I can hear you now: This whole blog has been a lie! I was reading this believing it to be about an American girl's adventures in Germany and now it's revealed she's Scottish?! LIES!
Okay, it is a lie. Kinda. I'm part Scottish. My father's side of the family is Scottish - Clans MacFarlane and Robinson. The family moved to America in the 1800s from Edinburgh. Eventually a son of these Scots found a daughter from a family of Irish-Germans and produced a child (me) who by anyone's (stereotypical) guess should have a penchant for potatoes, beer, and bagpipes. I like 2 of the 3. You can't win them all.
As Will and I were planning our trip, we both immediately agreed we wanted to see Scotland. Unfortunately, we had neither unlimited funds nor funds, so we had to settle for just seeing Edinburgh.
If you just read that in your head (or out-loud if that's how you roll) as "Edinburg," hang your head in shame.
Scotland's capital is pronounced as "Edin-burrr-rah". Just imagine you're Sean Connery and say it. Or watch this video.
Anyway, to say this blog post is a little biased is completely honest. I loved Edinburgh - Will said it was his favorite city of the whole trip. So what did we do? Good thing you asked, I say.
Day One
We got to Edinburgh late in the afternoon and weather was lovely. Edinburgh is an interesting city with an interesting past. Home to the renown Edinburgh medical school as well as many famous writers and thinkers. In the 1800s, Edinburgh flourished as "The Athens of the North". The town is divided into two parts - the Old Town and the New Town.
The Old Town is located on top of the ridge that includes Castle Rock, the remaining cliff of Edinburgh's dormant volcano. During the Ice Age, this volcanic hill cleaved a moving ice sheet, creating low sloughs on either side of the volcanic ridge. It's a bit of a walk up the hill to the Old Town from the New Town, but it's totally worth it. Not only is the Old Town completely gorgeous (UNESCO agrees, it's a World Heritage Site) but it has some of the coolest stuff in the whole town, including the Royal Mile and Edinburgh Castle.
Thanks, Wikipedia!
The New Town is the pre-planned city section that is the opposite image of the Old Town. The most famous feature of the New Town is the long shopping boulevard, Princes Street. It runs parallel to the ridge of the Old Town and is filled to the brim with cool shops! Once upon a time, my family owned a hotel along this street. We stayed in the New Town at a very cool hostel, the Caledonian Backpackers. I'm giving them a shout-out since their staff was so nice and helpful (especially during the credit card crisis I had), plus the beds were super comfy!
Wikipedia gives us a view of the New Town from Edinburgh Castle.
On our first day, we checked into our hostel, relaxed, and then walked around the New Town. We were both pretty tired from running around the Tube and Heathrow airport, so we just chilled out, going into some shops and soaking up the atmosphere. We popped into the Scottish National Gallery - a cute, free museum filled with art acquired by Scottish collectors or art by Scottish painters. It wasn't that big, but it was a good way to spend our lazy day.
Even better, when we walked out the Scottish National Gallery, we saw this:
Playing into stereotypes has
never been so much fun.
Also another fast fact we learned in the first day: Scotland has their own Pound notes - they look different and have a different color (or colour?) scheme than British pounds. Those rebels.
Day Two
We started off the day with a hostel breakfast (filling, not so much; free, yes) and then we climbed up to the Old City to get to the Sandeman's Free Tour. For some reason, my camera shutter was acting funny, so just think of the black corners as an artistic effect.
Old City Hall
Looking down the Royal Mile, which
is exactly one Scots mile
which is about 1807 meters
or 1.12 miles.
Another shot down the Royal Mile
Old Scottish methods of punishment -
nailing a perp's ear to the door.
The tower was also used for public announcements, especially the succession of a new British King/Queen. From London, on horseback, it would take 3 days to get to Edinburgh. This delay became a historical tradition that continues until today. For example, when (or seemingly if) Queen Elizabeth II dies and a new King takes the throne, the Scots will hear the news 3 days late, as per tradition.
It marks the spot of an old English tax booth.
It's not so surprising that the Scots still spit
on the center of the heart when they pass.
