Back in Scotland

Yesterday (September first), Katharina, Lisa, and I went to the Braemar Highland Games. To get there, we had to get a bus at 7:45 so we had to leave the house quite early, because we had to get breakfast on the way. We got to the bus stop about ten minutes early, and there was already a considerable line for the bus. The line didn’t get any shorter as we waited for the bus to actually show up- it arrived almost fifteen minutes late. We were in for a very pretty (and towards the end crammed) ride. We went through the countryside and the occasional city on our ride to Braemar.

By the time we got there, it was about 10:30. We walked to get to where the games were held and went and picked up our tickets. Once we got in, we wandered around looking for a good place to perch. It was a bit like a three-ring circus in that there were TONS of events all going on at once. When we got there, there were people throwing a caber (which was 9ft 9 in and weight 129 pounds). Basically, the goal of the game is to pick up a tree trunk vertically, walk with it as far as you can and then throw it so that it goes end over end. Apart from the caber, there were dancers, runners, people competing in tug-of-war and people doing weight over the bar (for the lightweight competition the men were throwing a 28-pound weight over a bar that eventually got up to sixteen and a half feet; the heavyweight weighed 56 pounds). Through the day, we also saw people on the long jump, high jump, whichever event you twirl around and through a really heavy stone, and bagpipe performances. (A side note: all of the throwing competitors were wearing kilts, but unfortunately only one of the running competitors was…) We also saw competitions done by different divisions of the forces which were amazing to see because the participants were STRONG. At one point, we had 17 different bagpipe and drum marching bands all march around the arena and perform together. At three, the Queen showed up (in BRIGHT blue) accompanied by some of the royal family- they announced their titles, but I had no clue to whom they were referring.

A bit after that, we decided to go home because we didn’t know when the buses were, and we didn’t want to spend the night at the Games. When we got to the temporary bus stop, there were already a couple of people waiting in line, which was a very good sign. While we waited, the line grew longer and longer. After about half an hour, the line was so long that I don’t know if everyone managed to fit on the bus. After the long bus ride home, I was tired so I went home for dinner, and Lisa and Katharina ate at a pub.

Ciao,

Florence