Oban

A much more traditionally Scottish winter's day (dark and gloomy) brought us to Oban on the west coast of Scotland, where many of the ferries for the islands leave. The thinking was that, if the expected downpour materialised, we could have some retail therapy instead. As it happened, the rain only started as we were leaving but we still had to spend a lot of time browsing tartan gloves and shortbreads.

Tyndrum, Argyllshire

This is the famous Green Welly Stop at Tyndrum, where both the road and rail split. One road and rail heads north to Fort William, the other west to Oban. Tyndrum is in fact the smallest place in the UK to have more than one railway station.
Incidentally, we have no idea if the village is pronounced Tin-drum or Tyne-drum.

Loch Lomond

O ye'll tak' the high road, 

and I'll tak' the low road, 

And I'll be in Scotland a'fore ye, 

But me and my true love 

will never meet again, 

On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.

A short break in Argyll and I got the chance to take in the banks of Loch Lomond and admire their bonnie-bonnieness. And in the clear blue skies and brilliant if cold sunshine, they certainly did look beautiful.

The photos above were taken at the front in Tarbet and the one below from the art instillation at Inveruglas, a few miles to the north.

Berlin

A few days in the brilliant city of Berlin and boy, did we get about!
Above, hitching a ride to the Brandenburg Gate.

The statue on top of the Brandenburg Gate is the Quadriga. Napoleon robbed it but the Germans robbed it back.

Outside the Reichstag, the German parliament. Angela didn't ask me to address the house.

One of the murals on the longest stretch of the Berlin Wall that is left. Most of it has been pulled down but about a kilometer remains at the East Side Gallery.

Met up with some half-naked tart at the Neptune Fountain.

The Television Tower in Alexanderplatz, pride of the DDR.

Another half-naked hussy at the Palace Sanssoucci in Potsdam

 At Checkpoint Charlie

The glass dome of the Reichstag building. Angela still didn't invite me in. Feck her anyway.

Llandudno

Didn't we have a luvverly time the day we went to Llandudno!!
On holiday with Summer Fox in North Wales and we had a great time with the ice-creams and the rides on the funfairs. Yee-haw!!

Varenna, Lake Como

On the eastern shore of Lake Como, I tried to rob a bike. But I couldn't reach the pedals.

Just hanging around, waiting for a train

Cascate dell'Acquafraggia, Chiavenna

Shortly after leaving Switzerland, we made a surprise discovery of the Acquafraggia waterfalls, once admired by Leonardo da Vinci on his travels. They lie in the Chiavenna Valley between the Swiss border and the town of that name.