The Old Town is filled with twisty and winding roads. Most famous are the mini-courtyards behind the houses on the Royal Mile. These courtyards are called "closes" and the most famous is Lady Stairs Close, which now holds the Scottish Writers' Museum. It holds artifacts from Edinburgh's most famous residents - Robert Louis Stevenson (Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes stories), and Sir Walter Scott (Ivanhoe)...just to name a few.
Lady Stairs Close and Lady Stairs House
From the Royal Mile, we walked into town and listened to the tour guide tell us the stories of Edinburgh. We walked down to Grassmarket, which despite its cutesy name was the home to Edinburgh's plaza of execution. Today, there are no public hangings, instead just a tourist trap of pubs.
Far left - The Last Drop Pub, famous for giving the convicted
felons their "last drop" of Scot whiskey before being hanged.
Far right - Maggie Dickson's Pub, the pub owned by the
(in)famous "Half-Hangit" Maggie.
After Grassmarket, we took a stroll into Greyfriars Kirkyard, which is actually a cemetery. It's a pretty famous cemetery, both in the number of famous graveyards and supposed hauntings. The names in the graveyard also provided inspiration to one of Edinburgh's most famous living authors - J.K. Rowling! (If you don't know who she is - I'm sorry, you obviously had no childhood.)
These grates were added to the grave sites
after body snatching increased overnight
as Edinburgh's medical school flourished.
The body snatchings and general air of
grim mysteries inspired a young Edinburgh
medical student - Arthur Conan Doyle.
Another reason behind the "hauntings":
this is the spot where many Scottish
Presbyterians were imprisoned (and died)
by the English rulers.
Harry Potter fans, take note!
Here are the names of the real
Thomas Riddell Senior
and Thomas Riddell Junior.
George Heriot's School - the boarding school that
inspired Hogwarts?
William McGonagall, regarded as "The World's
Worst Poet". His last name is now immortalized
in the Harry Potter series, as Professor McGonagall.
J.K. Rowling's children now attended this boarding school!
Will on the walk!
The Elephant House is a famous coffee shop that overlooks
the Greyfriars Kirk. J.K. sat in the back window and wrote
the first Harry Potter here.
Along the walk...
...we found our way to East Princes Street Gardens
and a view of Edinburgh Castle!
Hey there Will!
Other than admiring your humble blogger's adorable face,
you maybe be wondering why the Gardens are so green.
The gardens are always this green because the soil
comes from the mineral rich remains of Nor Loch.
The Edinburgh skyline!
After the long walk, we were hungry! We found our way to a Scottish pub and we indulged in a Scottish favorite: Haggis! This traditional peasant food was originally made from minced "leftover" pieces of sheep, called pluck (heart, liver, and lungs), and then cooked inside a sheep's stomach. It sounds repulsive.
Luckily, Modern haggis usually made without the pluck and no longer cooked a sheep's stomach! We decided to be daring! We got our haggis with "neeps and tatties" (rutabega and potatoes) covered with a Scotch whiskey sauce.
It was actually quite delicious!
But it was a filling meal!
Will with his ale and haggis!
After our late lunch, we wandered around the Royal Mile and Princes Street. Eventually, the sun went down and we joined back up with the tour group for a Night/Ghost Tour of Edinburgh.
Overlooking the New City
The George Heriot school looks creepy at night!
We found ourselves in the Old Calton Cemetery, which is pretty creepy at night. It also features the burial spots of many famous Scots, including the huge tomb of philosopher David Hume. Shortly before his death, he revealed to his closest friends that he was an atheist. That didn't fly so well with them - they were convinced that Hume had sold his soul to the devil. So being the good friends that they were, they guarded Hume's tomb (say that 10 times fast) at night for two weeks so the devil wouldn't snatch his soul. That's what friends are for, right?
This is the Political Martyr's Monument.
This giant obelisk was erected
to call the souls of Scots who died
away from home back to their native land.
A shot of the New City from the cemetery.
We had a beautiful full moon as we walked
up the Calton Hill.
