Week 9 + 10: Why we dislike Mel Gibson

So, obviously as you guys has seen this is yet another compilation of two weeks. It is so because I during week 9 mostly struggled with motivating myself to write an essay, and also finishing it while still procrastinating. However, I handed it in this Monday, but I didn't feel like I had to make an entire blog post about that, and also there were not any adventures. However, today I had adventures, and I have the pictures to prove it:

The fantastic view

I went to Stirling with Student Tours Scotland, and yet again. A-mazing. I woke up at 09:00 AM sore 30 minutes before we were supposed to meet up, it seems that my alarm clock didn't wake me, but I got there on time though I had to skip breakfast.

We set out towards Stirling after that, and Stirling is only 45 minutes away from Glasgow, so it wasn't as long a drive as some of the other tours I have been on.

The weather didn't promise any good pictures as it was all foggy, and even my camera warned me that I couldn't see more than 0.5 m ahead of me, which is true. So we started out at the William Wallace monument.

262 steps to the top and spiraled staircases. And once at the top there was no view, well, that's not true. The view was just white, white and more white. Luckily, after standing at the top for 10 minutes the fog started lifting and the most beautiful view appeared.

I know this picture is not one of the best, but it really does show the difference

262 steps down again, and I was at the place where a statue of William Wallace had once been erected to honor him, only, it was not a statue of William Wallace. It was a statue of Mel Gibson*, and as this is not the true William Wallace, quite honestly more a disgrace to his memory, the statue magically vanished never to be seen again.
On the way down I stopped by Abbey Craig, the hill where it is assumed that William Wallace scoured the terrain and as such created a vantage point against the English.

Once done at the monument we headed into the city of Stirling. As I have earlier written (link) there are only 7 cities in Scotland, and Stirling is one of those.
We headed up towards the castle, but we didn't go in, instead we circled around and walked about around the graveyard. Just next to the graveyard is a pleasure garden, which is quite a strange name. In this pleasure garden is a pyramid also known as "The Star". This "star" was made in honor of all those who lose their lives because of their religion. It is also said that the builder of the "star" is sitting upright, obviously dead, inside the star and staring out at the viewers.

The "Star" and Pithy Mary pond

To continue the line of creepiness, in the graveyard there is a beautiful white pavilion like structure with glass all around it. Inside of this glass-casing is what looks a bit like something from a Christmas play with baby Jesus and an angel.

Don't touch me

This all sounds very romantically, but don't let yourselves be fooled by this, because it is said that this angel is actually the Angel of Death, and should it ever be released from it's prison it will turn into an archangel and bring about Doomsday. Apparently only Stirling had the power to imprison the angel.

After this we had lunch, and after lunch we turned towards Stirling bridge where William Wallace actually slayed the English and as such earned the status of a national hero. The original bridge crumpled shortly after the battle, and in its stead a new bridge has been built.

We walked halfway across the bridge and fought a little with swords and then headed back into town to see a prison "dungeon", which honestly was more like a whole in the ground, and the only way to get people up from there was to hand them a rope so they could climb up.

Actually not wearing a coat here...

We also got to see a cool beheading stone where many a man lost his life. There are metal bars over now to protect it from vandalism, that is at least the official story. Another, still creepy story is that there is a ghost, female of course, who lures up men, and entice them to put their head on the stone, only to cut it off. It is said that the shock from that, although head is still attached, is so painful it resembles to having your head cut off.

Obviously, Stirling is a lot about William Wallace, and there are multiple statues of him, but they also have another special guardian: the wolf. One night the vikings decided to invade Stirling via the river. Everybody was sleeping, so it would have been an easy take and a massacre at that, but just before the vikings touched ground a wolf started howling at the top of its lungs, thus waking parts of the city. The awake saw what was happening and managed to stave off an invasion. As such the wolf is also celebrated in Sitrling, however, the wolf is extinct in both Scotland and England.
The weather was so sunny and warm today coats were not necessary, and my cheekbones feel slightly sunburned right now, I realize this sounds crazy, but it's a nice feeling.
Also, would you believe William Wallace's sword is 167 cm long? That's longer than me!

               

Oh, and I want to riddle you something: How would you pronounce Crianlarich?

William Wallace statue

* Mel Gibson: an Australian actor who played William Wallace in Braveheart. Watch the movie.