Edinburgh, Scotland

View the photo album of Edinburgh here.

My most recent trip has taken me to the northernmost country of the UK: Scotland.  That's right, Scotland, also known as the Birthplace of Golf, and also home to Scotch Whiskey and the Edinburgh Castle.  First of all, Edinburgh does not rhyme with Pittsburgh, rather it is pronounced "Edinburrah".  With that confusion past us, I can move on to the good stuff.

Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is a very nice city.  Edinburgh has two parts, Old Town and New Town.  The Old Town has all of the older architecture (including the Edinburgh Castle), while the New Town has the more modern buildings.  We walked around the city, and there were a quite a few monuments.  I am not sure of the significance of the Scott Monument, but it sure was one of the most spectacular I have seen.  I was also able to see George Heriots School, which is the school that Hogwart's (from Harry Potter) is based on.  The city was filled with many nice buildings, especially on the Royal Mile.  The Royal Mile leads to the Edinburgh Castle, and as the name suggests, it is one Scots mile long (approximately 1.1 miles).  Here lies many small shops, a church, and other old buildings.  The Bank of Scotland is very close, and it is lit up beautifully in the night sky.  On the street I saw a street performer; however, it was a man in a kilt and proper Scottish attire playing a bagpipe.  He was actually pretty good!  For lunch we went to a restaurant and had the famous Scotland dish, haggis (pictured above).  The wikipedia definition of haggis is a dish containing sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock.  Can you say delicious??  It actually wasn't as bad as it sounds, and it tasted even better with cranberry sauce.  That being said, I don't see haggis coming into my normal eating regimen anytime soon.

The Edinburgh Castle was very cool, and some of the building inside the castle have been there since the 12th century.  I couldn't believe when I walked inside it that there was a tiny village inside it!  I was even able to see the actual crown worn by the Scottish King back in the 1600's.  The view from the castle was extraordinary.  I was able to see the whole city of Edinburgh from the castle, and it was breathtaking.  I am unsure as to what else I can say about a castle, but you can't say you have visited Edinburgh until you have visited the Edinburgh Castle.

Scotch Whiskey.  Notice that I did not say "imported" Scotch Whiskey.  That's because I went to the Scotch Whiskey Experience!  Here, we were able to learn how Scotch Whiskey is made, how to appreciate it, and to actually try it.  There were 5 different kinds, each with its own flavor based on the region of Scotland where it is made: Lowland, Highland, Speyside, Islay, and Blended (a mix).  My favorite was the Lowland, which had a citrus taste with a dry finish.  There are also 5 steps to appreciating Scotch Whiskey: Color, Body, Nose, Palate, and Finish.  One of the coolest things in the Scotch Whiskey Experience was a chess set filled with Scoth Whiskey, and each piece in the set was proportional to the weight of the respective royalty (i.e. The King piece was filled to the proportionality of the King's weight).

Above all of the touristy things to do in Edinburgh, my favorite experience did not take place downtown, or the city centre as it is called in the UK.  Rather it took place on the golf course, Braid Hills Golf Course to be exact.  Can you imagine golfing in the country of its origin?  Neither could I, but I couldn't pass on the opportunity.  The course was absolutely astonishing, and had the most amazing view from a golf course that I have ever seen (view from the golf course, can see Arthur's Seat in background).  I was able to see the city centre, past the city centre and the bay/ocean, as well as a beautiful view of Arthur's Seat, a very popular and recognizable mountain in Edinburgh.  Golfing was very relaxing, as they did not pair me up with anyone, so I was free to golf at my own leisure, where I stopped often and took lots of pictures.  It was a tremendous experience, and now I can say that I have golfed in the country where the game started.