Soon I was in Scotland. They had some nice maps for free, so I grabbed one. I used that instead of my scribbled directions. Turns out the hostel is literally right next to the castle. I went up to the castle, looked to the left, and down the stairs was the hostel.
With a while to kill before I could get into the castle, I went to the Starbucks on Royal Mile and had a croissant and hot chocolate while I wrote another column for The London Paper (I really like this one too, I’m excited, the last one was basically cheating, this will be more of a test if I can actually write columns).
From there I went and dropped off my bad at the hostel (which was such a big relief) and walked up the steps to the castle. I opted for the audio guide for the extra couple pounds, figuring I may never be back so it wouldn’t really matter and I managed to get through every stop on the audio tour. The castle had amazing views, and was in pretty good shape. However, a big reason for that is it’s relatively new (I’m so jaded by the 1700s now) although a tiny church dated from the 1200s. It felt like a castle, with the walls holes for shooting out. And they really did shoot out of them on numerous occasions, as recently as 200 years ago I think.
My favorite part was the remains of David’s Tower, from the 1500’s. It used to be the royal tower until it fell apart in a war, but about four rooms you can go and visit. And that had a creepy, ‘oh my god I’m in a medieval castle’ feel to them. The royal jewels were better handled here than in London, partially because they have a more interesting history with them being hidden, stolen, and the oldest in the UK. Next door was ‘where’ Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to James I, who united England and Scotland, although much of it was recreated. I hate that. But that wasn’t the worst part.
They had dungeons where they held prisoners in the 1700s, including a number of American prisoners from the Revolutionary War. Pretty cool stuff right? We’ll they had voices and shadows and recreated people in them, they even had this in David’s Tower. I don’t know why people think that if you have the Titanic, you need to put a “Pirate of the Caribbean” ride on it to make it more real.
It was a slight letdown, but there was a much greater ‘castle sense’ that I could probably get anywhere else. I stayed around for the famed shooting of the ‘One O’Clock Gun’ (guess when it goes off) that was used so the area could tell time. I caught a little bit of a guided tour, but it was pretty short, and having already listened to the audio stuff, it didn’t really make much of a difference.
From there I walked down to the other end of the Royal Mile to Holyrood Palace, a royal palace that the Queen of England still stays at in the summer for a while. It dates from Mary Queen of Scots time, and there are some rather interesting historical events that happened there. It’s pretty lavish, in the old Victorian sense – tapestries, portraits, fancy chairs, beds with those fancy guy sheet things around them. Mary Queen of Scots was talking with her ‘favorite’ secretary guy who was dragged out of her little dining room and stabbed 56 times by her future husband, a big event in their history. But frankly, I was more impressed with Hearst Castle.
However, maybe the most striking thing I’ve seen in Europe was next. The Holyrood Abbey is just outside the palace. Dating from the 1000s (I think) it was used as a coronation church for the Scottish royalty, as well as a burial site for royalty. Well here’s the thing. The roof collapse in the 1600s, so it’s magnificent ruins now, and has been for hundreds of year. It was one of the most bizarre/amazing things I’ve ever seen. Here’s these incredibly fancy medieval walls and décor, but the roof and ground were missing. I could feel the history here. I ended up spending about an hour hanging around this area, I was very taken with it. I’d so much rather have this than animatronics.
I didn’t really know what to do next, but I was pretty close to the hills, so I decided to climb them. It was a sunny day out, nearing 40 degrees, so the hike was great. I would classify the hill as strenuous, one of the harder hikes I’ve done. But up at the top is an amazing view over the city. I sat on a rock and took too many pictures (I took over 300 today).
Feeling rested, I decided to keep going on the path. It led to another huge hill with a stone path with a lot of cutbacks, like that street in San Francisco where Bill Cosby says their have the flowers for the dead drivers (Lombard Street? I don’t have internet now). I went up a couple hundred feet before I saw a clearing on the edge of the hill, so I went over there and sat.
Sometimes when I’m doing all these things across the world, I stop and ask myself, “Where are you?” I know the answer, but here I was in Scotland sitting on top of a hill. That’s mental (they say that instead of crazy in London).
The walk down was way worse than the walk up. It started getting colder and the rocks started frosting a little, and I wasn’t exactly wearing hiking boots. I’d say it took 45 minutes for me to get back to town.
I decided I should probably finally check into my hostel. They have me in the castle room, in the Uraquat bunk (the castle by Loch Ness) and I have my own locker that can fit all my stuff in it. There’s 12 people in the room, although no one was there at the time. I went to the showers down he hall and I was surprised how nice they were. They are all private with doors. The water was warm as well. No complains there. This place is a little dirty, but in a 150 year old building, I think it’s natural. I’ve actually been surprised how nice this place is.
I decided to go eat at the End of the World, a pub named because it was the medieval end of Edinburgh. It had an old feel to it as well. They seem to have a ton of vegetarian options here, so I asked the waitress to pick between a couple. She picked the Penne Pesto Pasta with tomato, spinach, and cheese sprinkled on top. It wasn’t as sweet as the usual past I’ve had is, but it was pretty great.
I then decided to try to get semi-lost, so I crossed the river into New Town and wandered around. Edinburgh in pretty small. All the sites are close together as well. It’s much more like Budapest than London. And it reeks of history. Like literally, it even smells old here. Along the Royal Mile they have little alleys that look hundreds of years old. I probably walked around for two hours before I settled into Café Lucano and picked up a Vineesian Finger (half price) and a Chocolato Feddo (think hot chocolate, but a frappacino) both were good. It was nice inside, so I sat around and read the Scotsman (and because I was beat).
Before I went back to the hostel I climbed up to the castle. I couldn’t help it. It’s well light at light and looks pretty awesome. I decided to walk around the back down on the hostel level too. It’s very imposing from that angle. But I think if I got a couple people together, we could storm the castle and take it for the Americans.
Tomorrow I’m thinking I’m going to go to their version of Westminster Abbey, maybe the Children’s Museum, maybe the National Gallery (free), definitely eating at The Elephant House (it was across the street from me at the café and I read in the door Capone-style that JK Rowling wrote the early Harry Potters there. And it’s really cheap), maybe going to watch Parliament in session, maybe taking a tour, and I want to explore the alleys as well. So I have a full plate. I can leave my bag here, so I’m thinking I’ll get up around 9ish and try to leave for the bus 12 hours later. I’m excited. Scotland is pretty cool, although I think it wouldn’t have the staying power of a London.
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