Near daily I have walked along the River Don.

It is the path to school. The path to town. The path to Tesco.

On long summer evenings I walk it after dinner and watch the sky change colors.

I know I will breathe easier and sleep better, so I slip out and wander down, letting the river and the wind take my thoughts.

Sometimes I listen to podcasts. Sometimes I listen to music.

Sometimes I just pray.

Some evenings or on Sunday afternoons, Taido walks it with me. We walk fast and process the day’s events in snippets of conversation.

Sometimes I get a text from my friend Joy. The river is halfway between us and we meet on the bridge to walk and pray.

I have smiled, sung, laughed, cried and fretted on these paths.

I have seen them in the rain.

I have walked them in snow and ice and in the bright sunshine.

I know what’s around the corner.

And how long it will take me to get there and back.

I know exactly where to stop for a rest.

I know where the raspberry and blackberry bushes grow, and when they will be in season.

I know where the only wisteria I have ever seen in Aberdeen grows in the spring.

And I know to increase my loops through the secret garden when it starts to come in more fully.

And to reserve long afternoons for sitting on the benches with a notebook if the sun is out in the summer.

But in winter, I still bundled up and walked these trails.

On cold days, I still detoured now and then through these walls to the garden.

The bare vines are placeholders for what I know will later bloom.

I have photos to remind me that there will be flowers here again.

Lots of flowers.

The crisp days will eventually melt away into softer seasons.

The slanting sunlight will return.

Simon and I first discovered the garden along this walk in late autumn.

It was all yellow and green and just before winter.

We ran around the loop and came back a few weeks later to sit on the benches with our fish and chips from a nearby “chippy.”

It’s become a familiar refuge. A hideaway.

I know these trails when they are in bloom and the green growth is plentiful. But also I know them in the most scarce seasons when the sun seems stingy with its heat.

When the leaves change colors and when they are all on the ground.

I have walked and walked these paths. They are a part of an earned familiarity in Aberdeen that I will miss.

But I know also that I will find new gardens and paths.

And when friends and family come to visit me in Germany,

I will show them my hidden corners and all the places I have found to wander when the sun comes out to play.

So I’m saying goodbye to these weathered trails and making room on the little white benches in Persley Walled Garden for another family of wanderers to find and enjoy.

The post Walks in All Seasons along the River Don to the Persley Walled Garden appeared first on Alison Chino.

Oh Scotland, Land of Castles.

Castles that are old estate homes.

And castle ruins by the sea.

Today I’m sharing a collection of photos of castles in Scotland.

Like Dunnottar in Stonehaven, there are a few castles we return to with friends again and again because of their proximity to Aberdeen.

Crathes Castle is probably the one we have been to most often. There’s a four mile walk in the woods, there are gorgeous gardens to explore and you can even enjoy the treetops via a ropes course.

Drum Castle is nearby Crathes and also has great walks and a superb playground for little ones.

There is also a small chapel (where you sometimes see a wedding!) and a grove of trees that are excellent for climbing!

We love Drum because you can get on top of the castle tower.

You can also enjoy the tower views from Castle Fraser, although sometimes they are covered in mist.

Fraser is another frequent favorite for walks and gardens and tea in the old castle kitchen.

The walk leading up to Castle Fraser is lined in trees and in the spring the daffodils turn the whole field yellow.

Craigievar Castle is a little further from Aberdeen but it’s a beautiful drive and is surrounded by pine forest that is worth a walk through.

Fyvie Castle is one of the most impressive estate homes and it’s not too far from Old Meldrum so it can be combined with a distillery tour at Glen Garioch.

I love Fyvie Castle in the springtime especially. Take in the daffodils and a nearby walk around a lake.

Of course Dunnottar is our favorite castle ruin, but we have a few others we love to go back to. Auchindoun Castle is near Dufftown so I usually combine a trip there with a visit to nearby Glenfiddich Distillery.

You park along the road and walk about a mile to Auchindoun, sometimes passing Highland Coos in the fields on the way.

