A Day in... Edinburgh (1)

First Christmas alone. A lot of au pairs go home for the festive holiday, but I decided to stay in the UK and visit Scotlands capital city instead. Well, not on Christmas itself, but right before that.

Taking a coach like I did has its pros and cons. It is way cheaper than a train and you can take a night bus, but it isn't as comfortable and fast. But this can also vary depending on the person. I was not able to get a good nights sleep on my way to Edinburgh, just a few little naps. Arriving at 7:45am, I took my backpack and headed to the next McDonalds to get some breakfast. And this was amazing already; standing on the street that is so different from London, on the top of a hill with a good look at the sea. However, my way was headed for the castle. My hostel Castle Rock Hostel was basically right at the base of the castles hill. It's great, everyone is very helpful, the rooms are big, there is hot water in the shower and the facilities are very comfy. 10/10!

(view from the front door)

DAY 1

Anyways, I was so tired that I hang around the breakfast/ meeting room for another hour before going on a little tour through the city. First I went into a little church since it was Sunday and the 4. Advent. The people there were really welcoming, three people asked me independently who I was and how I was doing as they didn't see me before. While having a cup of tea right after the mess I talked to some of the locals, or at least people now living in Edinburgh, who gave me the typical tourist places to go to, told me to try Haggis no matter what and so on. I already knew I wanted to go to the Harry Potter Trail in the afternoon, but until then I got to see the Christmas Market, got lunch and just wandered around a bit.

The Harry Potter Trail is a great, and free!, walking tour for every Harry Potter fan. It's only about 90 min long and takes you to the graveyard that inspired some of the characters names which is right next to the real life Hogwarts, the uni Rowling graduated from, the two cafès where Rowing wrote the books as well as the inspiration for Diagon Alley. The tour guide comes in full outfit and lends everyone a diy wand. Really great experience, which also lets you find new friends. 

I, for example, went to get a delicious hot chocolate in the Elephant House - "Birthplace of Harry Potter" with a girl from Germany I met on the tour; don't forget to check out the bathrooms for Harry Potter grafiti including letters to Rowling, quotes from both movies and books and sketches. Later we went for Haggis and let me tell you, it really is better than everyone makes it out to be. Really, it's not different from any sausage you eat, maybe a bit more spicy.

After that I went to my hostel and like I said, the rooms are really big. Everyone has his own locker (free, and don't forget a locket!), the bunks are against walls or divider and grant enough privacy for everyone and there is another space to walk around without feeling cramped. The washrooms are for everyone on the level, but they are spacy and hot, so that's ok. And seriously, nobody cares if you walk around in your PJs, everyone does it.

DAY 2

The day starts with a breakfast (1,5 pound) consisting of a bread roll, cereals and orange juice. The atmosphere is very relaxed and sleepy. Taking into account I was still rather tired and slept in, it was a great and easy way to wake up.

After breakfast I headed straight for St. Giles Cathedral, a beautiful place to start the day. I got postcards for my family and friends and went on to Calton Hill with the National Monument of Scotland. It was dizzy and windy, but once I made the first few pictures the weather cleared up. It's a great place to see Edinburgh from about while still seeing a lot of details. Up there is the old astronomy tower with the old telescope, a half finished monument in ancient greek style as well as a small little cafè. In total I spent about 1,5 hours up there taking photos, reading the info charts and enjoying the view.

Next stop is the National Portrait Gallery to come down and getting warm again. Apart from the old portraits (lets be honest, you get tired of those) there was also an exhibition about portaits of differents styles from all over the world. It is amazing to see how different the drawing and painting styles are. There were the once that looks so photorealistic you had to look twice, the once with minimalistic lines and colours, the expressionists and realists. Truely breath-taking.

And that was about it. The first part of my vacation was mostly a mix of museums and walking, really. Photos tomorrow!