Edinburgh

Haggis! (Not the form I ate it in)

Not the best timing to make a Scotland trip but definitely worth the subsequent sleepless nights. We took the Night bus on Thursday night after an American Thanksgiving. The night bus is nothing like Harry Potter but for the crazy driving. We unfortunately came late and were given the seats next to the loo and you know the smell is bad that we rejoiced when a man who had just smoked came and sat near us and covered the smell somewhat. After a night of overheating and bad smells we arrived in Edinburgh. Luckily our awesome youth hostel (located right at the base of Edinburgh Castle and on top of the royal mile) let us crash for an hour or so.

So general thoughts on Edinburgh: a lot of men really do wear kilts and in all different circumstances and men in all different stages of their life. I was a little surprised. In fact every stereotype that I had of Edinburgh and what I expected happened. We happened to be there during the St. Andrew festival and saw cars that demonstrated the golf history of Scotland. We saw bagpipers galore and in the carnivalesque style we saw three men dressed up as old ladies sitting ontop of segways dancing. Pretty crazy but so fun. I even tried the infamous haggis and while it was not as bad as I expected I do not think I will ever be trying that again.

I felt most connected to the Scottish culture when I was hiking Arthur's Seat and had the opportunity to reflect on Orson Hyde's presence as well as the stories and legends of King Arthur. As we hiked up we hiked further and further into the fog and clouds but in random patches of the hill there would be a break and all clear around us but in the distance on every side it was foggy. The view was beautiful but I think the best part was the hike up and hanging out at the top. We took Friederich pictures - our tribute to the great painting "Wanderer Above the Sea Fog".

Overall great trip. We also ate at many cafes sampling some delicious hot chocolate and my favorite meal was at the cafe that JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter. I loved that while outside they paid tribute to the novels but inside life moved on. It seemed as if the decorations were exactly the same as they had been for several years and the spirit of the place had not changed. I love that they were not trying to exploit and gain profit from the Harry Potter franchise. So go Elephant House! Loved Scotland, definitely could have spent more time there.