And you can let the kids play at this nearly-always deserted ruin to their hearts content.

I’m pretty sure we’ve taken all our cousins to this castle now!

Right next to Glenfiddich is another castle ruin that is not always open, but if it is, Balvenie Castle is another fun one to roam. There are almost always Highland Coos next to this castle, so it’s worth a wander even if the castle is closed. A castle ruin, a distillery tour and seeing Highland Coos are three must-have experiences for tours in Scotland, so it’s nice to be able to check all three off the list here in Dufftown.

Another fun ruin near Aberdeen is Tolquhon Castle.

The walls and towers are almost all restored for climbing and exploring. It’s one of the best places for hide and seek in all of Aberdeenshire!

All our kids (and kid visitors) prefer the castle ruins to touring the estate homes because they are free to roam and touch whatever they like.

One more favorite ruin is New Slain’s Castle near Cruden Bay, which also happens to be my favorite coastal walk in Scotland. A collection of coastal walks near Aberdeen might be my next blog post.

Castle visits will forever remain in my memory as a huge part of our life in Aberdeen! I hope the kids will treasure all these tours of towers and turrets as well!

The post Visiting Aberdeen: Castle Trail appeared first on Alison Chino.

I took this picture of Mary Polly in September 2013, less than a month after we moved here, and it pretty much captures how I feel about the Sand Dunes in Scotland.

The wind is always blowing the grasses that grow on the sand dunes so that you feel like you’re in the middle of filming an epic film about an ancient homeland.

Also contributing to “epic film feeling” is that there is no one around.

You have these giant playing fields full of sand and grass almost entirely to yourself.

Soon you are either battling enemies or singing loudly or just running wildly and thinking you are the star of life.

Because, come on! It’s gorgeous.

And the sea is right around the corner.

I get this little excited feeling every time we walk these boardwalks before we glimpse the sea.

Even though I’ve seen it a lot of times by now, I still wonder what it will be like. Will the tide be out? Will the water be rough? Will the ripples in the sand be undisturbed? Will there be seals? Will it be windy?*

What will we find today?

Almost always when I go to the sand dunes I find the following:

1. The wind in my hair, which is cold and makes me wrap my scarf around my face but is still exhilarating.
2. A rock or a shell or a piece of beach glass that I put in my pocket and later put on the window sill of my bedroom.
3. Kids who remember how to run and who are not afraid to get their feet wet in absurdly cold water.
4. Kids who do not mind getting covered in sand, rolling down hills and covering themselves with sand that I will later find all over everywhere and it will annoy me but also remind me of very good days.

Pretty much the whole coastline of Northeast Scotland is covered in these sand dunes, but we have a few favorite spots for sure. 

We have recently discovered Newburgh Beach where you can see hundreds of seals right at the mouth of the Ythan River. You drive down Beach Road and pass the golf course and then you can park and walk over the dunes to see the seals.

It’s a gorgeous beach but every time we go it is crazy windy.

We went to Newburgh recently though and the yellow gorse is so lovely right now. Except don’t get yourself in a place where you have to bushwhack through it. Take it from me, it’s real prickly.

You can also park at the Forvie Nature Preserve and walk through all kinds of sand dunes. If you go south you will eventually reach the Newburgh seals and if you go north you will get to Collieston. Either way, you are winning at seeing beautiful sand dunes in Scotland.

Another spot to see some gorgeous dunes and walk along a beach is just north of the mouth of the Don River in Aberdeen. There is a place to park along Donmouth Road, and a path that leads down to the beach. I find this spot particularly lovely during low tide.

Probably the dunes we visit the most often are at Balmedie Beach.

Balmedie is only about fifteen minutes away from us and we love it in all seasons.

And in almost any weather.

It is beautiful in the mist.

And on a sunny day you will think you’ve landed in heaven. Except then you might think that it is perhaps a little cold to be heaven.

Also at Balmedie is the boys’ favorite big sandy hill to run/slide/box sled/roll down.

And near the parking lot is a darling playground with a pirate ship. So at Balmedie you can play at the beach, on the sand dunes AND at the playground. So. Many. Choices!

