The McIntosh’s fixed us a hearty Scottish breakfast of bacon (ham), egg, toast, black pudding, tea, coffee, juice, and sausages. We needed the fuel for our adventure today, which was primarily outside.

Driving north about 45 minutes we stopped off first at the Clava Cairns, an ancient 4000 yr. old burial site. These stone ruins were originally beehive shaped and covered with dirt. They were used to bury the important members of the community. The narrow passageways lead to an inner round chamber that is illuminated as the sun rises on the winter solstice. There are also perfect stone circles surrounding the cairns. We had the place to ourselves. The cairns sit in a small valley settled along a little rivulet. The wind whipped through the valley filling our lungs with an invigorating smell of damp stone and moss.

A few miles up the road was the famous Culloden Battlefield, site of the last battle fought on British soil. The battle took place on 16 April 1746. The two opposing sides consisted of Government troops led by the Duke of Cumberland (second son of King George II) and Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) leader of the Jacobites. Both princes had a claim to the British throne, however King George was Protestant and Prince Charles was Catholic. Charles attempted to regain the Crown, but failed in the end. The Jacobites were crushed in battle loosing about 1500 men to the 300 Government troops. There is a misconception that the battle was fought between the Scots and the English. The Jacobites had English and French among their ranks and the Government had the Scottish Argyles and some Scots lowlanders as well. 

The battlefield museum had a lovely audio tour, interactive displays, and a surround sound theatre depicting the battle in just a few short minutes. As we walked around silence and reverence commanded the battlefield. The wind blew fiercely across the bracken nettles and boggy grasses of Culloden Moor. There were large stones marking the mass graves of the various Highland Clans on the Jacobite side as well as stones inscribed with the Government troop dead. A moving memorial to the brave soldiers on both sides of the conflict. After the battle no mercy was shown to the Jacobites and the Government passed the Act of Proscription making the wearing of tartan, speaking of Gaelic, and establishment of clans outlawed. The Act was in affect for several decades until it’s repeal in 1782.

We warmed up with a nice soup and tea at the café and then headed into Inverness. We parked down at the river by Inverness Cathedral and went inside the lovely old church building. They had complimentary pamphlets with walking tours of the city centre. The boys purchased new sporrans to wear with their kilts in one of the quaint shops in the town square.  A Clerk at Culloden told the kids to try “Percy Pig” gummy candies at Mark and Spencers Department Store. Let’s just say “Percy Pigs” are now the family’s new favorite candy.

On the way back to our B&B we had a lovely dinner at the Loch Ness Inn in Drumnadrochit. Finally we ended up yet again in the kitchen with Mr. McIntosh drinking whisky and listening to his stories. My favorite was the Legend of the Balancing Rock. Behind his property up the mountainside is an old geological wonder… a stone perfectly balanced on its end. Legend says that the stone will stay in its place for anyone walking by, but a MacDonald. If someone of that name dares walk by the stone it will fall and crush them only to roll back onto its end awaiting another MacDonald to come by and meet his fate!

This morning we checked out of our hotel in Edinburgh and loaded up in the rental car, a lovely VW Sharan minivan. It isn’t too big, but had just the right amount of space for all of us. All loaded up we drove out of the city and across the Firth Bridge.

We headed north to our first stop, Loch Levan. Known for its “wee” castle on an island only accessible by a summer boat and as a bird sanctuary. It’s ideal setting didn’t disappoint! We entered the visitor’s centre and were greeted by Mr. Davids, a retiree and  volunteer. He was very knowledgeable about birds and was able to show us through a couple of viewing telescopes a stunning group of yellow and black beaked swans. This breed isn’t very common in the area and can only be seen briefly this time of year as they migrate south from Sweden.

Next we drove about an hour north passing through the large city of Perth and stopped in the quaint midlands town of Dunkeld. The scenic village is situated along the River Tay. This was a favorite spot for Beatrix Potter. She was inspired by the local wildlife for some of her stories. The adjacent town is named Birnam which some may recall is quoted in Shakespeare’s MacBeth. The famous Birnam Woods reside in the area. However, only one mighty oak remains from the 700 yr. old portion of the forest. It is now considered a national treasure and is located about 100ft from the riverbank. We parked in town, crossed the river, and then walked down the riverbank on a little dirt path to the tree. Afterwards the kids enjoyed playing with massive sticks they found along the riverbank, which had a gentle incline. We also skipped rocks into the river.

