Edinburgh Adventure

Edinburgh Castle

After my semester came to a close in early December, I had some time to burn before my Christmas trip to London. I decided to extend my time in the UK by tacking on a visit to Edinburgh, Scotland in mid-December. I'm so glad I did! I was able to fit a lot in during the three days that I had there.

The Royal Mile, High Street

I spent my first day exploring High Street, the main street through the oldest part of the city. Edinburgh Castle sits at the top of the mile long road, and the Scottish Parliament building is located at the base of the street. The meetings of Parliament are open to the public, and I was really interested in the climate discussions happening later that day, but after sitting through an hour of banter about how the government handled the latest weather catastrophe, I decided to escape when I had the chance. I spent the rest of the afternoon checking out neat graveyards, public parks, and free musuems.

Edinburgh was a culinary adventure for me, too. Restaurants were considerably cheaper than Norway, and I jumped at the opportunity to dine on some regional delights. When in Scotland, one must eat haggis, right? I went for it, and was not disappointed:

Haggis "Stack"

Fish and Chips

Hearty Scottish Stew, with a pot of tea, of course

I spent my last full day walking through Hollyrood Park, and made it to the summit of Arthur's Seat. At a 823 meter elevation, the vantage point was great for seeing all of Edinburgh, and across the Firth of Forth, an arm of the North Sea. There are three lochs within the royal park, one of which rests in the shadow of St. Anthony's Chapel, built in the 15th century and now a ruin.

Edinburgh calls itself "Athens of the North." Accompanied by my trip to Stockholm, I feel like I'm creating a theme. Maybe I'll just visit the northern versions of the most famous European cities! If there a "Rome of the North," it will be my next destination...

There is a lot that I still don't know about Scotland, and it is a place I would like to return to. Edinburgh was a fun city, but I know the country has much more in store. I was very much "on the beaten path" for this visit, which was fine given my limited time, but I'm looking forward to seeing the rural parts of the country.

There is no better way to travel than by train. The train from Edinburgh to London took less than five hours and from the perspective of a Wyoming girl, that's nothin'! I had an amazing view of the ocean along the East coast, complimented by rolling Scottish hillside and, of course, sheep. Lots of sheep.

I was greeted at the station in London by Paul's sister, Erica, and whisked off to her lovely flat to start what would be a wonderful Christmas holiday.