Den Haag, 13.07.2014 Summer holiday

Our friends from Shanghai Uta and Winand invited us to visit them and their kids Max and Finn before they leave beautiful Den Haag for Germany this autumn. We had a great start for our holiday - going to the beach, feeding the seagulls with stroopwafers and especially watching Germany win the finals at the Worldcup!

Rotterdam, 14.07.2014 First time ferry

Rotterdam is just an exciting city! And going by night ferry with a cabin with bull's eye was just as thrilling.

Dumfries, 15.07.2014 First time Scotland

First Dumfries, first Loch, first Ayre, first Fish and Chips!

Glasgow, 16.07.2014 Daytrippers

We used public transport and strolled the city. It was great to include the Ipad in planning how to get from A to B - "You turn right in 150 m and cross the road. From there, take bus No. X to station Y. It will stop there every 20 minutes, the next one will leave in 6 minutes." Travelling has never been that easy.

Of the art we had a look at, we especially liked the reproduction of all churchly buildings in Edinburgh from cardbox paper. The Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre was very weird!

Day two, we started at the newly opened traffic museum designed by Zaha Hadid. (The exhibition was better liked than the building itself). A walk to the Pollok Park with Pollok house and its walled garden was beautiful, but mostly impressing was the Burrell collection - an unequaled private art collection ranging from Stone Age to the 1960s.

Cardross, 18.07.2014 Geilston Garden

We bought an annual membership for the Scotland Trust and enjoyed a couple of their greatly maintained castles and gardens, the one here being the first one we visited. They had plants with huge leaves, and really tasty blackberries!

Loch Lomond

Helensburg, 18.07.2014 Hill House

It was forbidden to take pictures of the interior, but this house designed and built by Charles Rennie Mackintosh is worth a visit!

Cairndow, 18.07.2014 Ardkinglas Woodland Garden

Not belonging to the Scotland Trust, but what an experience! We saw the tallest and weirdest trees ever, including the biggest spruce ever growing within the UK, I would guess even the one of the tallest worldwide.

Inveraray, 19.07.2014 The age of chivalry

'How does the actual lord of the castle look like? Is he married? Does he have kids, boys or girls?' All of those urgent questions were solved. Afterwards, two more magnificent gardens: Crarae and Arduaine garden. The rhododrens are getting bigger and bigger, and the green even more intense.

Isle of Skye, 20.07.2014 Picture perfect paradise

On the Isle of Skye, we rented "Tigh Na Mara", a house by the sea, for one week. We had brought rainclothes and woolen sweaters, and we did not need them at all. Apart from a tiny bit of fog and drizzle on our first hiking tour, we had sun all week long, and even went to the beach twice!

Portree, 21.07.2014 Riding stable

I would never have guessed Shetland ponies would be that trusting and playful. After an hour on our horses Paddy and Tinkerbell, Mia and I headed out for a group of four, and enjoyed their company, while Tobi and Moritz visited the Talisker distillery.

Coral beach

Neist point

Stein, 23.07.2014 Boat tour

We were able to spot huge groups of seals, brants and cormorants as well as lion's manes jellyfish, but the best part was the fishing. 'Does anyone of you know how to fish, or want to try it out?' Both our kids wanted to, and caught fishes (mainly mackerel, but halibut as well) within minutes. We had the best dinner ever afterwards!

Talisker bay

Applecross, 26.07.2014 Skye seen from the mainland

After a great week at the Isle of Skye, we spent a couple of nights at a very friendly B&B, where we met Gwendy and Ken, who had lived in Berlin in the 1960s. More important to Mia: we met their dogs, Paddy and Charlie. Even though the weather got worse (Tobi finally felt like being in the Scotland he remembered again), we spent lovely days exploring more Gardens and admiring vast skies.

Inverewe Garden

Attadale Garden

Torridon, 28.07.2014 The hike, second try

Trying it for the first time, we were surprised by hard rain after half an hour, but we liked the walk so much, we tried again. It took us a couple of exhausting hours, but it was so worth it! Lonesome, sparse, and still so beautiful.

Eilean Donan Castle

Charlie

Edinburgh, 31.07.2014 Festival city

After long days away from people, traffic and general noise, we felt weird to spend some time in a city again. We definitely preferred the remoteness of the highlands...