International Student City Tour

So Wednesday, the International group on campus took all the study abroad kids on a bus tour of Stirling and the surrounding areas. This was really neat, because besides the ride in I hadn’t seen much of Stirling or any of the surrounding counties. So we got on busses at the University and drove to Dunblane. In Dunblane we went to Dunblane Cathedral. 

Allie and I infront of the Dunblane Cathedral

notice the change in color on the bell tower, that was an
addition in the 15th century. 

HUGE CATHEDRAL!!!

Technically, Dunblane Cathedral is no longer a cathedral, as there are no bishops in the Church of Scotland, which is a Presbyterian denomination. The building is largely 13th century in date, though it incorporates an originally freestanding bell-tower of 11th century date on its south side. This tower was increased in height in the 15th century, a change visible in the color of the stonework, and in the late gothic style of the upper storey's windows. Going to this Cathedral was really neat. It had a graveyard surrounding the perimeter, which may have been kind of creepy at nighttime actually just added to the classic nature of the cathedral. It was really neat going in such an old building. It was totally empty when we went in so they allowed photographs to be taken.

Really really tiny stairs 

But it gave us a cool view

you can see some people up where I took the picture from

Huge Stained Glass portion

The coolest thing in this cathedral was a huge hidden spiral staircase that leads to the giant stained glass wall in the back of the church. It was really neat, and I got some outstanding photos.

The next stop on our trip was to the “Robert the Bruce” statue. He became one of Scotland's greatest kings, as well as one of the most famous warriors of his generation, eventually leading Scotland during the Wars of Scottish Independence against the Kingdom of England. He claimed the Scottish throne as a fourth great-grandson of David I of Scotland, and saw the recognition of Scotland as an independent nation during his reign. Today in Scotland, Bruce is remembered as a national hero. Bruce secured Scottish independence from England militarily — if not diplomatically — at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. (400 something years before the declaration of independence)

Another cool fact about Robert the Bruce is

From 1981 to 1989, Robert the Bruce was portrayed on £1 notes issued by the Clydesdale Bank, one of the three Scottish banks with right to issue banknotes. He was shown on the obverse crowned in battle dress, surrounded by thistles, and on the reverse in full battle armor in a scene from the Battle of Bannockburn.[36] When the Clydesdale Bank discontinued £1 banknotes, The Bruce's portrait was moved onto the bank's £20 banknote in 1990 and it has remained there to date.

So we went out and saw this statue in the rain, and then got back on the bus and rode to Stirling Castle.

Stirling Castle has played a huge role in the history of Stirling. located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles, both historically and architecturally, in Scotland. The castle sits atop Castle Hill that is surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs. This gives it a strong defensive position. Its strategic location, guarding what was, until the 1930s, the farthest downstream crossing of the River Forth,

Several Scottish Kings and Queens have been crowned at Stirling, including Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1543. There have been at least eight sieges of Stirling Castle, including several during the Wars of Scottish Independence, with the last being in 1746, when Bonnie Prince Charlie unsuccessfully tried to take the castle.

you can almost see up his kilt...hahahha

This is a massive castle and you can see it from many places in Stirling. We only had time to hang around in the front entrance, but we got to see the moat type place. As well as some statues around the castle. This will definitely be somewhere that I go back at least once, probably a few times though.

After Stirling castle we headed down to an International Student’s reception put on by both the major and principle of the school. Those are not their titles here, but that’s the closest equivalent that we have. They had wine and chips ( not chips like fries but chips like lays) . They pretty much call everything chips here. Lol.

And then we headed back to campus. It was an excellent day of learning about the history and some of the significant landmarks of the area. There is absolutely more exploring to do, but that’s all I’ve done so far.