EDINBURGH

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If I ever finish the previous blog entries, you will discover that we spent September 3-10 in London, and the 11th in Durham. Today, we took a train across the border from Durham to Edinburgh. It was only two hours, and since Scotland and England are both part of Great Britain, we did not need to show our passports or anything. (Great Britain consists of Scotland and England, while the United Kingdom is made up of “Great Britain” plus Northern Ireland. Regular Ireland is just an outcast.) The similarities and differences between London and Edinburgh are very interesting. On the one hand, the old-fashioned, uniform buildings and windy streets were the same. But Edinburgh also looks much smaller, as well as less compact, because it is not overflowing with booming businesses the way London is. There is less variety among the stores; I’ve seen Marks & Spencer and Boots, but not Sainsbury or Tesco. Because of these factors, Edinburgh also looks older. However, I think that makes the city look much more charming and foreign. I also like the way there are so many Scottish people! Seriously! Everywhere I looked in London, I saw Asians and Middle Easterns, and I was constantly passing people speaking languages other than British English. I do like the international atmosphere, but on the other hand, I came to Britain to experience British culture, not the same international melting pot I could have gotten in DC, two hours away from my house. It really kind of bothered me that there were so many American chain stores, and signs with American phrasing in order to appeal to international visitors. Of course, other businesses would keep up a strictly British front in order to appeal to purist international visitors. Oy gavalt.

Here in Edinburgh, everyone at least looks Scottish, and most people have Scottish accents. When we alighted (got off the train), we were met by our first Scottish tour guide, Doug. According to Susannah, his name is actually pronounced “Doogie.” How cute and Scottish. He even has red hair. He directed us to a stream of taxis that took us to our hotel, St. Colm’s International House. It’s technically a hostel, but I have no idea what offence it’s committed to deserve that term. It was amazing. It was a quaint historic stone house with a big round tower in front and gorgeous gardens. Inside, it was beautifully restored. Lisa and I had a room (a two-person room, not those sketchy mass-occupancy things you associate with hostels) with two big mediaeval windows overlooking the gardens and city. We also had our own sink. As I had feared, we had to use a hall bathroom, but there seemed to be one bathroom for every two rooms, and ours was right next to our room. Our hostess is originally from Finland.

Once we had gotten settled in, Doug took us on a brief walking tour of Edinburgh. Right away, he told us that there is no such place as “Edinboro.” It’s “Edinburra.” He showed us some of the main attractions, such as the National Gallery of Scotland, Princes Street, and the Mall. His tour lasted only about thirty minutes. Then, Christine, Ellen, Hila, and I decided to go to Edinburgh Castle. It’s an interesting mishmash of original mediaeval design, and ornate architecture which Queen Victoria prescribed in order to make the castle more attractive. Wow. Inside, it had few actual exhibits, but many little crevices for the enterprising tourist to explore. For instance, there was St Margaret’s Chapel, a stone cube built in honour of a particularly religious queen. It can be rented for weddings, and is particularly popular with fathers of the bride because it seats only twenty people! Inside, I found it rather austere. It had very plain wooden benches, a simple table with a white cloth, and one tiny stained-glass window. Outside the chapel, the castle wall ran around in a big curve with a platform alongside part of it. From the platform, I could see a huge slice of the eastern coast. A diagram even pointed out where to look for landmarks such as Fife and Ben Nevis. The land fell away sharply on the other side of the wall, but there was a small walled terrace about ten feet down. It was a cemetery for Scottish officers’ dogs. Around the other side of the castle, there was another platform. This one housed the famous One O’clock Guns. Please do not ask what time they are fired. Continuing around the wall, I came to a small exhibit on gunnery. The best part was the Georgian trench mortars - tiny, foot-long cannonnettes used during the reigns of George III and George IV. They were cute!

After a lovely, lazy afternoon of exploring, we met up with the rest of our group, got sandwiches from Marks & Spencer, and had dinner on the lawn outside the Scott Monument. That’s Scott with two t’s, as in Sir Walter Scott. Scott’s sizzling adventure novels such as Rob Roy stirred the first interest in Scottish history, helping to create the popular image of Scotland as a place of romantic adventure. That tradition continues today in films like Braveheart and Highlander. But once we got back to the hotel, we watched a totally different kind of film - that’s right, it was time for my monthly dose of Pride and Prejudice. Aw. . . I want a Mr Darcy. . . a Scottish one.

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Comments

[Nzie]

shocking!
How could you have hung out with me and Jess and NOT have known how to pronounce Edinburgh? *sob* we've failed you! here's the real kicker.. Marlborough, eg. the Duke of, i.e. Churchill's family, is pronounced Marl-brah. Borough--> brah, and Burgh-->Burrah. anyway.. find me a Scotsman too, while you're at it. ;) ~N~