Ok, ok. I know what you're thinking. "Seriously, Katie. You use THAT line?" But hey, if not when I go to Scotland, then when? ANYWAY...to state the obvious, I went to Edinburgh, Scotland this weekend and loved it. I traveled with my friend Emma again, and I am throughly convinced I have found a great travel buddy. My mother always said that you have two types of friends: friends that you can travel with and friends that you can't. I'm so happy to report I've found a new friend in the former category. We agree on what is important to see and do and how to spend our time and money. All of these things are essential when traveling. It makes traveling and sightseeing fun and so much less stressful.
We left Worchester around 2:00 to catch a 2:30 train. Unfortunately, the train was delayed until 3:15, so we had some time to sit down, get water, and get to the platform. Once on the train, my stress level went through the roof. Teenagers should not be allowed to travel cross-country without adult supervision....ANYWHO. The train ride took just over 7 hours, and I'm not sure if that's because it it was a direct route with lots of stops or the many delays we also encountered. One of these delays included a cow stuck on the train tracks! We got into Edinburgh after 10 and arrived at our hostel around 11. This wide gap in time occurred when we got lost on our way to the hostel, not because there was a particularly long way to walk. We stayed in the Castle Rock Hostel, which was a really nice hostel...for a hostel. It was huge and had 60+ rooms! There were industrial kitchens and lots of fridges and preparation areas. It also had a large common area with a massive dining room table, couches, pool table, and other amenities. And keep in mind, these are just the areas that we saw-there was lots more we didn't explore. Emma and I were put in different rooms, which was a bit intimidating at first. However, we spend so little time in our rooms-literally we only slept there-that it didn't end up mattering.
Both Emma and I received recommendations from people that either live or have lived in Edinburgh on where to go, where to eat, and where to drink. For the most part, these recommendations lined up, so we felt like we were getting pretty sound advice. Since we got in late and knew we were getting up early, we decided to stop in for a pint somewhere then hit the sack. We went to the Bow Bar, one of the recommended bars. It was originally where we were supposed to get a wonderful single malt scotch, but we didn't realize that until after.
We woke up the next morning bright and early to start the day! You don't realize how little time you in a weekend until you start planning what all you want to see and do. Suddenly, a weekend turns into the hours that make up Saturday and Sunday and what you can fit into those precious hours. Luckily, Emma is a great planner so we were able to do all the things we wanted! Houston's friend, Katherine, is living in Edinburgh right now, so Houston was kind enough to put us in contact via email. Although Katherine wasn't in town for the weekend, she sent me a very detailed guide of what to do. One thing that she suggested was a farmers' market Saturday morning. We did a little research and figured out that we would be able to get breakfast there. Three girls from our Oxford group, Natalie, Leela, and Kristen, were staying in our hostel so they came with us to the market. The food was amazing! I decided to get a fresh burger with cheese and onion-quite the breakfast food!
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| Leela, Natalie, Kristen, and me eating at the Farmers' Market |
After breakfast, we walked back up the hill to visit Edinburgh Castle. It sits on top of what I now know to be a dead (plugged) volcano! It overlooks the entire city. We got there not long after it opened, and I was really glad for that! By the time we left it was completely packed. The castle was really interesting in that a lot of the buildings that made up the layout of the fortress had been converted into museums. After 2 of these museums, it was clear that Scotland's cultural identification is tied up in their military history. Most of the museums had a military history. Also, all of the military garments, adornments, and other displays were very ornate and beautiful. It was really interesting to see how much pride they have had in their military for so long. The premier attraction of the castle are the crown jewels, and they were beautiful. Once again, the details and ornate design were outstanding. At some point, we lost the other girls but Emma and I stayed at the castle for over 2 and 1/2 hours! I think we saw everything on the map! However, I think I would have gotten a lot more out of the castle if I had read up on Scotland's history, particularly with England, before visiting. Now I know for Wales!
The very last thing we saw was other main attraction: the one o'clock gun fire. Everyday, except Sunday, they fire one shot into the air. They have been doing it hundreds of years, originally to let people at the shore's edge know the time. After it was over, we turned around to go and were shocked at the crowd that had gathered! There were SO many people. We were really glad we arrived early rather than in time to see the gun fire.
