6/5
Die vergangenen 2 Tage standen im Zeichen der Wohnungssuche. Wenn ich bald in Giessen arbeite, möchte ich schließlich nicht unter einer der Lahnbrücken schlafen müssen. So bin ich mit Verstärkung eines guten Freundes am Sonntag nach Giessen gestartet. Es war wunderschönes Wetter und ich hatte für den Tag einen Besuch in Marburg angedacht. Dort hatte ich beim Vorbeifahren letztes Mal eine stattliche Burg auf einem Berg thronen sehen. Ach ja.. und ein WALLACE MONUMENT gibt es da auch noch – Haha…!
Hier ein paar Eindrücke von Marburg – es ist wirklich wunderschön. Ganz im Gegensatz zu Giessen.
14/4
Vorige Woche war ich für 5 Tage auf Besuch in Frankreich, um genauer zu sein in Nancy. Da die Stadt selbst nicht so der Hammer ist, sind wir am Sonntag nach Metz gefahren. Das war schon eher nach meinem Geschmack: viele alte Gemäuer!
Und bevor es nach Frankreich ging, war ich mit meinen beiden Patensöhnen Max und Marlon samt deren Mütter im Tierpark Ströhen, um die Tierbabys anzuschauen:
21/3Hallo liebe Leute!
Wie ihr ja alle inzwischen wißt, bin ich seit einer Woche wieder in Deutschland. Da ich allerdings keine Lust habe, meinen Blog ganz links liegen zu lassen, forme ich ihn ein wenig um. Für ein komplettes Make-over…. da reicht meine Muße bestimmt nicht. Also werde ich nur diese Seite ändern. Und zwar in ein Potpourri aus allem, was mir mitteilungswürdig erscheint.
Meine Jobnews haben ja bereits eine eigene Seite, die ich gleich auch auf den neuesten Stand bringen werde.
Meine beiden Patensöhne habe ich auch schon getroffen und ein paar süße Fotos gemacht:
Hi there!
Here, I will post some news of me in English so that you are also able to understand what´s going on in my life right now. However, the “reports” will be a lot shorter. Nevertheless, have fun reading!
19/10
Ooooh my god! I haven’t updated this page for ages…. Now I will sit here for hours in order to write all that has happened since the beginning of September. Well, my own fault, I guess… Shortly after my last update, it was Euan’s last day at the castle. He invited us for dinner in Perth. ‘Us’ is of course Lauren, Gary and myself. We all went to have dinner at a very nice place (forgotten the name, I am getting older…) full of old photographs and memorabilia. Afterwards, we walked our huge tummies at the promenade of the river Tay and went back home. Two days later, I enjoyed a brilliant day in Fife. To be precise: at Falkland Palace. I didn’t really expect it to be such a great day out! The weather couldn’t have been better and the gardens behind the palace looked beautiful. I thought that Paradise must look similar to Falkland Palace & Grounds J A lot of Scottish monarchs used the palace for holiday purposes (like Balmoral today); they went hunting and played games, especially tennis! You can still see the oldest tennis court in Britain over there. On the way home, I discovered a very picturesque spot at the Firth of Tay called Balmerino. It is a tiny, tiny… not even a village. Rather a collection of houses just across Dundee. I think the following weekend was “military time” at the castle. The military orchestra/band of the Scots Guards came to the castle to parade in front of the Duke of Kent. They and a pipe band practiced Saturday evening – and, of course, I attended their session. On Sunday, the day of the official parade, I only had time in my lunch break to nip over to the event lawn. There, I had a glance at the Duke (old….) and the parade… and went back to work. Within the week, I once went to the movies with Gary to see “Shoot’em up” with Monica Bellucci and Clive Owen. Quite an irritating movie, but somehow funny. If you happen to watch it – don’ worry, it is not you, the movie doesn’t make much sense!Another evening, I was invited to have dinner at my colleague’s house. She is a retired teacher (German and French) and used to have the German assistants of her school over for a meal. So she continued the tradition with me and we really had a very nice evening. She lives in a – for me and my imagination – typically English-style house. I don’t know how to explain that, but it is really cosy, full of porcelain and old furniture. However, not old as in “broken and ugly”. Another off day was reserved for Dundee. Again. I actually wanted to skype but the Learning Centre had changed its soft- and hardware. No skype anymore, great stuff! Therefore, I tried not to waste that day and went to “Verdant Works”, an old jute factory which has been turned into a kind of industrial museum. They also offered a ‘tour behind the scenes’ and I thought “great, they show us how to work the machines etc.” which I definitely wanted to attend. Oh, oh, big mistake! It was “behind the museum” in terms of choosing & conservation if artefacts and a lot of blablabla. I thought the guy would bore me to death but, surprisingly, the tour was over shortly before the moment of total brain collapse. Lucky!Nevertheless, I couldn’t get