
In 1385 Richard II from England burnt Melrose Abbey down to force David II from Scotland to
Edinburgh coercion. The abtei has been constructed over 100 years.
In 1544 english troops damaged Melrose Abbey so that nobody could built it up again.
The building also survived an attack in the english civil war.
In 1610 the church from Melrose was a part of a cloister. It remained a church in the city core.
Melrose Abbey is famous because Scottish kings and nobleman are buried there. The heart of
Robert the Bruce is buried there too.
- Heidi

 9

Recipe
One typical recipe of the country: Haggis

Haggis is sheep stomach, which is filled with the heart, liver, lung, kidney adipose, oatmeal and
onions. It is spiced with pepper.

What are the ingredients?

The ingredients are heart, lung, liver and kidney adipose from a sheep. Spices are pepper, salt,
nutmeg and nutmeg blossom .

How is the meal cooked?

First the stomach must become full grown. Then the stomach is turned from inside to outside.
The rest from the gastric acid and the stomach mucosal lining must get threadbare with the back
from a knife.
Heart, lung and liver will be cooked to meat broth.
The meat has to be small cut and spiced with salt and pepper.
Nutmeg, onion, oatmeal and kidney adipose have to be mixed.
All has to be put into the turned stomach, but not completely because the oatmeal opens on
cooking.
The stomach must be sewn with kitchen thread.
Apply holes with a fork to prevent water burst.
All has to be cooked for 3 hours in boiling water.
Then remove the thread and serve it.

How long does it take to cook?

It took 45 hours to cook the whole dish.
Often haggis is eaten with mashed potatoes and white beet poree.
The consistency of haggis is thick as sausage.
- Heidi

 10

Interviews
Mrs. Nunes

 When did you go to Scotland?

 I moved to Scotland while I was still at university in 2004. I applied to the University
 of Edinburgh. That's the capital city of Scotland. I studied English Linguistics, that is
 a class about how the English language works, and where the all the English words
 come from, and what they can mean. I also studied Celtic literature, which is a
 class in Scottish, Welsh and Irish literature; and I studied Scottish history.

 Where did you go there?

 I lived in Edinburgh, but I have seen a lot of other places, too. I traveled all over
 Scotland: from Edinburgh to Glasgow, to Stirling, to Inverness, to the island Iona, the
 Pentland Hills. I saw so many things and still there is so much that I couldn't visit.

 How often have you travelled to Scotland?

 I have only been to Scotland twice. After I came back to Germany, I visited
 Edinburgh once more in December 2005. But it was very different. I was not a tourist
 anymore because I had lived there for a year and knew a lot of local people. But I
 also left Scotland again and the Scottish people who I knew went on with their lives,
 too. So, I felt in between being a tourist and a local (=Einheimischer)

 What did you like there the most?

 Oh, that is difficult to say. This country is so beautiful. And the people are very nice
 and funny. I LOVED Stirling, that is a city with a famous castle. They also filmed the
 movie "Braveheart" there with Mel Gibson in the leading role as William Wallace...
 that is a famous person in Scottish history. But I mostly liked the little shops in
 Sterling and Edinburgh. You could buy a lot of fun and rare things, like special cd
 recordings of your favorite bands. And there was this coffee place called "The
 Beanscene", where they sold yummy Belgian waffles with maple syrup, and hot
 chocolate with marshmallows. Another place I liked was the Isle of Iona. This is a
 very small island. On one side of the islands you have hills and green meadows and
 the weather is not so nice. And on the other side of the island, you have beautiful
 beaches, a beautiful and clear ocean, and sunny weather. The people there were
 really nice, too.

 But the BEST thing about Scotland was that I met my very best friend and maid of
 honor (Trauzeugin) there. She is German, too. But she studied in Edinburgh, too.
 Now she lives in the Netherlands.

 For how long did you stay there?

