Edin-Brrrrrrr

 EDIN-BRRRRR

The Chilling and Fun Adventures of Edinburgh

A Different Kind of City

Walking Around Edinburgh

I had no idea what to expect when I stepped off the train in Edinburgh. When I think of a city I imagine tall modern-looking buildings that line the streets with small dark alleyways that you do your best to avoid. Edinburgh helped open my eyes to show me that American cities aren't the only kinds of cities that exist. Edinburgh was split right down the middle in terms of old historical buildings (Old City) and new modern buildings (New City). The split was so prominent that you could stand on the main street and look one way and see all of the historical places and then turn around and jump right back to present-day modern buildings. I really did enjoy the historic look of the city more than the modern buildings that I was used to. This also seemed to be the preference of the people because even the modern building was built to mimic the historic ones across the way.

An Eco-Friendly City

While Edinburgh wasn't the most physically clean city I've been to, it was the most environmentally clean city I've ever seen. I hardly ever touched plastic when I was there and if I did it was all plant-based plastic. All of the trash cans, even in places like McDonald's, were divided up into different types of recycling. Almost all of the bathrooms had eco-friendly hand dryers and smart toilets that don't waste any water. Even the toilet paper was made out of eco-friendly material. Seeing how eco-friendly the city is, gave me hope that the US can make its way to a more eco-friendly future. 

Food Time

Scottish Quasine

On our first night in Edinburgh, we wanted to try some authentic Scottish food. We asked around and came to the conclusion that the food we were looking for was haggis and skink soup. We ate at a lovely bar called the Whiskey Room. We each sampled steak ale pie, haggis, and skink soup. Personally, I was not a fan of the haggis and steak ale pie. On the other hand, I loved the skink soup. Skink soup is essentially like American clam chowder. I was quite embarrassed because I thought it was called skank soup because of the local accent. 

The Long-Awaited McDonald's Trip

Now I know some people are going to scoff at the fact that I went to Mcdonald's of all places while in Edinburgh. I had heard so many rumors that international McDonald's was much better than American Mcdonald's. Those rumors were very much true. The quality of the food just tasted so much better. The only critique that I had was how unsalted the fries were. 

A Day By Day, Moment By Moment Walkthrough

Day One

When we got to Edinburgh we dropped ourselves off at the hostel where we would be staying and then we made our way up to the entrance of Edinburgh Castle. Here we met with our lovely tour guide who introduced us to this city by taking us around and showing us everything. As a fan of Harry Potter, I was delighted to hear about Edinburgh's direct influences on the writer J.K. Rowling. We walked past the street that she modeled Diagon Alley after. Later during the trip, I would find myself purchasing a Slytherin scarf from the Harry Potter shop in the alley. We were guided through Greyfriar graveyard where many of the names such as McGonagall, Potter, and even Tom Riddell were. Everywhere you looked you could find Harry Potter references. Even the roofs of the historic buildings played a role in the appearance of Hogwart's architectural design. Lastly, I found it quite poetic to hear about the famous J.K Rowling suite. This is a room at the most expensive hotel in Edinburgh where the author made a promise to write the last chapter of the Harry Potter series. The rest of the day was to explore and try the local cuisine that I reviewed earlier in the post.

Day Two

When we got up the next day we went around and explored some shops until we found ourselves at the museum on the mound. Here is where we learned about the Bank of Scotland. Following our tour of the mound we made our way over to Edinburgh Castle. I was honestly really surprised to see that there was more military history with the castle than royal history. The placement of the castle was perfect though. It was placed atop a hill that overlooked the land. It was so high that you could see all of the way to the coast. I almost forgot that I was on an island until I saw the water. The rest of the day was exploring and shopping.

Day Three

Today was my favorite day of the whole weekend trip. We got to go see Hollyrood Castle which is where Mary Queen of Scots presided. Mary Queen of Scots is one of the coolest women in history and I felt so honored to walk through her home. I got to see her room and her meeting room. I even got to see the place where her loyal secretary was killed. Sadly the day was cut short due to our need to travel back to Harlaxton.

Honestly, Edinburgh was my favorite part of this whole trip. I could totally see myself staying here for a semester to study.