myself to pay much attention to the machines and the rest of the exhibition. Strange… The next evening, I wanted to help out at another dinner. This time, it was “only” for European Lexus employees. And one of these guys even showed up in Jeans and T-shirt! Can you believe it?!?! Wouldn’t you look for something decent and classy in your wardrobe if you’re invited to a castle? Anyways, they not only had dinner, but also some truly Scottish entertainment J Our castle piper welcomed them in front of the castle and later, after the castle tour (which I guided) he played again in the Crypt. It almost made my ears fall off – hell, that was loud. Pipes are made to be played outside, not inside a building!After the first course, they experienced the “Address to the Haggis”. This is a bit difficult to explain and I didn’t understand a single word (except ‘Haggis’ and ‘bloody’) of what the “poet” said. I am pretty sure that it was not English!! But at the end, the Haggis was cut open, the piper played a tune and the three of them (piper, cook and poet) drank a dram of whisky and everybody applauded. I doubt that they understood more than I did. Well then, the first week in October was quite an event for me as I had the first “long-term” visitors from Germany here in Glamis. Pia, one of my colleagues from Hotel Victoria, and her friend Julia stayed with me for 5 days. I took the time off and we travelled the country, more than 1000 km.I picked them up at Edinburgh Airport and we spent half a day in the capital. The next day, we drove north to Speyside where we visited 2 distilleries [Glenfiddich (which translated means Valley of the Stag) and Strathisla (which means Valley of the river Isla), the latter providing Single Malt for Chivas Regal] and the cooperage. And of course, you don’t visit distilleries without tasting any of the whisky! However, I think, I still have to go through a lot of tastings before really enjoying the taste of Whisky. We spent the night in a very nice B&B in Banff, had a good Scottish breakfast in the morning and were well prepared to enjoy the day while visiting castles: Delgatie Castle, Castle Fraser and Dunnotar Castle which is a dramatically situated ruin at the rough coast near Aberdeen. Delgatie was soso, Castle Fraser similar to Glamis from the outside but with more rooms to see and a beautiful walled garden. And as I am working on the inventory list for Glamis, it is quite interesting for me to visit other castles! I now know a bit more about painters, pottery, porcelain and Scottish history. I am such a smart arse…. 
The following day, we drove to Pitlochry, a small town in the Highlands. There, we visited the smallest distillery in Scotland called Edradour and another castle, Blair Atholl Castle (NO, it does NOT belong to Tony). What else is there to do in Scotland than visiting castles and distilleries?!? HahahaThe last day was reserved for… yes, another castle: Stirling Castle, the royal palace in the late Middle Ages and later. And that was the only day with “bad” weather. It was misty and a bit cold. The other days were brilliant!! A lot of sun and no rain at all (except for 2 minutes while we were driving on a dual carriageway)!! Who says Scottish weather is c**p?!?Scotland has 2 new fans…. And I felt a bit lonely after their departure. L Finally, last Friday, Graeme offered me to give me a lift to Edinburgh in the evening. I happily agreed, asked Gary to join and we met up with Lauren who is now studying at Heriot Watt. We had dinner at the Omni Centre and actually wanted to go to the pictures. But somehow our timing was poor. So we decided to walk to Royal Mile and maybe have a drink at a pub. On our way, however, we saw people gathering near an old church and I remembered that they start tours through the vaults of Edinburgh at that point. And hey – Gary likes all this kind of scary stuff, so we joined. Lauren and I were already scared beforehand (it was called the “Terror Tour”) and muttered our doubts whether we were able not to wet ourselves during the tour. I can still well remember my last tour through the vaults of Edinburgh. Oh my god was I scared!! And on top of that… this time I wore high-heels. I hardly ever wear high-heels, but that night. Great stuff. Off we went over cobbled stone, into the dark, into the vaults. Unfortunately (or luckily), the only terrifying moment was in the torture museum when my mobile rang and I couldn’t find it in my purse. How rude of me, disturbing a tour with a ringing mobile. I should have known better… So what about work? No big news, actually. I am not an official guide anymore as we are now in a quiet period. Therefore, I spend my days working in the warm office, helping the ladies and working on the inventory list (which is facing its finishing date soon – YES!!). So ladies and gentlemen, what about you? Any news for little Claudi? Looking forward to your mails. 8/9
Hello everybody,
how are you doing?
