(歐洲之旅) 大英, 蘇格蘭 +義大利 🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇮🇹 16天驚險之旅-蘇格蘭城市篇(Glasgow, Edinburgh)

Edinburgh Castle(wiki)

還好在出發前一個月先買了 PS5+<霍格華茲的傳承>(誤), 讓我Buff灌滿有勇氣踏上這個傳說中的蘇格蘭腔, 這個連英國人都不見得聽得懂當地英文的地方 😂LOL

Fortunately, I bought a PS5 with "Hogwarts Legacy" a month before the trip, which gave me the courage to embark on this legendary Scottish accent, a place where even British people may not understand the local English 😂LOL.

People Make Glasgow!

High Court of Justiciary @Edinburgh

Double Rainbow while on the bus @ Edinburgh 

搭乘目前英國快速鐵路LNER(London-Edinburgh)大約需要6小時的時間, 稍微迷路找轉乘的列車到Glasgow又在花了約莫40分鐘, 最終再搭乘超慢速的區域鐵路到科學園區的所在小鎮East Kilbre又是30分鐘過去.....看著沿途的速度越來越慢, 扛著大行李在街道上或是車站內找下一個車站還是月台真的是一種折磨.....還好最終蘇格蘭同事開車來解救我們XD, 不然從小鎮的車站到旅館又得耗上40分鐘的公車才會真的會瘋掉(整天都搭慢速火車就可以讓人夠崩潰)

但是撇除漫長的拉車到蘇格蘭的部分, 在蘇格蘭碰到的司機, 路人, 或是飯店的服務人員都親切到異常(對比於倫敦). 倫敦人也是很樂於幫忙, 但是不會主動或是更進一步的閒聊, 更別說路上的行人. 但在這裡的路上, 還有機會可以跟對向的人在目光交錯時聊上幾句. 這裡的科技園區所在的小鎮雖然本身沒有甚麼特別的歷史景點, 但是在同事下班帶我們去附近的大城市Glasgow參觀他的母校, 還有碰到許許多多居住在蘇格蘭的人一周後, 私心認為蘇格蘭人真的比較有熱情~! (雖然在酒吧看比賽喝酒的時候, 還是會有吵架的時候 Haha)

Taking the current high-speed train LNER (London-Edinburgh) in the UK takes approximately 6 hours. However, after getting a bit lost and spending about 40 minutes searching for the connecting train to Glasgow, I finally took a super slow regional train to the small town of East Kilbre in the science park, which took another 30 minutes. Watching the speed gradually slow down along the way and carrying large luggage while searching for the next station or platform in the streets or stations was really torturous. Fortunately, our Scottish colleagues came to rescue us by driving us to the hotel. Otherwise, taking another 40-minute bus ride from the station in the small town to the hotel would have driven us crazy (spending the whole day on slow trains can really be overwhelming).

However, apart from the long journey to Scotland, the people I met there, including drivers, pedestrians, and hotel staff, were exceptionally friendly (compared to London). Although people in London are also willing to help, they are less likely to initiate or engage in further conversations, let alone talk to random strangers on the street. However, in Scotland, there were chances to have a chat with people passing by when our eyes met. Although the small town where the science park is located itself has no special historical landmarks, my colleague took us to visit his alma mater in nearby Glasgow after work, and I met many people who live in Scotland during the week. After a week, I personally think that Scottish people are more passionate! (Although there were still some arguments in the pub when watching games and drinking, haha.)

A quote in front of Writer's Museum, Edinburgh

蘇格蘭人似乎已經很適應每天都在一整年都是下雨的天氣, 甚至比梅雨季的台北還誇張, 偶而雨停下的時候, 大家都很樂意去路上曬太陽(甚至有迷因就說蘇格蘭人天氣好的時候非常容易曬傷, 因為太想念太陽) 這次停留在蘇格蘭的這幾天也的確體驗到了甚麼樣是在接近0度的天氣下, 天天淋雨的感覺XD  還好我的裝是登山搭配雪衣裝, 雖然有雨但不影響我們在這裡的好心情. 尤其是第一次見到這些蘇格蘭同事們😃

The Scottish seem to have adapted to the year-round rainy weather, which is even more extreme than the Taipei rainy season. When the rain stops occasionally, everyone is happy to bask in the sun on the streets (there is even a meme saying that Scots are very susceptible to sunburn when the weather is good because they miss the sun too much). During my stay in Scotland these few days, I have truly experienced what it feels like to be soaked in rain every day in close to 0-degree weather. Fortunately, I brought my mountain climbing gear and snow clothes, so the rain didn't affect our good mood here. Especially when I met these Scottish colleagues for the first time.

在蘇格蘭某次晚餐, 記得跟我用晚餐的同事說他一點都不想吃(還好他沒殺了我...XD)

蘇格蘭的城市裡充滿了許多古老建築的氣息與神秘的角落, 隨便一個地方都可以讓我們這些觀光客讚嘆不已, 像是Univ. of Glasgow, Edinburgh Old Street上滿滿的古蹟,老街,教堂,與博物館. 

當我們好奇著這裡的人們為什麼可以生活的這麼Chill而唯一需要考慮的就是天氣時, 才意識到原來在這裡生活的每個人是都可以買得起房子的! 每個計程車司機都說他們都早已經買房(就算剛開車的年輕人也說計畫3年內就買房), 而比較迫在眉睫的問題是在考慮今年要換哪款電動車因為政府規劃汽油車不能進入蘇格蘭的大城市區, 以免造成空氣汙染. 這裡真的需要更多的人進來工作而且土地與房屋太多,讓沒甚麼人需要一直買房來炒價. 

Scotland's big cities are filled with the aura of ancient architecture and mysterious corners, and every place we visit as tourists leaves us in awe, such as the University of Glasgow, Edinburgh's Old Town, full of historic sites, old streets, churches, and museums.

As we wondered how the locals could live such a chill life where the only thing to consider was the weather, we realized that everyone here can afford to buy a house! Every taxi driver we spoke to said they already owned a home (even young drivers planning to buy within three years), and the more pressing concern was which electric car to buy this year since gasoline cars are not allowed in the major cities of Scotland to prevent air pollution. Scotland really needs more people to come and work here, as there is plenty of land and housing, and not enough demand for buying homes to drive up prices.

Univ. of Glasgow的迴廊

Edinburgh Old Street