A Very Potter Christmas
Goals of Trip: Explore Scotland, enjoy the holidays, catch up with my BFF
Keywords: Magical, Christmas, International
Time visited: December/Winter
Don’t forget to pack:
Wellies, chunky knits, and thick coat
Presents and good cheer
Comfortable walking shoes
Travel:
Flight out of Indianapolis to Edinburgh with a quick layover in Philadelphia (ate an iconic Philly Cheese Steak, of course) and then one at London Heathrow. The flight back had a longer layover in Boston, after catching my connecting flight from Edinburgh to London Heathrow, but I got incredibly lucky and bonded with an older woman who also had an overnight layover and we shared a cab and a hotel room for the evening before heading back to the airport bright and early the next day.
Accommodations:
I stayed with my BFF in her *idyllic* cottage–think Kate Winslet’s home in The Holiday for the duration of the trip. This was not only amazing to catch up, but incredibly cost-effective; I would not have been able to stay for as long if I were paying for lodgings.
Day 1
After a very smooth flight, I landed in Edinburgh International Airport. I’ve had the privilege to travel internationally fairly regularly, so getting through customs was also a breeze–I also had the opportunity to say I was “here on holiday.” I chuckled, the customs official did not–so I wished him a “happy holidays” and quickly moved along. After collecting my luggage, I quite literally ran into her arms for the dramatic movie airport reunion. We hadn’t seen each other in over a year since she had moved and the visit was long overdue.
After this ridiculous display of affection we headed back to the Uber waiting area and took a car back to her village in Fife. Fife is along the northeast coast of Scotland, roughly 45 minutes (by car) from Edinburgh, and is home to the world renowned university, and golf club. While traveling by car is certainly faster, it's also more expensive–we got around using public transportation for most of our visit.
Whenever I travel internationally, I don’t like to do much the day I land, simply because I know jet lag zaps my energy–no matter how much coffee I drink. So we enjoyed a lovely afternoon catching by the cozy fire, drinking tea, and taste-testing the local take-away options. I was able to see her charming home, and marvel at the unfamiliar wonders of having radiators in every room and the washing machine in the kitchen.
Day 2
After an early bedtime, I was completely rejuvenated and we took the next morning to explore her *village* complete with cross-eyed ewes and small British school children on holiday. We passed the ancient rectory with tombstones from the last five centuries(!) and made our way through the hedge rows into the ancient forest. Now, I do actually mean ancient–this forest is a remnant of the great forests that used to cover the island of Britain in the middle ages.
We walked through the forest, all the way to the beach. Unlike its more crowded, tropical counterparts, this beach is dappled with sea glass, sea grasses, and a cold ocean breeze coming all the way down from the north pole–or rather Denmark. We took in the North Sea and headed back to her place–carefully tip-toeing around enormous ferns and some very questionable looking fungus. After warming up by the fire with another cup of tea, we started on one of my favorite Christmas traditions–cookie decorating.
Day 3 – Christmas Eve
On Christmas Eve we took the bus into St. Andrews. Now you can walk to St. Andrew’s from the wee village, but there is a bus that comes every 15 minutes for a nominal fee, which is much more convenient than an hour walk. We checked out the university (where she works), the main square with all the shops, bustling with folks taking care of last minute Christmas shopping. After a bit of shopping we stopped in for a pint at the local pub. Now, neither one of us enjoys beer, but ciders are just as ubiquitous in the UK, so we had plenty of options to choose from.
After resting our feet and catching up for a while, we reviewed the menu for Christmas dinner and took care of a few items still left on the list. One of which was the Christmas Eve charcuterie platter. Where Christmas cookies are my tradition, a Christmas Eve charcuterie platter is hers–and honestly it's perfect. We had Scottish smoked Atlantic salmon, innumerable cheeses from the best cheese shop in all of Great Britain, gorgeous iced gingerbreads and nutty crackers oysters and paté–rounded off with a lovely bottle of bubbles. Once we collected all these scrumptious bites, we took the bus back home and assembled everything. We were going to spend Christmas and a couple of days in the highlands so we also prepared everything for Christmas dinner, so we wouldn’t have to worry about that in the morning.
