Aye, haggis please!

Wanna know what I did this weekend? I'll give you a couple of hints. River Clyde, kilts, haggis... Yep. I spent this weekend in Glasgow, Scotland! Love's company sent the entire staff with partners on a weekend trip to Glasgow, all expenses paid for. And I know, we're lucky bastards.

But the last couple of days I've learned a few things about the scots:
1. They don't really speak english. They talk seriously weird. And if they mistake you for a local, they blabber on like mad and you can only nod and smile and hope your timing is right.
2. Door knobs are funky. Us 'wegians only have door handles.
3. English breakfast is not very healthy. Fry up? No thanks. Especially not with haggis as a side order.
4. Shortbread = yuck. Which leads me onto number 5...
5. They absolutely love BUTTER. I personally can't stand butter. I only use margerine, and that's only when I'm baking cookies.

We did, though, have a lovely time with nice dinners and an entire saturday shopping!
There was so much to see that we don't have at home, and so many christmas presents to be bought. Mum gets the best one (shsss, don't tell!). One of the malls had a "Build-A-Bear" shop, and we got her a very special teddy complete with outfit and shoes. I can't wait to see her reaction when she gets it, she's crazy about teddy bears and she's been wanting a "Build-A-Bear" ever since she heard of them (unfortunately for her, the only shop in Norway is too far away for her to visit).

But let's get to the photos! I uploaded them so that I would have a visual aid when telling about our trip.



This is the River Clyde which runs through Glasgow. It's not a very large city, and you can comfortably walk around in it.



Love and I at the start of our major shopping spree (although we didn't buy that much to be honest. A couple of gifts and some jeans for Love.).



This bakery had the lovliest little cookies and cakes I've ever seen. As well as pralines and chocolate.



And to my big surprise there was a German Weihnachsmarkt! Germany is famous for its many christmas markets, and to find out that Glasgow has a tradition for having one each year was just such a lovely surprise. The booths were even manned by Germans, and I bought a really nummy Cranberry Christstollen (a kind of fruit cake) from one of them. They also had the typical German hot dog booth, with the typical German "bratwurst". Yummy!
In this photo you see one of the booths, a very typical one. They have everything from christmas decorations to old fashioned toys and cookie cutters.



At night, several streets were decorated with christmas lights. This is the Museum for Modern Art, and it had a ceiling of light span over to the next building. When our group saw this, it was a very "wow" moment, you know, those where the whole crowd just simultaniously gasps.



Another GoMA shot



I don't remember what this square is called, but all this electricity sure can't be cheap! Pretty though.



The view from our hotel room early in the morning.



And Peter Pan is probably missing Tinkerbell. Because she's in a jar by my bed now, you never know when you need that pixie dust. By the way, I cut air holes for her. What do faeries eat anyway? Bugs?



This is us being very, very silly before going out.



And this is sunday morning, from the bus, on our way to the air port. I saw plenty of sheep and even some highland cows! Very excited, I must say, to see those long-haired cows. The countryside in Scotland is so totally different from here in Norway. But absolutely gorgeous. And so green.



Here are two sleepy faces on the plane.



But the view was nice!


All in all, a very successful trip. Now we're practically done with our presents, and I've only opened three days worth of advent calendar chocolates!