Wanderings

---

Saturday, I went to Edinburgh Castle with my friend Ada, who I met at orientation. We saw a bit of the National War Museum (though not as much as I wanted too, it was so extensive), and the War memorial which consisted of a few rooms with tall ceilings that had stained-glass, plaques, stone statues and wood engravings. We also saw the Royal Apartments where Mary Queen of Scots' bedroom was and where she gave birth to her son (in a cupboard!) who also lived in the bedrooms. There was also the Great Hall where dinners and state events and functions took place and still do today I believe (also take place in part of the Royal Apartments). Also, an exhibit on the history of The Honours which is the royal crown, sceptre, and sword of state passed down to whoever was ruling. The stone of destiny, where each person was crowned, was also part of that exhibit. Being the weirdo that I am, I found the exhibit on Prisoners of War pretty intriguing. It was in the area where the POWs were kept and set up under the conditions they would be living in. We also checked out Margaret's chapel, a tower where a well-known (though not enough for me to remember) criminal was kept, and the views of the city from the castle walls. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to take pictures of certain parts but I uploaded some of the ones I could.

Sunday, I went to the Scott Memorial and climbed all the way to the top. The views were spectacular. Afterwards, I went to Calton Hill which has a bunch of monuments including The National Monument, and a city observatory used for astronomy studies. I poked around the Calton cemetery afterwards but the only gravestone (or rather, mausoleum) of a person I recognized was David Hume. That night, I decided it was time to try Scottish food so I went to a restaurant and ordered haggis, tatties, and neets (which is basically haggis with mash potatoes and turnip prepared in a certain way and in a shape of a pie), irn bru (scottish soda) and a traditional scottish dessert with creme and berries. I liked everything, but didn't love any of it.


I realized that with the student ticket I bought at the castle, I could get in free at three more Historic Scotland attractions for five days. So today, I took the train over to Linlithgow which is conveniently 20 minutes away and saw Linlithgow palace. It was nice to be out of the city for a little bit. Linlithgow is a small town set in a rural area. Surprisingly, the setting became rural as soon as I left Edinburgh. There were hardly any suburbs. Unlike Edinburgh castle, Linlithgow palace made me feel more like I was walking through an ancient building. I guess because with Edinburgh Castle, there was so much done to it to make it a museum-like tourist attraction. In Linlithgow, I wandered through the passageways to the different rooms and up the spiral steps, climbing one of the towers. In each room, there was a plaque with information explaining where I was. Among the rooms I visited were the Royal Apartments, The Throne Room (where the monarchs would receive important visitors like ambassadors and such), The Kitchens (yes, plural), The Great Hall (functioned similarly to the one at Edinburgh), and the Wine Cellars and Brewery. Right outside the palace is St. Michael's Parish, which the monarchs used, and I went inside to get a look at the stain glass and tall ceilings. Afterwards, I went to a Cafe nearby called So Strawberry and it was sooo pleasant. The ambience was charming and the waitress and owner were friendly. I had a yummy pannini and a fudge cake. Then I wandered around main street, and then walked all the way around the lake right outside the palace grounds. There wasn't much else to do so I took the train back and then spent an hour and a half at the National Musuem of Scotland. Still making my way through that!

I'm excited for this Saturday because I got a ticket to go to St. Andrews (had to stand on line for an hour and a half in the cold to get it!) with the International Student Centre. It's supposed to be pretty and I'm excited to finally see the ocean up close since the only time you can see it in Edinburgh is from afar when you're high up. It's a tease! Though I'll probably take the bus to the nearby fishing villages to see it up close at some point.

Until next time!

4 pages of pictures....

---

Photos

edinburgh 059
Margaret's Chapel

edinburgh 025
POW area

edinburgh 035
Royal Aparments

edinburgh 041
Where James VI was born

edinburgh 050
Great Hall