Christmas time is here. . . and I have to get packing for my trip tomorrow so let's get started! I've got so little to say and so much time. Wait, strike that, reverse it.
As you know this past weekend I was in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was an absolutely beautiful city. All the buildings are made of stone as if I were walking around Diagon Alley in Harry Potter. On Friday, I hiked up to Edinburgh Castle, located smack dab in the centre of the city. Edinburgh Castle was a military castle that has a rich history dating back centuries. It is beautiful to look at close up and far away. I was a little hesitant go because the ticket price was really expensive. I'm glad I did go. There were four museums in the castle as well as walking the castle so you definitely get your money's worth. They had a museum on the Royal Scots army, a Scottish War museum, one on The Scottish Dragoons, Prisoners of War, and (my favorite) a history of the Scottish Crown Jewels. The castle also holds the oldest, standing Scottish chapel which was about the size my bedroom.
The Prisoner of War exhibit was really neat because you got to see the actual prison cells they were housed in. They were treated much better than Scottish soldiers who committed crimes, I'll say that. The Crown jewels exhibit was fascinating because they went through the history of the relationship between England and Scotland. At the end of the exhibit, in a vault, were the Scottish Crown Jewels that were first bestowed upon Mary I in 1543. I couldn't take pictures but they were beautiful. The sword, sceptre and crown were almost lost for awhile after the castle was captured by invaders. They were discovered and resided in Westminster Abbey for centuries until they were allowed to return to Edinburgh Castle where they will stay.
After the castle, it was raining and freezing cold so I headed back to my hostel. There I had dinner and got ready for the concert I was seeing that night. I bought a ticket to the Royal Scottish Orchestra who were performing Christmas songs from Hollywood films. It was a really great concert and it definitely put me in the mood for the holidays. They played music ranging from "White Christmas", "Home Alone", "The Polar Express", "The Bishop's Wife", and "The Nightmare before Christmas." The Royal Scottish Choir participated in the concert as well so it was a real treat. From the concert, I stopped at the Rat Pack Bar and enjoyed more live music in a bar designed right out of the 1950's.
*Note*: I took about 350 pictures this weekend so I'll be showing a small fraction of that. If you would like to see more, email me and I'll be happy to show you more of Edinburgh!
As you know this past weekend I was in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was an absolutely beautiful city. All the buildings are made of stone as if I were walking around Diagon Alley in Harry Potter. On Friday, I hiked up to Edinburgh Castle, located smack dab in the centre of the city. Edinburgh Castle was a military castle that has a rich history dating back centuries. It is beautiful to look at close up and far away. I was a little hesitant go because the ticket price was really expensive. I'm glad I did go. There were four museums in the castle as well as walking the castle so you definitely get your money's worth. They had a museum on the Royal Scots army, a Scottish War museum, one on The Scottish Dragoons, Prisoners of War, and (my favorite) a history of the Scottish Crown Jewels. The castle also holds the oldest, standing Scottish chapel which was about the size my bedroom.
The Prisoner of War exhibit was really neat because you got to see the actual prison cells they were housed in. They were treated much better than Scottish soldiers who committed crimes, I'll say that. The Crown jewels exhibit was fascinating because they went through the history of the relationship between England and Scotland. At the end of the exhibit, in a vault, were the Scottish Crown Jewels that were first bestowed upon Mary I in 1543. I couldn't take pictures but they were beautiful. The sword, sceptre and crown were almost lost for awhile after the castle was captured by invaders. They were discovered and resided in Westminster Abbey for centuries until they were allowed to return to Edinburgh Castle where they will stay.
After the castle, it was raining and freezing cold so I headed back to my hostel. There I had dinner and got ready for the concert I was seeing that night. I bought a ticket to the Royal Scottish Orchestra who were performing Christmas songs from Hollywood films. It was a really great concert and it definitely put me in the mood for the holidays. They played music ranging from "White Christmas", "Home Alone", "The Polar Express", "The Bishop's Wife", and "The Nightmare before Christmas." The Royal Scottish Choir participated in the concert as well so it was a real treat. From the concert, I stopped at the Rat Pack Bar and enjoyed more live music in a bar designed right out of the 1950's.
*Note*: I took about 350 pictures this weekend so I'll be showing a small fraction of that. If you would like to see more, email me and I'll be happy to show you more of Edinburgh!
