Hello Goodbye (and Bothwell Castle)

People are leaving.

Today was Maija's farewell party - she's leaving tomorrow at noon in her dad's car, and G's and Petra's as well - they will leave on Thursday. Maija experienced real physical pain in her stomach because of all this. Dunno about Petra and G - Petra has been ill since last Thursday, poor sweet girl, I just hope she gets back home safely with that nasty fever. G stays here for Rockness (a music festival on Loch Ness) and travels around, so she's has a lot to look forward to (like I do).
Anyway, I had to run home before I got sentimental. It's easier to say 'See you in Stockholm' than say 'Oooooh the five months is over!'. I try not to be overly sentimental about all this leaving and hugging for goodbyes. Some people might think it's coldhearted, like I didn't care at all, but actually, I know that if I had started crying there it might not have ended until I had drowned in a pool of tears (might be quite an eccentric way to die btw).
I have two modes - either sentimental, impulsive and whimsical, or harsh and sensible. Nothing in between. Or actually, sarcasm in between. But my sarcasm loses edge in English. I suck. I don't even try.

The past week has been sooooooo lazy. I've done three things worth mentioning: had pancakes with friends last Wednesday (that is worth mentioning 'cos they were awesome! Both the pancakes and the friends I, ehheheh), visited Bothwell Castle last Thursday (some more blaablaa on the trip below), and went to Coloursfest on Saturday (blaablaa in the previous post). And on Sunday I was in a coma.
Most of Monday I spent at Tchai Ovna tea room again with Maija, G, and Rachel (G's flatmate). At last I had the courage to try a tea variety called 'Fairie's Blood'. And that's exacty what the tea brought to my mind: thick, red liquid that tasted really bizarre.

Here's a pic from last Wednesday's pancake madness:

Such a beautiful day! Nutella and pancakes, aaaaaahhh!!

And here are a couple of pics from Bothwell:


A view of the Castle.


The Castle was meant to be much bigger but the building process got interrupted several times because of attacks.


The courtyard. There was a wedding coming and some ladies were decorating the place with plastic flowers.

Bothwell Castle is one of the unmissable attractions near Glasgow if you're a history freak - especially if you're interested in the 14th Century independence wars and stuff. The funny thing about the castle was that it was always under attack by either the English of Scots, always occupied by either party. It was, for example, used as a base for Edward I's control over Scotland in the 13th Century. The final stop to the fight over Bothwell came when Robert the Bruce of Scotland commanded one half of the castle to be torn down so that it couldn't be used as a military base by the English any longer. The castle passed down to the Douglases (apparently a very influential family in Scotland), who continued the building process that had come to a halt because of all the fighting, and constructed the castle to the state it remains today.


The oldest part.


The light was amazing.


Not much of the castle remains, except lots of loos! Here's one example...


...and here's another. That dark corridor leads to a latrine.


Poor pigeons!


I got pretty high.


The castle surroundings were especially nice. There was a huge old tree (puuuuuuparta!) just beside the oldest part of the castle. It might have witnessed every single attack :)


I took a walk along this nice leafy path near the castle. Birds were singing and the sun was shining.


The wall here was torn down by Robert the Bruce's men.


Haa! A path into the heart of the forest! A path to Totoro's cave!


On my way back to Uddingston (where I caught the bus) I walked along a nice forest track and saw peculiar trees such as this one.

The visit was really impressing and worthwhile, got quite similar vibes like at Raseborg Castle Ruins in Finland. I love ruined castles. So much cooler than the ones that have survived unaltered.

Anyway. Back to the farewell issue.

I have quite mixed feelings at the moment because at the same time I feel sad about all these people leaving, and happy about the fact that Lauri is coming here tomorrow and the road trip is drawing closer. And me and Lauri's Yorkshire trip is only two days away! So the sadness is just a temporary state. That's embarrassing somehow! I rather just keep quiet! All other people are shedding tears and I'm just thinking about the cool trips to come. They should have planned better ;) Naeh.
Hey people, the Stockholm Reunion meet is only a month away. Don't be so sad! The only thing you leave behind is Glasgow - the people will always be your friends (or a part of good memories at least), and the things and feelings you've experienced here have made you the person you are, for better or for worse! ;) So actually you've left nothing behind but carry it all with you back home. I don't know if that brings any comfort to some people here but for me it does.