10.28.13 Edin-brrr-a!

Teehee more puns for you! My first impression of Edinburgh: it is BEAUTIFUL and COLD. But, unlike Belfast, its beauty is strong enough to make me overlook both my cold and the cold. The old town, right around the castle, is just a labyrinth of alleys and staircases and courtyards and old shops, and I think I could spend days just wandering around and getting lost. I'm sad that I only have 24 hours here, and I definitely need to come back. It is just breathtaking and fascinating.

The view to the South from the castle. My hostel is in that building on the left.

Looking down the Royal Mile. Only a small taste of Old Town.

A wider view of the Royal Mile.

Edinburgh Castle.

But first to backtrack:
I rode the ferry this morning! The last time I rode a ferry was 15 years ago, when my family went to Victoria Island off of British Columbia. I was expecting rows of forward-facing seats, not-so-great insulation, and kind of a grey interior for two hours. Not the case at all. Stena Line is super nice, almost like a fleet of miniature cruise ships. I just lounged on a couch with my feet up for two hours and thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was far more comfortable than all of the bus rides I've been taking lately. [Piece of advice to anyone ever wanting to travel to Ireland: Be aware if your plans include you traveling on a Sunday! Bus timetables especially become heavily restricted. I took a cab this morning. Also, Stena Line tickets are basically impossible to book with a credit card from the U.S. No idea why. I booked a package deal through a different company instead.]

Fancy, huh?

First sight of Scotland!

The Gangway. I was pretty excited.

My hostel here is called Castle Rock Hostel and I really recommend it! I'm in a 12-bed all female dorm, and it doesn't feel crowded at all, and I'm currently sitting in the great two-story lounge room, complete with a medieval-sized dining room, pool table, squishy leather couches, and a wrought-iron chandelier. Plus, it's very conveniently located. This is the view from the front door:

Comfy squishy sitting room that reminds me of Hogwarts. =)

I decided not to go to the castle today because it costs 16 pounds. 16 POUNDS! That's 25 dollars! No thanks. Not to worry though, because there is plenty to see for free. I only walked about halfway down "The Royal Mile" (aka the street stretching from the castle to the queen's palace), and I got plenty side-tracked along the way. A big part of my day was spent at the Scottish National Museum, which basically covers life in the country from the dark ages to the present day. It's free, it's warm, and this is the view from the top deck:

Those white globes are rain drops, because it is perpetually misty. Umbrellas don't do any good either, because the wind blows the rain every which way and turns the umbrella inside-out.

Because of falling back an hour (Europe does a week earlier than the U.S.), it was already pretty much dark by 5:15. I grabbed dinner and went in search of St. Gile's Cathedral, which Rick Steves had mentioned has a free concert on Sundays. To give you an idea of how beautiful the architecture is here: I couldn't find the cathedral!! Usually they stick out immediately because of ornate stonework or tall spires or something of that sort. Nope, I wandered the streets for a good twenty minutes, consulting my map several times, before I finally stumbled across it. I got there right at 6 PM and there was a free concert! An all-local, non-audition choir puts it on every Sunday. Let's see if this video loads...

(Sorry, no video just yet. I'll try to get it up another time)

The choir really was the icing on the cake of a good day. I'm taking it easy tonight in the hopes of kicking this cold. I'm SO excited to meet up with my best friend and travel partner, Miss Sarah Tegenfeldt, in London tomorrow! Traveling alone has been fun but it can get kind of lonely sometimes. Tomorrow is also all about Harry Potter: I'm going to wear my Ravenclaw scarf, eat breakfast at the Elephant House, take the train to Kings Cross, and maybe go on a walking Harry Potter tour of London.

PS - Clark might be Scottish? There is definitely a Clark clan, and I had to exercise a lot of control to not buy the 100% wool scarf in clan colors.