 I moved to Edinburgh around August 2004 and I left in July 2005. So I lived in
 Scotland for a year. :-)

 Did you travel alone there?

 My parents helped me to move there. But then, I was alone. I also travelled alone to
 Edinburgh the second time I came there in 2005.

 11

Which time of the year did you visit Scotland?

 Since I stayed there for a whole year, I saw all seasons (Jahreszeiten).

What local food did you try?

 I tried "haggis with neeps and tatties". Haggis is minced (durchgemalener) sheep
 lungs, heart, and liver, mixed with spices, onions, and oatmeal (Hafer). It is a lot like
 the German "Saumagen". They say, Haggis is like a sheep turned inside out. And
 that's what it also tastes like. Neeps and tatties are white beets (Steckrüben) and
 potatoes. But you can also eat haggis with peas and carrots instead.

What taste well and what not?

 I honestly did not like original Scottish food, but maybe I didn't try the good things. I
 didn't like haggis at all. It was disgusting. Also, the Scottish people LOVE to eat
 deep fried chocolate candy, for example, deep fried mars bars, or snickers, or
 bounty.

Which location impressed you most?

 I loved Stirling Castle and Iona. But there are also so many beautiful places, mostly
 in nature, that I can't hardly tell you, which other places I liked. I also liked Mary
 King's Close. That is a system of underground walks, basically, a city underneath the
 city of Edinburgh.

Could you imagine to live in Scotland?

 This is difficult to answer. I love the country, I love the nature there. And I love the
 English language. But the people are very poor, and there is no real health care.
 People cannot afford to go to the dentist to check on their teeth because it is so
 expensive and they don't have enough money. We are very lucky to live in Germany
 with a good healthcare system, and social care, so that people don't have to die of
 hunger and poverty. So to answer in short: Unfortunately, no, I can't imagine to live
 there.

Was it easy for you to speak when people were talking in `Gaelic`?

 I never really heard them speak "Gaelic", but they spoke Scottish English and it
 sounded a lot like in the video clip with the pilot that I sent you. :-). It is very difficult
 to understand, but with time, I understood them. I just can't speak the dialect myself.

Did you visit things like the opera, the theatre or a concert?

 I went to "Open Mic Nights", they are very popular in Scotland, and mostly in
 Edinburgh. They happen in bars with a small stage and people can come and play
 music or do comedy. It is really good and a lot of fun. I also went to a Ceiligh Dance
 once. It's a very famous traditional dance in Scotland. But I didn't see typical theater
 plays or concerts because they were very expensive.

What were your experience with the local people?

 Local people were generally very nice and helpful. But some would also make harsh
 comments about World War II, and Hitler. That was not so nice.

 12

Can you remember something really funny that happened to you on your stay in
 Scotland?

 There happened a lot of funny things. Some were based on misunderstandings
 because I used words that had a different meaning other than the one I knew, and
 then people laughed. We also had a lot of fun with our friends there. Once, I was at
 the Edinburgh Dungeon and while I was going through the halls in pitch black
 darkness, I felt someone standing right behind me, dressed up as a monster, and
 whispering "Ahh... the Maltings", which is the name of a pub I went to regularly. I
 was so scared because I didn't know how the person knew that I went there. The
 next day, I met someone, whom I have seen in the pub a lot, and he laughed and
 said that it was him, who had scared me the day before at the Dungeon. He worked
 there. So this was funny for him and all our friends, but not so much for me ;-).

 - Malin

Felin

 Heidi: Where have you been in Scotland?
 Felin: I was in Edinburgh, Tayvallich, Stieling and in Fort William.

 Heidi: When have you been there?
 Felin: I was there in 2016 for 4 weeks.

 Heidi: Did you see there any sights?
 Felin: Yes.

 Heidi: Which sights did you see?
 Felin: I have seen Loch Ness, Military Tattoo in Edinburgh that is a music festival, whiskey
 distillery, Ben Nevis this is the highest mountain in Scotland.