We almost always end up leaving Balmedie because we’re all cold and have to go home and get warm. In fact, I often think that if it was a warmer or less windy day that we could stay forever. I recently tested this out with a friend of mine when we happened to go on what I think was maybe “the most perfect day ever to be had in Aberdeen.” We get one or two of those days a year (I exaggerate. We get really get four.) and so we ran out to Balmedie to make the most of it, planning to stay for a couple of hours. OVER SIX HOURS LATER, we said, well I guess we are going to have to load up and go home because you know, life. And we had eaten everything we had. But the kids played so hard for so long that I felt like we could have been there for a week. At one point, children were stripping off all of their clothes and running naked into the water, and even though I was still in a coat and hat, I wondered for a minute if we’d been transported to the Caribbean. It was glorious.

This is exactly how I feel when the sun shines bright at Balmedie:

Giddy with delight.

We’ve taken loads of visitors to Balmedie over the years so here are a few fun memories for cold trips to these sand dunes and beach.

In June 2014 with my friends Jermaine and Kristie.

In June 2015 with Bailey.

In May 2015 with Rhonda and Carol.

In April 2015 with Mama, all bundled up. (She’s also pictured above on the playground with Simon. Do not tell dare her to climb to the top of a playground structure!)

In July 2014 with Campbell and Wilson.

And Peter and Whitney.

Are there other places to play in the sand dunes in the UK that you would recommend? Do tell me because you know how I love a road trip to a new place to see the sea!

PS A cafe is opening at Balmedie next to the playground sometime soon. So that’s just one more reason to go!

*YES! It will almost always be windy!

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Our first excursion out of Aberdeen after our overseas move to Scotland was to a castle just outside of Stonehaven.

We walked two miles down King Street from where we were staying as guests of a family who were back in the US at the time to Aberdeen’s city center to catch a bus.

When the bus stopped on a quiet road near the castle ruin on a cliff, we were the only ones to get off.

We walked the road in the general direction of the sea until it appeared in the distance…

Donnottar Castle.

Dunnottar is dramatically perched on top of a rock that seems to rise out of the sea.

Needless to say, we were impressed.

We spent a couple of hours touring and playing around the castle ruins before our tummies reminded us that we needed to find something to eat.

We walked the two mile road to Stonehaven, unaware of the gorgeous coastal path we could have taken by the sea.

Some folks got a little tired of walking.

An hour later, we had found fish and chips and a beach to eat them on.

And everyone was happy.

We got back on the bus to head home to Aberdeen, tired and full and grateful for a wonderful day out to an epic location.

Stonehaven.

Over the last three years I’ve made many more trips to Stonehaven, and I never tire of watching the wonder wash across peoples’ faces when they glimpse the castle on the rocks or the delight in their eyes as we walk along the coastal path.

Especially for Americans, there is nothing quite like walking around a grass clifftop through ruins that hold stories that are so very old.

For over 800 years, these stones have withstood wind and rain and occasionally some sun.

We usually get a little bit of everything on our walks to and from the castle.

This rainbow and the darker clouds below are all from the same day.

When I take visitors, we always walk around to the opposite cliff from the castle for photographs.

You have to backtrack a bit and walk over a bridge though a gully to get over there.

Here are a few of the photos from that spot that we’ve taken of sweet friends who’ve come to see us in Aberdeen!

Sarabeth and Elizabeth, June 2014

Pete and Whit, Campbell and Wilson, July 2014

Diane, September 2014 (This might be my favorite!)

Rhonda and Carol, May 2015

Bob and Anna, Grace, Emily and Phineas, July 2015

Kelly, August 2015

And my last trip to Dunnottar..Donna and Tanja, April 2016.

(I’m missing a few other trips in there from friends who were visiting Aberdeen in winter….probably due to bad weather!)

After we see the castle, we walk back to Stonehaven along the coast. The views as you come into the town capture the whole harbor and the beach to the far left where we often eat fish and chips.

