Eurotrip Part II: Scotland

See also: Part I and my DIY Stonehenge Rock Necklace 🙂

I didn’t really know what to expect when I stepped out of the train station in Edinburgh, Scotland. I’d heard it was a beautiful city with old, ornate buildings, but when I saw it for myself I was blown away.

If I didn’t have such a big love affair with New York, I’d say that Edinburgh is the most incredible city I’ve ever visited. The castles, the architecture, the shortbread, the beers, the twisty streets, the culture, the music– it’s definitely my favorite city of the whole trip.

While Sean and I were in Edinburgh, there was this huge, world-renowned festival going on called The Fringe. We actually had no idea that the festival was happening when we booked our travel plans, but it was an amazing thing to stumble upon. People come from all over the world to visit The Fringe in Edinburgh. Musicians, artists, poets… (*aka* Poets= American liberal arts graduates with a typewriter selling poetry on-demand). 🙂

One thing that makes Edinburgh so unique is that it never had any major attacks during the World Wars and it has been able to retain a lot of the medieval street structures and buildings.

For me, as an American, one of the most striking things about going to Britain and Ireland was the hints of violence and leftovers from wars. Pockmarks in buildings from (relatively recent) bombs, memorials… It just made me realize that growing up in Central Indiana is pretty darn peaceful. And it made Edinburgh stick out even more– everything historical just felt so serene.

One cool thing you can also do in Edinburgh is hike up Arthur’s Seat, a little mountain right on the edge of the city. We didn’t have a car or anything and it worked perfectly for us to just walk from our AirBnB place to the mountain.

The views are pretty nice from the top. 🙂

Cocktails in a can. Excellent idea in theory, horrible taste. :/

One weird thing about Edinburgh– there were some old churches that they converted into bars and concert halls. I think there are too many Puritan influences in the US for that to happen here.

After Edinburgh, Sean and I took a train up to this tiny Scottish Highland town called Blair Atholl. Sean’s dad actually stayed in the same B&B that we stayed in, so it was really cool to see a place that has so much meaning for him as well.

And definitely got some rocks out of that riverbed to make a necklace… Or two. 🙂

After Blair Atholl, we took a train over to Glasgow, Scotland. It’s really hard to compare Edinburgh and Glasgow, but not sure if I’d go back to Glasgow. After Glasgow, we took a ferry over to Belfast, Northern Ireland… More on that in another post!

Can’t forget the haggis chips. 🙂