When Scotland is mentioned, most Germans likely think spontaneously of the Highlands with their wildly grand scenery, rocky cliffs and waterfalls, moors and heathlands, rugged mountains, rushing streams, and picturesque lakes. One envisions quirky characters dressed in kilts and tartan plaids, hears the sound of bagpipes, and perhaps also thinks of the song that expresses the longing for this landscape more poignantly than any other: "My Heart's in the Highlands," written by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796). However, it is astonishing that Robert Burns, the quintessential Scottish national poet, only visited this Scottish region once—during the summer and autumn of 1787, when he explored the western and then the central Highlands on three tours, and finally spent a few weeks with friends in Stirling.