The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo has ended. It was probably the most coolest experience I’ve had in my life so far. The mixture between performing, connecting with people from the cast and exploring the city was perfect when I look back to these four weeks. My good friends from the Top Secret Drum Corps became my best friends.
The Drum Corps developped to a potent team. We had a crazy-cool time. To drum with my friends which I already know from the Basler Fasnacht and elsewhere at the esplanade of the Edinburgh Castle was a blast! The team spirit of the Drum Corps was just remarkable, it still fascinates me how we got so good with each other, everyone with everybody. This group shaped me for life.
Surely, an experience we all will never forget. The 7th generation of the TSDC had everything in it!
Despite the many positive experiences, it was not always easy. But when I now reflect on what has happened, then I can say with full conscience that it has really been one of the best experiences of my life and always will be.
What I take with me from this time is certainly that sometimes you just have to overcome difficult times and fight your way through to then be able to experience such great and unforgettable moments. What I take with me from this time is certainly that sometimes you just have to overcome difficult times and fight your way through to then be able to experience such great and unforgettable moments. If you are aware of that, you can only win!
It was such a blessing to drum with the TSDC at Edinburgh Castle, thankyou.
Dägädä-Peng…TOP SECRET!!
An adventure goes on
I still continue to travel with my girlfriend Lena. The day after the last show, we were heading to Portree on the beautiful island Isle of Skye. It was quite a long trip, but it was worth it, as it turned out later. On Monday we went to the place of the Old Man of Storr, a local bus took us there. We hiked to the Old Man of Storr, the landscape there was super beautiful and I took a bath in a lake nearby. The next day was packed with impressions and the 3 hour hike from Sligachan to the Fairy Pools did so good, the cold bath again of course (yeahhh Wim Hof, you read that? By the way, Wim Hof is a huge inspiration for me, I’m pretty sure that he’s one of the coolest human beings on this planet.)…The same day we had a special opportunity to meet with the Isle of Skye Pipe Band. We went into their tiny rehearsal room and drum major Peter MacDonald (with whom I organized this occasion) immediately put on a kilt on me. I asked the lead drummer to teach me the patterns they would be drumming. It was pretty easy, and I did well. I appreciated it a lot that Peter MacDonald had such confidence in me to just try to drum along, it just felt right. I had a big grin on my face the whole time. When we played in the square, I also drummed a solo at one point, some of it was improvised. Here is a link to my solo.
At the concert we also exchanged a few things. Lena and I both got a t-shirt and a hat from the pipe band, I gave them a Top Secret t-shirt and a pair of drumsticks.
Peter MacDonald, the drum major of the IOSPB and drum major at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, was very friendly and hospitable like we have not experienced before. He always gave us recommendations for places to visit. He also drove us to our accommodation after the Pipe Band performance. Also the next morning he even picked us up very early and drove us to bus station. He was our superhero! That’s it. I will never forget Portree! Thank you very much Peter. You really made our stay in Portree more enjoyable.
After Portree, we drove to Fort William for a night. We had a nice dinner together with seafood and chips. The next morning we had breakfast at our Airbnb, it was included. Scrambled eggs on toast, it was good.
We took the bus again very early so we could get a lot of the day. First we took a boat tour on the famous Loch Ness at Fort Augustus and then we visited Urquart Castle. The next night we slept in Inverness, for dinner we had a delicious Italian pizza!
After Inverness we went to Thurso, this time by train. This is in the far north of Scotland. This was also quite nice. The town is very small and a bit out of the way. Not really many people. But we liked that as well. Especially that it’s on the Atlantic Ocean. The first day we went to the port of Scrabster, which is right next to Thurso. The next day we went by bus to John o’Grates, where there is beautiful scenery, and took a walk to Duncansby Stacks. There were very few people there and we enjoyed it to the fullest. Unfortunately I missed swimming in the sea.
The next paragraph is what I actually wanted to write:
I continue to look forward to the upcoming last days of our trip! It is quite adventurous to travel with only a backpack, a heavy one though. I really recommend Scotland, I loved the bus rides through the Highlands and the nature in general. A must for anyone who wants to see beautiful landscapes! By the way, we were also very lucky with the weather. Actually, Scotland is very rainy but we had seen only sunshine.
but it turnt out a different way…
The next morning we left Thurso and were driving to Swansea in Wales but we didn’t make it. After two beers, a starter (mac’n’cheese, chips and bacon) and a spaghetti carbonara the evening before, my stomach had rebelled. In the sleeper train I’ve vomitted two times, in the next train aswell. My condition was terribly bad so Lena said we should get off the train. We were somewhere we didn’t know before, in Wales. We paused and thought about the situation. We waited in the hope that my state of health will get better and we could make it to Swansea but it was impossible. We went to a hospital for about five hours. I felt so releived when we got in to a bed in the hotel. I was on my minimum of energy. The next day we headed to London. And I’m still low on energy. But my health becomes better. Lena is really taking care of me, luckily!
We are heading back home to switzerland tomorrow morning. Independend from these last few difficult days, the last one and a half month were full of unique experiences which have enriched my life the best. I am looking forward to being back home in Basel before I’ll depart again to the USA (to visit a language school & hopefully make some drum experiences) at the end of September. Goodbye UK!