With all of those details taken care of, we switched into our coziest pajamas, lowered the lights, and dug into our luxurious Christmas charcuterie with the best Christmas movies of all time playing in the background: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. We both fell asleep on the couch, but managed to tuck ourselves back into bed before Christmas morning.
Day 4 – Christmas
Christmas morning was delightful. We woke up and ran downstairs like children to open our presents and video call our loved ones on the other side of the planet. Since we had quite a drive ahead of us, we scarfed down a couple of christmas cookies with some tea and then loaded up the car. We rented an airbnb in the highlands, just north of Keith, which was a 2-3 hour drive from her village in Fife.
Christmas Day was unseasonably sunny so we took in all the views on the drive up–which was doubly entertaining sitting as a passenger on the ‘wrong’ side of the car. We enjoyed watching the scenery around us slowly transform from craggy inlets with views of the sea, to rolling hills and steep monros dotted with shaggy sheep and cows, to cavernous valleys flanked by mountains on all sides, capped with fresh snow. Since Scotland is so far north, the sun was already setting by the time we arrived at our adorable Airbnb. Our home for the next couple of days was a tiny home with two additional buildings–a hot tub, complete with moonroof and a grill house with a hibachi-style open face grill. These three buildings looked out over the monros which were hiding in the creeping evening haar or mist.
After this cursory exploration, we set to work on our Christmas dinner. We whipped up a decadent and delicious meal of duck confit, crispy brussels sprouts, pajeon or savory Korean pancakes, and of course–champagne! After stuffing ourselves silly, we donned our complimentary robes and slippers, grabbed the Rioja and made our way next door to the hot tub. From here the details are a bit blurry, but the evening was filled with merriment and wrinkly fingers.
Day 5 – Boxing Day
After a slow start to our Boxing Day adventures (we may have overindulged in the Rioja), we made our way to some of the northerly beaches in Scotland. We explored Portknockie, Cullen (no relation to the vampires), and Banffshire. As you might have guessed from my enthusiasm, I prefer uncrowded beaches where swimsuits aren’t the expected form of clothing. We scrambled through crags, peered over cliffs and into tide pools, skipped stones, and collected treasures from the seafoam. We stopped at Bow Fiddle rock which is just one of the incredible geologic features created through the erosion of unyielding surf.
The villages didn’t have many open businesses since Boxing Day is another holiday in the UK, but we got to see the charming towns and have a quick pint under an ancient aqueduct as the sun set behind us.
On our way back to the Airbnb, we needed to pick up a couple of supplies so we ran into a nearby grocery store: Tesco. Now, I know it may seem mundane to spell this out, but I love going to grocery stores when I’m traveling abroad. Yes, we have grocery stores in the states, but I appreciate both the similarities and differences as I peruse the shelves. After restocking we navigated the thickening haar and cozied up in our Airbnb after taking a quick dip in the hot tub for another night in the highlands.
Day 6
We headed back down to Fife, taking the scenic route, aka directly through Cairngorms National Park. Now if you’ve ever seen Braveheart or Outlander, or even just visualized the Scottish Highlands in your mind–these are the mountains you’re thinking of. Internationally renowned for their breathtaking majesty and iconic geography, the Cairngorms are a national symbol of Scotland.
We stopped in Braemar for lunch and checked out the 14th century ruins of Kindrochit Castle–one of the oldest ruins in Aberdeenshire. We also explored what the Scots consider Chipotle chicken, with a delicious, albeit, interesting lunch. Eventually we made it all the way back down to Fife, driving through incredible farmland and monros.
Day 7 & 8
I was eager to see more of Fife, so we took the bus all around the county. We explored the old ruins of St. Andrews Castle and the coastline curving around the city proper. We enjoyed a couple of toasties (open-faced toasted sandwiches) and tea for lunch before taking advantage of the after-holiday sales. Then we explored the nearby, and larger city of Dundee. I absorbed as much of the old city as possible—including the unintelligible accents!