There are lots of things to tell you.
At the end of August I was off for one day – and guess what – the weather was brilliant! Sunshine and more than 20 degrees! Actually, I wanted to meet Krish on that day but then he had to work for an ill colleague. So I packed my few things and went to Carnoustie. I wanted to spend some hours at the beach and get a tan. Well, I spent 1,5 hours there and it was lovely. But I didn’t get a tan; I was only covered in sand. Doesn’t go well with sun cream….
After the beach, I visited “Barry Mill” an oatmeal mill dating back to the 16th century. It is still working today (with water power) and makes a hell of a noise when you are near to the mechanism. However, it was quite fascinating as I remembered that my great-grandfather also was a miller.
The evening before, I went to Edinburgh with Lauren, Gary and Euan to soak in the atmosphere of the Fringe Festival. We didn’t want to see a particular show so we just walked Royal Mile, Princess Street and George Street. It was very busy on Royal Mile with a lot of street performers. And the evening was mild and dry. What more could we ask for?! We had a nice dinner, saw the little fireworks after the “Tattoo” and then drove back home. It was a nice evening out with a lot of good memories rushing back into my mind.
I had another off day but I cannot remember when. And I also spent the day giving the house a thorough cleaning.
The youngsters from the castle also came to my house twice to watch DVD. A couple of days ago, I cooked for them a typical German meal and then we watched “Hannibal’s Rising”. I am glad we didn’t start watching while eating. Quite a disgusting movie….
One evening I went to the movies to see “Harry Potter” but I have to admit that this was the weakest of the HP movies.
Last Saturday, I went to Braemar to see the “Highland Gathering” and the Queen. Already the drive up to Braemar was fascinating, the weather was great and the mountains covered in violet heather. The gathering started at 9.30am and I stayed almost till the end at 5pm. It was very interesting to see all the different competitions … and actually approx. 3-4 at a time: Tossing the caber, Tug of war (my favourite!), Highland dancing, Piping, a Pipe Major competition, Athletics, and some kind of hammer throwing (??). At 3pm, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh came to attend the games for an hour and then disappeared again. On her way out of the arena I saw her from a distance of only 2 metres. So she was right in front of me… wow!
Now I tell you a bit about work.
One day, there were some French visitors from Orléans at the castle. Nothing spectacular in general, but they were a pipe band and therefore, they wanted to play in front of the castle. And that was quite nice as also the sun was out and gave a lovely atmosphere!
Last Monday, I worked at a dinner party in the castle. It was rented out to a rich American guy (owner a weather channel) who celebrated his 35th wedding anniversary. The party of 20 were flown in with helicopters, landed in front of the castle, were greeted by Lady Strathmore (who spent the evening with them) and then had a drink reception: first in the Italian Garden and then up in the Drawing Room. The dinner consisted of 5 courses and was extremely yummy! How I know? Staff dinner is always the same as the guest’s. J That’s another good reason to work.
So… I am sure I missed something, but I can’t remember at the moment. I have to get ready for work now. Have a good time and send me an email once in a while.
18/8
Hi,
haven’t written for a long time. I was quite busy (and lazy to write). I am guiding most of the time now at the castle and it is good fun. Especially, when the group is reacting and interested in the castle. However, after the second or third tour of the day I start thinking “oh no, not again, telling the story all over again!” Usually, each guide does 4-5 tours per day. Though, a couple of days ago, we had a really busy day with more than 1200 people touring through the castle. On that day every guide did 6 tours!!
