We returned on January 2nd via a long day of trains from Berlin via Brussels, and ended up at a neat but compact hotel within sight of King's Cross station. As if to remind me that work ultimately beckoned back in the Antipodes, our room overlooked the grim concrete playground of a local school.
It didn't take us long to decide that we would sink most of our remaining money into a lightning trip to Scotland and then Ireland. A Flight Centre office was located just around the corner, and thanks to the extraordinarily helpful Claudia we soon had our tickets, and would depart for Edinburgh the next day.
A terrible experience at Heathrow followed - I will save this for a future blog post.
Just two days previously, a winter storm ripped through Edinburgh with winds of up to 160km/hr - comparable to a Category Three cyclone back home. And thus it was that we arrived in a frightfully cold, wet and rather leafy Scottish capital. It was only 2pm but already the sun was beginning to set.
I insisted that we catch a taxi into the middle of the city, where our hotel was situated. Up to now in the trip we had relied on public transport, buses and trains, where we shuffled awkwardly on with our bags and tried our best not to be mugged. I wanted to speak and converse with a Scot in his native environment, even if it was going to cost me £20.
And so it was that we were sitting in the back of Tony's taxi. Tony soon guessed that we were Australians - I think the "G'day mate" gave it away - and a wonderful twenty minute conversation followed. We spoke about topics as diverse as teaching in Australia, the conversion rate between the dollar and the pound, Hearts' chances in the Scottish Premier League ("Slim and none!") and the prospect of the nationalists winning independence from the United Kingdom at some point in the next two years. I felt that Tony was an excellent introduction to Edinburgh.
It was a good thing that Tony's welcome was so warm, because the weather was absolutely horrid. I did a quick twitter search and found it was nudging minus ten with the wind - "minging" according to a local. We dumped our bags and made the slightly maniacal decision to go for a walk.
As best as I can remember, Edinburgh is divided between an "old city" dating back to Roman times, and a "new town" which was a mere 300 years old, rather recent in the context of European civilisation. Both the new and old sections were build on the sides of hills, volcanoes long dormant and rising spectacularly around the city, with the sprawl rolling down to the wonderfully named Firth of Forth.
The old and new city were separated by a reclaimed bog, now the Waverley Train Station, but also home to the North Bridge, a magnificent structure built approximately 120 years ago and rising high above the bog. Unfortunately our elevation put us in the firing line for these sub-freezing temperatures, and we retreated to the relative comfort of a kilt shop, from which we did not emerge for another two hours. During that time I am sure that we heard every conceivable song performed on the bagpipes.
Overnight our hotel room developed a sudden leak in the roof and we were reallocated to a new room, where I experienced the unique sensation of watching the BBC News relived in Scots. In the morning we got lost inside the labyrinth of corridors in our hotel, and it took fully ten minutes to make a two minute walk outside. I didn't help matters by downloading the theme to "Get Smart" and blasting it at full volume as we made our way around.
Fortunately we were able to explore Edinburgh in the most brilliant weather conditions possible. I'll let the pictures tell the story.
We were able to make our way across North Bridge without getting blasted by the morning air, and soon found the renowned Royal Mile, which ran from Holyrood (home of the Scottish Parliament) up to the Edinburgh Castle, the famously iconic symbol of the city, and a place I felt I knew well, given Grandma's insistence on making all the grandchildren watch the Edinburgh Tattoo each Christmas. I pretended to be disappointed when I found out the parade actually takes place in August, not January! Regardless, it was impossible not to be impressed with the view of the Edinburgh Castle and it's historic grandeur.
I found the Old City utterly charming. Grand old buildings mingled with the obvious national pride that the Scots have - I didn't see the Union Jack once while in the city, while Saint Andrew's Cross was practically everywhere. If it wasn't flying high above from the spires of old Georgian buildings, then it was on shirts, kilts, coffee mugs and posters.
One of the unique sights that we saw was the Heart of Midlothian.
Created in the sidewalk of the Royal Mile, you would miss it if you weren't looking for it. As it so happened, we were looking for it and yet it took five minutes of gazing at the ground before it leap out at us. According the travel guides, the Heart is not only the geographical centre of the county of Lothian, but also the location of a prison run by the "bloody English" back in the day. Therefore the custom is to spit on the symbol, beloved as it is, to show your contempt for those barbarians south of the border from which the Scots hoped they would be freed from one day. I declined to spit, but I equally made sure I didn't walk over the top of the heart!
Given that we were off to Ireland early the next morning, there remained just one last thing to do in Edinburgh.
As was our custom during this holiday, we lost track of time and subsequently our meal times. It wasn't at all uncommon for lunch to be had at 3pm and dinner at 5pm. And so, in a more-or-less permanent state of body clock confusion, we found ourselves looking for lunch along the Royal Mile. Surprisingly, the old city was thin on the ground for quality eating establishments. Eventually we found a kebab shop - this is in Scotland, remember - and tried our luck inside. Once I saw "deep-fried mars bar" on the menu, I decided I just had to try it!
The verdict? Put it this way, it was two deep-fried mars bars in one: my first and my last!
Edinburgh. I will be back.
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