Edinburgh's Party and Sites

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I took the Ryan Air commuter from Dublin to Edinburgh on Tuesday morning. Expecting full customs and passport checks I arrived at the Dublin airport 2 full hours in advance. Big mistake. Apparently travel within the EU is much easier than I expected. Perhaps I mistakenly took the wrong line, but it seemed like everyone from the US was going through the same line - group think at its finest. At least if I was wrong I will have plenty of company in jail. The flight itself was extremely uncomfortable. Ryan Air crams people onto their planes with almost no leg room at all. Even though I had no sleep (again, despite my best efforts) I couldn’t get into a position that allowed me to sleep on the plane. Once I sat down my body was wedged with feet firmly planted on the ground, knees pressed against the rock hard back of the chair in front of me, and my back against the stiff seat that doesn’t recline. Thank god the flight was only one hour. Trains from here on out in my opinion.

Once off the plane I found out that the tourist information desk doubles as the point of sale for the bus tickets inside the terminal. I picked up a Skyline ticket that took me into the City Center and dropped me within a mile of my hostel. The bus stop and my hostel sit on opposite sides of Edinburgh Castle, so I got a great view of the park, the castle, and a few other old buildings while I trekked towards the hostel.

Budget Backpacker’s Grassmarket Hostel was recommended to me by a friend. After staying five nights, I can honestly say this is one of the best party crowds I have run into. The ratio of Australians to any other nationality is about 2 to 1, but the Aussies do a fine job keeping the place lively. The staff keep the dorms & bathrooms very clean and they are always friendly. The evening pub crawl is an excellent way to meet people. Unfortunately the crawl really only goes to two bars each night and always starts at the same bar, the OZ Bar. OZ Bar (another Australian draw) is a pretty chill place and it is just up the street from the hostel. Come to think of it, everything you might want to see in Old Town is just up the street from the hostel. I am five minutes away from the castle, countless cool buildings and monuments, the national museum, and the Scotch Whisky Experience. (Let’s be honest, the Scotch Whiskey Experience is the real draw, but more on that later.)

My first day in the hostel was spent recovering from the no sleep and after a long nap I joined the pub crawl. Nothing super special happened during the day; however, I did have the pleasure of listening to two of my young female Aussie roommates discuss their attire for the evening. I kid you not, this took at least two hours and many changes of clothes. I have never seen two women feed off of each other’s indecisiveness with such joy before. And with that in mind, both of these girls are beautiful - they could go out in raincoats and still have a flock of men chasing after them. These two girls were the whole story of the night... Being crowned dorm-room-dad again, I joined up with them throughout the night. I am so impressed with these women; shoving off from home, moving to all sorts of different cities, finding work, and just enjoying life. Then again, situations like my first night on the pub crawl make me think women are really not safe traveling alone even in reasonably safe settings. When one of the girls got white-girl-drunk, semi-passed out on the couch in the bar, a creepy opportunist moved in for some action. I had taken a friendly liking to both of these women, but the other lass was involved with a nice guy at the other end of the booth (distracted to the point of not noticing the molestation taking place next to her). After wondering what a person in my position is supposed to do for a few minutes - I mean it isn’t really my place to take care of these strangers, they made the decision to get this drunk - I watched her body go limp as the opportunist pulled her close to him and began a rather grotesque display of one-sided affection. I decided I couldn’t stand by and let this obviously non-consensual exchange take place, especially given what could have happened if he decided to escalate beyond groping and kissing. I stepped in and made a little bit of a scene. A minor uproar ensued as a friend of the creeper came to his aid and tried to tell me he wasn’t doing anything wrong... meanwhile the young woman was passed out and eventually regained consciousness and took herself home (though I am not sure about the details because I carried on with the pub crawl). When I made it home she was already safe in bed.

As a side note, this was the first time I can recall being in the position of witnessing this type of exchange. My family (especially my grandfather and mother) taught me to be respectful of women and always act the gentlemen, but I must admit it took me too long to identify the wrongness of the situation and take the appropriate action. (I won’t blame my inaction on being tipsy, that isn’t an excuse.) It was even harder to stand my ground when I was confronted after stepping in to stop the nonsense. I’m not looking for support or anything, but I say this because it is easy to judge bystanders for not stepping in during bad situations after the outcome is known. Actually being there and living the moment is a different story. I have a new appreciation for how good people let bad things happen just because they aren’t sure what is an acceptable role for a well meaning stranger. Even after this experience I am not sure it would be easier or that I would move quicker to step in... it will be a struggle to identify the boundary every time, that is, if I ever am put in this situation again. An odd experience and definitely not a typical tourist event. The next morning (well afternoon, since it wasn’t morning when we all woke up) I recounted the events for the lass and her friend; neither remembered any of it (the looks from the creeper and his friend in the morning definitely told me that they remembered my cock-blocking maneuver). Later, as a joke, but also half serious, the would-be victim penned a sweet little note for me to carry around that said should she get that drunk again and a creeper proceeded to creep, please throw her over my shoulder, remove her from the bar, and wish her a merry christmas (because that will make her smile) as I send her on her way back to the hostel. Such a classic Aussie. I guess it is this type of thing that changes people when they come home from travels.

