In the middle of the Scottish Highlands, a good distance away from the typical hotspots of the art and culture scene, but – and this will please fans of the English royal family – not far from Balmoral Castle, lies a very special hotel: „The Fife Arms“, named after the Duke of Fife, has been attracting not only royalists, but also art lovers and whisky aficionados to the small village of Braemar for several years.

D espite its manageable size, the tranquil village, around 2.5 hours’ drive north of Edinburgh, is the main town of the Cairngorms National Park and as such an important starting point for exploring the surrounding highlands. Thanks to its aforementioned proximity to the Windsors’ country estate, Braemar is also one of the most important venues for the Highland Games, where athletes compete in tree trunk throwing and tug-of-war, among other things.

When the competitions take place every year on the first Saturday in September, up to 20,000 visitors – including the royals – flock to the village, which has just a few hundred inhabitants. The main street is filled with a traffic jam caused by bagpipe regiments, the likes of which have only ever been seen here on the occasion of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.

As small as Braemar may be, it enjoys a lively social and cultural life that many larger towns can only dream of. For example, one of the churches in the village – there are actually several of them – has been converted into a cultural center where musicians from all over Scotland, as well as bands from the USA and Germany, have performed.

The Fife Arms, with its eclectic flair and interior styled down to the last detail, doesn’t seem as out of place here as you might think at first.

No cars, only horse-drawn carts and bicycles on Juist, and therefore a slow-paced way of life. Limited car traffic in the town of Norderney gives it a Ballermann-light vibe at night. There are 1,500 islanders on Juist compared to around 6,000 inhabitants on Norderney. In the high season, both islands welcome around six times more guests than they have inhabitants.

What they also have in common is that the rhythm of life on both islands is determined by the ebb and flow of the tide. There is hardly a vacant room during this peak season.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2009, the Wadden Sea around the East Frisian Islands is one of the largest ecosystems of its kind on earth. It is the largest contiguous sand and mudflat system in the world. The landscape, characterized by constant tidal changes and designated as the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park since 1986, is a truly pristine habitat.

Walking out at low tide, barefoot or in rubber boots and accompanied by a mudflat guide (alone would be far too dangerous!), observing and marveling is an unforgettable experience. It is an experience for all the senses: you can taste the salty air, feel the mud between your toes, and breathe in the very special smell.

More than 10,000 different protozoa, fungi, animal, and plant species live in this transitional world between land and sea.

What did Juist’s marketing man say? „We are part of nature and the island of deceleration.“ The Wadden Sea proves it.

Chapter I: Art and culture

The hotel is part of the „Artfarm“ project, which in turn was initiated by Hauser & Wirth and stands for sustainable creative developments that combine tradition and history with a new perspective for the future. Swiss gallery owners Manuela and Iwan Wirth, who spend a good part of the year in the area themselves, took over the hotel in 2014 and turned it into a 5-star establishment.

It not only reflects the culture and history of the Highlands, but also makes it accessible to hotel guests by involving the local population – around 20 percent of the villagers work for the Fife Arms. In keeping with the Wirths’ background, international art is not neglected despite the focus on regional characteristics.

After four years of conversion and renovation, a somewhat run-down house for coach tourists has been transformed into a total work of art, a Mecca for art lovers: 16,000 works by renowned and lesser-known international artists are exhibited in the hotel or form part of the furnishings. Picasso’s „Woman Sitting in an Armchair“ shares the walls with Pieter Breughel’s „Circle“ and Lucian Freud’s „Red Haired Man“, among others.

These multi-million euro masterpieces blend harmoniously into the decor, which has been influenced by Victorian and Jacobean styles as well as Scottish culture or, even more so, Highlander culture. A drawing made by Queen Victoria herself hangs in the entrance area, while walls and ceilings have been partly designed by contemporary artists or covered in the hotel’s own tartan and tweed.

But let’s get back to the regional history and culture: There is a recognizable pride in these latitudes. No matter who you talk to, both the roots and the solidarity of the Highland inhabitants are almost tangible. So it comes as little surprise to hear that the village community has managed to prevent the planned sale of the local castle to potential outside investors.

The original owners, members of the Farquharson clan, decided to bequeath the building to the community, albeit without any furniture or other fixtures and fittings. This was to be sold in order to make at least some profit. The entire household was therefore taken to Sotheby’s in London, where it went under the hammer. An anonymous bidder bought the whole lot at auction and had everything brought back to the castle, which will soon be open to the public again after current renovation work.

One of the hotel’s employees, former village doctor Shona Armstrong, told us this. In order to stay active in retirement, the self-confessed royalist has been hired as a so-called „ghillie“. While the original meaning of the term describes personal assistants and hunting and fishing companions, tour guides are also referred to as ghillies in Braemar.

They are all passionate about what they do, and so Shona gives hotel guests a guided tour of the village to learn about the history or a tour of the hotel to see the art on display there. She combines extensive knowledge with lots of local color and likes to digress a little. Her pride in her origins is clear to see and seems to run in the family.