For lunch we have fish and chips on the beach, or we go to the Marine Hotel for beers and salmon chowder (Cullen Skink) and other cozy foods if the weather has turned.

Stonehaven has been one of my very favorite day trips to make from Aberdeen and since it was our first outing in Scotland as a family, it will always hold a special place in our hearts!

I’m so grateful I have gotten to share it with so many others!

PS.

If you go…here are a few details I would have loved to know on my first trip there.

You can park in Stonehaven right on the harbor (or in a free lot near the harbor) and follow the signs from the harbor to the coastal path. It’s 1.5 miles one way to the castle. When you reach the castle, there are a lot of stairs descending to the beach and then some more stairs up into the castle, so wear your hiking boots or trail runners. It cost around 7GBP to enter the castle ruins. There is a bathroom inside the castle which I always need when I get there. And the fish and chip shop we love is the Carron. There’s no place to sit in, so we carry it across the street to the beach. But like I said, we also love the Marine Hotel right on the harbor for food and drinks.

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Aberdeen, the third largest city in Scotland, is often overlooked by guidebooks and tourists, and there are good reasons for preferring Edinburgh and Glasgow to Aberdeen.

However, now that I’ve lived here for a season and shown the area to countless friends, I would vouch for Aberdeen as a decent weekend getaway.

Last month I went on a little Staycation to the city center of Aberdeen with a friend, to try out a hotel and the enjoy waking up in the middle of town. It’s always a treat to spend a night away with a girlfriend, even if you are only a few miles from your house!

So here are my suggestions for what to do if you find yourself in Aberdeen, either for a weekend or like me, for a longer season.

Aberdeen Beach

Just a short distance from the city centre, the sandy Aberdeen Beach stretches for two miles between the Dee and the Don rivers.  A boardwalk runs just above the beach as well, so you can enjoy the sound of the waves as you linger on the sand, or while you’re pounding the pavement for an evening run.  Either way, you’ll love taking in expansive views of the sea, listening to the seagulls and watching the occasional surfer when the winds are high.

If you have a car, you should also visit the quieter Balmedie Beach, just a short drive north of the city. Big sand dunes and beautiful waves.

Visit Aberdeen Maritime Museum and Harbor

This museum traces the history of Aberdeen’s harbor, one of the oldest in the world.  The city’s journey from being a medieval fishing village to a powerhouse of industry when oil was discovered in the North Sea is told through multiple exhibits.  In the modern day exhibits, you can enjoy seeing what daily life is like for offshore workers.

According to the Guinness Book of Records, the harbour boasts being Britain’s oldest business (est. 1136).  For certain it is one of Europe’s busiest ports with the constant coming and going of offshore supply boats, ferries and fishing boats.  You can stand in the harbour and watch the boats, or walk to the harbour’s edge and try to catch sight of seals and dolphins that often play near the entrance.

Visit the fishing village of Footdee

Footdee (pronounced Fittie) is a small fishing village located south of the city centre by the Aberdeen harbour.  The village dates back to medieval times but people still live in the little cluster of cottages that are huddled together with their backs to the sea, as protection from the rising tide and winter gales.  The village forms two squares, one around an old church, which also serves as meeting house.  Wandering the village is a fun way to step back in time to the days when Aberdeen’s primary source of income was found through fishing the North Sea instead of mining its oil.

Walk through Old Aberdeen

A visit to Aberdeen would not be complete without taking a stroll through Old Aberdeen.  Located just north of the city center, Old Aberdeen has some of the most exquisite architecture in the city.  Don’t miss King’s College, the third university founded in Scotland in 1495 or the beautiful St. Machars Cathedral, which dates from the 19th century.  Both are free to tour.

Have a pint

Our go to meeting spot for drinks in Aberdeen is a place called Six Degrees North, named such because it is six degrees north of Belgium. Clever, eh? As you might expect, they brew Belgian style beers and always have loads on tap to choose from. They also do a lovely cheese, olive and meat board to share with your friends.

