Edinburgh

1.18.09

What a weekend! Friday night there was not too much going on, so I decided to go over my friend Ben’s apartment who lives with a huge mix of people from different countries. It was a great night filled with the cultural exchanges of different drinking games, and was really a fun way to get to know another 8 people on campus. They represented Canada, Sweden, Poland, Northern Irelandand then two were from Scotland. Afterwards I met up with some international friends who are studying in Glasgow and we went to cheesy pop for some good old American pop music. It was a late night, which I would regret the next morning for Saturday was the day we left for Edinburgh!

Eight o’clock Saturday morning came VERY early, and by nine we were on a bus headed from Glasgow to Edinburgh. I guess I really didn’t think about how close the two cities are, but after only 45 minutes on the M8, we were in Edinburgh city center! As we exited the bus, we could see Edinburgh Castle towering above us on a massive cliff, with a row of old medieval buildings lining the ridge which the fortress sat on top of. This is known as the “Royal Mile”, or High Street. At the summit of the street sits Edinburgh Castle, and at the bottom is Hollyroodhouse where Queen Elizabeth stays when visiting Edinburgh. On our trek from the city center to the Royal Mile, we made stops at the National Museum of Scotland, the Sir Walter Scott Memorial, and the Balamore Hotel where JK Rowling wrote the last sentences of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. We were all pretty hungry at that point, so we decided we would grab some food from where Harry Potter was actually born. The Elephant House is a small cafe just off the Royal Mile, and holds the title of "Birthplace of Harry Potter". Obviously that got me excited!

After about a 5 minute walk up a massive arched bridge, we found ourselves on the Royal Mile. The buildings were all made of stone, the streets lined with cobblestone, and “Scottish heritageshops every five feet. As we walked up the street toward the castle, I’m a little disappointed to say we passed
a Subway and two Starbucks... Really corporate America? Stops we made along the walk included St. Giles Cathedral which sits in a square just outside the old Scottish Parliament Building. Just across from there are the City Chambers building. Further up the street is the Scottish Whiskey Experience, and directly across from that the Museum of Kilts and Tartan. This was the most Scottish street I’ve ever seen!

Finally we reached the castle, a mammoth structure which looked like it was hanging over the edges of a cliff on three sides. Because of its location, there was no moat filled with alligators, but obviously it was still a very impressive building! Once inside the building, you can climb up onto the walls of the old Castle which gives you an incredible view of the city below. From this point you can see the Firth of Forth which stretches out to the North Sea filled with ships and tankers full of haggis and whiskey (not really… I don’t know what was in them). Also inside the castle were exhibits on the history of the royal family, a memorial for fallen soldiers from Scotland, and an underground exhibit on the prisoners of Edinburgh Castle.

After the castle we made our way back down the Royal Mile to where a shuttle bus would pick us up to go to our hostel which was about 20 minutes outside the city. It was right on the shore of the Firth of Forth with incredible views of the ocean and Fife across the way. The hostel was really nice too, we had two rooms of six and it only cost about 6 pounds per person! That night we went back into the city for dinner, and then met up with two ghosts from the past, Emily Cody and Kristina Thompson (friends from elementary school who I haven’t seen in over 8 years), who are studying in the city and know they way around.

We woke up the next morning after a late night and made our way back to the city for one more walk around before we went home. We got to see the Hollyroodhouse up close, and then ventured over to the new Scottish Parliament Building which was just across the street. It was an impressive building; very modern and from what I’ve gathered controversial in the city. We also climbed to the top of Calton Hill, which sits on the other side of the city from the castle and offers yet another great view of the city. After the climb, we all decided we were tired and boarded the bus back to Glasgow!