Expectations: Edinburgh and Dublin

According to the dictionary, expectation is "the act or state of looking forward or anticipating." Whenever you are planning on going somewhere, your excitement (or perhaps dread) causes you form a picture in your mind of what that place will look like, how it will sound and smell, even the emotions you plan on feeling while there. You pull on all of your past knowledge from books, movies, and personal interactions to make up these preconceptions. Depending on the accuracy of your information, these preconceptions could be very accurate or they can veer sharply into the realm of fantastical imaginings.

To add a nice contrast to my posts about what actually happens during my time in Europe, I want to document what my expectations are for each of the places I am planning to visit. Some places, like Oxford, London, Edinburgh and the Harry Potter Studio, I have already been to but I still remember some of the things I had formulated in my mind about what those places would be like.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Most of what I know about Scotland comes from reading historical novels set anywhere from the Middle Ages to the Edwardian Era. It was often portrayed as England's uncivilized northern cousin where family clans fought for land and status. Because of this I expected it to be a little rough around the edges with not that many ornate, older buildings like in London or Oxford.

I did not expect Edinburgh to be as culturally diverse as I have found Oxford to be. I thought that most of the people I encountered would be Scottish, or at least British.

I freely admit that my expectations of Edinburgh were completely inaccurate, at least regarding the areas of the city that I visited. I rarely heard a person speaking with a Scottish accent, and most people where actually from other parts of the world. This was probably because we spent most of our time in the tourist areas of the city. One of the priests who did most of the speaking at St. John's Church where we attended Matins, had a Southern British accent. I was a little disappointed that I did not get a chance to hear much of the Scottish brogue.

The city was full of amazing architecture, especially in the Old Town district. The buildings were made mainly from grey stone and many had unique features like domed roofs or spires. Flags hung from many of the buildings, showing the people's pride in their country.

Dublin, Ireland

I expected my time in Dublin to be cloudy and all around dreary. This opinion was partially formed by what I have heard, and partially from looking at the weather forecast for the weekend. Since the Irish are regard as a drinking culture, I expected the streets to be a little dirty and full of drunk people at night. I also expected to see more Irish people in Dublin than I saw Scottish people in Edinburgh, simply because Dublin is the only really major city in the country. This would mean I would have a chance to hear Irish accents in person instead of just in movies.

Architecturally, I did not expect there to be a lot of grand old buildings in Dublin. The Tudor style row houses so common around Oxford would not be present.

I was also very excited to meet up with my friend Kaitlyn who is studying at Trinity College for a semester. I thought that we would try to eat a meal together and maybe see if she could show us around the city a little bit.

My expectations for Dublin were mostly correct. It rained the entire day on Sunday and it was cold. There were a ton of pubs, a least one on every street that we walked down, and we did see some people who appeared to be drunk roaming the streets when it got dark. The streets were not as nice to walk on as in Oxford and Edinburgh. Everything did seem a little dirty even though there were small cars with spinning brushes cleaning the streets constantly. A lot of the flagstones in the sidewalks were loose and rocked dangerously underfoot.

Dublin did seem less culturally diverse than Edinburgh. I saw very few Muslim women in Dublin. They seemed to be replaced with an abundance of young men and women where track suits with matching sweats and hoodies.

Most of the buildings we saw in Dublin were fairly modern. Lots of them were made out of bricks and concrete without the detailing you would see on older buildings. There were some older buildings in the center of Dublin like City Hall, Trinity College, and the old Parliament building which is now a bank.

I did get to see Kaitlyn briefly on Monday for lunch before her 2pm class. She showed us around the main shopping street in Dublin and the entrance to St. Stephen's Green, a large park.

A Weekend in Edinburgh: Day 2

Our first full day in Scotland, Libby, Amy, Caitlin, and I rose early and went to breakfast in the main common room. There was toast, fruit cocktail, yogurt, and whole fruit to eat, and coffee, hot tea, and Squash to drink. Squash is a concentrated orange drink (closer to Tang than orange juice) that you mix with water. When Libby bought a bottle of Squash when we first arrived in the UK we did not know about the watering down part and tried to drink the orange liquid plain from the bottle. It tastes like a liquid, super sugar orange flavored syrup, and not at all pleasant to drink.

