Edinburgh, Scotland – PART 2

Sunday in Edinburgh was a lovely day. The snow had all melted away, and I didn’t need my hat or scarf or gloves at all. I spent the morning on a tour to the docks area, where I saw the Britannia, a former Royal Yacht that has been turned into a museum.

I know lots of people who are not big fans of the monarchy, but I have a soft spot for Her Majesty, and I really enjoyed looking around the boat.

These days, a royal yacht sounds extravagant. But the boat was christened in 1953 and, before it was retired, it traveled more than 1,000,000 miles around the globe, taking the Queen and other members of the Royal Family on official world tours, holidays and honeymoons. And while the  style is certainly royalty-worthy, it’s not extravagant. With the exception of the massive official dining room, and the fact that it has room for dozens of crew and a full military band, the rooms are almost normal and remind me of the rooms in my grandparents’ homes.

The Queen’s bedroom:

The honeymoon suite, with the only double bed on the ship:

The Duke of Edinburgh’s office:

The sitting room:

The official dining room:

A surprisingly low-key menu for a royal banquet:

OK, perhaps the Rolls Royce is not exactly ‘normal’:

Just as interesting as seeing the royal rooms was seeing the working portions of the ship, and getting a glimpse into the life of the crew.

The absolutely spotless engine room:

Officer quarters:

The medical center with capability for operating and dental care:

Some rules that seem quite reasonable:

And some rules (specific linens for each crew linen) that don’t seem quite as relaxed:

Semaphore, anyone?

In the gift shop – two of the many royal family postcards available. Top: a best seller. Bottom: not so much?

After my tour and some shopping, I wandered around a bit more and went to see the Christmas market. In the photo below you can see the market lights. For some reason, the sight of the lights and neon right beside the imposing black Sir Walter Scott memorial amuses me to no end.

It seems that in Europe, Christmas means Ferris Wheels (or “big wheels”, as they are known). Every town I’ve been in has one set up for Christmas.

I don’t think many Canadians would be interested in rides like this in the middle of winter. Then again, most of ours aren’t accompanied by such reassurances of safety:

The Christmas market had loads of carnival rides and games set up. The one below (sorry, terrible photo) might be the most fun-looking ride ever and made me wish I was three feet tall. Basically, it is big plastic bubbles in a round pool. They zip kids inside, blow them up with air so they are like a hamster ball, and the kids runs around and try and make their way around the track, wiping out and falling all over. Hilarious!

Obligatory winter skating rink:

I was exhausted after two long days of touring around and I’d caught a cold to boot, so I was quite ready to head home on Sunday evening. Nevertheless, it was bittersweet to leave and I will absolutely have to take another weekend trip to Scotland if the opportunity arises.

A few last random photos – this is Irn Bru, “Iron Brew”, a local pop. A friend who spent quite a bit of time in Scotland told me about it, which was nice as I never would have thought to try it if she hadn’t. It was…odd. I couldn’t identify the flavour, and apparently the recipe is a closely-guarded secret. Actually, it does taste somewhat metallic, but  that might be the power of suggestion based on the name. It also tastes a bit like a watered-down version of the local pop we had in Peru, which was called Inka Kola. Sort of a fake-banana-orange-syrup flavour.

Edinburgh has wonderful shopping and it took all my willpower not to buy up loads of lovely things. Some shops like Joules and Ness specialize in a sort of modern-Northerner look, with bright tartans, tweed jackets and wool sweaters. So pretty.

In Edinburgh I finally found a Guy Fawkes mask for the husband, which he had wanted for some time. But somehow it felt terribly subversive to carry it around in my backpack, especially when I was on royal tours.

In parting, enjoy a postcard of a highland cow. So emo.

 

Edinburgh, Scotland – PART 1

On Friday evening, I took the train from Derby to York and on to Edinburgh, and then spent Saturday and Sunday exploring Edinburgh before coming back to Derby on Sunday evening. There was something somewhat magical about going to Scotland, and as soon as the train crossed from Northern England into the country, I was bouncing with excitement…even though I couldn’t see a thing as it was pitch-black outside the window.

I arrived in the evening and was very happy I’d brought all my winter gear with me. It was freezing and there was a truly brutal arctic wind. It was a very brisk half-hour walk to my hotel, especially after I realized that I’d gotten off at the wrong (and later) train station, and that there was not a taxi to be found on a busy Friday evening with Christmas parties in full swing in every bar and restaurant.

I arrived at my Guest House which was perfectly nice but a new experience for me. A colleague of mine once told me 0 in reflecting upon his vacation to Ireland – that no matter how nice a Guest House is, it is still like staying in a stranger’s house. How true. Except that it’s a stranger’s house where you have to share a bathroom with other strangers.

After a difficult night’s sleep due to the sounds of the big house and the road noise from through the single-paned window, the next morning dawned with a bright-white light, and revealed more than an inch of very slushy snow that had fallen in the night.

I wandered from my Guest House in the “New Town” up to the area in front of the castle. First stop: farmer’s market. God, how I love farmer’s markets in any city.

I had read online about a porridge stand that was well-recommended, and I found it in the market.

The porridge did not disappoint. It was a delicious mix of oatmeal, raspberries, honey and cream, with a dash of crunchy granola on top. Mmmm.

With a nice warm and full belly, it was time to venture up the slippery hill to the castle.

The castle runs very entertaining free tours, and our guide had very good banter riffing on the reputation for Scottish frugality, the fate of Scottish kings who had the great idea of invading England, and the perspective on the American War of Independence from the other side of the Atlantic. Completely enjoyable.

The castle complex includes the Scotland War Memorial:

As well as a tower that holds the Honours of Scotland – the Scottish crown jewels, sword and scepter – and a historic stone used in the coronation of all British monarchs for hundreds of years. This tower also includes the royal apartments that housed Mary Queen of Scots when she gave birth to her son James.

There are many other buildings, including a great hall. The great hall has some lovely features, such as crested stained-glass windows:

And an amazing roof that is essentially an upside-down ship’s hull, and which was crafted without nails:

After the tour around the castle, I wandered around Edinburgh’s “Old Town”, enjoying the myriad old buildings.

Many of Edinburgh’s buildings are built from stone, and decades upon decades of wood and gas fires have turned them absolutely black. Apparently cleaning them is possible but insanely time-consuming and costly, so Edinburgh seem’s to have decided to embrace the charm of their black stones, and off-set them with bright-painted wooden store fronts and bright-red doors.

Edinburgh is primarily filled with old churches, old cemeteries, and winding old alleys/streets

Edinburgh was having some sort of climate crisis – it could not seem to decide if it was winter or spring. On Saturday it was cold and snowy, with that harsh wind. But under the snow the grass was bright green, and there were even flowers poking through. On Sunday it was actually quite nice, the wind was almost warm, and the snow was completely gone.

I ended Saturday evening with a tour of Holyrood Palace, the official residence of the Queen in Scotland. No pictures allowed inside! The most striking sights were the ornate plaster ceilings, the plush deep-red rugs, and the intricate tapestries that are hundreds of years old.

Before it was a palace, Holyrood was an Abbey, and some of the abbey ruins still survive. It was a beautiful and haunting place in the last light of the day.

More to come…