A quick bite to eat (I particularly enjoyed my plate of local salmon, scrambled eggs, and toast) and we headed north again passing through the famous Pass of Killiekrankie and officially into the Highlands! The next stop was at Dalwhinnie Distillery, Scotland’s highest elevated distillery at 1164ft.  Dalwhinnie means “gathering place” and the early farmers would meet at the crossroads and drive their cattle to market in Pitlochry and towns further south. Over the centuries a little village sprung up there and then a distillery in 1898. The Distillery was offering free tours for the winter so after a nice “tea” we took the last tour at 4:00pm. Mr. Peter was very informative and the kids asked some really good questions. We were in a small group of 16. The Distillery itself is rather small with only one Wash and one Spirits Still, however they make enough Single Malt Whisky to ship worldwide. Liam is interested in organic chemistry and in particular brewing or distilling. Our kids enjoy the science and process in making beer, whisky, and wine. We actually vent our own wine at home. After the tour the adults were treated to a tasting of the 15 yr. old and their latest 3 yr. old. Single Malt must stay casked and be made in Scotland to be considered a Scotch Whisky. They gave the kids chocolate and fruit water.

When we exited the distillery just as the sun had set and the moon risen to about 2 o’clock in the sky. It was a brilliant full, white, moon with just a wee halo. The shadows and silhouettes of the wispy clouds, and snow-covered mountains gave an air of ethereal beauty! I’ve truly never experienced anything so pure and mystical. One could see where the stories of the ancient Highlanders came from as we drove through the magical moonlit landscape!

After 90 minutes of driving and stopping for gorgeous nighttime photographs of moonlit lochs, we arrived at Briar Banks, our bed and breakfast on Loch Ness. Outside the home of May and Duncan McIntosh I took a beautiful photograph of Loch Ness in the mysterious moonlight! Mr. McIntosh greeted us in his kilt, showed the boys his homemade Claymore Sword, and then offered us a dram of whisky. We said thank you, but could we have a bit of supper first. Mrs. McIntosh directed us to the Loch Inn Pub. Upon our return the whisky was poured, and yes we even let the kids have a taste like we do at home, and the stories flowed! Their daughter and granddaughter were visiting, so Faywen had great fun playing with 9 month old Maya! Mr. McIntosh spun stories about his own encounter with the Loch Ness Monster, and how he used to deliver milk as a teenager to Balmoral Castle. A few times the Queen Mum sat in the garden and gave him tea and egg and toast! After a lovely 2 hour visit we headed off to bed with a warm glow of whisky and genuine Highland hospitality!

This morning we had a light breakfast in our room and talked about the plans for the day. Robert snuck away for about an hour early on in order to go and fetch our car. The rental place is closed on Sundays so we had to pick up the car today. He parked it in a nearby lot and we headed out on foot to explore the lower half of the Royal Mile. This road runs from Edinburgh Castle down to Holyrood Palace and is a mile long. It also divides the “old town” (buildings before ca.1750) from the “new town”(buildings after ca.1750). We walked up Princes St. half way before taking Coburn St. up the hill to the middle of The Royal Mile. Once up the hill, we headed west until reaching the Mossman/Knox House.

James Mossman was the goldsmith to Mary Queen of Scots. He and his company actually helped to fashion the Crown Jewels of Scotland. He was also a devout Catholic. During the time of the Protestant Reformation John Knox supposedly took over the house which was built in the late 1400’s. The first floor contained several trade shops and the subsequent three floors were the residences. Knox was said to have resided on the top floor and supposedly wrote his History of the Reformation in Scotland from his small study. Mossman was accused of “treason” by the Protestant rebels and hung because he continued to make jewels and coins of the deposed Catholic Queen Mary of Scots.

The house is the oldest and only surviving specimen of late medieval and early renaissance architecture in the city. The old floors slanted, remnants of the painted ceilings could still be seen, and the wood carved panels were stunning. Liam in particular had to mind his head through every doorway due to the low lintels. It was a lovely place to spend an hour. We then had a nice little luncheon in the cafe next door.