There were many toast toppings to choose from including Marmite, chocolate hazelnut spread, apricot jam, blackcurrant jam, butter, and lemon curd. I decided to be adventurous and split my toast into fourths, each with a different topping. The four squares were spread with either blackcurrant jam, apricot jam, chocolate hazelnut spread, or lemon curd. The blackcurrant and lemon curd were new toppings to me. Blackcurrant is pretty close to blackberry jam in taste and appearance. It is a deep purple with small seeds that add a hint of crunch. The lemon curd tasted like I had scrapped out the filling of a lemon bar and spread it onto my toasted bread. It was a pale yellow and slightly gelatinous in texture. Personally, the name "lemon curd" is not very appealing because it brings to mind sour, curdled milk. I do not drink milk at all because it smells nasty when fresh, so soured milk is disgusting to an extreme.

Sanctuary of St. John's Episcopal Church
Photo by Amy

After eating we crossed the street to St. John's Episcopal Church, using our umbrellas to shield our bodies from the drizzle. Since it was Sunday we wanted to attend church to see how the service differed from ones we had been to in the United States. We plan to go attend a church service during all of our overnight trips. This particular service was a 9:30 am Choral Matins. Matins is a term normally by Protestant denominations to describe a morning prayer service.

The sanctuary was decorated with colored paper fish hanging from clear string. Each had writing or drawings by children on it. This was such a contrast to the rest of the church which was ornately detailed in the traditional style of churches. Since this was a Choral Matins, there was a lot of singing, both by the choir and by the attendees. The choir members of this church wore robes similar to those worn by the singers at Salisbury Cathedral. The robes were white with red under-robes peaking out from the sleeves, hem and neckline. They also wore a small ruffled collar encircling their necks.

There was also the recitation of the Apostle's Creed and I was proud that I remembered all of the words. At my Presbyterian church in the United States, we do not say the Apostle's Creed at every service like they seem to do here where churches are more traditional.

Near the end of the service collection was taken using small bags, instead of offering plates. The entire time there I noticed how nice it smelt. It was not floral but instead it was like the mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger from making gingerbread cookie. I am not sure if it was the lingering scent of incense, if the church even used it, or if it was the perfume of the elderly woman sitting in the pew behind me.

At the service's end we were invited to refreshments and asked to return the following week, but we explained that we were just visiting for the weekend. The man was quite insistent that we stayed for the 10:30 service but we managed to politely extricate ourselves to start our day of sightseeing.

Inside the National Museum of Scotland

Climbing the Mound, past the rail station, we made our way into Old Town, the more historic district of Edinburgh. First stop, the National Museum of Scotland for some cultural education. Learning about early humans in Scotland, animals of the world, and flatware design throughout the centuries made us all hungry and ready for lunch.

All of my companions are avid Harry Potter fans, so they were super excited to eat at the Elephant House Cafe. For those who don't know, the Elephant House is where J.K. Rowling penned the first words of a book that would grow to become an international sensation. She returned to the cafe many times in the course of writing the first book.

The small cafe is always crowded. The tables in the small eating area are pressed close together. The room is filled with elephant knickknacks and artwork. Our table was in the back corner next to a bookcase containing dozens of book, all about elephants, some factual, some novels, and some children's cartoons. The inside of the bathroom has become a shrine to The Boy Who Lived, with fans from all over the world writing quotes and good wishes on the walls.

At the cafe I had a very good baguette with a combination of some of my favorite toppings, mozzarella cheese, pesto, and olives. The bread in the UK always seems to taste better than the kind you get back home. We also ordered a pot of tea to share and I felt like I was truly embracing British culture, even though we were in Scotland at the time.

-------- 0 --------

The Scotch Whisky Tour began at 1 pm in a brick building neat the entrance to Edinburgh Castle. The first part was a short ride in carts shaped like large wooden barrels. Our ghostly tour guide (a projected image), lead us through the whisky making process from barely harvest to fermentation to aging in wooden barrels. From the ride we moved on to the whisky tasting.

All of our tour group arranged ourselves around a large, U-shaped glass table. Our guide, a real person this time, explained the four main types of Scottish whisky to us and we watched a short video on each kind. Each were supposed to have different undertones depending on the area in which the barely was grown and then made into alcohol. The lowlands were supposed to have undertones of citrus, highlands of spices, Speyside of bananas, and Islay of fire smoke. Since I do not drink, I chose lowlands to try because it is supposed to be the mildest in flavor.

