Literally ...
Edinburgh was wonderful and fun, but on the way back a train ahead of us hit a cow (herd?) on the tracks and was damaged, the cow(s) died. So a ride that was supposed to take 5 hours actually took 11. More on that later... We got to Edinburgh Friday afternoon and after checking into our hostel just went walking around the town to find food and souveniers and what not. A 6 hour train ride definitely takes it out of you, so we just walked down the Royal Mile and took lots of far away pictures of the Castle and of the pretty buildings along the street. Overall during the trip we didn't really get a chance to see much of anything outside of the city centre, which is fine because all I really wanted to see was within a few blocks of each other. Interestingly enough a large part of our Oxford group went to Edinburgh this weekend so we kept meeting up with other kids in the program. In the evening we split up into several groups, one of which went pubbing/clubbing, and another to... the Harry Potter Midnight Sale! Guess which group I was in. After queueing for a while, in the Scottish coldness (despite the fact it's July, Scotland nights were in the mid 50s), in a line that wrapped around the block and then some, I bought my copy at 12:36 Edinburgh time. That's 5 hours before anyone in the States got it :-D. We watched the fireworks happening at the Castle not far away, and we also got free capes and owl masks, of which I don't have a picture yet. But here's me being happy with my pretty book in the pretty bookstore:
The next day was mainly sighseeing. We visited the Edinburgh Castle, which was gorgeous and situated on a big rocky hill above the city, the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre, where we got free samples, tried some authentic Scottish food, and enjoyed the Edinburgh nightlife. I loved the Castle, it's not like anything I've ever seen. It's dark and stark and really hard to assault, so it gives off this air of militaryness rather than comfort like other places I've seen. Our tour guide said that the royalty moved out of the Castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse at the other end of the Royal Mile. Here's a picture of the Castle from below the Rock, taken Saturday night:
The Scotch Whisky Heritage Center didn't allow pictures, but it was still one of the most fun things we did. At the beginning of the tour they gave us a free sample of a blended whisky (part grain, part barley) in a pretty souvenier special whisky glass. Then our guide, who had a totally awesome accent despite being a girl, told us all about the processes in making whisky and how it gets it color, flavor, etc. We then went on a barrel ride through time, through the history of whisky and its appreciation in Scotland and worldwide. Of course the most fun thing was actually trying the drink and then looking through 40 odd cases of different brands that exist today. I personally did not like the whisky straight up, so after I tasted it, I mixed it with ginger ale which gave it a very nice spicy taste.
Now we come to the food... and oh yes, I had haggis. Really it's not that big of a deal since it's not really stomach. It's made out of the "awfuls" of a sheep, meaning the minced left over innards and traditionally cooked in the stomach (then taken out to be served). But they apparently don't cook it in stomach anymore, so it's just the hamburger looking meat with neeps and tatties on the side. Neeps are these orange radishes which reminded me of pumpkin a lot, and tatties are of course mashed potatoes. The haggis I got was also served with a scotch whisky sauce. Here's the presentation. Trust me it's REALLY not bad, in fact it's quite good and has a bit of a pepper spice to it:
We got all dressed up, pictures of which are circulating among my roommates, and went out to a club called Establishment. It was good fun, R&B type dance music, and I met a couple of French guys, one of which was far too short for my tastes. Of course the short one was the one that wanted to dance with me the most, so I excused myself then went back to my group of friends. About 15 minutes later, he was looking for me so I asked the boy that was with us to protect me. Frenchie got the hint and left :). We got back to the hostel fairly late, and got up really early on Sunday because our train left at 1. The train ride was supposed to take only 5 hours, but because a STUPID cow ran onto the tracks and broke a train, we were stuck second in line for 6 hours longer. All the food on the train was distributed, all the drinks were as well. We started running out of topics of conversation and card games after about 2 and a half hours, so I actually started the Harry Potter book, by the time we left I was 332 pages through it. These super obnoxious children were sitting next to us so of cours they were being loud and restless, our carriage was much colder than others, and overall it was not the best experience. Finally we got home at midnight and I fell right to bed.
Overall the trip was fun, I did get to see some of Scotland and take some beautiful pictures of places in Edinburgh, including the world's first golfcourse. A lot of people went to see the British Open, but since golf doesn't interest me at all I opted for the Castle and the Palace and the whisky musem. It's Ireland next week folks, let's hope the transportation goes smoother :)
World's first golfcourse with Arthur's Seat (the tallest peak) in the background:
Overlooking the city from the Castle Rock:
