The last 'Hello' from Scotland...

Hiya,

today is the last day in Scotland. Tomorrow afternoon we head back home.

On our last day, we went to Arthur's Seat... the local mountain of Edinburgh, proudly standing at 251m high (for Edinburgh, it's almost like the K2). So a bit of stretching, hiking boots secured, and off we went on the hike :o)

First, we took the bus to the city, then an Uber to the parking spot at Arthur's Seat. The first part was harmless, the second part a bit tricky, and the last part my personal mountain goat, Mr. Fü, managed alone. I gave it my all, but the last meters were insurmountable for me. Rocky non-path combined with my mega respect for heights... Sorry, I reached my limit there.

Arthur's Seat lies in the heart of Edinburgh, is a remnant of a volcanic system from 350 million years ago, and harbors a chilling secret. In 1836, two boys playing on the mountain discovered a hollow space sealed with slate slabs. Behind the slabs, they found 17 small coffins, just about the size of a Barbie doll's packaging. They reported this to their teacher, Mr. Ferguson, who took a closer look at the coffins... in his kitchen. The small coffins were carved from a single piece of wood, with wires on the sides serving as hinges. Mr. Ferguson 'opened' one of the coffins and found... a wooden corpse... Small carved wooden dolls, each with its own face and wearing a shroud. And the big question is... What is going on here??? Most theories suggest that the wooden dolls are stand-ins for bodies that could not be buried... but for whom? And then the number 17 soon raised a dreadful suspicion: exactly 17 people were murdered by the serial killers Burke and Hare in Edinburgh, and the bodies were sold for anatomical studies. Could the wooden dolls represent these victims? Possible, but all the dolls are male and Burke and Hare also killed women... so this theory falters a bit. Some speculate that they might have been intended for sailors who perished at sea. What investigations have revealed, however, is that the coffins hadn't been in the mountain for long, and cotton shrouds only became available in Britain after 1800. Thus, the riddle of these coffins remains unsolved to this day. Unfortunately, only 8 coffins remain... no one knows what happened to the remaining 9 coffins. Since the Scots love the realm of myths, popular lore has dubbed the coffins 'Fairy Coffins.' The remaining coffins can be admired at the National Museum of Scotland.

We wandered the grounds of Arthur's Seat for a long time and also saw the 'scars' that the fire left on the southern side of the mountain in August 2025.

Once back down, we wanted to visit the Holyrood Palace, at the foot of Arthur's Seat, but unfortunately, it was closed there. No idea why; it should be open to visitors... so we went back to the Old Town for a little stroll, visited St. Giles Cathedral, and said 'Goodbye, see you next time.' And I once again amused myself over the creative names that the cafes here have: The Throat Punch Cafe, Black Sheep Cafe, Kick Ass Cafe, etc. exactly my humor :o)))

Then it was back to the hotel, and the suitcases are packed for tomorrow morning.

We wish you a lovely evening and see you at home.

Bye my Dears!