Chapter II: Nature

As a child, Annie Armstrong often spent summers with her aunt and inherited her passion for the Highlands. After working abroad for several years, the zoologist moved to Braemar and worked at the Fife Arms for a few years before setting up her own business.

With her company „Wild Braemar“, which specializes in nature and ecotourism, she wants to bring visitors closer to the landscape and nature of the Highlands rather than the culture. It’s perfect that Scotland has the „Right to Roam“, which means that anyone can hike to their heart’s content and camp wherever they please.

There should be no shortage of space, as the area is anything but densely populated and is ideal for extended tours and – weather permitting – overnight stays in the open air. Ideal conditions for the young woman, who offers guided hikes as well as painting courses in the countryside and wild swimming – and always shows just as much enthusiasm as her aunt.

A walk on Balmoral takes us through forests and past hillsides and riverbanks overgrown with bilberry bushes and gorse. There must also be plenty of mushrooms here, which Annie confirms. She tells us that they grow in abundance here and until a few years ago, unlike on the European mainland, were hardly ever picked.

This only changed when the „Fife Arms“ opened: on the one hand, the hotel’s kitchen placed and still places great value on locally sourced produce. On the other hand, the hotel has an international staff, and some employees who had moved here from abroad were stunned by the ignorance towards the wildly growing treasures. They were so pleased with the large selection on site that their passion for collecting also spread to their local colleagues.

Since then, the best spots have been grazed relatively quickly, even to the point where the hotel received an email from Charles, then still Prince, asking the staff to stop plundering his secret mushroom spots. Apart from Charles’ secret spots, there are still more than enough wild mushrooms, berries, and herbs in the Highlands, and anyone who wants to can book a „foraging tour“ and go in search of provisions.

Fishing tours are also possible, and interested hotel guests can catch salmon or trout from the local rivers under expert guidance. This may sound quite tempting, but we decided otherwise: We don’t fetch anything from the water; instead, we head in ourselves because the „wild swimming“ that Annie has on offer just sounded too tempting.

However, with fresh temperatures of just seven degrees in the water and at most twice as much on land, it’s less tempting than it sounds – but once you’ve overcome yourself and made it into the water, it feels wonderful. So wonderful, in fact, that we not only take a second and third dip, but also enjoy another cold-water bath on our own the next day in the river directly behind the hotel – knowing full well that in both cases, soothing warmth in the form of a sauna is not far away.

While the hotel’s sauna is just as elegant as the rest of the building, Annie awaits us in a mobile sweat chamber, which consists of a converted horse trailer and offers a view of the river and highlands. Small, fine, and cozy – and only a few steps away from the riverbank and a tent, where we are treated to wine and refreshments at the end.

Chapter III: High proof

The following day, we also receive a somewhat different kind of refreshment – namely in high-proof form – as we follow in the footsteps of whisky. Unlike in Ireland or the USA, this is actually spelled without an e here and is derived from the Gaelic term „Uisge beath“, which means nothing other than „water of life“ or „acqua vitae“.

Queen Victoria, who preferred to drink whisky mixed with red wine, already knew that this drink has a beneficial effect. With a little imagination, one could argue that this is a particularly exquisite taste – but the general opinion in Scotland is that this not only ruins the red wine, but above all the whisky. Of course, it is best to form your own opinion. A visit to the Highlands would not be complete if the whisky was left out or ignored. After all, its history, which dates back to the 15th century, is closely linked to that of the country – and a staggering 22 million barrels of the golden-brown liquid are stored in well over 100 Scottish distilleries.

This equates to around 1.3 billion bottles, which are exported every year, accounting for around 75 percent of all Scottish food and drink exports. Strict rules apply when it comes to production, as Katy Fennema, whisky ambassador for the Fife Arms, explains: to be recognized as whisky, the drink must be matured in oak barrels for at least three years and have an alcohol content of no less than 40 percent.

However, while the casks – which can hold up to 500 liters – used to be made exclusively from Scottish oak, today they are often imported from the USA and Spain. Bourbon, sherry and other high-proof spirits have already been stored in them, which now give Scotch whisky its special flavor. It is therefore fair to say that this type of recycling leads to completely new nuances in taste.

These flavor nuances can be experienced not only in the various distilleries in the region, but also in the „Fife Arms“ itself. Named after Queen Victoria’s eldest son, the in-house whisky bar „Bertie’s“ is actually more of a whisky library than a classic bar. The up to 400 different whiskies on offer come from all over the world and are sorted and displayed according to their taste – from fragrant to fruity and rich to smoky.

Like all the staff at the hotel, the gentlemen who run „Bertie’s“ are passionate about their work and have a wealth of knowledge. If you want to try something new, simply name a desired flavor and you can be sure to be presented with at least two or three contenders – no matter how unusual your wish may be, there is definitely something for everyone, from buttermilk to Toblerone and seaweed.