On the beginning of August, I had one day off to attend an interview in Dundee for the National Insurance Number. Before that interview, I met one of my friends in Perth, Krish, from my “Napier time”. He works in Gleneagles now. We had breakfast together and spent the morning chatting and walking through the city. It is actually a nice little city! And on my way into Perth to find a suitable car park, I almost wrecked my car. I have never been to the city and one moment, busy searching for the right direction, I forgot that I have to give way to cars which turn left when I turn right….. In Germany, it’s the other way around. But thank God, nothing happened, the driver of the other car didn’t even beep or show me his “courtesy finger”. I would have got that in Germany – for sure. Maybe he saw my foreign registration number and had mercy with me. J
Later on, however, I found my way perfectly through Dundee and 2 weeks later, my NIN arrived. Yeah, now I can pay tax…. Great.
Oh, and even my bank account is sorted out now! I have a bank account, can you believe it?!? In the UK… I thought it would be impossible. There is more between heaven and earth than mankind knows of, hahahaha!
The last weekend, I had my first German visitors in Glamis. Some friends from the Tapas Bar came over for a weekend and visited me on 11th of August. I toured with them through the castle and in the evening, we attended “A Grand Scottish Prom” in the castle grounds. That is a two day concert of classical music, always held in August. My visitors had tickets, so we went even though the weather was terrible. It had rained all day long and stopped only for the last 1.5 hours of the concert. And it was cold! But all together, it was big fun and the music was wonderful.
After my last tour and before the concert started, I had to cross the dining room to get up to the guide’s room. And there, in the huge dining room, the violinist practiced his solo. Wonderful – that definitely gave me a shiver. Actually, I was so positively surprised of the whole concert, the atmosphere and the fireworks that I decided to go again on the next day.
That day was all about opera music which I found only half as good as the orchestra music the day before. I think I am not really into opera singing! But at least it was dry for most of the time and the fireworks were great. In general, I am not a big fan of classic music, but the Proms are definitely a “must”. I can only recommend it.
I was off again last Wednesday and got lucky with the weather again. Not only sunshine, but it wasn’t raining either. I stayed near my home and visited “Barrie’s Birthplace” in Kirriemuir, the tiny house where J M Barrie – the author of Peter Pan – was born and raised. After that, I went to see the Angus Folk Museum in Glamis. It is a nice little museum and most of the visitors seem to be as old as the items on display. I was definitely the youngest
In the evening, I went to Dundee with Lauren and Gary, two of my young colleagues from work. We wanted to see “Rush Hour 3″ and it was really worth it. This movie is sooooo funny! That was extreme good fun. And the two of them are good fun, too, we also spent the evening of the Prom together. Maybe we are going to Edinburgh one evening next week when Graeme gives us a lift (his girlfriend lives there).
My next off day is coming Monday and I might see Krish again as he is off that day as well. I still have to figure out where we meet and what we are going to visit.
Oh yes, and I forgot to tell you that I was invited to the Pub in Glamis the Friday night before the Proms. It was the opening of an architect office in the village and they have already started drinking at 1 pm. I arrived there after work around 7 pm. So I think it`s not hard to guess that most of them were already a bit drunk. But it was nice nevertheless as I met some new people got introduced to other employees of the castle and just spent an evening out.
Ok, and that`s it for now. I hope you are all well?! I’d be happy to hear from you.
2nd of August
Dear all!
