Digital Wanderer |

Scotland — 19, First Interlude

2019-10-07

As I usually do, I ditched the blog for a couple of months, getting carried away with other things. Sometimes it was just that, but more often I simply didn't have the energy or mood, period.

A lot has happened over these months. I managed to finish the kitchen renovation. Buy curtains and mountains of tea. Read the book (web-serial) Unsong by the well-known blogger Alexander Scott. Ride a few hundred kilometers on my bike. Get another dose of serious problems and trouble. Such is life.

The renovation looks beautiful (to me). I made the oak shelves myself in my dad's workshop, dad taught me. Working with wood is very pleasant. If you do it completely from scratch, even the simplest thing, a rectangular shelf with hidden mounting, is a tricky business.

Read more →

Scotland — 18, Day Seven

2019-08-15

Rybakov kept wondering how I write from memory. Looks like the free ride is over, and now it won't work out like that. A whole day, but I only have evening photos of us walking near Arthur's Seat.

On this day I wandered around lost. I went into Primark, an inexpensive clothing store that cleverly and promptly copies fashion trends and makes them accessible to the masses. I also dropped into outdoor gear shops, but decision paralysis got in the way. Am I even going to hike in the mountains? Do I need some fancy gear for this, or will I manage without? Is there any point in buying something if I'm losing weight anyway, and successfully at that moment?

Read more →

Scotland — 17, day six, evening

2019-08-11

It's never hot outside in Scotland, but inside Subway I almost boiled alive. Asked the cashier about refills (whether you can fill up your soda cup again). Turns out, you only get one. In the US, they are usually unlimited. In Latvia, this is almost never a thing, people are too poor and are suckers for freebies. Rumor has it that when they were first allowed in McDonald's in Russia (back in the nineties), people would show up with ten-liter jerrycans and stand in a kilometer-long line.

Outside, however, there was a major highway, so I had to turn the corner. From a noisy and dirty thoroughfare, I found myself in a wealthy little neighborhood with mansions. Right in the middle of the lawn, a menacing "private property" sign was proudly on display. I had to perch on the curb. While I was chewing, another bus left. Eventually, I did make it to the place where I could hoof it the rest of the way. I walked along the Water of Leith Walkway, a path we are already familiar with.

Read more →

Scotland — 16, Day Six, Zoo

2019-08-10

Ekaterina flew out early in the morning. I got up unhurriedly and set off in search of new adventures. For a start, I decided to figure out what that green blob was that we saw when we wrongfully occupied Arthur's Seat. On the map, it was marked as The Meadows. It turned out to be the central park. "A modest attempt" — that's what one article called it. Yeah, there's really nothing super special about the park. I just sat on a bench, wrote some posts, did some push-ups. Looked around, stared at the humans. Lots of kids, dogs, and one athlete was running with a giant, super heavy bag on his shoulders. I'd never seen that kind of sport live before. Andrey told me later that he used to do that too, but I can't remember what he had on his shoulders.