Stirling, Scotland

Today we took the train to Stirling. It was a nice little town. The castle was amazing! Today was a beautiful day. Clear skies and about 65 degrees.Perfect! But the best part was that there was no wind! Kind of rare for Scotland. The bed and breakfast we are staying in is so cute. I am laying on the bright green grass and looking at the most amazing view of Edinburgh ever. The mountains are in the background with the buildings all lit up. It doesn't get much better than this. The B&B is called Highfield House and the little village it is in is called Kirknewton. It is about a 25 minute train ride from Edinburgh. In all, it was a pretty amazing day!

- The Lindners

Hi there - Melissa here. I can't really say it any better than Annie already did! She is an amazing kid! Traveling with her has been such a blessing. The other day we toured the Tower of London and they spoke about William Penn. Apparently, at the Tower of London they consider Mr. Penn to be a criminal who was asked to leave the country unless he wanted to lose his head like so many other prisoners of the Tower. So, he went to the American colonies and began the Pennsylvania colony. Well, the history lesson that day in Annie's book was about none other than William Penn who was - this time - a hero and a religious leader. Funny how the two opposing sides interperet the times! Anyway, Annie was incredibly interested in William Penn and his history and we had a good chance to talk about how there are always 2 sides to every story and the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle.

Today we did see Stirling Castle. It was beautiful! Quite fun. Go ahead and google it to get some pics and some history of this lovely place. Everywhere here in Scotland is lovely. If not for the winters....... Stirling is the castle where the kings and queens of Scotland and later England resided. They are in the midst of a 12 million pound renovation due to be completed at Easter of 2011, so we didn't get to see the royal apartments. However, the great hall has been renovated and it is beautiful. This is the castle that William Wallace (think Mel Gibson and Braveheart) defended in the 1200's. Afterward he became ruler of Scotland. We also saw the Church of the Holy Rude today. Rude (or Rood) is an old English word meaning crucifixion. It is the church where James the VI of Scotland, son of Mary, Queen of Scots, later James I of Enlgand was coronated as a 9 month old baby. It is the only church besides Westminster Abbey to host a coronation of an English king/queen. It was a wonderful place. Scotland is still a place where tartan plaids are worn and have meaning - each clan has it's own tartan. We saw men in kilts and it seemed right! So, next stop is London as a layover before taking the Eurostar to Paris. (That is the train that goes under the English Channel for those of you who know as much as I do!)

Hi, John here. We have seen 6 castles in the past week in England and Scotland including: The Tower of London(the sight of many beheadings), The Nottingham Castle in Sherwood Forrest, Castle Howard, The Alnwick Castle(filming sight of 3 Harry Potter movies and Robin Hood movie with Kevin Costner),Edinburgh Castle(home of the Scotish Crown Jewels, etc) and Stirling Castle(Mary Queen of Scots,King James V and VI and William Wallace). The history of the Great Britain starts to come together through the interconnecting people and events at these incredible castles. It has been a fun way to start to make sense of history dating back to the 1200's. It also helps that we have experienced many different English Ales along the way.However, we have walked many miles and have sore feet and legs everyday. So I suppose it all balances out. That's all for now