Regards from Nessie

 

Sometimes, I  remember a place not because of its beauty,  history,  importance, but because of some triviality which at that particular time  of visit, wasn't much of a triviality to me.   
Austria's now in the news with a covid-19  serious outbreak in Tirol (region of many ski resorts), and a strict lockdown. It has reminded me of such a triviality.

Who hasn't heard of Lock Ness, the lake and the monster  of Scotland ? The story is been going on for decades. In April 2009 (some 20 years after my visit there), I  wrote a post  on it including the theories about  the monster (fondly referred to as Nessie) and my humble opinion about the whole thing. (Yes, would you believe it, I had an opinion on something explored by some great minds. Cheeky me!).

 

                                                               lake  Lock Ness

After spending some time at the lake, visiting the old Urquhart castle  on its bank, and watching a Scotsman playing bagpipe, I headed  to the bus station for Inverness (the town capital of the area, located at about 8 miles from the lake). 

At the station, I met an  Austrian couple that told me  they had  missed the last bus and were about to try and get a lift. We exchanged a few pleasantries (me trying to use on them my  german 'for beginners'), and then I said I would join them in the effort to stop a car.  I positioned myself a few steps away from them and raised my hand. 

   

Urquhart castle

After a minute or two, I thought there was  something behind me. I turned  to see what it was (nothing, apparently); when I  turned my head back, I couldn't believe my eyes. No austrian couple. Vanished. A car had probably stopped, they got in quickly without thinking of me or calling me. I was left alone, and felt rather humiliated.

                                Scotsman playing bagpipe

When I got back to my hotel room in Inverness, I said to myself,  "Oh,well, Austria, the birthplace of Hitler. What can you expect of these people. Bad, antisemitic stuff,  no manners, no kindness ." I knew deep inside me that it was an unfair, untrue generalization, but at that time I needed a bit of consolation, and I got it.

Anyway, since then, whenever Lock Ness or Inverness are mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind is my 'desertion' by the  Austrians, not the beauty and mystery of the area.

 Nessie - humoristic card bought at Inverness

NESSIE

Humoristic postcard featuring Nessie with a long neck

After all these years (since 1933), with so many film expeditions and sonar experiments ,the mystery hasn't been solved yet, that of the water creature from Lochness in Scotland, affectionately referred to by the diminutive Nessie. So far, a lot of theories, but nothing definitely identified.

'Ness' in the Hebrew language means 'miracle', and that makes me think of the many 'miracles' in that area of Inverness (the small capital city of the Scottish Higlands) and the Lochness lake, due to the phenomena of Nessie.

First and foremost, it brings a lot of tourists who bring a lot of money and so help develop the place . The area attracts people of high quality : scientists, journalists, photographers and others who 'put the region on the map'. Moreover, from my brief visit here in the past, I recall feeling an unusual inner peace (calm, relaxation) and an unusual silky quality of my skin and hair. To my mind, it is the presence of something undefinable (Nessie??) about this part of Scotland that makes one feel here good in a strange way.

Anyway , the lake (Lochness) is long and straight and there's a castle (ruins of a castle, more precisely) on its bank. From what I'd read and heard, the sightings of Nessie occurred mostly in the area around this Urquhart castle. Well, I have a theory of my own . It goes like this: I say there's no smoke without fire. Too many testimonies indicate the presence of some special creature. some sort of animal or fish with both aquatic and non -aquatic skills in this area of the lake. To get to it , the castle of Urquhart will have to be completely demolished; this castle is, in my humble opinion the key to the mystery . But that won't happen , the demolition, as the castle is considered an historical, preserved site - part of the scottish heritage. So, the mystery will probably remain unsolved for a long, long time - perhaps forever.

Here are some photos with the castle and the lake from various angles.