Exploding Cars and Beautiful Castles...What Else Is New?

I've promised to blog about the adventure to Scotland I recently took and so in the few hours I have before I leave for Chicago, I'm doing just that. The story starts a couple years ago when friend Charles Hornbostel became legally married to a young lady he met while stationed in Europe with the US Airforce. They planned to have a proper ceremony a couple years later in Comlongon Castle in Scotland, UK. This currently holds the record of the earliest RSVP I've had to make for a wedding: two years. Fast forward nearly two years later where Jeb, his wife Dawn and myself are closing up the final details of our travels out to Scotland for the wedding. Though Jeb and Dawn live in Indiana, we find there connecting flight stops in Philly where I fly out of and work it out to synchronize that flight over the Atlantic Ocean.

The day before we're scheduled to take off, the attacks on the Glasgow Airport take place (the airport we are scheduled to fly into) and we have no idea what that does to our plans. After a considerable amount of questions and phone calls to US Airways we sit between two gates: one to Glasgow and one to Manchester waiting to see what transpires at Glasgow. Glasgow Airport gets up and running and we end up flying into Scotland after all. At this point, we had spent over 8 hours at the airport and a 7 hour flight.

We arrive in Glasgow and bride and groom pick us up. We spent the next 24 hours decompressing from an exhausting flight and adjusting to the 5 hour time difference. The few hours doesn't seem like much, but it's enough to throw off your routine as opposed to something closer to the 24 hour mark where you're offset by a day.

One of my first ventures is out to the countryside where I jog for miles falling in love with the landscape - it is breathtaking. Our first actual day out consists of errands for the wedding and sampling the extraordinary selection of Scottish foods. I finally had proper scones, jam, clotted cheese with tea. We explore the High Street of Dumfries (in southern Scotland) and once again I am soaking in the sights.

The third day was the 4th of July and also the day of the wedding. The entire wedding party and guests commute to Comlongon Castle just outside of Dumfries and we scurry to get events in motion for the ceremonies. Due to complications in finding a videographer and photographer, I was drafted to take some last minute initiative and fill those duties. It was hectic, but in the end, visual records of the wedding were made and the bride and groom were happy with it. The wedding day consisted of a ceremony in a tower room where vows were exchanged and a bagpiper escorted guests and the wedding party in and out. An exquisite cake was cut and a multi course Scottish feast was served. After dinner, a Celtic Blessing Ceremony took place which, to me, was more interesting than the main ceremony. The ceremony consisted of a hand-binding and dagger kissing. The hand binding had six parts where as vows were exchanged, friends and family chosen by the bride and groom tied knots around the wrists of the couple. We were told at this ceremony that this ceremony, which predates Christianity, is where the phrase "tying the knot" comes from. I am pleasantly surprised in having the honor to tie the last knot. As with Celtic tradition, the wedding party and guests were all asked to make secret promises to the couple and kiss a dagger to symbolize that promise and the couple placed that dagger in the ground together sealing the promises. The day ended with a colorful fireworks show. We stayed the night in the castle and it was a surreal experience. As I lay in bed in the dark, I glanced out the window above me seeing the moonlight catch a castle turret and realize, "I'm in a castle!" It's amazing.

I wake up early the next morning to jog around the castle property and then settle with my hand written journal in the castle bar. As the other guests awake, we prepare to head out to Glasgow. All the final goodbyes are made and we head out to Glasgow. Our first night in Glasgow was at an aged Bed & Breakfast that was comically decrepit. We set out to find other accommodations and the next day find shelter in a Ramada Hotel. We spent most of this time decompressing from the wedding but early the next morning head out to Edinburgh Castle via train. We spend the entire day exploring the castle and it quickly becomes an item on a list of "Great Things Done In Life". It is incredible. After the castle, we explore a bit more of Edinburgh city and take in a few monuments. The next day, we set out to Stirling Castle and though a little smaller than Edinburgh Castle, becomes my favorite stop on the entire trip to Scotland. Every view of the castle and from the castle is breathtaking. I spent most of the day staring out into the horizon breathing the clean air atop the castle on the hill. At both castles we take "audio tours" which consist of headphones and small audio players you type in numbers as you see them in the castles to learn about the history of that location. It was very interesting and gave you more of a sense of being in a movie you saw as a kid.
After Stirling, we explore Glasgow a bit and have our final meal at a little Italian place in Market City. We pack up and spend the next day flying back out to the states. All in all, I am glad to have gone to Scotland. Both for my friends and for the trip after the wedding. It was good to actually have a vacation for the first time in 3 years from work.
Now, I'm off on my midwest tour and to my good friend Dan Wolfe's wedding. If you're out there and I haven't spoken to you yet, see if you can catch Nick and I while were out in Chicago and Indy! Ah, the life of a twenty-something, everyone getting married. One day it won't be like this anymore, so I need to enjoy it now.

Anyway, thanks for tuning it...cheers!
-Rod

P.S. Many more photos are on my MySpace Profile: http://www.myspace.com/rodkimrocks

P.P.S. I can't believe I almost forgot to mention that while in the UK, I have become obsessed with a candy bar called "Aero". It was one of my first foods there and I can't get enough! There is a chocolate outside and mint flavored bubbles on the inside! If anyone is looking for Christmas/Birthday/Anytime gift for me, import some of these!