Grab a bite to eat

We have a few favorite spots to eat in Aberdeen, but we don’t go out to eat that often so I’m sure there are many places I’ve overlooked.

For a fancy dinner, we love Cafe Boheme (French) or Rustico (Italian).

For a quick bite at lunch or a great coffee, I would go to The Coffee House just off of Belmont or Kilau Coffee at The University of Aberdeen.

See a show

You can choose from all kinds of different live shows in Aberdeen. Music, theater or intimate comedy setting. There’s one booking spot for all four main venues which makes it simple to browse what’s on. The smaller venues mean you’ll be closer to the stage and the prices tend to be less expensive than big city theaters.

Hillwalking

Some might argue that Aberdeen’s greatest offering is its proximity to the Highlands.  You do not have to go but ten or twenty minutes outside of the city before you are surrounded by the views of Scotland that you always see in pictures.  The breath-taking hills of Aberdeenshire are a wonderful place to get lost for a day. A few lovely walking spots that make great day trips from Aberdeen: Bennachie, Stonehaven, or Crathes Castle and Garden. 

When you’re ready to turn in after a day of wandering the city, I can recommend the comfy beds at Aberdeen’s Hilton Garden Inn.

My friend and I stayed in a King Suite, courtesy of Aberdeen Hilton Garden Inn, which meant we each had our own room.

This suite would be perfect for a family, as there was a tub and shower, plus the breakfast is super fancy. SOOOO many choices! We had Belgian waffles + some extras.

Waking up to the Aberdeen skyline is not too shabby!

Disclosure: My hotel suite at Hilton Garden was complementary as part of my Aberdeen Staycation. Big thanks to the folks at Hilton for making our stay oh-so-lovely. You can also see video of our room and breakfast on Vine. 

PS! Hey Aberdonians! Please weigh in and tell me the restaurants and things I’ve missed in Aberdeen!!

The post Out and About in Aberdeen appeared first on Alison Chino.

The bridge goes over the Don River and it is how we get from where we live just north of the Don into the city center.

We walk over this bridge to go to church, to school and to get to the university.

Sometimes, if I’m being very ambitious, I walk over it to go all the way into town or to the beach.

I take friends who visit along this bridge so they can get a feel for what our daily life is like in Scotland, walking back and forth across this river, walking to buy groceries and walking along this river.

I try to remember to snap a photo of friends on this bridge whenever they visit, but sometimes I forget.

On a wet day, the boards on the bridge are slick, but the rain makes the bridge seem brighter somehow.

At night there are lights above the bridge so you can see your path.

The structure of the bridge makes little frames of the river and sky.

In every season, the landscape is different.

Some days the trees and sky are painted with mist.

At the beginning of the year, the river got so high that the bridge was damaged and it has been closed ever since. This month we have all been walking on an alternate bridge that is also open to cars, so we miss our little pedestrian bridge. We’re hoping it opens back up soon!

Years from now, I think this little bridge will be one of the funny details we will all remember from our Aberdeen life.

The post Snapshots of Aberdeen: The Green Bridge appeared first on Alison Chino.

So, the Chasing Daylight March Challenge was to walk (or bike) somewhere I would normally drive.

I was going to try to walk to a friend’s house that is about six miles away from me, but when Simon asked me to get a new string for his cello from the music shop, I decided that a trip across town would fit the challenge.

Top Note Music is a little over three miles from my house, so I chose a pretty day and headed off into Aberdeen.

I actually don’t get into the city that often, because I would rather walk to the beach or out in the countryside.

But I love that there is an old church and graveyard right in the middle of town, just off of Union Street.

It’s like a little haven of quiet right in the middle of the busiest part of Aberdeen.

It’s quite the contrast to all the Aberdeen granite.

This little music shop is full of every possible kind of instrument. Our kids have had piano lessons for years in the States, but we are new to cellos and drums since our move to Scotland.

As usual, I took a little vine of my trip to the city.

The world always looks different on foot than it does flying by through the car window.

Have you walked anywhere unusual this month?

