Of Dreich, Castles and Kinship, Nine Days in Scotland
There is an old saying in Scotland: "If you like the weather, wait half an hour and it will change". Scots coined hundreds of names to define their pesky dank weather, Dreich is the most used as it defines a wet, chilly and grey sort of weather, mainly rainy. Unfortunately, but predictably, this unfriendly dreich stayed with us for most of our eight-day visit (Edinburgh, Isle of Sky, and the Highlands). A decade ago, I spent four sunny days in the eastern part of Scotland, and I was foolish enough to expect similar weather conditions this time around. Dreich is no impediment to Scottish tourism; for many visitors it is actually part and parcel of their Scottish experience. I convinced myself to take a backpack exclusively to carry indispensable waterproofed clothing. Nowadays, my idea of tourism is comfort, dry weather forecast and contingency planning to avoid stress and disappointment. My English fellow travele...