I got up early Saturday morning to begin my next adventure. The start of the Scottish Highlands begin right in the middle of Edinburgh. At the summit of the Highlands is what they call Arthur's seat in which visitors can hike and climb. Channeling my inner Bilbo Baggins, I was determined to reach the top. I left the hostel and made a few stops on the way. I stopped at the Elephant House, the cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote the first two Harry Potter novels. Right around the corner was a school that had four turrets in which students were divided into houses and slept in. This became the inspiration for the four houses at Hogwarts. Also, there is a graveyard next to the school where I found a certain Dark lord buried. The kind of Dark lord who must not be named. . .
Climbing to Arthur's seat was probably the highlight of my trip. I'm sure my parents will kill me because of how dangerous it was and the fact that I hiked it alone. I definitely felt like a "fool" on the hill for going alone. There was no paved path to the top, I had to climb rocks and the steep sides of the hill to get there. There was a rocky path that I followed the way up. It was very narrow and very steep. Much like the staircase Frodo, Sam and Gollum climb to reach Cirith Ungol in "The Return of the King." It was covered with snow and ice making it very slippery. I followed two women up as well as down the hill in case something happened to me there would be someone nearby. One lady hiked the whole thing with her child on her back....I couldn't believe it. Good for her but one wrong foot and both her and her kid would have fallen. At the very top of the hill, I had to physically pull myself up rocks to reach the summit. That was the only way, no path.
It was worth it. The view was unbelievable and I could see miles around me. It was so windy and everyone at the top had to hold onto a rock because it could make you lose your balance. Someone's hat flew off and disappeared into the distance. I sat up there and soaked up the view. At some point, I noticed everyone else up there were all leaving so I quickly packed up and headed down to hike down with people. I ended up following the two women again as we slowly climbed down the side of the hill. I couldn't use the paths because it was too slippery going down. I was climbing down the steep sides. I definitely want to do more hiking here as well as back in America. Once I safely made it down, only slipped once, I headed to a bus station for my next adventure!
It was worth it. The view was unbelievable and I could see miles around me. It was so windy and everyone at the top had to hold onto a rock because it could make you lose your balance. Someone's hat flew off and disappeared into the distance. I sat up there and soaked up the view. At some point, I noticed everyone else up there were all leaving so I quickly packed up and headed down to hike down with people. I ended up following the two women again as we slowly climbed down the side of the hill. I couldn't use the paths because it was too slippery going down. I was climbing down the steep sides. I definitely want to do more hiking here as well as back in America. Once I safely made it down, only slipped once, I headed to a bus station for my next adventure!
It was only proper that I visited the famous Rosslyn chapel while in Scotland. It was about a 45 minute bus ride through the Scottish countryside. The chapel was extraordinary to see. I wasn't allowed to take pictures on the inside but let me just say the stonework was out of this world. Unfortunately, some of it has eroded over time. Luckily, they began proper preservation in the 1990's. I listened to a lecture on the history of the chapel in which they went through how it was built and why it was incomplete.
The guide even talked about the Chapel's relationship to "The Da Vinci Code." There are records historians have found that talk about a secret held at Rosslyn Chapel. The secret is still a mystery , although most agree the Chapel does have ties to the Knight's Templar. It was because of "The Da Vinci Code" that the chapel was able to be preserved so well. Before the book's release, the chapel trust couldn't get enough money to preserve the chapel properly because no one visited the chapel. They planned to preserve the chapel by acquiring money over 15 years. Because of "The Da Vinci Code", tourism increased dramatically. They were able to complete all the preservation plans, not just raise money, in 3 years. The chapel you see in the movie was actually a model not the real place. The only real scene filmed at the Chapel was when they find the green star ( the paint is still on the stone wall). Other than that, it's all fake.
The guide even talked about the Chapel's relationship to "The Da Vinci Code." There are records historians have found that talk about a secret held at Rosslyn Chapel. The secret is still a mystery , although most agree the Chapel does have ties to the Knight's Templar. It was because of "The Da Vinci Code" that the chapel was able to be preserved so well. Before the book's release, the chapel trust couldn't get enough money to preserve the chapel properly because no one visited the chapel. They planned to preserve the chapel by acquiring money over 15 years. Because of "The Da Vinci Code", tourism increased dramatically. They were able to complete all the preservation plans, not just raise money, in 3 years. The chapel you see in the movie was actually a model not the real place. The only real scene filmed at the Chapel was when they find the green star ( the paint is still on the stone wall). Other than that, it's all fake.