The Scottish dialect around Dundee is incredibly unique and I couldn’t believe that we were surrounded by people who were speaking the same language as us. Dundee sits on the edge of the Firth of Tay, which is an enormous inlet where the sea cuts into the country. I appreciate going to places with a local and during the off-season, when most tourists aren’t running amok. It’s a great way to see more of the country’s charm, and iconic character.
Day 9 – New Year’s Eve
For New Year’s Eve we woke up bright and early and took the train down to Edinburgh. This 1.5 hour ride takes much longer than a car, but it’s fairly cheap and the views are gorgeous. From your window, you can see all the Scottish countryside and coast between the two cities. Once we pulled into Edinburgh we started sightseeing up the Royal Mile, popping by the father of capitalism, Adam Smith, and St. Giles Cathedral–still bedecked in her christmas finery. Then we strolled by the elephant house, which is the cafe where Harry Potter was born–unfortunately it had been victim to recent vandalism so we couldn’t stop in for a quick cuppa. Then we walked by the university and admired the stunning architecture of the city.
By this point we were quite hungry and stopped in a pub for some haggis–the national food of Scotland. I won’t gross you out with the ingredients (trust me), but the haggis was delicious and the presentation was lovely. With Edinburgh castle seemingly drifting over our heads, we wound our way up the Old City stopping in every vintage and art shop we found along the Royal Mile. Finally, we made our way to the top and Edinburgh Castle. While we didn’t go inside you can see the entire city from the courtyard so we soaked up the views in the setting sun.
While we absolutely could’ve spent so much more time (and money) because there’s so much to do in Edinburgh, we wrapped up our day at the Christmas Market. For those of you who might be unfamiliar, Christmas Markets are seasonal, magical fairs that emerge at the end of November and keep folks entertained until January. From amusement park rides and holiday trinkets, to carolers and figures like Santa and Krampus, Christmas Markets are what Hallmark Channel Christmas movies aspire to be. We warmed up with some mulled wine and cider before hopping back on the train and heading to St. Andrews.
To ring in the new year, we made reservations at Haar. Before dinner however, we popped into the pub for a quick pint (when in Rome) since we were a bit early for our reservation. After a quick drink, we headed over to Haar. The atmosphere was simultaneously charming and elevated. We treated ourselves to this unmatched 5-course meal and savored every bite counting down until midnight. The staff provided complimentary glasses of champagne at 11:50 so everyone could toast when the clock struck twelve. And when it did, fireworks lit up the night sky and we toasted to the new year.
Day 10 – New Years Day
With my holiday drawing to a close, we decided to enjoy a slow, leisurely pace on my last full day. We enjoyed a nice breakfast fry up, many cups of tea, and polished off the last of the Christmas cookies. We took one final walk through the village, up to the beach–just making sure that the North Sea was still the same as the year before. We were almost blown away by some gale force winds, but we risked it for an incredible sunset and a couple of Shetland ponies.
Once we got back to her’s, I checked into my flight and made sure my passport hadn’t gotten lost in the shuffle, and carefully packed all the tokens and trinkets I had purchased along the way. One of my tricks when I’m traveling internationally is to pack everything I need in my carry-on luggage, with the exception of big or bulky items. That way I have plenty of space to securely pack all my souvenirs! We had the BBC playing in the background so I could enjoy some of the programs that don’t make it across the pond, and toasted to our successful holiday with some ciders.
Day 11
I had a midday flight so we could enjoy one last breakfast fry up–complete with beans, toast, and tomatoes, and of course, tea! We decided to drive down to Edinburgh just to avoid any unexpected delays and made it with time to spare. Although good-byes like ours are always bittersweet, we had time to relax with a quick latte before I had to go through security. We relished our last few moments together and started brainstorming ideas about when we would see each other next. The perfect end to a magical, Scottish Christmas.