After lunch we headed down The Royal Mile passing by old stone buildings, a primary school, and then to the new Scottish Parliament Building. Scotland reconvened it’s own Parliament in 1999. It had not been allowed to gather since the Act of Union in 1707, which combined Scotland and England. The unique modern design of the buildings stood out in contrast to the old brownish-gray stone building surrounding Parliament. However, it had a nice ergonomic design and seemed to fit in organically into the space.

Across the street we entered the Holyrood Palace and Abbey grounds. The staff were lovely and fitted us with very nice audio tour gear that was informative and easy to use. Unfortunately, indoor photography was not allowed. The archway led into a grand four-sided courtyard. Once we entered the palace a stunning blue carpeted staircase with luscious old 17th cent. tapestries hung on the walls. We ascended the stairs and visited many rooms on the first floor which included the state dinning room, royal throne room, private ante-chambers, bedrooms, and the grand gallery. The gallery was decorated with rich red carpet, a white plastered carved ceiling, and 96 portraits of the supposed line of kings and queens of Scotland. The portraits were commissioned by King Charles II to show his divine lineage to the throne. If you looked closely you could see that the artist painted every person with King Charles’ nose, thus confirming the “lineage” visually to visitors!

An ante-chamber just off the gallery housed artifacts owned by the famous Bonnie Prince Charlie, or Charles Edward Stewart, who tried to reclaim the crown during the Jacobite uprisings of 1745-46. The uprising ultimately failed, but Bonnie Prince Charlie has since been immortalized in song and Scottish legend. He spent only 6 weeks in his ancestral palace at Holyrood. A winding narrow staircase led us into the oldest part of the palace and the private chambers of Mary Queen of Scots. A grisly murder took place in her ante-chamber when her husband Lord Darnley believed Mary to be unfaithful with a courtier. Darnley secretly had the man killed and his ghost is said to haunt the chamber. It was amazing to see artifacts belonging to the famous 16th cent. queen. Including her own embroidery, jewels, and private Bible.

We left the inside of the palace and meandered over to the ruins of the Abbey adjacent to the palace. The stunning ruins were the sight where several kings of Scotland were crowned and weddings held. It fell into disrepair in the 1700’s. The old monastic building footprints and stunning gardens ended our tour. I even saw a few roses still blooming amongst the velvety green grass. All of the gardens are set against the Pentland Hills and the famous Arthur’s Seat, an ancient site said to have been one of King Arthur’s favorites.

The Queen and Royal Family still use Holyrood as a private residence. They come to the palace in the month of July and hold state dinners, visitors, and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards are presented in the gardens every year to outstanding school children.

The Queen’s Gallery was next door and had a lovely display of artwork and artifacts collected by Charles II, the last Scottish Stewart king. I was really impressed that the gallery offered a booklet in large print of all the signs next to the artwork. I was also able to get up really close to examine the priceless pieces of art!

We started our trek up the Royal Mile and had a nice dinner at a local Italian restaurant. The city was alive with locals going out on a Saturday night!

Ahhh! Everyone was refreshed after a good night’s sleep! We headed down to our first full Scottish breakfast, which consisted of black pudding, bangers (sausages), beans, eggs, bacon (ham), and all kinds of yummy breads. Oh and a wonderful “cuppa” (cup of tea). We told the kids to fill up because they needed the energy to explore the castle and city.

Bundled up and ready to head out into the city we were greeted with the crisp morning air! It was actually a bit warmer in Edinburgh than it was in St. Louis and even Grand Rapids. The temp was about 5C or 41F. We climbed up the steep hill from Princes Street to the Royal Mile and then rounded the corner to the entrance of Edinburgh Castle. This fortress has had a presence in the city since around 1000AD. Once inside we were treated with a lovely 30 minute basic informational tour by Gabby and then spent the rest of the day meandering in and out of all the interesting castle buildings. In total we spent about 5 1/2 hours in the castle. Robert and I have visited the castle before, but there were many new exhibits and it was lovely seeing it in sunshine! Yes the sun was shining in Scotland in January!

