Edinburgh

Edinburgh is officially my second favorite city in the world (next to Salzburg). (And if you know my love of Salzburg, that is saying a lot.)

Though the weather wasn't always ideal (see following entries), I had an amazing time exploring the city and taking in all the sights and experiences. I spent a total of 4 days in Edinburgh, 2 of which I took side trips to St. Andrews and Roslin (see following entries).

Here is a full, but incomplete list of all the things I discovered and loved about Edinburgh.

NEW FRIENDS: I have to start by saying I stayed in a rather good hostel with GREAT people. Among my new friends are 3 Canadians, 2 Finnish girls, and 1 Spanish girl. I especially became close with the 2 Finnish girls. We hit it off right away when they moved into the room (my second night). We enjoyed evenings out, card games, swapping stories, morning walks and cups of coffee and just a great exchange of culture and ideas. During the day we did different things, but it was always fun to come back and check in with one another.

2. THE CASTLE: Wow! What an amazing place! I probably spent upwards of 4 hours my first day in Edinburgh exploring the castle. You can see the buildings themselves and places like St. Margaret's Chapel and the Feasting Hall recreated as it would have been in the Victorian Era. The grounds are beautiful and give panoramic views of the city from all angles. But, they have also used many of the castle buildings for museums. I had the opportunity to see the Scottish Crown Jewels (the scepter, crown, and sword) as well as the Stone of Destiny (which will be used in the coronation of the next King of England). They had an awesome exhibit on Prisons of War where they recreated the conditions for prisoners in the castle and had some artifacts from those prisoners. It was especially fascinating as many of the prisoners kept there would have been American. I went round and round the castle grounds trying to take it all in.

3. THE ROYAL MILE: I enjoyed strolling down the Royal Mile (yes, it is a mile and yes, I did the whole thing--a couple of times). There are shops and little stops along the way. It takes quite a while to walk as you pop in and out, but what a great place, so alive with life!

4. THE WALKING TOUR: My second day in Edinburgh, I took one of those "Free Walking Tours from New Europe." It is a three hour tour (yes, I start humming the theme song to Gilligan's Island too). We walked all around the city--both the Old Town and the New Town--and heard stories about the city and learned about many of the sites and buildings. Our tour guide, Izzy, was AWESOME. She had a great sense of humor which was really needed seeing that we were walking through screaming winds and alternating times of rain and sun. But, she made it fun and she was able to offer suggestions for places to go, things to do, etc... It was a great tour! At the end of the tour, Izzy took a small group of willing victims to her favorite restaurant for HAGGIS. I actually thought it was delicious--piled on mashed potatoes and turnips ("neeps and tatties"), it really just tasted like a spicy shepherd's pie.

5. EXPLORING THE CITY: I spent a good amount of time just walking around the city--Old Town and New Town. I popped my head into churches and old buildings, took in all the statues around and by the end of my visit, felt like I barely needed a map to get around! Go me!