Glaswegians and Statues

Good day to you,

Jessie and I are now packing up our apartment in preparation for our last gallivant before returning home. The walls in the apartment are bare without the posters, but the outside air is warm and our trip is looking exciting! We have couchsurfing hosts for nearly half the time we're gone, to whom we are grateful for opening their home to us poor college students; if we're lucky we'll get one or two more before going to hostels and airbnb. But as we say goodbye to our flat and "cheers" to Scotland, I thought I'd write a post dedicated to the good people of Glasgow.

On our student tour to St. Andrews and Dundee, the guide asked if we had heard of the "Glasgow mentality." To illustrate, he told us a short story about an attempted terrorist attack that took place at the Glasgow airport. Obviously the attack was unsuccessful, due largely to bystanding Glaswegians who had taken to beating up the terrorist. The police comically had to save the terrorist from the crowd. The airport reduced the prices of their tickets the next day expecting everyone to be too afraid to come after the scare. Yet the next day saw record ticket sales for the airport, as Glaswegians both refused to give in to terrorism and also couldn't pass up saving money.

Glaswegians have been so friendly, as have all the Scottish people. From the Glaswegian who bought Jessie and I two whiskys for no reason other than to make sure we tried proper whisky while in Scotland, to the random Glaswegian who stopped walking his dog through the park for no reason other than to tell us all about the trouble he'd had finding a manly-enough collar for his pup, the Scots have a well-earned reputation for friendliness. We've had similar experiences throughout Scotland, including the Scots in Skye who rescued Jessie and I from the ditch, as well as the Scotsman in Edinburgh who conversed with Jessie while I bought my kilt; he told her I had a good frame for the kilt (I wasn't too skinny like the man who was selling it, apparently), and disputed the authenticity of my sgian on the grounds that it was "too wee". Our time in Scotland has been full of amazing sights, fun adventures (and misadventures), and great people.

Another great thing about the Scots is that they seem to be very nerdy, just like Jessie and I. There are no less than five TARDIS police boxes throughout Glasgow, and Jessie and I have noticed random Daleks hiding out in murals. And that's just the Doctor Who references throughout the city. Since this post has been short on pictures, though, I'll finish out by posting pictures of some of the nerdy things we've seen, followed by a bunch of pictures of us being nerdy with statues that we've seen in our travels. Enjoy!

Jessie excited to meet the Doctor

I am the Doctor in the Glasgow City Centre

Nerd shops are everywhere, but this one has a Zelda sword in the Glasgow City Centre

TARDIS hanging out in a mural near the River Clyde

Robert Burns Last Supper in the Burns Museum, with guests including Shakespeare, Ghandi, and Elvis, etc.

Golden Snitch pocket-watch at a market in Edinburgh

Monty Python-esque hand pointing us to the theatre for a play, a pie, and a pint in Glasgow's West End

Thomas Riddel's grave in Greyfriar Kirk Graveyard, Edinburgh (Voldy)

Hobbit-hole rooms for a bed and breakfast near Loch Ness

Each one was labelled with a different LOTR character

The Doctor's TARDIS in boat form on the Isle of Iona

And now for statues:

George's Square, Glasgow

Dragon taming in Dundee

Jess-CPO in another nerd shop

Weird horse face looking at a sculpture in Dublin

Chatting with Chaps in Galway

Dreaming of graduation in Galway

Four stone-heads in Dublin

Two inspiring speakers in Dublin

Hangin' with Joyce, only in Dublin

Outside Haarlem station

Neptune? At the docks of Oban

Nose-rock and nose-picker at Iona Abbey

Ear-rock and ear-picker at Iona Abeey

Jessie is a celtic high cross on Iona

Firing Cannons at Fort William

Tired Travelers in Fort William

Jessie and Nessie

Giving bunny ears to a standing stone on Skye

Apes in Perth, outside St. John's Kirk

Also outside St. John's Kirk
 

A skeleton on the Edinburgh Necrobus

"Whatcha lookin' at John Donne?"

The nose was too big to pick with just a hand, here in London

I'm leaning on the railing, not making fun of Churchill's cane

That's all folks, for now. We'll try to do short and quick blog posts during our Europe trip, so hopefully this won't be the last you hear from us until we get back. We have a three weeks to see Naples, Rome, Venice, Munich, Vienna, Prague, Oswiecim, Krakow, Berlin, and Dresden before spending another week or so in the UK with the Oteros. We're looking forward to it! Wish us luck and send us prayers!

Cheers,

~Jacob and Jessie