This is a short update on my third week here. At the beginning of the week I thought that I would hardly work at all. There was no “Claudia” in any of the rosters. But then it was a busy week for me as some of the guides fell ill and I had to replace them. So last week was my first real week as a guide and I enjoyed it very much. Most of the groups were nice and easy. However, sometimes you get difficult ones. The people hardly change their facial expression, don’t react on my jokes (they are not that bad!) and look as if they wish to be somewhere else instead. Why do you come to the castle then?!? Jeeesus! Oh yes, and it was also the weekend of my niece’s wedding at home in Germany. It was stressing for me to hurry back home on Friday and come back to Scotland on Sunday. But in general, it was worth it as Gina-Lisa looked gorgeous in her dress, the weather was really nice and the party good. And I think that on my plane back to GB was the national soccer team of Scotland; the under 21s. Handsome to look at….?! No. On Thursday night, I went to the “Strathmore Arms” with some of my colleagues. That is a small pub in Glamis… at least that’s what I thought it would be. But no!! It actually is a nice and cosy restaurant. We had some finger food, drinks (aaah… a nice bottle of cool Magner’s Cidre) and some good laughs. On Friday and Sunday last week I was off. Friday, I went to Dundee to see the RRS Discovery, the ship Scott & Shackleton explored Antarctica with (very good exhibition and well maintained boat), the Frigate Unicorn (not worth mentioning) and the city centre.Dundee is absolutely not the prettiest city in Scotland, but in general “ok”. It has a nice seafront… or rather Firth-of-Tay-front and a pretty pedestrian precinct. So if there is something I cannot buy in Forfar – Dundee is the nearest place to go. On Sunday, I wanted to up Montrose and spent some time at the beach. On my way, I stopped at the Bridge of Dun and finally decided not to go to the beach. There was no sun… good point! So instead, I visited the House of Dun and afterwards Edzell castle. Both of them have nice gardens worth a visit! Oh yes. One morning last week, I was on my way to work, I noticed a small transport vehicle with a German registration number. That is actually not very exciting because there are a lot of Germans coming to the castle every day. But this one parked in front of my landlord’s B&B and the registration number told me that they came from a village very very near to my home town. The world is a village….. 23rd of July:
Second week is over. And it was quite a busy week as I have seen different parts of the castle business. I spent one day at the ticket office to get to know how everyting works over there. In addition, I helped out a bit in the food shop & spent 2 days at Head of Stairs. That is where the visitor wait to do the tours through the castle. The person who is “Head of Stairs” informs the visitor about the next tours and organises them regarding time and number of people. In general, not too bad a job because it always happens something unforeseen. However, it is also a cold place to work… And I am freezing quite easily
I also took some guided tours – whole tours. I have done already a couple of English and some German ones. Today, one couple gave me a tip: “a blue voucher for a drink” (5 GBP) as one of my colleagues called it.
On July 15th, I made my first excursion to the surrounding area and explored a valley nearby called Glenisla. It was a warm and sunny day (which is rare at the moment….) so the drive through the valley offered my stunning landscapes and views. How beautiful! Before I went home, I stopped at a place called “Reekie Linn” which is a waterfall near Alyth. It almost makes you feel like being in a jungle, it is sooooo green and wet. The rest of that sunny day, I spent reading in my front yard, wearing a bikini to get tanned for the upcoming wedding.
So the last weekend I flew home to attend the wedding of my niece. Home on Friday night, wedding on Saturday, back to Scotland on Sunday afternoon. Actually a stressing weekend, but nice. I think I was on the airplane with the Scottish National Football Team, but the U21. I found out later when I sat in my living room watching tv.
I haven’t got any real plans for this week as I don’t know when I will be off. Probably the weekend, but I am not sure.
@ Krish: let’s meet on Thursday then in Perth. When and where?!?!
And I definitely know what I will do on 1st of September. I ordered a ticket for the Braemar Gathering (Highland Games). Yipieh!
14th of July
Hello there!
By now, I should have put something on in English… Well, where should I start?!?
My journey over to Scotland was nice and easy. I have slept during 90% of the ferry trip and found my way through Newcastle without damaging my car. The weather was beautiful throughout the whole journey and Scotland welcomed me with a beautiful landscape.
The cottage where I live is also very pretty and very close to the Castle; only a 5 min drive. However, the actual driveway up to the castle already takes 2,5 min…
At the castle, everybody welcomed me quite friendly and my landlords, the Jarrons, are a really nice family. Keep fingers crossed for me that I will get my tartan skirt next Monday. That`s a lot warmer than my skirt now, I guess; and it`s quite cold within the thick walls of the castle.
So my first week is already over and I spent most of the time following guided tours through the castle to learn as much of the castle`s history as possible to guide tours soon myself. On Friday, I guided through 4 of the 10 rooms during a German tour and, later on, did 2 rooms in English. I was quite nervous…
On Sunday morning there is another German tour and I want to take some rooms again. The point is that I already know a lot about the furniture, paintings and stories to tell the people. However, I am worried about the timing and that I forget the right German words (already happened!) or mix up things because of my nervousness.
Today, Saturday 14th, was a staff BBQ at the castle grounds. Luckily, the weather turned out to be sunny and dry in the afternoon, so we all spent a nice evening getting to know each other and doing some archery. Yes, archery! There were 2 people from the archery club nearby to show us how to do it. I wasn`t too bad, actually. And we went up to the very top of the castle. From there the view onto the grounds and surrounding area is magnificent!
And I also have an English/Scottish mobile number now. If you are interested, I tell you the password to my “About me” page. There, you will find it.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
