Edinburgh and 2 Months In

Yes I can't believe it, but I am two months in and practically 2 weeks away from coming home. Exciting times for everything. A whirlwind of events. I'll try to keep you updated but no guarantees. My emotions? Too complicated: excited and stressed. Busy and lethargic. Energized and sleepy. Maybe I should just do random word association for the rest of my blog posts and see if anyone can decipher them.

So Edinburgh was really awe inspiring and fun. As soon as I stepped out of Waverly Rail Station in the middle of the Old Town in the gully between both sides, immediately all the grey stonework and castle looking fascades and the dominating hill with Edinburgh Castle on it struck me all at once. It was really awe inspiring and I think I spent most of my time just enjoying the prettiness of it all. I would definitely go back there again, there is still so much to see. And even just walking around and taking in the atmosphere was great. I hit the Royal Mile which is the main historical street and has many sites on it such as Edinburgh Castle (which houses the Scottish Crown Jewels and Sceptre), many museums, St Giles's Cathedral, Scottish Parliament, and Holyrood Palace, the monarchs official residence in Scotland. There was also the Scotch Whiskey Heritage Centre which for 9 quid, I got a free shot of Scotch, a free Scotch connoisseur glass, and a tour/info session on the history and manufacturing of that "water of life" (what whiskey ironically means). I hope don't think I am an alcohol by this point now in my living experience in the UK.

I forgot to mention that Edinburgh (both the Old and New Towns) is a UNESCO world heritage site. The New Town was a planned city in the 1700s, to alleviate the crowding and lack of sanitation and tenements in the Old Town. All the perfectly laid out grey stone houses of Old Town is really quaint and very impressive to look at.

Besides seeing sites and museums, I hiked two hills: Calton Hill and the Salisbury Crags, culminating in Arthur's Seat the highest point in the city at 250 metres. Calton Hill I hit on the first full day right near dusk and I got some really beautiful shots of the Salisbury Crags and the Old Town. It was really great, and I lucked out being able to capture that on camera. On Calton Hill is a Nelson Monument (seems like they are everywhere; well, he with Wellington are Britain's only two military heroes!!!) and "Edinburgh's Disgrace". a monument that was not finished and is just left there as naked columns of an incomplete Parthenon.

Ah yes, the ultimate climb: the Salisbury Crags and Arthur's Seat. It was not too bad of a hike, though it was much steeper going to Arthur's Seat. I could be biased because I am in pretty good shape (or don't respond to pain and tire--I endure hardship like a good Slav!) The view was spectacular up there, though it was really windy and I almost got blown off Arthur's Seat a few times. Also the wind made it really really cold, I don't know how I managed to not freeze my rear off. So then I came down and puttered around a bit and that was the end of my mid-week jaunt to Edinburgh. Fun stuff, no? Next up: Praha...