Edinburgh: it starts with a C and rhymes with "Fastle"

Roowwaaawwrrrr!!!!! They made me put my broadsword in a glass case when I went through customs. Good thing I brought appropriate attire. I think I blended in well enough...


Since this is my first time in Europe (if you don't count a very dark stay in Poland), I was excited to get around to some other countries. Although my experience is limited, I believe Edinburgh is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. It's an ancient town, complete with old, hauntingly beautiful buildings, a bustling, modern feel, and a steep valley full of flora running through it.


Amit is traveling through Europe this summer, and his friend Shay invited me to stay at his flat in Edinburgh so that I could visit them. The weekend was a blast! This is an amalgamation of moments from my first day in Scotland, hope you enjoy!



Reuniting with Amit after 5 months, I was blown away by the coolness of his backpacking gear. (Yeah, I was a little happy to see him as well.) Can you tell if the cowboy hat is an ironic nod to how Europeans view Americans, or if it's purely functional? I always think people look awesome when they're all decked out as backpackers. I check them out as the walk down the street, thinking, "at some point in my youth I HAVE to do the stereotypical backpacking trip across Europe." Listening to his stories has only reinforced my yearning to don a wire-framed sack and sleep in lice-ridden beds for the only three months out of the year when I don't have to don a book-laden sack and sleep in...wait...the beds are still lice-ridden. I think the charm of backpacking through Europe comes partly from the fact that it's what we're already used to. Also, our stomachs can still handle dehydrated noodles.


In Europe they have castles. I'm not sure if I can quite explain the impact this should have on you. They have CASTLES. Slap one of those pointy princess hats on me and I'm good to go. Do you think they take kindly to squatters? I promise I'll set up my own tent. Just let me bask in the castle air!!! Please?!?!!


This next pic ties into my cardboard box theory. Will explain in a later post.


The National Museum of Scotland is basically like the Smithsonian Museum of National History. When I was little I loved museums. I would insist on reading every sign posted, attempting to absorb all the information I could from each exhibit. It would take me all day to visit the museum. This drove my family nuts. It only took us two hours to move through this museum, mostly because I wanted to leave enough time to see the CASTLE. This spinning wheel is from the Museum's extensive exhibit on the Industrial Revolution. It really tickled my economic history fancy (see my post on sheep).


Shay and his friends impressed upon us that Scottish people resent being thought of as the broadsword-waving, war-loving types depicted in Braveheart. Well, how about kilt-wearing bagpipe players? Ask these guys who set up shop on the Royal Mile. "I don't give a damn about accurate cultural representation if it eats into the tourism industry, laddie!"


Why does Edinburgh get described as "hauntingly beautiful?" This is the building that sealed the deal for me. And there's the fact that it reminds me of the Licorice Castle from Candyland.


Those philosophy classes really come in handy when you're hanging with your famous Scottish buddies:



Later that evening, we went to a gathering of Shay's friends at a pub they like. I met some lovely people, including an expat who moved here to go to the University of Edinburgh. The Expat is actually from California, and the part of home she misses the most is good Mexican food. The reason I remember this detail so clearly is that in a loud, crowded pub, the phrase, "man, I could really use a good burrito" repeated five times over the course of the night really sticks with you.


Don't go making any assumptions, I just blinked at the wrong time. By the way, why on EARTH did I not even CONSIDER going to college abroad? Tuition ranges from free to 6000 pounds. And this is one of the University of Edinburgh dorms. Harry Potter, much?


From left to right: Shay's flatmate, the awesome Shay himself, Amit, and Jessa. What, you can't see me? I'm in the castle, begging them to take me in. They used a loophole in their extravagant welfare laws to let me stay. All I had to do was become a citizen, 'cause in Europe, EVERYONE gets a CASTLE!!! Stay tuned for day two :-D