Lazy Day

Hello... or as they say here: Hiya,

Did I say yesterday that I can’t get enough of sunrises??? No, no, no... dear weather fairy, you must have completely misunderstood that. Pah... sunrises... who really likes them???

So, today we decided to take it easy, as we have planned a somewhat longer tour for tomorrow... but more on that tomorrow :o)

The first destination today was the Yew-Tree in Fortingall. Aunt Google yawns a 40 minutes and we set off. The drive there takes us along lonely roads and remote areas. Seriously, if we ever find ourselves in a situation where we need to enter a witness protection program... no one would find us here! Once we had finally crossed the nowhere, we arrived at the Fortingall Yew. It’s a yew tree and is considered the oldest tree in Europe and the oldest church yew in the world. It is estimated to be around 5000 years old... yes, you read that right... five thousand! Its home is a churchyard in Fortingall. Its trunk, or better said, its many fused trunks, was measured in the year of our Lord 1769 at 52 ft, which corresponds to about 15.85 meters. So... the mathematicians among you can calculate the diameter now. I'm out... Unfortunately, the circumference of the trunk is not the same anymore, as it has split over time.

The old lady Yew really lives quite nicely; she has a lovely little church as a neighbor and herself resides on her own plot with a nice little wall and a pretty wrought iron fence surrounding it. Also, kind people have genuinely made an effort with the path to the yew. It is beautifully paved with special stones (see photos). The old lady herself is quite impressive. Just think... 5000 years! By the way, the yew was sacred to the Celts - it was the Druid Tree and was seen as a symbol of life and rebirth. That's probably why so many old churches have yews next to them. We have also seen that in Ireland. After admiring the Fortingall Yew for a while, it was time for the return trip through nowhere.

The next stop: Milarrochy Bay at Loch Lomond. On the way there, we made a little coffee stop at the Falls of Drochats. Very pretty and beautiful to look at. Drink coffee, scramble over the rocks of the Falls of Drochats, take photos, continue driving :o)

Mrs. Google chirps us 1 hour 13 minutes away, and we make our way. And it was really worth it. Milarrochy Bay is definitely a sight, and Loch Lomond shows itself at 23° Celsius and bright sunshine at its best. Here we would have loved to stay longer. At some point, I challenged Mr. Fü to a stone skipping contest. I led for a long time with 5 hops, but then he found the ultimate stone and took the lead uncatchably with 10 hops. After this tough competition and a doping control on Mr. Fü (as far as the stone was concerned, it was long gone), we headed to a nice little restaurant nearby and stopped there.

Satisfied and happy with the day, we arrived back at the hotel and frolicked a bit at our ‘own’ lake.

Tomorrow we’ll be off early.... so today, earlier to bed, so you don’t miss anything tomorrow ;o)

Wishing you all a lovely evening and Mar sin leat (goodbye).