Scotland the Fair

One afternoon, not very long ago, I had a cup of tea – not just any cup of it, though.  It was Dragonfly rooibos tea with a wonderful, sweet touch of vanilla. It’s not just tea in my humble opinion, more like a piece of heaven turned into liquid – and I’m a devoted coffee-drinker.  Alas, the teabag I used was the last one I had left and therefore, naturally, the circumstances had to be ideal; it was a gray, rainy afternoon, just the kind of afternoon that makes you realise winter is definitely on its way. So I had my delicious cup of tea wishing the brand was also available in my country. However, even more than the tea itself I miss the place where I drank it for the first time.

Scotland has always had a special place in my heart. I've had a great pleasure to visit that wonderful country three times, twice on holiday, once volunteering in a local elderly care in Aberdeen. I was staying in a very nice, quiet village called Bieldside and even though the time I spent there wasn't that long it felt like home.  I couldn't stop admiring the greenery and the old houses and every morning I woke up I was amazed to realise that the country I was in was strange and yet not strange at all. I was at home without truly being at home, I was abroad without truly being abroad.

Bieldside

I spent most of the time in Aberdeen but it certainly isn't the only place I fell in love with. The most beautiful place I've ever seen is in the Highlands where the nature is plain and barren and yet so uncommonly fair. One of my favourite places is a small village called Braemar for not many sights are dearer to me than the mountains, the mist, River Dee and all the little brooks running down from the hills. I could walk there for hours just looking, listening, breathing and sometimes if I stood still long enough it felt as if the mountains were speaking and time ceased to exist. There were just the mountains, the mountains alone.

Braemar

Probably I should have written this in Finnish – as my native language it is the only one that allows me to express my thoughts properly and only by using Finnish I can reach at least some depth of expression. However, it felt right to write this one in English, it is about Scotland after all. Alas, this choice includes the very unpleasant risk of making embarrassing grammatical and phraseological mistakes. That is a risk I choose to ignore.

Stonehaven