Edin-brah.
It has become the goal of my coworkers to make sure I know which English speaking pronounces things properly.
Usually it is medical terms (since I do work for a nursing magazine), but before I took off for Scotland, Jenni had some advice to make me not sound like an American (if that is even possible).
“It’s Edin-brah. Like ‘brah’ not ‘bourgh’.”
Since that was all sorted out and I, thankfully, wasn’t going to sound like an American, I was ready to go.
The train ride was beautiful. I have decided that the landscape outside the city is much more my speed; wide open spaces, green fields and houses that have more than six inches between them. The relaxing ride was accompanied by two of my favorites: Mary Poppins and Harry Potter. Why not watch great British actors while here? It’s not like the accent is anything out of the ordinary anymore.
Walking to the hostel was like stepping back in time. London has old building, sure, but Edinburgh looked like nothing had been built in hundreds of years. And I loved it.
After checking in, meeting some of our roommates (American and Australia) we decided to wander around and find some food. We took some suggestions from the girl at the front desk, made a lap around the area and ended up at the pub across the street from our hostel. It was crowded and we decided to join a table for six that two men were already sitting at; turns out they were American! The two pilots talked to us for a bit, actually knew where Columbia was and suggested that we try haggis.
Now, two of my roommates had visited Edinburgh the week before and one of the first things said to me when they got home was “You have to try haggis, its disgusting.” (Sounds like something I would say, doesn’t it mom?).
Well I tried it. No rave reviews here and I likely won’t be eating it again but it wasn’t horrible.
Friday we spent the day on a bus. And when I say spent the day, literally we sat on a bus for nearly 10 hours. We drove through the Highlands of Scotland and went on a boat ride on Loch Ness. I didn’t see Nessie, unfortunately, but I think in all the hype of the monster everyone fails to mention how incredibly beautiful the Loch and landscape are. The drive seemed much like driving through the Rockies only the mountains were green, not brown.
Saturday I think we walked the Royal Mile a solid 10 times. After exploring Parliament and looking around at various museums we took a tour of Edinburgh Castle.
I would describe the castle as more of a village surrounded by walls and on a large, rocky mountain. There were many different buildings all standing by themselves inside the castle walls and the further into the center, the older the buildings got. The oldest building in Edinburgh, St. Mary’s Cathedral, also sits inside the walls, being built somewhere around 1420.
One of the things that I loved the most about Scotland is all the war memorials there are for those who have served and given their life for the country. On our trip on Friday we stopped at a roadside memorial for Commandos. At the castle one of the buildings is dedicated to commemorating the lives of those who fought in WWI in every branch of service. It was very neat to see how the Scottish honor their heroes.
On Sunday, we walked. And walked. And walked. We took at two and a half hour walking tour of the city and climbed Arthur’s Seat. As I have found throughout my trip, the views looking down on a city are truly the best way to explore. I think at home the only way to do that may be a water tower. Or helicopter.
But, it is safe to say Edin-brah is the most beautiful place I have ever been. Until we meet again, Scotland.
Things I have learned:
- The population of sheep outnumbers the population of people in Scotland 2:1.
- It is thought that J.K. Rowling based Diagon Alley on Victoria Street because it cuts up the hill, diagonally.
- From the backroom of the Elephant Café, where J.K. Rowling wrote the first two HP books, you can see a graveyard and a school. The school consists of four houses and was originally built with the intent to give orphans a good education. The graveyard has headstones with the names MacGonagall and Tom Riddle.
- Milk ice cream is actually extremely delicious.