Mistletoe and wine -

Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus
Right down Santa Claus Lane
Vixen, Blitzen, all his reindeer
Pulling on the reins
Bells are ringing, children singing
All is merry and bright
Hang your stockings and say a prayer
'Cause Santa Claus comes tonight

We got caught in Santa Claus lane, but luckily all the reindeer were already for sale as venison burgers at the farmers' market.

(No Santas were harmed in the making of this page)

Embra again - can't stay away

Lunch :)

We like Rekorderlig: In this case it was the Winter one, and I am looking for it in the shops.  After that we headed along Princes Street to end up at the German market.  I like the idea of the market, but would like most people to stay away and give me a little space.  I would like to buy the food, and drink the glühwein, but when I get there, I can't even get my arms out of my pockets....

German market

Tea?

Waiting for the tram.

That's not us on the bench by the way.

October by the seaside

I looked at the map of Scotland, and decided it was time to go where no Candlish had gone before. 

So on a misty Sunday morning we took the caravan and headed off to the dark south-west: down the M74 to Dumfries, along the A77 to Newton Stewart, and off the beaten track, to Garlieston.

Here are some of the photos:

Fiona the I20 runs out of warranty

Fiona has been my trusty steed since 2010, and came with a 5 year or 60000 mile warranty. So far, I have only had to replace the tyres and get some bits for brakes. (I am not very technical!) So with sadness, we passed together from 59999 to 60000 miles today and you would expect a photo to mark the occasion.

She is staying in the family as one of the wage-sappers has requested that she might be allowed to keep her once she passes her driving test.  The jury is out.

Here's to the next 60000 miles.

A blustery day in Aberdeenshire

With the girls off at Guide Camp, we found ourselves with a couple of nights away in Aberdeenshire.

So we had a meal out in Aberdeen city, then spend the next day heading up the coast to Peterhead, Fraserburgh and Pennan.  

I bought a trombone. You weren't expecting that now.

We like Pennen, and this time we visited with a working clutch on the car, so I was a little more confident that we would get away from the village again!

Then collect the girls from camp on the Sunday, and home. 

Fraserburgh Harbour

Silver bells

25 years have passed since we started in on this wedded bliss thing, so to celebrate, we took the wage-sappers out for a steak.

I'm not waiting another 25 years before going back. It was great.

Embra

Glasgow's not really miles better - but it had the commonwealth games

Everyone said that Glasgow was the place to be - thousands of people have come to Scotland to see the games.  We are known for our committment to sports and thought we might take a wee trip through to Scotland's second city, and see what all the fuss was about.

 

 

It was a good day.

 

We didn't actually see any sport!

 

Last day in Denmark

We are having a great time in Denmark.  It seemed to be a 2 day city-break tacked onto our Swedish holiday, and I had wondered if we should have just stayed in Sweden, and not complicated things by adding a couple of nights, and another city. I am so glad we pushed on and had this last couple of days.

Time to relax!

The blue cube and other sights

Copenhagen

You see the pictures in the guide books, but don't really believe that when you arrive, it will look like this.

But it does.

 

 We are staying in the Tivoli Hotel, and I might alter the picture to show our room, but we are up on the 6th floor with fantastic views

We have had a wee swim in the basement pool.

Street art.

 Street Entertainment

Streetside!

I want to ride my bicycle

Swedish marinas and sunny days

Tidy marinas.

Ideal spot for lunch.

 A tiny village of about 18 houses. Only one row of postboxes!

 

 This ship was built in 1998 and launched in 2000 to help pass on the skills of the older boat builders and sailors to the younger generation.

The Bridge

A bit of cropping is needed here.

Picnic lunch. I think we had apple juice and a cinnamon bun from the ICA shop.
This was our trusty car for the week. Next time I would hire one with a bigger boot, but I liked the interactive cruise control, and the eco-tips while driving.  I must remember to keep the windows closed to reduce aero-drag, and I know I am slow to change up a gear especially if I don't know the town.

We also liked getting music from Shona's phone by bluetooth. 

There should be a sign on the back saying "I don't usually sit in this seat" Apologies to the family for a couple of squeaks along the kerb.....

Wallander and all that

We ate in Wallander's coffee shop where they miraculously sell "Wallander Cake" The one with the blue icing has a chocolate "W" in the cream on the top. Ellen's photos were taken from the other side on the table, so you can see the "W"

My picture of the B&B which doubles as the police station.  As this is right by the water, it is not really a good place for the police. Unless they can swim.

 

We failed to get into the cinema exhibition, but I think that was lucky.

City Hall

Another cracking day, and we decided to take in a boat-trip and a visit to city-hall.  So after some exciting bussing (routes 2 and 3) we got our tickets for the boat trip, and thought we would walk over to the cathedral while we were waiting for the boat.  Imagine our surprise when we discovered that the cathedral was actually the city hall, with tours in English every 1/2 hour. 

It seemed rude to say no.

Did you know that the Nobel Prize Winners' Dinner is held in the city hall?  In the blue hall (which is not blue) And there are 101 councillors in Stockholm?

Stockholm Skyline

The view from beside city hall, back to the old town.

This is a famous square. You can buy this picture as a postcard, or a magnet.