After Edinburgh was nicknamed "The Athens of the North,"
the Scots attempted to rebuild a copy of the Parthenon.
They ran out of money.
The city was too proud to take money from Glasgow
and the baby parthenon has remained unfinished
Day Three
We slept in after the Ghost Tour and eventually made our way up to Edinburgh Castle. The castle was impressive and afforded some great viewpoints over the city. The museums within the castle were not so interesting - they were heavily focused on the Scottish division of the British military.
The history of the castle was not discussed - presumably to avoid the controversies between the Scots and "The Old Enemy". For example, the burning of the castle by Robert the Bruce after his troops scaled the cliff to recapture the English controlled castle was not mentioned in the museum at all. Presumably, the museum curators are trying to keep the peace by making the museum less controversial.
The coolest thing by far in the castle was the exhibit (alas no photography allowed) on Scotland's Crown Jewel - An Lia Fàil or "The Stone of Destiny"! The Stone - yes, it is literally a giant 336 pound chunk of red sandstone - is the symbol of the Scottish monarchy. In 1296, Edward I from England took the Stone with him to London as a spoil of war. Many Scots believed that as long as the Stone remained in English control, they could not be free of the English Kings/Queens, since they could not crown their own rulers. Although the Stone was to be returned to the Scots, it remained under the Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey for six centuries.
That is, until 1950 when a group of four Scottish students (3 lads and 1 lass) decided to break into Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day and steal it back for Scotland. However, like a terrible sitcom, things didn't go to exactly plan.
The heist was so hilariously bad, a movie was made out of it.
The four students had grossly underestimated the size and weight of the Stone. As they shimmied the Stone out from under the Coronation Chair at midnight and began to slowly drag it out of Westminster Abbey, the stone broke in half. Like the good Scots they were, a fist fight ensued in the church. The smaller half of the Stone was entrusted into the car trunk of the girl, who was able to get the piece over the border. The guys were not so lucky. As the sped their way to the Scottish border with the other half the Stone of Destiny in their trunk, they realized that the police had caught onto them and closed the border. In a fit of desperation, they buried the Stone in a farmer's field, promising to return for it when the border was less patrolled. Eventually, the got the Stone to Edinburgh - where it celebrated its homecoming by being toted around to college parties for a month (lots of Scottish whiskey was spilled on it, to be sure). The Stone was left on the steps of the Scottish Parliament and within a day, it was back in London. The four students were held for questioning, but not charged or arrested. The leader, Ian Hamilton, has gone to be a famous lawyer and has only recently spoken about it.
The walk up the hill to the castle is filled with tourists.
Strike a pose Will!
Outlooks from the castle.
Calton Hill during the day! You can see "Scotland's Shame"
in the distance.
A view of Arthur's Seat in the distance
Your Humble Blogger and her new Tartan scarf!
It's a Scotsman on a Horse!
Yep.
Part of Edinburgh's Industrial heritage can still be seen.
A bit windy, eh, Will?
Edinburgh Castle still has a functioning One O'Clock Gun,
one of the few left in the world.
It fires everyday at 13:00 exactly (except Sundays, Good Friday,
and Christmas day).
The military cemetery for brave Scottish dogs!
Guns and cannons.
It's a guy thing.
The Castle is home to St. Margaret's Chapel
(it was closed for renovations when we were there)
one of the oldest buildings in Edinburgh.
Back on Prince's Street...
The Sir Walter Scott Monument,
the largest monument to any author
ever.
Will and I were both really sad to leave Edinburgh and Scotland. We had a great time!
And the next time you go, you might be visiting Scotland as a its own country - the big vote on Scottish Independence is set to take place in 2014. Here's a BBC article about the latest news!
If you can't get to Scotland soon, at least there will be a Disney/Pixar movie - Brave - set in Scotland that comes out this summer. I'm super excited about it - the Scottish princess has hair only another person with unruly hair an appreciate.
Up Next: Will and I finish our tour of the U.K. (or at least the island) in Cardiff. Which is Caerdydd to you, sassy pants.
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