 Heidi: How did you like the sights?
 Felin: It was all good, but the whiskey distillery was a little boring .

 Heidi: Why was whiskey distillery a little boring for you?
 Felin: Because the topic was not interesting for me.

 Heidi: How was it in Scotland?
 Felin: It was good but it was cold.

 Heidi: Will you visit Scotland again?
 Felin: Yes!

 Heidi: Would you recommend Scotland as a resort?
 Felin: Yes, i would.

 Heidi: Did you have a problem how the Scots speak english?
 Felin: Sometimes it was a little difficult.

- Heidi

 13

Vocabulary
offshore offene See / küstennah

documentary die Dokumentation

mention die Auszeichnung / Erwähnung

hills die Hügel

depends on abhängen von / abhängig sein

developed ausgebildet / entwickelt

passed bestanden

acts die Apostelgeschichte / Handlungen

occupation der Beruf

leaguer die Verbündeten

release die Befreiung

Government die Regierung

Scots Lallans (Scottish Lowlands) das schottische Tiefland

Scots Gaelic das schottische Gälisch

Celtic keltisch

square kilometers Quadratkilometer

degrees Grad

changing die Veränderung / der Wechsel

reason der Grund

varies variiert

large groß

jagged gezackt

Orientation die Ausrichtung

cutted geschnitten

affairs die Angelegenheiten

department of foreign affairs das Aussenministerium

department of defense das Verteidigungsministerium

referendum das Referendum

votes die Stimmen

remain übrig bleiben

independence die Unabhängigkeit

protestants die Protestanten

percent Prozent

fraternity die Brüderlichkeit / die Gemeinschaft

currency die Währung

terminating beenden

town center das Stadtzentrum

resident der Einwohner

banknote der Geldschein

pay zahlen

take off abheben

apostle der Apostel

battle die Schlacht

Anglo-Saxons die Angelsachsen

appeare erscheinen

sky der Himmel

scare erschrecken

enemy der Feind

surrender sich ergeben

reserved reserviert/vorbehalten

lilies die Lilien(Blume)

monarchs die Monarchen

weapon die Waffe

arrow and arch Pfeil und Bogen

carpenter der Schreiner

allow erlauben

reduce reduzieren

develop entwickeln

successful erfolgreich

famous bekannt

applied angewendet

linguistics Sprachwissenschaft

Celtic literature die keltische Literaturwissenschaft

twice zweimal

rare selten

maple der Ahorn

green meadows grüne Wiesen

neeps and tatties Kartoffeln und Rüben

peas Pfirsiche

onions Zwiebeln

honestly ehrlich

disgusting widerlich

deep fried chocolate candy Frittierte Schokoladenpraline

mars bars Marsriegel

hardly kaum

dentist Zahnarzt/-ärtztin

poor arm

afford sich leisten

teeth Zähne

harsh hart

Inspiration die Inspiration

step-son der Stiefsohn

nightmares die Alpträume

tuberculosis die Tuberkulose

victorian period das viktorianische Zeitalter

surface die Oberfläche

sea level der Meeresspiegel

such solch/solcher

as so

stomach der Magen

filled gefüllt

liver die Leber

kidney adipose das Nierenfett

oatmeal das Hafermehl

nutmeg Die Muskatnuss

full grown ausgewaschen

thread das Garn

thereby dadurch/damit

dish das Gericht

gastric acid die Magensäure

stomach mucosal lining die Magenschleimhaut

threadbare abscharben

constructed gebaut

ruined Zerstört

partial teilweise

coercion der Zwang

troops die Truppen

whereby wodurch/womit

hunt jagen/jagt

damage der Schaden

civil war der Bürgerkrieg

cloister das Kloster

nobleman die Adligen

buried begraben

diameter der Durchmesser

carpenter der Zimmermann

competition der Wettkampf

World Champion der Weltmeister

council der Rat / das Kollegium