First off, I went to Edinburgh, Scotland...and fell in love! The trip involved me and a few friends, Aslak, Lauren, Thijs, Viola, and then we met Viola's boyfriend in Edinburgh. We began the trip early with breakfast on the train (made up of whatever we had brought with us...I almost brought a loaf of bread) The train ride was uneventful, except for the beautiful scenery we had on our way. The train went along the coast, at times I hoped that the train could just stop and I could run towards the water. After three hours we made it to Edinburgh and began our trek to the hostel.
The hostel we stayed in was in what is known as the "New town" meaning that it is not part of what has been built into the cliff face. What people normally think of Edinburgh its the Castle that comes to mind....and boy is it a site! From anywhere in the city you can see the castle. That day we went up to the main part of the old city and wandered around. We also decided to climb up Colton hill, where we got a perfect view of the city around us and again the castle. The next day was started by going through the castle. Lauren stayed behind, but Aslak, Thijs and I went through, and got to enjoy an air show as we were wandering around.
Highlight of the castle...finding out that my dorm room was the same size as a victorian prison.
After touring the castle, we met back up with Lauren, had some food, and wandered over to the university.
I am currently applying to their graduate program. The campus was soooo cooool!!!! There were old buildings mixed in with newer ones, and grassy areas, and it all felt right. It was like I knew that that was where I should be, and so I have decided that that is where I want to be.
That night we decided to do a ghost walk, which for me was a big step...because I scare easily. In the end it was very interesting. There was a lot of stories passes around, and we got to go through some underground caverns that did feel a bit funny.
The next day was our last day, and for me it was only a half day. BUT that day we decided we were going to climb the highest peak within the city limits...and that was AMAZING! I ended up climbing the whole thing with my backpack on because I was going to go straight to the train station from there. It was a very good experience for me and even though we only made it technically halfway, I now want to go back and finish the trek. The peak itself is located within the Palace (not castle...) grounds and was used as the royal hunting grounds. THe Palace was where Mary Queen of Scots was "imprisoned".
After we climbed that I headed back to the train station where I grabbed a train back to York to meet my Brother and Father, who had flown in that morning.
Here I will leave it with more to follow about the time my brother was with me. Sorry it was so short, but I wanted to get some of the highlights down.
Edinburgh was amazing and it is a place I would love to go back to and stay for a while. My goal is to do that within a few years, but in the end we will see.
Cheers!
No comments:
Post a Comment