Edinburgh
We took a four hour train ride up to Edinburgh, from London for a three day stay. We toured Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood House, Scottish Parliament, Museum of Scotland, Old Town and New Town as a group then had time to explore the Royal Mile and Arthur's Seat on our own.
A photo of me standing in Edinburgh Castle
Our group met up bright and early Wednesday morning, at platform number nine, King's Cross Station (in London) for a four hour train ride to Edinburgh. There were a number of comments relating our trip in the British countryside to the trip to Hogwarts in Harry Potter, not least because that train left from platform 9 ½ at King's Cross. It's only 404 miles from London to Edinburgh, strangely enough. Our train ran along the coast line and it was lovely!After arriving and dropping off our bags, our whirlwind tour of Scotland's capital city began. We started at Edinburgh Castle, high up on the Royal Mile and were able to see the state apartments and the Honours and royal jewels before heading to the National Gallery where we saw a number of incredible paintings, such as Raeburn's Reverend Doctor Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch. After dinner at the newly opened five star hostel in the center of Edinburgh, several friends and I walked back up the Mile for live Celtic music at a pub. The musicians were very good, playing accordion, flute, violin and bodhran.
The next day dawned early and we took a guided tour of New Town (built in the 1700s) which is associated with the Enlightenment. Our guide (dressed to the hilt in traditional highland garb) was very knowledgeable and gave us a wonderful glimpse of that part of the city. He then dropped us off at the new Scottish Parliament where we met with MSP (Member of Scottish Parliament) Kenny MacAskill who is a leading member of the SNP (Scottish Nationalist Party). He spoke to us for about an hour, outlining the key arguments of the SNP movement. He was an excellent speaker: very persuasive and polished. It will be very interesting to see how this issue plays out, especially with elections coming up in May. If the SNP gets a majority they will call a referendum and if there's an overwhelming majority calling for separation we may see Scotland as an independent nation some years down the road.
We then toured St. Gile's Kirk where John Knox preached for several years. After St. Gile's we went to the Writer's Museum which featured exhibits on Sir Walter Scot, Robert Louis Stevenson and Robbie Burns before splitting up for a few hours of free time. I walked down to Greyfriar's Abbey and to Grassmarket Street to see the Covenanter's Prison and the site where many covenanters were burned to death. I went to the Museum of Scotland early, and I'm glad I did: it was an amazing museum. As we had just a few hours there I was only able to seriously inspect the first gallery on early Scottish history, but peaked into the other galleries. The museum had obviously gone through a recent renovation and the exhibits were very impressive.
Saturday began with a hike up Arthur's Seat for a view overlooking Edinburgh. It was gorgeous. We then met up at the Scottish Parliament again, but this time for a tour of the chambers. Our guide was very informative and gave an excellent tour. A lot of thought went into building their Parliament. I especially liked the reading nooks built into every MSP office. The architecture is certainly different from most of the buildings we've been seeing: it is very modern, reminding most of us from the Pacific Northwest of the Experience Music Project building in Seattle. After Parliament we went to Holyrood House, right across the street. Holyrood is one of the Queen's three official residents in Great Britain and I think it's my personal favorite. Of course, I'm only comparing to Windsor Castle – Buckingham Palace (though unimpressive on the outside) might be amazing. Holyrood House looked like somewhere you might want to live. It wasn't ostentatious or impersonal. And the history! Coming back on the train I had just reached the section on Mary Queen of Scots in my book on Elizabeth I. Hours previously I had seen the very spot in Mary's chambers where she gave birth to her son, James VI of Scotland and I of England and there I was, reading about it. It's quite fun to have history "come alive" like that.It was a wonderful trip. A small taste of Scotland, but a fabulous taste.
