Edinburgh

Well there's a lot of catching up to do here, so I'm going to try and do one place at a time, that way it is broken up a little bit and I don't have to write one extremely long blog. So here goes my attempt at Edinburgh:

I arrived in Edinburgh August 21, fresh off the plane (although not really 'fresh') from JFK, with a layover in Dublin. After passing through customs, I managed to find the bus to take me to the city center, where I got off and proceeded to haul my luggage up a rather steep incline before "going down" (too many philosophical implications) to my hostel. Since I arrived about 9 in the morning, I couldn't get into a room and, despite my fatigue, decided to take a stroll around the city. As I usually do when I first arrive in a new place, I simply began walking without any idea of where I was going. This worked surprisingly well, as I passed by "The Scotsman" newspaper and picked up a copy of the program from the International Fringe Festival and then ran into an outdoor display of essentially the geological history of Edinburgh, which turned out to be quite interesting. I was also quite near "Arthur's Seat", a large hill/small mountain that overlooks the city. While I thought it might be nice to take a hike, I wasn't wewaring the right shoes or clothes for it, so I decided to return to the hostel for a quick nap before further exploration.

Setting out for further exploration, I found myself rather at "Fringe Central" and of course had to stop to watch certain odd acts, such as a man trying to fit through a tennis racket (he succeeded) and other events only a Fringe Festival can provide. Fortunately, Fringe Central happened to be very close to Princes Street, the main street in Edinburgh, so I took a stroll down Princes Street for some nice views of the Edinburgh castle (although nothing could have prepared me for the night view, which of course I failed to get a picture of) and then to the Royal Museum of Scotland to view some artwork. The collection itself wasn't bad, but of course nearly all museums are not quite as impressive after having visited the Louvre. After more fringing about, I looked a little more closely at the program and decided to get a ticket for a Jazz Show that evening, which turned out to be a wonderful choice, particularly over a glass of wine.

I had all the next day to continue exploration and wander by street performances. Since Edinburgh Castle is THE attraction in Edinburgh, I decided to start the day there. Little did I know, it took me 3 or 4 hours to go through all of it. The castle itself is magnificent and contains wonderful little tidbits of history, such as the birth of James I of England/James VI of Scotland to Mary, Queen of Scots in 1566. The castle also contains the oldest building in Scotland, a little chapel known as Saint Margaret's chapel, built around 1130. An old church turned into a Scottish National War Memorial is another highlight, along with the 1 o'clock firing of the cannon. I always debate with myself as to whether or not I should get an audio guide when I go to some of these tourist sites, but this one was definitely worth it.

After grabbing a late lunch, I took a walk towards Calton Hill, another great spot for viewing the Edinburgh skyline and visiting historical monuments. On the way, I was fortunate enough to run into the cemetary where David Hume is buried, where I heard the whisper of a "wow" escape me. Fortunately, there was no one around to hear me talking to myself. After the cemetary, I continued my walk to Calton Hill, where I found the Scottish National Monument and another monument to a person I had never heard of which was cool nonetheless. The architects for both of these monuments were inspired by ancient Greek architecture, which the National Monument being modeled on the Parthenon. An awe-inspiring view in all directions is isn't the attraction on Calton Hill, but apparently David Hume found it as incredible as I did, as, in 1776, he petitioned the Scottish Parliament to create a circular walking path around the top of the hill so that the citizens of Edinburgh could enjoy the view from all points. The path, creatively named the "David Hume Walk", is still there today and I couldn't resist tracing his footsteps before descending into the chaos that is Edinburgh during this huge Fringe Festival.

It was more or less at this point that I grabbed dinner and returned to the hostel to grab my luggage before heading to the bus station for an overnight trip to London. I always think these overnight trips are great ideas when I book them (transportation and sleeping at the same price as a hostel, what could be better??) but I find that I don't enjoy them because it's always difficult to sleep and the trips aren't long enough to get enough sleep. Coincidentally or not, I found myself seated next to an older couple from Rochester, MN who were staying in Ainwick, England with a group of students they had brought over from St. Cloud State, where the husband is a professor. After talking to them for awhile, they told me they were staying at the duke's castle in Ainwick until December and have invited me to visit. For Harry Potter fans out there, the flying lesson scene in the first Harry Potter movie was filmed in the courtyard of this castle. So I do hope to do that, although it might be somewhat difficult with my schedule....nonetheless, these are the type of unexpected adventures European travel seems always to afford if only one's schedule is flexible enough and the money supply unlimited. Fortunately, I was able to sleep for awhile on the bus and arrived in London early the next morning ready to take my exploratory walk....