A Weekend in Edinburgh: Day 1

The four of us (Amy, Caitlin, Libby and myself), climbed the stairs out of the Edinburgh Waverley Rail Station, emerging onto bustling Princes Street. The sunlight pressed weakly through the overcast sky, the cool breeze sneaking its way passed the weave of my sweater and causing goosebumps.

My first impression of Edinburgh was that it was incredible busy. People streamed by in both directions, attempting to avoid collisions with other pedestrians though their efforts were not always effective. I even heard a girl remark to her friend that it was unusually crowded, even for a Saturday afternoon.

We turned left and began walking towards our hostel (Libby knew the way because she stayed in the same place this past summer). On our right there were large stores like Accessorize, Boots, H&M, and Marks and Spencers. Interspersed between these shops were many smaller souvenir shops with postcards out front and Scottish kilts displayed in the windows. I was so absorbed with trying to weave my way along the crowded sidewalk that I was not paying attention to any of the sights. It came has a huge surprise when I glanced to the left and saw...

Edinburgh Castle

and...

Old Town, Edinburgh

This sight of old stonework edifices proudly perched upon a hill overlooking a lush, green park was completely breathtaking to me. I wanted to stop to take photographs but I did not want to fall behind my companions and be lost in the crowd (these pictures were actually taken on our second day in Edinburgh). It is overwhelming to try to imagine how many thousands of people, over how many centuries must have enjoyed the same view that I did that day.

After about a fifteen minute walk we entered Caledonian Backpackers, our hostel for the weekend. Libby highly recommended it from her experiences staying there his summer. Though I have never stayed in a hostel before, and had no prior experiences to compare it to, I thought that the hostel was very nice. Wifi, linens and breakfast were included in the price.

Bar at Caledonian Backpackers

We entered from the ground floor (first floor in America) into the reception lobby. After paying and getting our navy blue key cards, we went up a flight of stairs and down a hallway past the common rooms. The largest common room featured a bar with a metal sheeting roof, two pool tables, and several seating areas.

But, our journey to our room was not yet complete. We still had to climb several more flights of stairs up to the third floor (fourth in the USA). Luckily, our designated room, Room O, was just at the top of the stairs. Our room was a mixed dormitory with ten bunks, sleeping twenty people. We were assigned beds 1 to 4. I had bed 1. Four men were already staying in the room when we arrived on Saturday. Three of them looked to be at least in their thirties, if not older. The fourth I only ever saw when we was buried in his sheets asleep so I have not idea what he even looked like. For some reason I had the impression that generally people who stay in hostels are in their twenties, but that is obviously not true.

Inside of Room O

The hostel provided each of use with a duvet and two pillows, each covered in a pattern of yellow rings and brown dots. The mattresses were definitely more comfortable than the ones in our flat. It was so nice not to feel the springs digging into my back all night long.

The bathroom was down the hall, a doe painted on the wall outside of the door. There were two toilets, three shower stalls and a sink. The walls inside were painted vibrant pink with a black and white floral wallpaper border.

After setting up our beds and putting our backpacks in the provided lockers we decided our itinerary for the trip. Since it was later in the day we chose to head for the Edinburgh Royal Botanic Gardens and then find somewhere to eat dinner, saving the indoor activities for Sunday when it was forecasted to rain.

Following Google Maps on Libby's iPhone, we made the thirty minute hike to the Gardens, and it really was a hike because we had to go up and down several substantial hills to get there. Along the way we did get to seem some beautiful architecture including several curved buildings forming a large crescent, similar to the Royal Crescent in Bath. A crescent, sometimes also called a circus, is a building that is built in a curve to form a circle, though broken in some places for roads to enter. There is often a circular part in the center of the buildings that is used as a park with grass and trees.

The Royal Botanic Gardens has free admission so we walked in and randomly decided to turn right. Just a short stroll in, we sat on a bench to rest from the long walk there, as well as to take some photographs. Here I learned that Caitlin is mildly afraid of squirrels. From what I understand, as a child every time her mother saw a squirrel she would tell Caitlin that they could have rabies. One squirrel slowly made its way across the footpath, coming within about ten feet of us before scampering up a tree. During our rest we also had a lively conversation about a plump pigeon that strutted by us. Caitlin, Amy and Libby thought it would be hysterically funny to get a picture of it and then somehow photoshop it to have a monocle and top hat. I later learned that they had gotten the idea from the Jack Wills (British clothing store) logo, though that logo actually features a pheasant not a pigeon.

Photo by Libby Bean

We left the bench and ambled along the footpath, passing under a hedge that must have been over twenty feet tall and entering the Fairy Wood. Thin trees with pale bark grew closely together on both sides of the main path. Green underbrush grew around the trees, marking the edges of narrow dirt paths that ran off of the footpath and into the trees. Several small children and their parents were exploring these dirt paths, looking for fairies. Our group passed through the Wood quickly and quietly, not wanting to disturb their fun.

Next up were some gardening plots tended to by local grade schools, followed by the Queen Mother's Garden. The garden is in honor of Queen Elizabeth, wife to King George VI and mother of the current Queen, Elizabeth II. Her family held an Earldom in Scotland so it is appropriate that this memorial to her is in Edinburgh.

The outer edge of the garden was lined with slabs of stone carved with the names of charities and organizations that the Queen Mother supported during her long life (she lived to be 101 years old). The center of each stone was also decorated with a gold painted crown. Further into the garden the stone slabs of the pathway were inscribed, by decade, of important events in her life like the births of her children and her ascension to the role of queen consort.

A small, doorless building was set at the back of the garden. It was made of pale stone and rust colored shingles. The simple facade made a striking contrast to the decorations on the inside. The walls were covered in a complex pattern of scallop seashells, oyster shells, and painted tiles baring the initials "ER." The ceiling was not left out as it was also covered in intricate designs, this time in many different species of pine cones. The pine cones at the very peak of the ceiling formed the Scottish national flag.  It took an incredible amount of artistry to arrange the organic materials into such eye-catching patterns.

Next, we attempted to gain entry to the large, tropical glasshouses but there was an entry fee so we continued on. Making a quick detour at a duck pond (where I kept expecting to see crocodiles) and the Chinese garden, we left the same way we entered.

By the time we had walked thirty minutes back to the hotel, we were all starving. Luckily for us, several doors down from the hostel was a restaurant called Wannaburger, and yes, you guessed it, they sell burgers. The restaurant was decorated in a color scheme of white and red with both booths and tables. I believe that it is considered an American food restaurant. It sold burgers, french fries (it actually used the term french fries, not the English term of chips), veggie burgers, onion rings, giant pickles and more. The restaurant also followed the American practice of free refills (this is very unusual in the UK). What made my day was that they had lemonade which I had been craving. The typical American lemonade is known as cloudy lemonade in England and the term lemonade is used in reference to lemon soda like Sprite. I ordered a regular hamburger and french fries, which were delicious, especially because I was so hungry.

Back at the hostel we hung out in the common room for a while talking, and playing on our phones/iPod/tablet, taking advantage of the free wifi. I downloaded Skype to my iPod and I managed to get it working well enough to talk to my mom. She and my youngest sister were visiting my other sister at her university for parent's weekend. It was really nice to get to talk to all of them at once. I often find it hard to figure out a time for us to Skype because of the five hour time difference. When they are available later in the day around dinner time I am getting ready for bed so I have not been able to talk to them as much as I would like.

I went to bed early that night, soon after I finished my Skype date. We were all exhausted from getting up at 6 am and walking several miles. Snuggling in our duvets, we went to sleep, knowing we would be up early in the morning to start our second day in Edinburgh.