Scotland I - Edinburgh

This is part 1 of a 4-part series on my trip to Scotland with A - Stay tuned for segments on hiking in the Highlands, sitting in on a "session," visiting a whisky distillery on the west coast, and Glasgow!

Last Friday we boarded our flight from Stuttgart to Edinburgh, touching down in what we would later term "not really raining" between the green fields flecked with woolly backs. There is a convenient light rail which took us within 5-10 minutes' walk from our Air BnB, then we were out to find some food, a pub, and gear up for a full day tomorrow...

An afternoon deluge was followed by a brilliant double rainbow!

As we like to do on a first morning in a new city, A and I signed up for a walking tour in downtown Edinburgh to help orient us both geographically and historically. I was surprised to be the only American in the group, though our tour guide was from Calgary! We started out at Mercat Cross, dead center in the High Street. The Unicorn at the top of the column, we were told, is the national animal of Scotland, chosen by Robert the Bruce for its natural animosity towards the Lion (symbol of England). I couldn't help but notice a fine gold chain about the unicorn's haunches... though unicorns cannot be tamed, maybe this one is now captive?

 One of my favorite stops on the tour was down a little Close, the narrow passages under and between buildings lining the Royal Mile and other old, major roads. Some of these are meter-narrow passages that drop down to the roads below the spine of Castle Hill, others lead to little inner courtyards. Writer's Square is just down Lady Stair's Close, and houses the Writers' Museum. The museum is dedicated to 3 of the most well-known Scottish writers: Robert "Rabbie" Burns, Walter Scott, and Robert Louis Stevenson. I was delighted to see that there was a gas lamp lit in the centre of the square, and could imagine a young Mr Sevenson sitting in one of the windows looking down on it... "My tea is nearly ready, and the sun has left the sky; It's time to take the window to see Leery going by..." 

 After the tour, we wandered towards a book shop, then realized that we were actually fairly near Arthur's Seat. Part of the Holyrood Palace park, this undeveloped rock is an urban hiker's delight. We followed the crowds being blown up the extinct volcano, and within minutes forgot that we were in a capitol city. The rugged bluffs and wind-swept hills were a preview of what we would be seeing in the next few days, when we turned North to the Highlands...

 Our day in Edinburgh finished in the World's End, a pub on what was once the city wall. A bit of live music, some good food (including our first taste of haggis), and a celebratory dram of Scotch (Jura 10, in my case) rounded out the evening. We had walked 10+ miles, been rained and rainbowed upon, heard bagpipes, eaten warm scones, stumbled into delightful bookshops and a library display on Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, and generally had a great adventure. Edinburgh certainly deserves more time than we gave it, and I'm already looking forward to another visit to its charms.