I <3 Glasgow. I think

Let me take you back to early May. The reason why I went to Scotland was not to go to the botanical garden in Edinburgh – however excited I was about getting to revisit it. No, my reason for flying over the North Sea was to visit Natalia in Glasgow.

And honestly. Scotland is definitely romanticized in pop culture, especially in movies and in TV series – but I have yet to experience anything to contradict that romantic image. Even the short train ride between Edinburgh and Glasgow, with sundrenched rolling hills, kept my eyes glued on the passing landscape instead of on the VERY EXCITING final chapters of Anne Leckie’s “Ancillary Justice”. And the joys just kept on coming:

The gritty punk-vegan bar that sold burgers and milkshake-cocktails.

The old stones of the University of Glasgow, heavy with history.

The dangerous! but oh, so alluring selection of books at Waterstones bookstore.

That the symbol of Glasgow is the statue of Duke of Wellington, with the traffic cone at an angle on his (and his horse’s) head.

The breath-taking view across Loch Lomond in Luss, and its picturesque graveyard.

The church-turned-pub with a whiskey list that went on for pages.

High tea at the Willow Tearooms – a joy for all senses.

THE BOTANIC GARDEN.

Watching Parks & Rec with Natalia, in bed, eating crisps and chocolate.

Eating proper Scottish breakfast the morning after at a charmingly dingy place, swearing I would never eat again by the end of it.

Sharing a sunny bench under a blooming cherry tree in the botanic garden with Natalia, making lists of our all-time favorite books.

The depth of green along the path by the River Kelvin.

Or maybe. Maybe. It is not the place. Maybe, it is the person. Any place is a treat, if Natalia is there. Any activity an adventure, if shared with Natalia. Any situation holding the potential for a (dark) joke, with a Natalian twist.

I don’t need to precisely define it, separate causality from co-occurrence. This is not my research. It is enough to say: I had a really nice long weekend in Glasgow with Natalia in May.