Edinburgh
A little geography lesson for everyone who hears a bunch of names and doesn't understand what in the world they are talking about. First, England and Great Britain are not the same thing. England is a nation on the island of Great Britain. Great Britain is home to the nations of England, Scotland, and Wales. Second, Great Britain and the United Kingdom are not the same thing. The United Kingdom is made up of the three nations on Great Britain, plus Northern Ireland which is on the island of Ireland. Therefore, Scotland is the northern most nation on the island of Great Britain, and is a member of the United Kingdom. To get to Scotland you have several options. Several airlines fly directly or through connections to Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Another great way to get there is to fly to London, spend a few days there, then take the train to Edinburgh. This train ride is wonderful once you get out in the country, and only takes about four hours to get from the main London train station right into the heart of Edinburgh. The train is quite nice, has power for computers and phones, WiFi so you can get some work done, and has full service food and drinks if you want to relax. When you get to Edinburgh you will find a wonderful town that is compact, and has numerous hotel options all within relative walking distance from the station. If you don't feel like walking there are obviously taxis, and a public bus system, but there is no subway to move you about the city.
The first thing you will notice standing high above the city is the imposing fortress of Edinburgh Castle. Set on the highest peak in the surrounding town, there has been a castle on the peak for nearly a thousand years, with most of the existing castle coming from the 16th Century. The castle is open year-round, and costs about €16 to get into, but once you are in you will be happy you paid the price. The castle is massive, and you could spend the entire day there wandering through the caverns and halls that were once home to the Scottish royal family. St. Margaret's Chapel, the oldest site on the castle grounds, was built in the 12th Century. While very small, the chapel was the only building that survived the burning of the castle by Robert the Bruce in 1314. Around the outside of the castle you will see the massive cannons that have guarded the high ground of Castle Rock for nearly five hundred years. Some of them are so big they actually have their own names, like Mons Meg, a 15th Century cannon given to King James II by the Duke of Burgundy. From certain points in the castle you can look down and see the sheer face of the hill the castle was built on. As you are walking through Crown Square, keep an eye out for the 1566 painted above a door. In that room, Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to King James VI. This is interesting because he as a Scottish king would later seize the crown of England and rename himself James I. He is best known to most Americans today as the sponsor for the most popular version of the Bible, the King James Version. Once you are inside, go to the Royal Palace and see the Crown Jewels of Scotland. Some of the oldest crown jewels of any of the lines of royalty in Europe, some of these jewels date back to Robert the Bruce himself. After you are done touring the castle walk down to the Princes Street Garden and stroll around. This enormous public park was built in the 1770's as part of the New Town development of the 18th Century. At nearly 40 acres, this park is a perfect place to relax, walk around and look at the monuments and fountains, and enjoy the cool Scottish weather.
Your next stop is up to you, but to get the best views of Edinburgh, many visitors travel east through the Old Town and head for Arthur's Seat. Known as the Royal Mile, this path from Edinburgh Castle will take you through some of the oldest parts of the city, past the Scottish Parliament, and end at Holyrood Palace. Holyrood Palace is an active palace owned by the British royal family. Opened in 1678, Queen Elizabeth and company spend one week a year in the palace on vacation. The palace is open to the public everyday except for the week the royal family is in town. From there start your walk up more than 800 foot high peak of Arthur's Seat. An ancient volcano, the walk itself will take you past ancient abandoned chapels, sheer cliff faces, and will provide you with a wonderful view of the city. As for the hike, it is a challenging walk. There are portions that are quite steep, so wear good shoes for hiking. I will tell you Wendy and I didn't make it to the top, but not because of the hike, rather because of the weather. Like most of the countries in this region the rain doesn't appear over time, instead it just appears out of nowhere. Wendy and I found ourselves in a torrential down pour that lasted for about half an hour. Once we tried to resume the trail was so muddy and slick we had to turn back. At the bottom of the hill take some time to walk through the Scottish Parliament building. Opened in 2004, as Scotland was granted more autonomy from the United Kingdom, the Parliament building is a counter in every way to the iconic British Parliament in London. The Scottish Parliament is an extremely modern building with high ceilings, walls made completely of windows to let in natural light, and state of the art technology. If you are lucky you can even catch the Parliament on a day they are in session and watch the uniqueness that is British politics unfold.
After that you have plenty of other choices for how you spend your time in the city. You can wander over to the Scottish National Art Gallery, the National Museum of Scotland, or tour the Britannia, the former royal cruise liner of Queen Elizabeth. You can also wander the neoclassical grounds of the University of Edinburgh. One thing any Harry Potter fans must do is take a walk down to The Elephant House, a tea and coffee shop that was frequented by a young J.K. Rowling while she wrote her two novels for the young wizard that made her billions of dollars. The story goes she was so poor while she wrote these books that she bought a cup of coffee and sat there all day writing instead of paying her heating bill. You can also wander into any of the numerous clothing shops in the region and try on an actual Scottish kilt. While I can't say I left town with one, I can say it was extremely liberating to wander the shop considering the idea. Also, make sure you go out for a beer one night. While they may be overshadowed in the United States by their more famous cousins to the southwest, the Irish, the Scots make great beer themselves, and have a good time in their pubs as well. The best part of going out for a beer also may be the show that occurs after everyone is done. Wendy found her favorite reality show of all-time in Edinburgh, a story of police officers working the streets of Edinburgh at night they clearly put time into naming, Night Cops. Like it's older American brother Cops, but without all of the actual crime fighting, Night Cops was episode after episode of drunk people in the city getting questioned by the police, cussing at the police, and later being arrested by the police, with an occasional drunken crying mixed in. Like a wreck you can't look away from, this show is almost worth the trip itself.
No matter how you spend your time in Edinburgh, the people you meet there will all unbelievably nice, the city will be clean, and the sites will be worth your time. We loved our experience there, and cannot wait to go back for another visit. One last tip, don't be afraid to try the haggis. Like the blood sausage of England and Ireland, haggis is a Scottish breakfast side that is made of many of the parts of a sheep wrapped in a case. For those of you with a weak stomach it is probably best I don't mention what is in there, but take my word for it that it is wonderful. Part of traveling is trying new things, and in a culture so similar to ours this is one thing that is so unique it is well worth the fun.
Post a Comment