Shetland

Old Aberdeen

Dolphins jumping

No clouds at all for our trip to #isleofskye last week. Our first real trip to a separate island from the mainland of Scotland/England/Wales. #scotland

Beautiful sunset on @lner (which didn’t have cleanest train windows) overlooking the River Tay near Dundee. By the time I had presence of mind to go up to the cleaner window at the door in the vestibule … the sun had passed under the hills.

It was cloudy and rainy all weekend. The sun came out a bit right before dusk yesterday. It illuminated a stained glass window in our bedroom – I hadn’t noticed before that these old white dudes had labels! Homer! #scotland #aberdeen #rubislaw

I just don’t know why I started giggling at “Butchery at Its Best.” Perhaps it’s because I’m at a garden store that also sells liquor and high heels named after an elf. Oh it has a restaurant as well. #scotland #dobbies

While correlation does not equal causation – my impression is that a lot of people smoke here. And they put these scary pictures on each pack of cigarettes … So maybe the pictures are actually encouraging smoking? #scotland #uk

Nice view from an ancient stone circle. (A less ancient nuclear bunker can be seen in the foreground.) #scotland #aberdeenshire

Both Google and Apple Maps thought I could drive another 2.7 miles along the loch to get closer to the Falls of Glas Alt. Well. No. #scotland #highlands

As I walk to my host institution, I am humbled by these wise words. I hope we can know more tomorrow than we knew today. Within the lifetime of my parents, we did not even know the structure of DNA and much of how it works. I wonder what we will know within the lifetime of my kids. #aberdeen #science

This 1877 house we are living in has some very ornate stuff. I just noticed this last night. An angel playing a violin with a machete. #scotland #angel #architecture #rubislaw

Lovely rainbow on the train back from Glasgow yesterday.

Glasgow feels a bit more like home. Beautiful city that they ran big expressways (motorways) through. Didn’t really see that in Edinburgh or Aberdeen. #scotland #city #concrete #expressway

More buildings art. (Also intentional.) Fortunately a local pointed this out to me as the bus I was in was driving by. This is Denis Law perhaps the most famous footballer from Aberdeen, ever. He grew up in a flat near there. #aberdeen #scotland #football

Everyone was really amused that Scotland’s secret bunker was very easy to find and well marked. It even had EV charging! The degree that they needed to forecast fallout spread using … fairly primitive technology is interesting. The Cold War always freaked me out. I watched and read a lot about all things nuclear as a kid.

Sometimes public art makes you do a doubletake. Particularly when you are in an unfamiliar land. So seeing this on a government building … I wondered – was this ever a thing in the UK? Cops on ostriches? It seems so artistic and intentional. Well, after going down a few rabbit holes I learned a few things. The only documented cops on ostriches I can find occurred in @thesimpsons . In addition this public art was not featured on a prior image of the building. #scotland #aberdeen #grafitti #ostrich

I know – boring photo of a lot of words. “For over 500 years, teaching, learning and discovery has flowed through the veins of Aberdeen. The lives and careers of the medical pioneers featured here testify to the city’s emphasis on education. Their revolutionary research has saved countless lives and has contributed to our understanding of many infectious and life-threatening diseases. World Life Savers Until the beginning of the 17th century Aberdeen, with King’s and Marischal Colleges, could proudly boast that it had as many universities as all of England. This is a city that values learning and champions independent thought. Being unafraid to challenge traditional thinking is a trait shared by our World Life Savers. Perhaps the relative remoteness of Aberdeen gives space to research, and freedom to think? For over five centuries, men and women from Aberdeen and the North-East have pushed boundaries, their ground-breaking research sending ideas around the globe, their work transforming lives the world over.”….here is hoping for space to research and freedom to think! #trials #science #research @uniofaberdeen @goals.of.hair

Generally selfies have been the province of some other accounts. That said, at the end of the last century – I taught my right cerebellum how to handle a manual transmission. Here I am seeing if my left side can figure it out. Also – love my @erraticrunclub hoodie.

Buildings

Smile – windmills

Cool old suspension bridge

Another famous Aberdonian

Provost Skenes House

Seals!