Well hello, planet earth!

My journey to the far ends of Scotland made me feel like I was swept to outer space. No work, no phone calls, just me and my backpack. And my husband. Let’s not forget the husband :p

We started our trip in Belgium, for a birthday party of my husband’s brother. I ate three tones of fries and gobbled paprika flavored Crack-a-Nuts. My husband’s family know how to party and their excitement is contagious, so booties have been shaken.

After a few days with family and friends, we flew to Scotland. Feast your eyes with some photos from our trip, most taken by my talented husband Donald (his love for landscapes and wildlife shines through his photos, as you can see in his 500px gallery).

Our trip began in Edinburgh, where we visited the city’s castle and hiked up the hills of Holyrood Park.

Then we moved to Loch Lomond National Park, climbed more mountains and explored the wild forests. Every loch (lake) that we saw enchanted us with a new kind of beauty.

Next we arrived at the Isle of Skye, a perfect place to watch seals and other sea mammals.

While strolling on a lovely beach we found a small island which was connected to the shore by a strip of land. We decided to walk to this island and look at a bunch of seals that were sitting next to it.

Being dumb tourists we overlooked the warning signs (such as trapped jellyfish on the strip of land), and we got cut off by the tide. The little strip of land was gone, and we were left stranded on the island.

This is what the path to the island looked like at first:

And this is what it looked like after:

Panicked, we stepped into the thigh-level water in our clothes and started walking. We made it to land right before the ocean swallowed everything, under the gaze of people who were smart enough to stay on the shore.
That was embarrassing and also scary, especially because Orca whales come to that spot to feed on seals (and dumb tourists?).

But the seals were so cute.
They look as if they are just lying in the sun, but they might be rolling in the floor laughing at us.

From Skye, we took a a ferry to the little Island Raasay. We climbed up the flat topped mountain of Dun Caan, where merciless wind tried to knock us off the cliff.
The trail to the mountain was also a river. I don’t think my socks were ever dry during this trip.
But the views from the top were worth it!

After that we traveled to the Craingroms, to be greeted by red squirrels and wild deer. At that point our shoes were pretty much ruined and so were our feet, but we couldn’t resist a few more hikes in this fantasy-like land.

Nature in the Cairngorms and the ruins of Ruthven Barracks.

After many forests, shores, mountains, lakes and castles, our Scottish adventure came to an end. We headed up to our last destination: London!

In London, we stayed over at friends’ house and hanged out together in the city. Late at night, we were surprised to see a fox in the parking lot of a building. Did you know that foxes invaded the streets of London? Yep, it’s a whole thing.
The fox ran away before I could take a picture of it, so here is an illustration instead.

Nature and landscapes are very inspiring to me, but big cities have a lot to offer, too. I love looking at recent designs in local magazines and stationery shops. Checking out items in trendy places like London is great help, because it tells about current trends and up-to-date styles.

It is also great help to stop by for an afternoon tea. I’m not sure how it helps, but it does.

Afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason in London

after a weekend in London we had to say goodbye to the UK and return to our home. The squirrels, deer, eagles and hares stayed far behind, and we fell tired into the arm of our own beloved little beast.

We are already planning our next trip, but it won’t be before December, so in the meantime I have time to work. When I travel I collect lots of new ideas, and when I come home I’m eager to work on them. That’s exactly what I’m going to do right now, and I will be updating you with my progress!