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| Emma, Leela, Kristen, and me at Edinburgh Castle. |
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| A view of the scaffolding set up for the Tattoo. |
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| Part of the Edinburgh Castle! |
Emma's friend recommended that we go to a place called the Mosque's Kitchen for lunch. That is literally what this place was. The building where we got our food was the kitchen for the mosque next door. Also, it was really just a kitchen. However, the food was amazing. Obviously, it was Indian food, and they gave us a lot of food. We really could have (and should have) split one bowl, but you live and learn. I love Indian food so this was right up my ally, and there was something even more authentic about it being next to a mosque.
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| Just HUGE portions |
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| I was super excited about the naan! |
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| A view of the castle from the museum. |
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| Guthrie Street, just for Anne Guthrie! I got super excited when I saw it. |
We left the museum because we wanted to have time to see St. Giles Cathedral, a cathedral built in the 12th century. It closed at 5:00 on the weekends, so we didn't have a lot of time to see it. It was a lovely church. Just as we walked up, a wedding party was leaving! We walked around and saw all of the architecture and features of such a historical church. Next, we tried to go to another cathedral down the street, but it was boarded up....After that, we headed back to the hostel to put somethings on our beds, get a cup of tea, and rest for a minute. We then walked to the cemetery where J.K. Rowling drew inspiration for 2 very important characters in the Harry Potter series. The character of Professor McGonagall was inspired by a poet, William McGonagall, that is buried there. To our understanding, he was not a great poet, so we weren't sure where the parallels come from. Also, Tom Riddle is buried in the cemetery. Rowling liked his name so she used it in the stories.
After visiting the cemetery, we walked around for a bit, getting our bearings. We decided to stop for coffee. We went to a small place called the Elephant Room. At this point, I should say Emma was so sweet to entertain my Harry Potter love, at both the cemetery and the coffee shop. The Elephant Room is famous because it is where J.K. Rowling would sit and write the Harry Potter books. Needless to say, I was absolutely giddy over all of it! I was really impressed with how the Elephant Room has embraced the "tourist" interest in its cafe but has remained a local gem. The prices were not unreasonable and it was not gimmicky. I could still imagine it as a place to sit a write, unbothered.
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| The bathroom walls were COVERED with notes of "thank you" and love to J.K. Rowling |
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| More notes! |
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| Me and my Irish coffee at the Elephant Room |
As is always true with traveling, Emma and I found ourselves saying "I wish we had known about this place sooner!" One of the things we said it about was the place where we got dinner. It was a cozy college restaurant and bar that was pretty cheap. We enjoyed a meal and drink before we checked out the pubs that were recommended to us. Our first stop was a place called the Royal Oak. It was a room about 15'x20' and most of that space was taken up by a folk band in one corner of the room. We were there for over an hour and in that time, they played a lot of songs we didn't know and a lot that we did. However, there were always people singing along. It was one of the most fun experiences. We also tried scotch. It's definitely a sipping drink, but not unpleasant. I think we both felt like old men in that bar with our scotch and folk music. The next place we went was the Brass Monkey. One of the special things about it is a "Movie" Room. The walls are plastered in movie posters and there is a projector and screen on the wall. Also, there are 2 giant couches that are the length of the room. They are huge in the sense that Emma and I were practically laying on them. Everyone lounges on these couches while socializing with friends. It was a really interesting set-up. And cozy!
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| Scotch at the Royal Oak |
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| The guy taking our picture didn't seem to understand we wanted the couches in it. |
Sunday morning we woke up and climbed Arthur's Seat. It is a hill (I say a mountain) that overlooks the city. It was quite a hike up but really worth it. The wind was pretty bad at street level but ridiculous at the top. It was a nice way to end a great weekend.
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| This is the statue of Thomas Guthrie! Just for you Mrs. Anne! |
As always, I had a great weekend, but it only left me wishing for more time! There were so many more things to see and do in Edinburgh. It has been added to my list of "places to visit again" and it a must! I really enjoyed getting to see a new place in the UK and can't wait to explore more. Thanks for the memories, Edinburgh!
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