The post Chasing Daylight in March: A Long Walk Across Town appeared first on Alison Chino.

Cole and Taido both got up with me to watch the sunrise last Saturday.

Bundled into all my layers, a tumbler full of coffee in one hand and my camera in the other, I hopped in the car and rode in the dark silence down to the beach.

Bracing for the cold, we walked right down to the shoreline.

Gusts of wind cut through all the shirts I had piled on and even my jacket. I pulled my scarf up over my face.

We walked on the beach while waiting for the light, hoping that if we kept moving we would warm up.

The clouds that had formed on the sea looked like a distant city, and soon the edges were set aflame with light.

I stopped to watch.

Here it comes. 

In this moment I am aghast that God sees fit to bring this light each day.

Cole on one side and Taido on the other, both quiet while I hum a familiar hymn.

Streaks of sun come across the waves and light up the stoic faces of these men I love, and I behold them with wonder.

What lavish generosity it is that the clouds are turning pink!

And on this morning, of all mornings, the one on which I decided to get up and see it.

And soon we can see that there will be blue skies over Aberdeen on this Saturday.

A magnificent start to an ordinary day.

I left the beach with my heart full and my soul singing, and I carried the embers of that feeling with me all weekend.

Wisps of pink cloud instead of cobwebs in my brain make me wonder if I should make watching the sunrise a new Saturday tradition.

Are you Chasing Daylight in 2015? Have you caught a sunrise this month? Do tell me about it in the comments. Or show me your sunrise on Instagram with the hashtag #ChasingDaylight.

The post Snapshots of a Sunrise in Aberdeen appeared first on Alison Chino.

One of the starkest changes that moving to Scotland has brought to my life involves the way I do grocery shopping.

I used to make a couple of trips to the store per week in addition to one large shopping trip to my neighborhood Sam’s club.

With my current kitchen and appliance sizes, buying in bulk is really not an option.

We have a large supermarket within a stone’s throw of our house, so I have been walking to the store almost daily for groceries.

I still plan my meals out about a week in advance, but I just pick up what I need each day.

One or two days’ groceries is about all I can carry.

Sometimes I push it and buy three days of groceries, but I’m always a bit sorry on the journey back home.

On weeks where I have lots of work to do from home, my daily trip to the store can often be my only outing so I vary it up by adding on a mile here and there. There’s a path through a forest along the River Don that I love in every season. These are late November shots.

A rare bit of sunshine on the path. This is high noon on an Aberdeen autumn day.

There are no leaves left on these trees now, but I still go this way many times each week to get to the store. To collect a bag of apples, a bag of oranges, a little milk, a loaf of bread, some pasta or some courgettes (zucchini).

I look for what’s on sale or what’s in season to use for tonight’s soup. Butternut squash for roasting or potatoes to serve with chili. Lately a box of mince pies or a bottle of mulled wine often find their way into my shopping bag.

There are many small treasures of this simple daily routine: the crunch of the leaves under my feet, the sounds of a new walking playlist in my ears and the latest offerings of my local market.

Because we always need to eat (and we eat a lot at the Chino House) I find myself walking to the store at all different times of the day and in all manner of weather.

I often wonder if I will try to keep up this habit at the end of our time in Scotland, but I have a hunch that this is a routine for this season in my life, in which case, I think I will try to appreciate it all the more.

The post A Walk to the Store (47/48) appeared first on Alison Chino.

I’m finding that looking back at my summer walks is a wonderful antidote to dark gray winter days in Aberdeen.

This August day spent wandering the Shire was glorious.

The skies were blue. The heather was in bloom. The kids were happy.

Well, the kids that came were happy. (We left one sullen teenager at home this day.)

These photos are a timely reminder for me that the world will be this bright again.

And with time flying by faster than I can take notes, that day will probably arrive sooner than I think.

Thank goodness for heather covered hills and greener than green fields.

Thank goodness for color. For sunshine. For creaky old legs that can still follow new paths.

I am surprisingly motivated to get outside on a gray day just to be certain that my legs will still work when the days look like this again.

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