Some of the family’s favorite sites included, the cannon row, royal chamber apartments, the Scottish Crown Jewels, prisons, and the Scottish Military Museum. However, I think we all agreed that a late light lunch of Scottish broth, brown bread, and warm tea did the trick in warming us up!

The crown jewels were impressive, but seeing the one o’clock artillery gun firing was amazing! In Edinburgh for centuries a tower near the castle had a large ball at the top. Everyday at 1:00pm it was dropped to let everyone know the exact time and to set their watches and clocks. However, it’s often foggy in the city. So it was decided in 1818 that a cannon would be shot at the same time. It could be heard all over the city and even down in the Firth of Forth where the boat docks are located. The gun is shot and ball dropped every day except Sundays, Christmas, and Good Friday. Why not these days? Well, because you should be in Church on those days and not looking at your watch!

My personal favorite spots in the castle were the dog cemetery, where loyal military dogs of distinction are buried and then St. Margaret’s Chapel. This Chapel is the oldest building in the castle. It dates from around 1190AD and was commissioned by Queen Margaret of Scotland. She was the first canonized Saint of Scotland. She is still treated with high respect amongst the Scots and the chapel is used for small weddings and baptisms.

We left the castle and headed down the royal mile. We all purchased nice warm scarves at various shops because it was getting chilly as the sun set. About three blocks from the castle we came upon the famous St. Giles Church. Originally Catholic it now is a Protestant church and a landmark within Edinburgh’s “old town”. The inside was beautiful and I loved how the arched ceiling vaults were painted to look like the sky.

We finished exploring and found a lovely little “traditional” restaurant called Cafe 1780 where we shared haggis and fish and chips. The cafe had low beamed ceilings with white-washed walls and was partially lit by candles.

We said our farewells to family and our three kitty cats, Merlin, Beefuzz, and Tigerlily. Then around 11:00am CST on Wednesday, January 16th, my sister-in-law Laura dropped us off at the St. Louis, MO International Airport.

Once inside the airport we cleared security rather quickly and headed to our gate. That is when the “fun” began. 30 minutes before boarding an announcement came through that our flight was cancelled due to a cracked windshield. The next flight to Detroit would be in 7 hours! This would not bode well for us, since our international flight was leaving Detroit for Paris in 6 hours! We waited in line, but eventually were able to be rerouted to Minneapolis, then onto Amsterdam, and finally Edinburgh arriving only 6 hours later than originally scheduled. While in line to be rerouted, a sweet little elderly German woman asked if anyone spoke German. I stepped forward and offered to help Ms. Ursula. She was very appreciative! Another German gentleman named Aachen came forward a few minutes later to help out too!

At 5:35pm CST we were in the air. Faywen was a bit nervous seeing as how it was her first time in a plane…Seamus too! The flight went smoothly and we landed in Minneapolis, MN. After a 2 hour layover and a yummy airport snack we boarded a KLM plane to Amsterdam departing at 9:35pm CST. The crew were very kind and even gave Seamus and Faywen “kid pouches” full of games and toys. The beautiful B787 is one of the newest “Dreamliner” planes made by Boeing. The flight wasn’t full and the boys had an extra seat to sprawl out in and sleep. Faywen sat between Robert and I. We all enjoyed the personal screens in the seat back in front of us. Each had it’s own earplug jack, games, movies, and TV shoes to choose from. You could even track the planes progress over the ocean! The breakfast was delicious too!

As we descended Faywen got a wee bit air sick and threw up just minutes before we landed, but she did so on the blanket in her lap. The crew helped clean up and after we landed she felt better. Seamus, Liam, and Faywen were the only kids, besides one baby, who were on the flight. The crew asked if the kids would like to meet the pilots and see the cockpit after we landed. Of course they jumped at the opportunity and Captain Hans and Captian Fritz were enthralled with our children’s knowledge of flight and the questions they asked. The kids were in the cockpit for over 10 minutes with the pilots. We officially landed in Europe at 11:51am CET.

