Run This Town

“If you want a linguistic adventure, go drinking with a Scotsman.”

So said one of the greatest authorities on knowledge, Robin Williams. After a night of no sleep and several movies, I found myself in… Chicago? New York? Maybe we never left Dulles? As I got off the plane in Heathrow I felt like I could have been in any major US airport. The staff looked the same (although maybe a little smaller), all the signs were in English, and Accenture and HSBC were ramming their advertising campaigns down our throats. As soon as one of the pleasant-looking staff talked to us though, I knew immediately that I was in some other corner of the world. Which corner was something I was still trying to figure out, as I understood maybe 25% of the words coming out of his mouth.

Eventually I made enough sense out of what he was saying to figure out that the glass sliding doors wouldn’t open into the terminal and we would have to take a series of emergency exits/call a few audibles to make our way to the baggage claim. Welcome to London! We eventually made it and I successfully navigated the re-check-in process and journey to my gate for the flight to Edinburgh. I grabbed a sandwich from a café and as I was standing there, the man behind me comes up and asks if they have any spirits. I had to look again and then look at my watch 3 times – it was only 7:45am. Go drinking with a Scotsman. Right. Sometimes you just gotta get it going early on a Tuesday morning.

I wound up sitting next to a Scottish girl on her way back from working at a summer camp in Virginia for the last few months. It was fun to trade war stories from my GAC counselor days and hear what she thought about staying in the US. After calling some more audibles to get around some more sliding doors that wouldn’t open (is someone trying to tell me something?) in Edinburgh, I found myself on my way in a double-decker bus (the stories, myths and legends are true – they’re all double-deckers. I’ve always wondered, and still do, how fast you’d have to drive one to tip one over) into the heart of Edinburgh.

I too early to check-in at the hostel, so I dropped my bags and cruised into the center of town to check out the highlights. I found my way to

Prince Street

, which is one of the main drags through town. Think

Rittenhouse Square

in Philly for the type of feel – busy street, but upscale with greenery around. Now Edinburgh Castle is theoretically the biggest draw in town. Since I’ve never seen a castle outside of Japan before (and something tells me European castles aren’t going to look quite like Nijo-jo in Kyoto), when it popped out from behind some buildings I was pretty blown away. Not really because of its sheer height, but mainly how it sits on top of a massive cliff. It looks basically like an old university on top of a mountain with a few cannons coming out of the windows. Penn might look like that if students decided they wanted to go on strike.

I wandered through the Prince Street Gardens and worked my way up Mt. Everest to get to the castle’s gate. As I was nearing the final turn, I saw what looked like a soccer stadium erected in front of the castle. I was reasonably confused, but I figured if there was any country that would build a soccer stadium more or less on top of a castle, it would be the UK. As I wandered through it, I realized it was too small for soccer. I found out it was for the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, one of the many shows put on here at the annual Edinburgh Fringe festival, one of the biggest arts festivals in the world. 

If I could describe the castle, I would call it a small, old-style university crossed with Disneyland’s Alice in Wonderland. The line for entry tickets was at least 45min long. Once in, though, it was pretty cool. It has the feel of a walled 10^th- century village (which it is), with many stone buildings (which in the 10^th century would be the equivalent of the Chrysler Building) and cobblestone paths. I wandered through a war memorial (mainly WWI), the Great Hall, and some old living quarters. I also stood in the 30min line to see the Scottish Crown Jewels. The pieces were absolutely incredible. The handiwork, detail and overall beauty are second to none. However the lines and Alice In Wonderland-esque figures on the walls in the hallways we inched forward in were not so great. For something so important to the national culture and identity, I was hoping for some introductory exhibits that were a little more on par with the items they were describing - not something I’d expect to see in Pirates of the Caribbean.

After grabbing a sandwich for lunch I walked down the Royal Mile, the most famous street in Scotland. For the month of August, it is overrun with the Fringe festival. Anything from street performers to artists to improve, theater or comedy could be found either on the street or in venues along the way. I stopped to watch some street performers, some of whom were alright and others who were awesome. The street itself is a winding downhill cobblestone road lined with centuries-old stores. I felt like I was moving back in time as soon as I looked away from the polka-dot umbrellas and canon DSLRs.

As soon as I got back to the hostel it stopped raining and the sun made an appearance (of course) so I decided to go for a run. Let me tell you, running is the best way to see a city. Hands down. Make sure you know how the streets work though, otherwise you’ll get run over. I successfully got lost amongst the maze of cobblestone streets & stone homes and even found myself running along a creek. Not bad. It was nice to get away from the tourists and see where the locals go. I went wherever I felt like it. I have to say though that Edinburgh is the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen. A lot of cities have old districts with stone buildings and cobblestone streets. The thing about Edinburgh is that’s the entire city. Everywhere you go. Granted my teeth are still chattering from the bus ride on the roads but I’ll deal.

All in all a great first day. Too bad I feel like a country hick with my American accent. Time for a little Chicken Fried.