Trip to Edinburgh

As if a weeklong trip to London wasn't enough, I embarked on the next leg of my journey - Edinburgh, Scotland. My mom's side of the family immigrated from Scotland, so I was excited to see a bit of my ancestor's history.

Edingburgh is the capital city of Scotland. Unlike London, Edinburgh is close enough together that it was walkable and, although still lively and populated, didn't seem at all intimidating to a tourist like me. One of the first things I noticed when taking the bus from the airport to the city centre was how ridiculously green Scotland is. I'm a fanatic of well-manicured and beautiful lawns, so seeing a country whose climate made it near impossible not to overflow with luscious greenery definitely brought a smile to my face. I must warn you, I didn't take quite as many pictures in Scotland, so my selection wasn't quite as vast to choose from.

Chillin With The Bros

Thanks to my buddy Knox, I had a connection with an American student, Caleb, who is studying at the University of Edinburgh this semester and offered to let me stay with him in his flat. He lives with two Scottish students and a student from Slovakia. It was fun being able to relax with them, get to know a little more about the Scottish and Slovokian cultures (and try to understand their accents). Caleb was a friendly and generous host, and we had a lot of fun together. Being from Texas, Caleb wanted to show his Edinburgh friends a little taste of home, so we even had a fajita fiesta one night, complete with homemade guacamole! Too sweet.

Black Medicine

My first full day in Edinburgh was a rude awakening. I had been fortunate to have amazing and mild weather in London all week, and my first experience with Edinburgh was a rain-snow mix. I used the weather as my excuse to chill for a morning in a local coffee shop recommended by Caleb, the Black Medicine Coffee Company, which I enjoyed greatly. It was one of my many trips to coffee shops in a week that would prove to be relaxing, to say the least.

The Elephant Bar

One of Edinburgh's more recent claims to fame is that J.K. Rowling wrote the first of the 4 "Harry Potter" bestsellers at a coffee shop in Edinburgh called the Elephant Bar. I went late one night, drank a cup of coffee while overlooking the Edinburgh Castle, and imagined to myself the amazing thoughts and motivations that Rowling must have had when she was writing her book, and the doubts that may have gone through her head as well. Needless to say, her confidence overcame her doubts and she wrote one of the most popular books of all-time, and I got to go to the place where it all started.

My view from the Elephant Bar - overlooking the Edinburgh Castle.

Arthur's Seat

A cool thing about Edinburgh is that it has an extinct volcano right in the middle of town. My first day there, although it was windy and snowfall was flirting with Mother Nature all day long, I decided to hike up the extinct volcano, called Arthur's seat, to get a better look at the city. The view of the city was absolutely gorgeous, and I couldn't get enough of the beauty that was the Edinburgh Castle. I would have taken one more picture with me in it, but when I turned around to ask the lady behind me if she would mind taking a photo (amidst the cold and heavy wind), I noticed that she was crying and seemed like she was ready for the descent.

Arthur's Seat.

View of Edinburgh atop Arthur's Seat.

Ghost Tour

I don't know if it was the fact that it was cold and overcast all day, the architecture, or a combination of the two, but Edinburgh had a sort of creepy sense to it. There are actually ancient underground cities within Edinburgh that were completely closed off without warning during the Black Plague. Combine that with a history of people being unfairly hanged, and there's a certain sense of historic spookiness that comes out during the moonlit night.

The Tollbooth Tavern. Intangible spookiness.

While I was roaming around one night taking pictures of the city, I decided to go up to the Edinburgh Castle. When I made it to the top, I overheard a group of people that seemed to be on a tour. When I looked over, I noticed that the tour guide was dressed in all white make-up and a cape, and that these people were on a ghost tour. I continued to take a few pictures, and when I heard the tour guide say "alright, let's go ahead and make our way to the next stop..." I jumped right in the tour group, blending in with all the other tourists just fine.

The tour itself was great! The ghost tour guide was light-hearted and funny, and every once in a while a "ghost" would come out and try to startle us. I learned about different stories of Edinburgh's history, different ghosts that supposedly still wander the streets, etc. The best part of it all was that I got it all for free. Holla!

Pre-Approach to the tour group..

Our lovely tour guide and assistant.

National Museum of Scotland

Unbeknownst to me, the University of Edinburgh is actually a very prestigious and successful university. With the likes of Charles Darwin, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Alexander Graham Bell, and countless others, the Scotland had a lot to offer. I went with Caleb and Matt, his Slovakian roommate, and we had a blast. We checked out everything from ancient battleships to animal skeletons to racecars and more. We even saw Dollie the Sheep, the world's first successful mammal ever cloned, which happened right there at the university.

Dollie the Sheep.

Edinburgh Castle

The most popular and well-known thing in Edinburgh is the Edinburgh Castle. Towering high above the city on Castle Rock, the castle dates back to 9th century BC! Although I didn't tour the castle itself (I heard that it wasn't worth the 22 pound price), I took enough pictures to last a lifetime.

View of Edinburgh atop Edinburgh Castle.

Basketball in Kilts

Okay, so I didn't actually do this. But, I did play basketball with Caleb against the University of Edinburgh basketball team. Although 4 or 5 of the guys we played against were at least 6'6" or so, Caleb and I kept up and actually won almost every game. It was a fun time and a good way to end the trip with Caleb.

All in all, Edinburgh was just what I wanted it to be - a time of relaxation and community with new friends while getting to explore a country that has helped shape my life through my family.

Brad.