Aberdeen

I stayed at this hotel a year or so back, during my tour of dying British seaside towns, as the coworkers called it. From memory, I decided on the location, at least in part, because it meant I could take the sleeper back to London in a set of circumstances where I could enjoy it more than from Edinburgh. Plus I think the hotel room was really cheap?

The sleeper has the problem, as I see it, that it moves too quickly. If you go from Edinburgh to London, or the other way, you can’t board until very late in the evening, so if you want any chance of a decent night’s sleep, you need to go to bed almost immediately, and you can’t really enjoy the restaurant or bar. From further North, that boarding time is earlier, so you have more time to enjoy it.

I stayed a bit too long in Edinburgh, I think; Too many memories surfacing. Should have left earlier, maybe.

So, Aberdeen.

Bought the train ticket a bit last minute, at the station, so I got to do the ‘figure out where the unassigned seating car is likely to be when the train stops’ thing; Got it almost perfectly, and I was maybe the second person to board, so I could get a window seat & enjoy the view. Not that it was that crowded.

I still like Aberdeen, it turns out. It’s cold, and grey, but it’s like Edinburgh without tourists, so … A bit more enjoyable? No specific tourist stuff happened, I just tried to unwind a bit from Edinburgh.

Caught up with a friend in the US through the miracle of The Internet.

Found a very odd coffee place called Shot ‘N’ Roll, where the décor was … tattoo flash art crossed with Barbie? A lot of pink going on. Having looked at their map of locations, I’m a bit hazy on how I didn’t spot any of their other spots.