While choosing my study abroad location and program, I decided to study in Scotland at the University of Stirling through a program called USAC. During the semester, USAC plans two excursions for the students at the University of Stirling and the students at St. Andrews. The first field trip includes a day trip to the Scottish Borders and the second field trip includes an overnight field trip to the Scottish Highlands. This past Saturday, USAC had their excursion to the Scottish Borders where we explored Rosslyn Chapel, Melrose Abbey, and the Kelpies.
After picking up the students from St. Andrews, my tour guide and bus driver picked up the students at Stirling to start the day off. I prepared for the chilly day, layering my clothes with my vintage Scottish sweater, my mint blue satchel, and my one-of-a-kind, hand-knitted hat designed by a family friend! As we drove through Stirling, our tour guide, Gale, filled us with stories about Scotland's history and myths.
We started the day at Rosslyn Chapel. Rosslyn Chapel is famously known for its connection with the novel and film, "The Da Vinci Code" and the Holy Grail. Since we arrived earlier than expected, we took a quick walk to check out the Rosslyn Castle before exploring the Chapel. The Chapel was amazing! The carvings and structure of the Chapel were extremely detailed and intricate, it looked like it came out of a fairytale! It was amazing how well-preserved the building was after being built in the mid 15th century. There were some many unique stories behind the building of the chapel and the drama that occurred throughout the ages. Although pictures were not allowed to be taken in the Chapel, I did manage to sneak one picture of the beautiful and colorful stained glass windows inside the Chapel.
After picking up myself a patch from Rosslyn Chapel, the group continued to Melrose, Scotland. Throughout the ride to Melrose, I got to know some additional students from Stirling and introduce myself to some students from St. Andrews.
The day was turning out to be a beautiful, sunny day in Scotland, and the Scots don't get many of those. You could start to feel fall in the air as the trees just had the slightest colors of yellow and red. We arrived in Melrose and stopped at a local bakery for lunch. I grabbed myself a warm scone with jam and an iced biscuit as well. Afterwards, some new friends and I checked out the ruins of Melrose Abbey. Melrose Abbey is also home to the heart of Robert the Bruce, a significant figure in Scottish history. I was yet again amazed by how intricate and detailed the Abbey was, especially since it was originally built in 1136! With the blue skies and white clouds, the Abbey's structure and bright red sandstone color really stuck out on that day. My friends and I were also able to climb up to the top of the Abbey and caught a glimpse of the town of Melrose and the surrounding graveyard and mountains. After exploring the Abbey, my friends and I checked out a local cafe where I tried some amazing sweet potato soup.
After exploring Melrose, the group headed to the Kelpies, driving through the Scottish countryside as we gradually made our way back to Stirling. The Kelpies are mythical Scottish creatures. They live underwater but are disguised as majestic horses on land. They often lure young women to a watery death. I learned that most Scottish stories seem to end with death. About 45 minutes away from Stirling, there is a park home to two gigantic metal structures of a Kelpies' heads. Water from a canal flows around the artwork and the park, which makes it a great destination for families to take a walk or ride a bike around the Kelpies. The park also includes a gift shop and a few cafes where I grabbed some delicious hot chocolate to help warm myself up from the chilly Scottish afternoon. After the Kelpies, we arrived back at Stirling which concluded my trip to the Scottish Borders!
I was so excited for this opportunity to explore more of Scotland and continue to meet new people! I was always super excited to get some use out of my Polaroid camera and my Canon SureShot camera. Hopefully I will be able to post those pictures on my blog soon. Since I am a Digital Communications Intern for USAC though, I took photos of the students exploring Scotland, interacting with the locals, and getting a taste of some local cuisine throughout the day. I figured I would feature a few of those photos here on my blog! Thanks for reading and be sure to watch out for my next blog post on Denmark!
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