First Day in Scotland

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Left Durham on an early morning train for Edinburgh, about 2 hours away. An especially beautiful ride because the train mainly follows the shoreline of the North Sea, which made for some scenic views. In by 10:30ish, and relatively easily found my new guesthouse, the Elder York, in the New Town. It's truly a family guesthouse, with the really nice older dad greeting me and providing a lot of information. I've quickly learned that Scots are extremely hospitable, but only ask them a question when you know you can stand around nodding and smiling for like 15 minutes. So nice but so long-winded, but with their bonnie-wee accent it's fun and easy to listen.

Then basically just walked around Edinburgh for the rest of the day, especially down one end of what is called the Royal Mile. This is the main stretch in the Old Town where all of the main sights are, and includes the beautiful St. Giles' Church, the national church of Scotland. This is where the great Reformer John Knox preached during the heady days of the Reformation in the late 1500s. A beautiful place, but small and sparse - a nice indication of how the Scottish are so rebellious even in their religion, being thrifty, industrious Presbyterians in an Anglican land. I like that about the Scots.

At the end of the Royal Mile is Holyrood Palace, and also another hike. For about 2 hours I climbed above Edinburgh towards what is called Arthur's Seat, basically a giant "hill" that overlooks the city. It was like being suddenly in the countryside even though you're still literally in the busiest part of town. A nice break, and incredible views at the very top. Also really starting to appreciate the cuisine here, especially after an awesome chicken and mushroom pie (basically a pot-pie). The Scots and the English love potatoes and hearty eating... which oddly makes me feel like being home. They also have the best cask ale, which as far as I can tell is ale hand pumped from a giant cask that doesn't have all of the bubbles like beer back home. More refreshing I think.

Tomorrow is another day in town, starting in the morning with the main sight... the castle.

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Photos

St. Giles' Church
Right in the middle of the Royal Mile. I thought surprisingly small for the national church.

Inside St. Giles'
From one of the side aisles

Nave at St. Giles'
I especially liked the blue vaulted ceiling. I've never seen this before. It's like the flag, the blue on white... which represents St. Andrew, the national saint, and his saltire cross.

John Knox Stained Glass
Knox was a crazy man when preaching, and was kind of like an early Beatles band... with young girls and women fainting from the sheer passion of his speaking.

Death Pedestal
Caught my eye in the National Museum. Roman origin and shows a man being devoured by a lion, the symbol of death back then.

View of Arthur's Seat from Royal Mile
That's where I hiked up to. My back is to Holyrood Palace.

Arthur's Seat Valley
Hard to believe you're still technically in downtown Edinburgh.

Firth of Forth View
View looking away from Edinburgh towards the Firth of Forth, the bay basically nearby.

View of Castle from Arthur's Seat
That's the other end of the Royal Mile.

Holyrood Palace
The other end of the Royal Mile, where I started my hike.