The trip that changed me.
Scotland was a kingdom in its own right for eight centuries before joining England in 1707, and it has forgotten none of it: its language, its law, its Church, its clans and castles tell a story of resistance, from Wallace and Bruce to the Jacobites. Glasgow, a working-class port city turned capital of Victorian architecture and design with Mackintosh, contrasts with Edinburgh, the capital, split between the medieval Old Town and the 18th-century Georgian New Town, one of the finest urban ensembles in Europe.
And then there are the Highlands: Loch Lomond, Loch Ness, empty glens, light that changes every ten minutes. It's the trip that changed me, because I went alone and had to reach out to people. The Scots make it easy: in pubs and hostels, everyone talks to everyone. Unique architecture, incredible landscapes, and a culture far warmer than I expected.