I have been struggling with order of presentation of this trip and not just dumping every photo on you that I took. Problem is, I took a lot of photos I like. But, I am cognizant of the times I was taken to a slide show of my dad's buddies trip and I was bored out of my ever loving skull. I am going to try to sum up the week in Aberdeen in two posts, and then I will post a link to the gallery of all the photos I took for those of you that are... um... weird? So, first post is Aberdeen City and stuff inside, second post will be the Castles we day tripped to. Now, I know Aberdeen pretty well, lived there for 2 years 4 months going to Physiotherapy School, I found that my familiarity influenced what I took pictures of, where my wife was whipping out her cell phone all the time I was just going... yeah that's OK but not worth DSLR time and hassle. What I wanted to portray here is some of the unusual or just pleasing buildings and sights that I liked. One of the most interesting things to me in Aberdeen is the number of old churches bunched together that have all been decommissioned and turned into bars, music venues and just all kinds of purposes. Just seems... wrong somehow, yet I have spent hours looking at decommissioned chapel listings in the countryside dreaming of purchasing and turning into a house. Not that it is practical, but just fun to dream about. 

Anyhoo, this is an old church on Belmont Street, walked this street a LOT, and I don't remember looking up at this much. It isn't some kind of monumental building, it is just cool and I liked the sky. Should you wander here you will see things like this all day. The Bar is called Slains Castle, named after a ruined castle up the coast, that was an inspiration for Bram Stoker when he was writing Dracula.

If there is a building that dominates my visual memories of Aberdeen more than any other it is this. St. Nicholas Kirk I walked past it, wandered through the graveyard to sit and ponder, just used it to navigate as a landmark if nothing else. You see I was raised in Utah, our cities are laid out in a nice grid, the mountains tell us which way is east. It is easy to navigate. Cities in the UK are... less organized and man I got lost early on. Knowing where this was gave me a landmark that I used a lot. The fact that it looks cool doesn't hurt either.

Marischal College building is another favorite, built in the 1800's it is one of the largest granite buildings in the world according to Wikipedia, when I was there it was being used by the University of Aberdeen and IF I recollect correctly our anatomy cadaver lab was in the basement. Creepy as all heck too. I have always loved the building, it too is a big part of my visual mental map of the city.  

The statue above is of King Robert the Bruce, and below is William Wallace, they are both beloved parts of Scotland's history and I'm pretty sure every decent sized town has a monument to them. Braveheart came out not too long before I went over in 1996 and it did nothing to quiet my long time fascination with Scotland and it's history. I have a fair number of relatives that came from the area east of Edinburgh and their stories have always pulled at my heart. So naturally I like these guys too.

This is another building off of Belmont Street, I like the architecture, but I LOVE the fact that stuff is growing on it. I'm sure it is bad for the stonework, but I just cracks me up. It is solid rock for heck's sake!  

I honestly have no recollection of this statue in honor of the Gordon Highlanders, but I like it. The willingness and desire of the country to preserve their heritage warms my soul, and there is a LOT of heritage to preserve.

This was a favorite piece of eye candy for me the Mercat Cross, some weekends there would be a fair/market thingy going on, and even saw a bunch of bagpipers/drummers performing there. Yes that is a Unicorn on top. 

Union Street is/was the main shopping boulevard when I was there, bookshops, food places spent a LOT of time in the booksellers sittin and readin.

In the OLD part of Aberdeen is St. Machar's Cathedral, I somehow never managed to get down there and made a point of including it. It has a long history in the area and is a really cool old building. I particularly loved the ceilings and stained glass windows. I may have mentioned that when I was talking about St. Paul's in London, I am a sucker for stained glass when there is light pouring through it. These types of buildings were made to impress and awe every person who entered. It works for me. Gates and wrought iron decoration also work.

We can't really be IN Scotland without taking photos of at least a few Thistles, I was surprised at the variety of the blooms from species to species. Very different from what I have close to my home in Utah.  

The roughness of the stone work speaks to the antiquity of the fabric of the building, which I rather prefer, it seems to match the vibe of the country. The spill of light onto the floor was subtle but sublime.

The play of light onto the wall, literally stopped me in my tracks. I HAD to try to capture it. Not entirely sure I did it justice.

Celtic Crosses are just plain cool, the number of cultures that have contributed to modern Scotland is large. Picts, Vikings, Celts, are some of my favorites. The artistry of the Celtic imagery blended into christian symbols has a certain beauty that does not pale for me, no matter how much of it I see. This was in the churchyard of the Cathedral as we were leaving. Probably still there too if you want to visit.  

Returning to downtown for some night photography now. This is SO MUCH easier than film days! Have you ever shot film? You don't know what you have until later when you get the film back from being developed. I wasted MANY nights taking photos in the dark and screwing up the exposure. Being able to look at the screen is just so much easier.

My lovely bride, had given me maximal control of planning this trip. She had planned a trip to Hawaii the year before and didn't want the stress. I was happy to oblige, I get the broad brush strokes done well, but sometimes, most of the time truth be told, details I let happen organically. Like where to eat. I just like to pick where I eat on the day of, based on what looks good. My wife likes a little more planning and... discernment. Which is fine, it really is! It is just not my style. Anyway, her dilligence and searching paid dividends, my favorite Fish and Chip shop or "Chippie" had closed down in the interval since I lived there and we wanted some good authentic Fish and Chips. She found this one that was a stand up on the beach, with amazing reviews and to me great potential if for no other reason than salt air and a breeze on the waterfront will enhance any meal but will do amazing things for Fish n Chips. It was fabulous, the fish were literally caught hours before and fried fresh. It was divine! 

The beach was always a refuge when I needed some peace and to think. Not sure how long these have been down at the waterfront, but somebody needs to "Think" about replacing these.  

Some photos take agility to get right, like I said in my last post 90% of photography is knowing where to stand. Or in this case kneel.   

Thanks for sticking through this post! As Always comments welcome.