We spent three hours at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. It is one of my favorite airports. It was nice being back there after several years. We explored the airport and made our way to our final gate and flight. We boarded our flight to Edinburgh. Liam and I sat next to a lovely lady named Melanie from Stirling. We arrived at our final destination at 4:20pm GMT. The kids once again got to briefly meet the pilots! We cleared customs rather easily and then boarded an Airlink bus. It was fun viewing the city from the second story of the bus! We got off at the Princes Street stop, walked two blocks, and then checked in at the Premier Inn.

We have two rooms, one for us and one for the kids across the hallway. The kids’ room has a stunning view of Edinburgh Castle. It was beautifully lit against the darkening sky. After a quick trip down the street to Boots, a local “Walgreens”, to purchase our hygiene products we headed out to dinner. Ironically we ended up at Burger King. We never eat fast food at home, but Robert and I know that Burger King is VERY popular in Britain and we thought to ourselves “hey at least once we should eat there!” Everyone crashed after taking nice warm baths and slept soundly!

My brother, Jason, and his family graciously agreed to “cat sit” our three furry children while we are living in Graz. However, that meant we had to drive with the kitties from Grand Rapids, MI all the way to St. Louis, MO! We loaded the kitties and their paraphernalia up in the truck and took off midday 13 January. Once the kitties realized we weren’t going to the vet they stopped meowing and finally settled down, each choosing a kid’s lap to rest on. Merlin was with Faywen, Tigerlily with Seamus, and Beefuzz with Liam.

Our 7 yr. old niece, Emma, was very excited about taking care of our kitty cats when we arrived in the evening!

The cats were very good for the 8 hour car ride and they have settled in nicely at the new house. We opted to stay a couple of days in St. Louis with the kitties to help them acclimated to their new surroundings. Jason and Laura will take us to the St. Louis airport for our flight to Europe! A hearty thanks to them for taking such good care of our kitty cats.

On another note… our bunny, Duncan, was dropped off on 12 January to our good friends Pat and Clyde Leigh in Grand Rapids, MI. Clyde is allergic to cats or otherwise they would have cat sat for us. Duncan snuggled into Clyde’s arms quite nicely. Pat loved watching Duncan frolic on their carpeted living room. She is looking forward to playing with him many days. He’ll be one spoiled bunny while we’re gone!

Today we finished packing our boxes to ship to Austria. It’s amazing how little one really needs. We were able to get various seasonal clothes and shoes for 5 people into three boxes! Robert and I then loaded them up into the truck and went to our local FEDEX. Box 1 was 47lbs. Box 2 was 61lbs. Box 3 was 69lbs. Not only did we have to ship clothes, but also some music books, music stands, and four plush toy animals that represent our furry family we are leaving behind for 7 months!

We have shipped two boxes previously to Austria as a trial run. The family we are staying with have four little girls and a baby boy and it was fun sending the kids “American” items.

In the late spring of 2017 Robert approached me with a wonderful idea. He said “I have an opportunity to apply for a Fulbright Grant and teach in Graz, Austria”. After hours of discussion and prayers we decided that it would be a once in a lifetime adventure for the family. In August 2017 he applied for the Fulbright Grant. Then the waiting began…

In early December we heard that he had made it through the first round of cuts. On the evening of 13 February 2018 the wait was over! Robert received an email from Washington D.C. stating that he had been awarded the Fulbright. Since the following day was Valentine’s Day, we slipped a simple note into the kids’ Valentine’s cards which simply read “We are going to Graz!”. Ah the squeals of delight rang throughout the living room!

Robert immediately applied for a sabbatical and contacted his fellow professors at Grand Valley State University. A few days later he received an email from a lady named Birgit who would become our liaison at FH Joanneum University in Graz. By the end of March we had an apartment and everything since then has fallen into place pretty smoothly.

We did have to travel to NYC to apply in person at the Austrian Consulate for our visas. We all have a Visa D which allows us to stay in the EU/Schengen area of Europe for 180 days. We drove to Manhattan and spent a long weekend exploring the city at Christmas time. We couldn’t apply any early than Dec. 1st. We were at the Consulate of Monday, December 3rd! It was fun getting to show the kids around NYC! Our visas arrived and we picked them up at FEDEX on 2 January 2019.

It was a lot of hard work and preparations, but we know that God has blessed us with this opportunity.