Galway: Enchanting Edinburgh

And we are back for Part Two of my three part blog! For those of you who have just jumped into this blog series, I've just returned from a week-long stint in the UK during my Study Week break! The last blog was all about Glasgow, a beautiful and interesting city in Scotland. From Glasgow, my travel buddy and I took a bus to Edinburgh! Edinburgh is the Capital of Scotland!

Part 2: Edinburgh
So after our quick bus ride from Glasgow to Edinburgh, we took a quick walk up to the Royal Mile, where our fabulous hostel (Castle Rock Hostel) was located. The Royal Mile is not a single street, but a succession of streets that connect to form the main thoroughfare of the original city. All of these streets combine to the approximate length of a true "Scots Mile," and lead travelers through a beautiful and historic journey which culminates at the impressive Edinburgh Castle.

Edinburgh Castle

This amazing view was mine from the front door of my hostel! Not too shabby. But anyway, Edinburgh Castle is very important. Not only is it reminiscent of one Casterly Rock for all y'all GOT fans, but it is also responsible for the city of Edinburgh's very existence! Edinburgh Castle is a very strategic castle, it is built on a giant rock formation which was formed hundreds and thousands of years ago. In fact, Edinburgh Castle (and the rest of Edinburgh) stands at the center of an ancient volcano. There is only one way in and out of the castle, which today is occupied by the Castle's main entrance and car park. From the top of the mount one can see for miles and miles on end, which would have allowed military leaders to see enemies coming well in advance! Indeed, this spot was just too important strategically to give up.

View from Edinburgh Castle 

Another interesting view from Edinburgh Castle's car park is that of a particular school. This school has four towers all connected by wings, and many fancily dressed students running about. It has a large green space near it and creepy looking woods in the back. You guessed it, it is the inspiration for Hogwarts, George Heriot's School. Although the school is pretty cool, for real HP fans, the really cool finds are in the graveyard right next to it. In Greyfriar's Kirkyard one can find the grave stone of not one but two Thomas Riddells (inspiration for Tom Riddle) and that of William McGonagall. Familiar names, anyone?

From McGonagall's grave sight, all you have to do is turn around and you will find yourself staring into the windows of the Elephant House cafe, the sight where J.K. Rowling wrote much of the first few HP installments! However, the most important grave stone in Greyfriar's Kirkyard is that of a brave and honest member of the police force.This honorable, valiant and absolutely adorable police dog's grave is not in fact in the Greyfriar's Kirkyard (no dogs allowed!) but his grave stone is. Indeed, Bobby's stone is visited daily and most visitors leave the lovable pooch a gift: sticks, bones, kibble, treats, collars, even plane tickets to visit them... No, I am not kidding. Right outside of the graveyard is Bobby's Bar and a statue of Bobby, which remains to be the most photographed statue in all of Edinburgh... which is pretty amazing once you realize there are statues all over this city! Also, Bobby's story is clouded in mystery, no one knows for certain if he even existed; however, the story goes as follows: A policeman working in the very dark and scary days of early Edinburgh felt uneasy about working the night shift, so he asked his boss if he could have a partner to help him patrol. The force was underemployed so the chief said no but tossed him a little bit of money and told him to buy a dog. The policeman did just this, and the next night he returned to his patrol in the company of an adorable little fluffy pooch whom he called Bobby. The townsfolk loved Bobby. Unfortunately, only two years later the policeman died of TB and was buried in Greyfriar's Kirkyard. Bobby, being a loyal and loving companion refused to leave the sight of his master's grave for many years, sitting and waiting for the return of his friend until his own death.

Bobby

Today it is considered good luck to rub Bobby's nose, which is why his little snout is a different color from the rest of the statue. Just up the street from Bobby's statue is the entrance to the Elephant House cafe, where one can find warmth and comfort from the absolute frigid temperatures outside!

A two minute walk across the street from Bobby's statue gets you to the famous Museum of Scotland, which is pretty impressive and every visitor should at least go and look at it (it's free, just go inside!). Or you could jump up the street and turn right to get back to the Royal Mile and take a gander at the really impressive old Parliament buildings, St. Giles Cathedral (not actually a Cathedral), and the statue of David Hume, which people also like to rub for good luck (and a good bit of irony)!

St. Giles Cathedral with old parliament in background

Just beyond that unsightly pink barricade was the sight of the Edinburgh City of Light show. It is a festival to behold, a light show that is timed to Christmas music that spectators can walk through, very beautiful and fun!

 Getting off of the Royal Mile, you can head down and across the river to the new city of Edinburgh. During the Scottish Renaissance philosophers and elites thought the old city too cramped and frumpy for their lofty thoughts. They moved themselves away from the stinky and cramped quarters of the old city and set up camp across the river to build a newer and finer city of Edinburgh. Can't say I blame them, the old city of Edinburgh was nicknamed "Old Reaky" and was reported to be so smelly that visitors could smell the stench of Edinburgh before they actually saw it. The new city is home to Edinburgh's beautiful farace wheel and, at this time of year, the Christmas Market! It is also home to the shopping and business district today, as well as housing all of the major transport into and out of the city.

This post is getting super long but just hang in there for me! Our second day in Edinburgh was spent on Round 2 of the Highlands! This time we actually made it up to Highlands, no snow storms got in our way, yay! We did have a snowball fight though. So, all in all, a great adventure... but guys. I regret to inform you of two sad things. Not only does this mean there is only one more post left in this three-part series, but I did not.... I repeat, I did NOT.... find Nessy. This means that I can neither confirm, nor deny, her existence.

Stay tuned for London and Oxford next!

I'm just kidding, of course she's here