FIRST STEPS TO SCOTLAND IN EDINBURGH
With T’s work all wrapped up in London and our bags packed, we were ready to step on the train to the first leg of our holiday. We opted for the train instead of a flight; although we love flying, we would instead use the train where possible. Apart from being easy boarding and having no luggage restrictions, we got to see some of England’s countryside.
The 4.5-hour ride went by quickly and the people were fascinating as they kept changing at every stop. We saw a dad and son heading out for a weekend breakaway, a bachelorette party, and a group of spunky middle-aged women who had the most enormous blast.
The stairs of Edinburgh.
Both T and I don’t mind walking. This is our preferred exercise when we want to get active. Also, during most of our trips, we usually covered anything between 8-18km per day. Thus when T suggested we walk to our Airbnb in Edinburgh from the train station, I did not protest too much. The thought did cross my mind briefly to take a taxi/uber since we were still slugging around our luggage.
But it’s ONLY 800m.
That might be true, but what we didn’t realize was that Edinburgh was divided in half by a mountain with a castle at the top. Extremely picturous but less practical if your accommodation is on the other side of that mountain.
Our 800m ended up being 10% steep hills and 90% stairs (first up and then down). Halfway through our journey, a French tourist (I assume) passed by with a light duffle bag, and I made the joke of exchanging bags. To my surprise, he turned around and assisted me to the top, took his bag from me again and went off.
Here we learned a few of many lessons from our trip:
Pack even less. No, even less than that, and then less than that.
Take an Uber/taxi if you are unsure of the terrain.
Ask for help, people are kinder than you might think (even if it was only meant to be a joke).
P.S Nope, I did not/could not get angry with T since he was the unfortunate soul slugging around my heavy camera gear. Plus, when we had to leave, we took an Uber back to the train station.
These were just some of the stairs we had to take.
Edinburgh.
Accommodation
We arrived at our lovely apartment, totally knackered. The condo was perfect for what we needed, but most of all very central to everything (I mean only 800m from the station). After a week in the hotel, I craved a home-cooked meal. We dumped our bags, stormed the nearest grocery store, made a home-cooked pasta, and went to sleep with the sun still up.
Edinburgh 1 = Wandering Wolfs 0.
The Edinburgh Castle & Cathedrals
Although we did not visit the Castle, we got to see him from many angles. We vowed that we would go and see another castle which would be less busy and touristy. Unfortunately, it somehow turned out that we never got to see the inside of a castle but we saw quite a few ruins.
We usually try to dodge the crowds and super touristy spots, but I do have to wonder if we might have missed out on something here.
Cathedrals always manage to amaze us. The history behind them, the structure, and the detail that goes into every nook and crane.
Gardens
If you’ve been reading or scanning our previous blogs, especially about our recent time in London and Cambridge, you would know that we love gardens and parks. And since it’s spring, they were showing off.
Both our mothers love to garden, but neither of us have green fingers. I’ve got three herbs in our apartment, which I regularly have to replace. For the record, my current herbs are the longest-lasting thus far, so maybe my fingers are turning a little greener every day. What I’m trying to say in my ramble is that perhaps this is where our love for the gardens originates.
There are green spaces throughout the city, but our favourite two gardens were Princess Street Gardens (at the foot of the Castle) and the National Botanical Gardens.
The unexpected Gothic side of Edinburgh.
Edinburgh apparently has a very dark side to it. One of the main tourist attractions was the underground dungeon tours, and this sounded a bit gimmicky to us and not our scene.
What we did notice the moment we set foot out of the train station was some of the architecture. Our two favourite architectures with the gothic design to it were
The Hub, formally known as “Tolbooth Kirk”. The church-like building with a dark exterior and red window shutters. It is now used as a public arts and events building.
Scott Monument to the Scottish author Sir Walter Scott. It is also the second largest monument for a writer in the world.
We would love to go back and dedicate a few days and blog posts just to the dark and gothic side of Edinburgh. But I think it has to be winter, as the stunning gardens, flowers, and beautiful weather doesn’t add to the dark and gloomy feel I would want for it.
The quirky side of Edinburgh
Birthplace of Harry Potter
My Harry Potter obsession took us on a whole other adventure. We went to “The Elephant House” to see where J.K Rowling wrote the first book “, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” sadly, though, it is closed until further notice at the time of visiting due to a fire.
The sadness of the cafe closing down did not put a damper on our mood to explore. Since we were in J.K Rowling’s writing place, we got to see some of her inspiration, including Tom Riddle’s grave.
Greyfriars
Ok, to be honest, we knew J.K Rowling got Tom Riddle’s (a.k.a Lord Voldemort) name from a grave in Greyfriars cemetery. We didn’t, however, know exactly where in the cemetery it was, so it took us a while to find it. What we didn’t know was that there were more characters’ names in that graveyard.
Secondly, I wish we didn’t go on a Sunday. There’s the most adorable little church, which we couldn’t visit due to service.
Although walking around and searching for a grave in the cemetery was strangely peaceful, the highlight was Bobby’s grave.
Bobby’s grave is one of the main attractions in Edinburgh, and it’s not exactly your typical grave. It’s the grave of a dog. Bobby (a Skye Terrier) made himself and his owner (John Gray) famous after he guarded his owner’s grave for 14 years. Due to laws, they couldn’t bury Bobby next to his owner but buried him as close as possible. T did take a photo of the whole story in more detail, so if you would like a real “Awwww” moment, go ahead and read it.
For me, the sweetest thing was that Bobby’s grave didn’t have any flowers on it, but people put sticks on it.
The shops and pubs.
Remember the fudge I bought in Cambridge? Well, with T and my sweet tooth, the stock I bought was running low. In search of something to fill that gap, we found that there are only six “Fudge Kitchens” in the UK. Our luck was in, as there was one in Edinburgh. We realised this would be our last chance to stock up for the rest of our trip, and so we did.
As with any UK town, the pubs are in abundance. But we especially liked the names of a few we came across.
We came across a few unusual shops. When you see the photo of the Christmas Shop, just remember I’m extremely slow at writing these blogs and that we were there in MAY!
Before our final words, here are a few odds and ends we took during our few days in Edinburgh.
Our final thoughts
We loved Edinburgh with all its charm, quirks and unexpected dark and gothic side. This was the start of many “we should have stayed longer” moments we had on this trip. But maybe if we are lucky enough, we will get to go back, explore more, and I’ll get to write about the gothic magic of Edinburgh.
Next up, at last, we join the frenzy known as VANLIFE.
Wandering off now…
T & Me