The next day I went on the free tour walk around town organized by the hostel. Considering the walk was free it was a great tour of the city. The guide was sweet and fun to chat with, but her knowledge of the sights and monuments was lacking. I would highly recommend the tour for anyone that wants an orientation walk for the historic areas of the city, but take a paid tour if you want the history. The guide did turn me onto the best restaurant in town... Oink! At Oink they have a full pig everyday and pull the chipped pork off of it’s back to serve in buns. Their spreads and sauces are excellent. They are only open until the pig is gone, so some days in the summer they close around 2 PM. Ask for some of the crisps for the Oinker sandwich and enjoy!

I went to Edinburgh Castle on the third day. The fee for the site is 16 pounds, definitely worth it. 3.50 pounds for the audio guide, also definitely worth it. A person could spend 3-4 hours easily within the castle walls listening to the audio guide alone and not be bored. Most people spend around 2 hours and I suspect its because they become exhausted with information overload. I arrived at 11 AM and I spent the next 4 hours enthralled in the history of the castle and the museum displays. This castle isn’t your London-esque beautiful building of majesty and tradition. Edinburgh Castle is a fortress with destruction and battle written on its walls and subdued royal lavishness written in the small apartments (by comparison to the English). The Scottish War Museum contained in one of the old hospital buildings is excellent. The detail in the exhibits transports the viewer to the time of each war and conflict. The painting “The Thin Red Line” was unexpectedly moving (yes, I know that isn’t it’s original name, but I can’t remember the long version). Quotes from veterans and memorials for fallen soldiers hung in my throat as I empathized with their struggles. No matter what nationality, the museum feels like an honest and accessible account of war.

Echoing the Scottish War Museum was the Scottish War Memorial at the top of the castle’s roadways. There are no photographs allowed in the memorial. At first I thought this was a shame because of its magnificence and elegance, but as I walked through this testament to the dead I realized that no photo could express what the memorial conveys. The stained glass is beautiful and weighs heavy with the scenes of war depicted in detail. The tomb and carvings are silent reminders of the terrible cost of peace and freedom. We enjoy this freedom with little care for what it cost in our day-to-day lives. There is something about this place that awakens my gratitude, and the gratitude of all of the other visitors - everyone in the room experienced a moment where gravity of the memorial crushed the boundary between composure and soft tears. Some couldn’t handle it and left quickly. Others sat quietly and took it in, perhaps recalling their family’s contribution to peace over the decades.

The chapel, the oldest building in all of Scotland, is a small but unique experience. The crown jewels were as regal as the publicity surrounding their heritage. The whole of the castle is a walk through the history of Scotland, the wars with England, and the pride of the Scottish people. Our present is painted with the shadows of history, and the shadows of the Scottish people stand long in the annals of western history. I look forward to having a similar experience in Italy and specifically Rome.

Now onto the fun stuff... WHISKEY!

After my four hour history lesson I needed a drink. The Whisky Experience is just down the road from the castle and I had booked my Gold Tour online the night before for 3 PM. The ride and tasting tour is a waste of time. The ride doesn’t really go into the details of the distillation process. I feel my opinion is especially jaded after having seen the excellent tour at the Old Jameson Distillery in Dublin. And seriously, how are we supposed to take the tour seriously when they give you scratch and sniff cards for the various regions of whisky making? Can’t they come up with something a little more classy? The collection of whisky (largest in the world) after the tour is extremely impressive and worth the price for the silver tour (if you are willing to put up with an hour of BS on the front end). The tasting after the tour, included in the gold package, was a little bland, but I did find a whisky that I could start drinking on a more regular basis. The real benefit to the gold tour is the continuous access to the upper bar and the 10% discount on shots and bottles anywhere in the store for a year. If you are going to buy a good bottle of scotch, do the gold tour and make your money back for the tour with the savings! The upper bar has an amazing selection of scotch, with free (legit) samples for smelling, and very reasonably priced shots. My pallet became worthless after spending only 15 pounds at the bar. Overall, the experience was worth the price and the time.

On my fourth day I walked through the Scottish National Museum. Some museums try to do the interactive experiences for kids, most do it poorly, this museum is fantastic for kids! Hell, if you have read my previous posts about museums and kids you’ll know that I have no love for the little rats running around and ruining the exhibits. In contrast to the museums in London, this collection balances the tactile, interactive, and educational exhibits with traditional displays of fine art and historic artifacts perfectly. I strongly recommend this free attraction for families and history buffs. While you are in the area, cross the street and check out the Greyfriars Cemetery. This is a rather famous cemetery and I won’t bother with the history, but it is dark, haunted, and home to Tom Riddles‘ original grave. The used condoms sprinkled throughout the site of 400,000+ burials is a tacky addition to the experience, but just keep one eye on the ground so you aren’t surprised when your foot slips a little.

There is so much more to my time in Edinburgh that I would love to share, but my drinks are empty, so I will close this account with a simple comment: Edinburgh is officially my favorite place to party in Europe so far.

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Photos

The Animals Section
One of the many areas that blend displays for children and adults

Thomas Riddle
A man of no great importance until a lot of fiction was published and commercialized...