The Flower of Scotland
Mike Myers used to have a sketch on SNL where he played a Scottish guy who used to say that if it wasn’t Scottish it was “shite.” Well, if it’s not Aberdeen, it’s shite! The third largest city in Scotland and an international hub that regularly sees cheap flights coming in and out on a daily basis, Aberdeen is the chief seaport on the north eastern coast of the country. Commonly referred to as The Granite City, the Silver City or the Flower of Scotland, due to the fact that it is packed full of parks, gardens and floral displays, Aberdeen is considered by many travelers coming into the city on cheap flights as one of the most beautiful cities in the UK.
While it is quite a bit smaller than Glasgow or Edinburgh, the harbor and beaches make for a distinctly different feeling than the central Scottish cities, and when considering the fact that it has some of the oldest university buildings in Europe, including King’s College, which was founded in 1495, it really does have quite a bit of history to boast about. It’s an amazing city that should really be visited when you are in Scotland.
What’s even better is that from Aberdeen you can get anywhere! As an international hub, visitors can easily book cheap flights to London, Belfast, Paris, as well as almost any other city around the world. Considering the fact that modern Aberdeen has been transformed into the new oil capital of Europe, thanks to the supply of crude oil from the North Sea wells, there are more people coming here to live than there are leaving to visit other destinations. While English is mostly spoken, it is important to understand that local dialects are an important part of the cultural history of Scotland and the chances are you are likely to encounter various dialects while touring the city, so be prepared for some strange sounding accents and unfamiliar words.