20260410 Viking Vela Northern Lights and British Isles - Day 26/32

Viking Vela In Search of the Northern Lights and British Isles Explorer Cruise Day 26/32 – Aberdeen, Scotland - Last Day in Scotland, and Dodging the Weather

Morning came early since we had to be in the Star Theater at 7:30 to depart on our tour, Viking's included tour, The City of Aberdeen & Duthie Park. We were there, but for some reason, even though we had docked overnight around 2:30, we weren't given the "go-ahead" by the local authorities until nearly 8:00, delaying all the tours by 30 minutes.

 

A beautiful start to the day

I can't begin to explain how incredibly lucky we have been with the weather on this trip. Today was no exception. The temperatures started in the high 30s and peaked in the mid 40s with a solid, cold breeze. But, in very not-Scottish fashion, we had brilliant blue skies and unrestricted sunshine with fluffy clouds rolling in through the afternoon. Tomorrow, they're expecting a lot of rain from the incoming system that forced our recent itinerary change. The forecast for the next two days in Stavanger and then Bergen, Norway, is partly to mostly cloudy with temperatures in the 40s to 50s. Winning once again.

Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city after Glasgow and Edinburgh. It is known as the Granite City or Silver City. Most of Aberdeen's buildings were built from locally-sourced granite with high mica content. The granite itself is a silver-gray color, and the mica flecks cause the stone to sparkle in silvery tones.

Typical stone construction

Aberdeen is also known for its more than 80 murals painted on buildings throughout the town

Port of Aberdeen, operating for more than 900 years, is now a principal port for North Sea oil

Trinity House is located on Trinity Quay

The former Frederick Street School, 1835

Just a random castle-like home

King's College Chapel at the University of Aberdeen was founded in 1495

The tomb monument of the university's founder, Bishop William Elphinstone

Old Town House, 1789

The Mercat Cross, a symbol of a Scottish town's trading status, in front of the Old Town House

I thought the name Wee Shop was funny, as it wasn't that small

Our first stop was at St Machar's Cathedral. This has been a Christian worship site since the 6th century. The current church was built in the mid-15th century.

The entrance to the church and the surrounding cemetery

The clock was spot-on

There were hundreds of tombstones and crypts

One of Scotland's freedom fighter, William Wallace's limbs is said to be entombed here

Many of the hand-cut granite stones were marked with the unique mark of the stone mason who cut them

The ceiling was beautiful

The 48 coats of arms on the ceiling represent European royalty, the Pope, and Scottish earls and bishops

Its twin peaks are more fortress-like 

We continued on our bus tour.

We passed a huge ceremony and got the standard guide jokes - it is the dead center of town, and people are literally dying to get in here

Even Burger King was in a granite building

Our next stop was at the waterfront.

This is the North Sea washing into Aberdeen Beach

Marine Operations Centre at Aberdeen Harbour

This area is named Footdee, but locally known as Fittie. It has been around since before 1400, and took on its current form in the mid-1800s as a fishing town. The houses all have their backs to the sea with a protective wall to shelter the houses from the ravages of the storms in the North Sea.

The houses all face inward, and most have lovely gardens

It was a quirky place - fishing has been replaced with Airbnb 

A wind farm in the North Sea

The protective sea wall

Our bus tour continued.

Edward VII statue, 1914

An interesting juxtaposition with the old spire being surrounded by new buildings

Our next stop was at Union Terrace Gardens.

His Majesty's Theatre, 1906, and the statue of William Wallace

Nailed it

Prince Albert Statue, 1863

The ornate and historic railings around the park

Aberdeen Art Gallery and Cowdray Hall, 1884 and 1925

So much granite

They have such fun business names here

Music Hall, 1820

More Victorian-era architecture

Gilcomston Church, 1868

Our final stop was Duthie Park, a 44-acre public park and greenhouse.

Aberdeen City coat of arms displayed inside the David Welch Winter Gardens

Tropical area

They have the largest collection of cacti in the United Kingdom

Gordon Highlanders war memorial, 1884

Our bus returned to the Vela, concluding our tour. We had considered going back into town, but there wasn't that much more to see, and we weren't in a shopping mood. We tossed in two loads of laundry and had lunch.

This was waiting for us in our room. It was our disembarkation luggage tags. 

It's always sad to see the luggage tags

We have a day tomorrow in Stavanger, Norway, Sunday in Bergen, and then we disembark in Bergen on Monday. The trip won't be over, as we have a train trip scheduled on Monday to take us to Oslo. We'll spend the afternoon and all day Tuesday in Oslo before flying home on Wednesday.

Our last few and next few days - Ullapool to Kirkwall to Edinburgh to Aberdeen to Stavanger to Bergen

The Girdle Ness Lighthouse was outside our balcony window as we enjoyed the ample sunshine

Late in the afternoon, we could hear what sounded like bagpipe music outside. We went out on the balcony and saw this.

The officers were all lined up to greet the afternoon guests returning to the ship

Everyone was having fun, and it made for a great arrival for the guests

After drinks at the Explorers Bar, we went to the World Café for Viking's BBQ event. The line on the pool deck for food was insanely long, so we just went inside and got most of the same food without the lines.

Associate General Manager Andrej and Restaurant Manager Joan were dishing out the brisket, sliders, ribs, shrimp skewers, and more

Guest Services Manager Lisle and Shore Excursion Manager C. J. were caramelizing Crème Brûlée

Looking at Windy, we checked tomorrow's weather.

That looks ugly

Based on the forecast, we would have been facing 40+MPH winds in Lerwick, Shetland Islands, tomorrow. This supports Captain Olav's decision to deviate and head to Stavanger, Norway, where we will be tucked into a protected port and sheltered from the weather.

Tonight, we're time-traveling again, moving one hour forward to align with Central European Summer Time. We will be on that time until we fly home next Wednesday.

We'll dock in Stavanger, Norway, tomorrow around noon and have the afternoon to explore Stavanger.