Escocia la valiente

Leg Two: SCOTLAND!

Here, I had both my favourite and second-least favourite bit of my holiday!

Step One: Edinburgh

Okay, I got here after the nerve-wracking fiasco with the Flybussen and a three-hour coach ride. I felt queasy the entire time and had no directions to my hostel. Also, it was dark, raining a little, and really cold. (I'm a complainer, what can I say?) Anyway, if you know anything about Edinburgh, you know that it's separated into the Old Town and the New Town. Well, the coach station is in the New Town and my hostel was in the Old Town, so by the time I found it (three failed maps, two instances of no taxis in places marked 'taxis' and four oblivious bartenders later), I was in a right foul mood.



The hostel itself did not help. Remember, I was coming from an orderly, hotel-like environment to this. If ever there was a definitive 'party hostel', Castle Rock Youth Hostel was it. I checked in with a tipsy young man behind the counter, but I could hardly hear him for all the noise coming from the common room (the main one, anyway). It was actually a really neat setup, but I was hardly interested. Everything was painted wildly or set in blacklight, and I got lost about three times just finding the staircase down to my room.

I had signed up for a female dorm. They put me in a 12-bed room for long-termers. It looked like Dresden. It was also swarming with Americans and Canadians that would not stop talking like cheerleaders from films. The rooms were all creatively themed, and as my bed was in the Edinburgh Taverns room it was called The Last Drop. When the man at the desk told me this, I smiled nerously and tried to make like I knew what he was babbling on about. There was no space for my shoes, let alone my suitcase. We were provided lockers less than a quarter of the size of my closet in Bergen, but with a little safe inside that, to me, said, 'Your things aren't really safe locked in the locker, but in the safe...well, they might be okay...' The girl in the bed across from mine, Zelda, was quite nice, though. She was South African and spoke in an extremely quiet voice that made it very difficult to hear her in a room full of booming North Americans.



That night, I tried to settle in one of the many common rooms, but they were all so noisy and meet-people-y (social), that I couldn't settle down (I still wasn't feeling too friendly myself) and had to try to fall asleep with the large florescent lights about 20 feet above my head (they did have really high ceilings).

My first day wasn't much to talk about. I was still upset with the city, so I fell to woman's oldest feel-good standby: shopping. (If you think that's a little sexist...deal with it. Shopping can be fun in moderation.) I walked up and down the Royal Mile, visiting each and every tourist shop on that street. I think I was just fascinated that they were all exactly the same. I kept hoping for something new, but it never came. I did find my very first real purse and some nice gifts for a couple of people and was really excited every time I saw the name 'McLaren' on...anything, really. Good times. The best thing about all these shops? Most of them are run by Asian people in kilts. This was fun in one way (I got to meet a lot of Asians), but depressing in another (I don't think I heard a Scottish accent until my third and final day in Edinburgh). I also found the TIC and discovered that all shopping malls are boring, no matter where you go in the world. Highlight of the evening: watching 'Clear and Present Danger' (and finally not just the end) alone in the hostel's HUGE screening room. Poor Edinburgh, I never even gave you a chance.

Easter Day was much cooler. I went to the 11:30 service at St Giles Cathedral, and it was really nice to see a more traditional service for a change. The sermon was all about travellers and opening your mind to the beliefs and experiences of others, and I really liked it. Also, the building itself is quite beautiful (and accentuated by the choir that sounded like my dad's favourite Christmas album). Later, I was extremely surprised (and pleased) that no shops or museums were closed that day, so I visited the National Museum of Scotland. This had to be one of the biggest, most complete museums I've ever seen. It had everything you could ever want to learn about Scottish history, and it was really entertaining at the same time. I was proud of them.



I also visited the Elephant House cafe to see J.K. Rowling's inspiring view of Edinburgh Castle, but was scared off by the prices, so just settled for a sneaked picture of the castle through the window. Finally, I headed for Holyrood Park and the huge mound at the end of the Royal Mile that had been calling me for two days. It was a lovely little hike up the slopes and fun just hanging out in the rocks and grass. I like nature. Oh! Also, the slopes reminded me of 'Aaaaaaaaaas yoooooooouuuuu wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiish!' In case you care. I came back with the idea of settling in for the night, but a Polish girl, Sylvia, met me in the internet room and convinced me to go out and hear some live traditional music. We were able to ward off the drunkards by speaking Spanish (she was fluent!) and posing as an Argentine and a Spaniard. It was quite fun. The music was okay, but they really mostly covered rock songs.



On my third and final day in Edinburgh, I got to visit......................................................HOGWARTS! Or Edinburgh Castle...whatever. Needless to say, I went camera-happy and visited all my favourite places three times, wanting to get the most out of the experience before the cold banished me back inside. The Great Hall was so cool looking, but David's Tower had the most interesting stories, I thought.



Toward the end of the day, I tried to take some pictures of the big tourist attractions, but only came out with Greyfriars Bobby pictures and the Scott Memorial. Oh well.



Stirling was much more inviting, and I was more than happy to escape Edinburgh, but more on that later. This post is long enough.