Rain, kilts, ale, and history…I can come close to summarizing Edinburgh but, of course, I’m always going to fall short. The Scottish capital’s a complete change from the Mediterranean blue of Barcelona, but there’s something in the gray skies and Gothic buildings that’s entirely attractive; we only got to spend a weekend there, but I’d go back in a heartbeat.
About 120 Leeds Uni students came on the trip, which was part of the Give-It-A-Go program at the student union. We squeezed into two coach buses for the 6-hour drive, which despite its longness, was rather interesting: we got to see our fill of the pretty, craggy northern countryside we still haven’t gotten used to.
Edinburgh sneaks up on you. It’s a jarring mix of the old and the new, with Edinburgh Castle looking over shops and hotels, and Arthur’s Seat (a stunning “rolling cliff”, you could call it) watching over the Royal Mile. The city’s seen 1500 years of bloody history, and the monuments scattered around the cobbled streets and winding alleys don’t let you, or anyone,
forget its victories, tragedies, or oddities.
We arrived at our well-located hostel early Friday night and all somehow got checked into our rooms in an hour. As it happens, myself and my group actually slept in a room with 38 beds-- and I thought 12 was a lot! It really wasn’t that bad, though…with that many people, you kind of just blend into the background and get used to the cell phones going off, the lights turning on, and the lockers being clanged.
That night we went out to find a traditional Scottish pub and definitely found one (one that was in Let’s Go, incidentally). However, it was one of those classic situations where a group of foreigners walk into a bar and the locals all stop and stare at you-- this pub was literally the size of a living room. So we hemmed for a bit and walked out, a bit sheepishly…but perhaps unsurprisingly, a big, burly Scotsman standing outside was very gracious and friendly to us. Sincerely happy that we wanted to find a “real Scots pub”, he encouraged us to stay and listen to the traditional music that would start in a bit. The Scottish were, like this guy, unfailingly friendly throughout our trip. After a bit more searching, we found a good place with good food, and got to actually try haggis and whisky. You couldn't feel any more Scottish than that.
Saturday morning we were up and ready to take one of my beloved NewEurope tours, and happily, we got Per as our tour guide, the same one Bryan and I had in Berlin! He took us (a huge group, about 75 people) on a characteristically awesome 3 hour tour of the city that included seeing Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile, St. Giles’ Cathedral (the only place you’ll ever see statues of angels playing the bagpipes), various writers’ houses, Greyfriars graveyard, and more. I believe I initiated 7 or 8 people to the tour, who all liked it… so I think, as Marcie
suggested, that NewEurope should be paying me a commission!! ;)
We also visited the Scottish National Museum for a bit to get some more in depth history and in so doing, discovered that Dolly the cloned sheep was stuffed and on display there. She continually revolves on a pedestal in the kids’ Discovery section. It makes for a strange sight.
That night we decided to find another pub and have a traditional good time, even though every venue was packed for the Scotland vs. Italy qualifying match for Eurocup. The first pub we found without a TV was almost as tiny as last night’s (and full of the same, slightly greyer-haired crowd), but we managed to fit in and stay for a little while before heading out in search of a place with more people closer to our age.
Annnnd, we found it. The Black Bull, blaring Britpop and full of post-football match revelers (I say revelers even though Scotland lost, because it didn’t really seem to affect the blue-and-white diehards. They kept on celebrating to uphold their country’s honourable effort and tough defeat ;)), was perfect-- I can now say that my life is complete, because I got to stamp-dance (a la Lynch family wedding) to the song “500 Miles” with a group of kilted Scotsmen! And there was no irony involved! Just pure national pride on their part, and gleeful excitement on ours.
Sunday morning, despite the rain, we got up early and toured the Queen’s home, the Palace of Holyroodhouse. It too is ancient, and has a gorgeous setting right next to Arthur’s Seat. It’s amazing the history that place has seen, and that the Queen still lives there every summer.
Sadly, we couldn’t stay any longer and had to leave Sunday afternoon. But I guess when you
stay such a short time, it leaves you wanting more- I can’t wait to come back and explore more the city, as well as more of the country. Hopefully at some point we can visit Glasgow as well as cities like Dublin, Galway, and Cardiff, which have all been recommended to me already. Here’s hoping we can next spring!
For some reason, Blogger still isn't letting me post pictures, grrr... So here's the link to the Edinburgh Facebook album. And also, in case you're interested, here's the link to my second Gazette article from a couple weeks ago. My next article should be published sometime this week!
Also-- Congratulations, Richard and Ashley! We couldn't be happier for you! I'm so looking forward to being able to say that in person :).
But for now, I’m focused on wrapping up first semester’s school work, ASM’ing the Stage Musical Society’s production of Honk!, and confirming the final plans for our France-Italy tour in December. Hope everything’s going great back home, and talk to you all soon!
<3
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