Took the Caledonia Sleeper from London to NW Scotland a few years back and had the great fortune to spend hours in the club car with the Mackie Mammoths, a 35-and-over rugby team from Aberdeen. These guys were a blast -- and sang a few rounds of "American" songs for my wife and I. ("King of the Road" never sounded better! We pitched in with a feeble "I Got You Babe," but they were very kind.) A wonderful bunch of guys and a terrific night. Thanks for the great piece on their hometown.
5
A perceptive insight to an old Scottish town which captures its personality well. I good contrast with the portrait painted of the city by Paul Theroux many years ago. But Paul and Seb both note Aberdeen’s famous seagulls, characters who compete very well with street art
3
If you’ll pardon the unintentional pun, thanks for painting us in a good light. Glad you enjoyed the silver city, haste ye back.
8
I love this new video format! Feels all the richer and like I'm there, too!
2
All this train and art and landscape stuff is very very nice but the true best place in Aberdeen is the inside of a pub on Friday night. The contrast between the grey chilly quietness outside and the joyous noisy life inside is pure delight.
Also may I recommend the Ashvale (www.menu.theashvale.co.uk) for excellent fish and chips dinner in Aberdeen. To me the very very best.
7
After traveling around Europe for 18 months, I enjoyed best the times when the cities were not so crowded. With the internet one would think those times are rare but the fact is like you said there is magic in the lesser known places.
Some even like Venice Italy, all you have to do is head away from the crowds. I got lost one day and found the most wonderful walk and a gondola maker working on a new boat. It was one of my favorites days in that crowded city.
I will return to Europe soon and I want to see more of the highlands; I only went to Glasgow and Edingburgh. Also I never did a sleeper train ride so this Caledonia sleeper to a town filled with wonderful street art sounds like a great way to start the journey!
6
Aberdeen’s architecture is drab gray monotone in the best of times, even more so when the granite is wet from the frequent rains. So, kudos to those artists trying to put a brighter and more creative overlay on the city.
However, the picture of lego blocks in the old stone wall looks more like desecration than improvement. Stick to the boring 20th century architecture, please.
5
the beauty of scotland is really worth the travel, I was lucky enough to spend two years over there , enough time to appreciate various acpects of the country and the people, and still I cannot wait more than 5 years before heading back to Dunbla ne (Perthshire) and go hiking on the west coast or th islands
4
Nice to have a video of the place. Keep them coming.
2
Well done for reaching Aberdeen; and Texel. But could Seb try a little harder to try to say the place names correctly? And maybe not dress like the archetypal American tourist regardless of where he goes?
2
@EML I obviously understand the desire for correct pronunciation of place names, but who cares how he dresses?
12
@FettSolo Thanks for replying and I did think about it hard before making the comment. Personal view: when I travel I try to blend in, and to not have my appearance shout out "foreigner, and British". I find it makes a huge difference in the way I get treated, and also the way I drop off the radar, when I choose. It isn't that I dress like a local; just that I avoid shouting "standard British holiday maker" at 100 metres. And yes, i try to get the local names right!
1