Sunday, I got up even earlier and walked 4 miles south of Edinburgh to the suburb of Craigmillar. Here is the oldest, well preserved castle in Scotland. Craigmillar Castle was a castle built our of stone in the 15th century. It was very eerie because there were no guards in the castle. For the first hour I was the only person visiting the castle. In fact, the worker behind the ticket counter was sleeping when I walked up. They allowed you free range of the whole castle and grounds. The castle was fascinating and I loved that I could go everywhere. From the dungeons to the tower I saw every nook and cranny of the castle. It would be a perfect place to play hide and seek or paintball.
At the top of the castle, I walked out onto the roof where I got a great view of Edinburgh and the Scottish Foothills. To make the view even more perfect, there was a rainbow that spanned the entire city. There were plaques throughout the castle that told the history of the castle and which room I was in. An interesting piece of history is that Mary Queen of Scots visited the castle quite a bit. In fact, there was where she plotted to have her husband murdered. The castle features a pond in the shape of a "P" in which the original owners had carved out in honor of their family name "Preston."
At the top of the castle, I walked out onto the roof where I got a great view of Edinburgh and the Scottish Foothills. To make the view even more perfect, there was a rainbow that spanned the entire city. There were plaques throughout the castle that told the history of the castle and which room I was in. An interesting piece of history is that Mary Queen of Scots visited the castle quite a bit. In fact, there was where she plotted to have her husband murdered. The castle features a pond in the shape of a "P" in which the original owners had carved out in honor of their family name "Preston."
I spent the rest of my afternoon viewing the Scottish National Gallery. The art museum is divided into three buildings throughout the city. Because of the rain and cold, I only visited one. This gallery focused on 16-19th century art as well as current art. It was small, but filled with some really nice paintings. My favorite had to have been Vincent Van Gogh's "Trees" painting. I was allowed to take pictures except for ones that had a sign. I got yelled at because I took a picture of one that I wasn't suppose to. I snapped the picture before looking at the sign. The lady made me delete it. At least that's what she thought I was doing. I kept it and deleted another picture. It was a Rembrandt. Fancy, right?
Dinner followed the National Gallery. Then I waited for my train back to Liverpool. I highly recommend Edinburgh to anyone who hasn't gone there yet. There is so much in the beautiful city that I could have spent a week there and not seen it all.
Mark Musings:
Only one this week. Everyone in America has heard of or even participated in the traditional " Ugly Christmas Sweater" party. Well over here, ugly Christmas sweaters are very popular. I could not believe how many people, men and women, were wearing the ugliest Christmas sweaters. Some sweaters were so horrible and they wore them as formal wear for the Christmas concert. High-end stores were selling them and showcasing them in their store windows. Even my roommates from Germany and Czech Republic, who came with me to Scotland, were surprised that they wear them out in public. You'd never see me wearing one.
No trivia this week because I won't be blogging for a couple of weeks. But I would like to give you the answer to the last one. Only 2 people voted this time, and 1 got it right. The answer is... Psycho! Psycho is the first American movie to feature a toilet flushing on screen. Now that's something you can impress the in-laws with over Christmas dinner.
With this post, my first term in Liverpool comes to end. in less than 12 hours I'll be on a flight home to Cleveland. It's been a great experience so far and I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of Europe next year. But before that, I'm very excited for a long, relaxing break back home. Happy Holidays to everyone, and I hope to see you in the coming weeks!
Peace & Love,
Mark
Mark Musings:
Only one this week. Everyone in America has heard of or even participated in the traditional " Ugly Christmas Sweater" party. Well over here, ugly Christmas sweaters are very popular. I could not believe how many people, men and women, were wearing the ugliest Christmas sweaters. Some sweaters were so horrible and they wore them as formal wear for the Christmas concert. High-end stores were selling them and showcasing them in their store windows. Even my roommates from Germany and Czech Republic, who came with me to Scotland, were surprised that they wear them out in public. You'd never see me wearing one.
No trivia this week because I won't be blogging for a couple of weeks. But I would like to give you the answer to the last one. Only 2 people voted this time, and 1 got it right. The answer is... Psycho! Psycho is the first American movie to feature a toilet flushing on screen. Now that's something you can impress the in-laws with over Christmas dinner.
With this post, my first term in Liverpool comes to end. in less than 12 hours I'll be on a flight home to Cleveland. It's been a great experience so far and I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of Europe next year. But before that, I'm very excited for a long, relaxing break back home. Happy Holidays to everyone, and I hope to see you in the coming weeks!
Peace & Love,
Mark