The alcohol was served in glasses shaped specially so that you can stick your nose into the glass to smell the drinks aroma. I swirled the golden liquid and inhaled its scent with instructed. The smell was not unpleasant like garbage, nor was in pleasant like cooking food. To me it just smelt like rubbing alcohol, and not at all appealing. I very carefully tilted the glass back determined to get only the smallest taste. When the liquid slid across my tongue I could feel my face scrunching in a grimace. I tried desperately not to gag and start coughing as it burned a path down my throat. It did not want to look like an inexperienced child (though that is pretty much what I am in the area of drinking alcohol) in front of our fellow tour mates, all of whom were in their late twenties or older. My companions and I were the only ones in the group who were asked to show IDs to prove our ages. Libby was kind enough to finish my whisky for me so I did not have to drink more than a sip.

Oldest Bottles in the Whisky Collection
Photo by Amy

We moved on to the glass walled whisky collection room were hundreds of unopened whiskey bottles are on display. Even though none have ever been opened, some of the bottles were not completely full because their golden contents have evaporated over time. Eventually every single one will be empty. The two oldest bottles in the collection date from 1897 and 1904.

-------- 0 --------

We entered Camera Obscura: The World of Illusions, after meeting up with Libby's friend Cat. We spent nearly two hours exploring the narrow building several floors. There were optical illusions, a mirror maze and a giant rotating tube that make you fell like the floor is tilting even though it is actually still. My favorite part was the top floor where you could go out onto the roof and have an amazing view of Edinburgh. We were surrounded by domes, spires and other interesting architectural features. In the distance you could even see the ocean. For some reason I never thought about the fact the Edinburgh is situated on the coast, probably since coastal towns in the UK are much different from the costal towns on the East Coast of the United States. 

We finished the night at a Scottish pub called the Amber Rose. I ordered Chicken and Mushroom Pie which came with peas, chips (french fries) and gravy. The gravy was absolutely delicious. I was a little wary of it at first because I do not like the Southern gravy that is common at home. Instead of being thick and grey, this gravy was thin and brown. It was probably made out of chicken and/or mushrooms.  I poured it onto my pie and dipped my chips in it. I ate everything on my plate at that meal.

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.

Transportation Northward

Flat K1 rose early on Saturday, September 29, though not necessarily bright and cheerful. My body is definitely not used to getting up at 6 am, plus my paranoid mind kept waking me up in fear of oversleeping my alarm (though that has never actually happened). The four of us spent an hour running around getting dressed and doing some last minute packing.

I made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while Libby prepared cheese and crackers to eat on the train. The need to pack food for all trips is something I learned from my mother and a greatly appreciate the lesson. When my stomach is rumbling I like to have several food options available to me instead of paying a higher price for a bag of unhealthy crisps.

The time to leave came quickly and we left for the Headington Girls School bus stop in order to catch the Park & Ride bus because the U1, the bus we were planning on taking, does not run that early on Saturday mornings.

The streets were nearly deserted. The sky was cloudy, not yet fully lightened by the rising sun. A soft wind was blowing just hard enough to ruffle the tree leaves. Everything was quite but for our quiet foot steps and the motor of an occasional vehicle passing on the road. Early in the morning is my favorite time to be outside because it is so tranquil, however, I rarely get the pleasure of experiencing it because I do also enjoy sleeping in.

A young man rode by on the other side of the street wearing beige sports shorts and a black long sleeve shirt. Now, this normally would not be strange at all, nor would it have caught my eye, except that he was also wearing a black hood that covered his head and the lower part of his face. I don't know if his face was cold or if he simply woke up that morning and thought, "You know, I think I am going to a ninja today."

 Disembarking at Frideswide Street, we made our way into the rail station. The Oxford Rail Station is a decent sized building, probably about half the length of an American football field. It features several small food shops, including the West Cornwall Pasty Company whose logo features a grinning pirate.

Getting our BritRail passes verified was much easier than I expected. There was not a queue at the ticket counter so we went right up and the lady simply checked our passes against the information on our passports and stamped the date on them. Everything had gone according to plan with no problems, so we had about thirty minutes before our train was scheduled to leave. I am of the opinion that it is much better to arrive early for transportation and wait for bit than panicking about being late. Sitting down in hard metal chairs, we looked around, trying to force ourselves to be more awake.

If you ever have to spend some time at the Oxford Rail Station, I challenge you to find the owl statue perched inside. When I saw the statue it gave me a laugh, enjoying the touch of whimsy someone had thought to place inside the building.

At Platform 2, we boarded Coach D of a Virgin Train headed north to Birmingham. The train sported seats that were wither purple and navy splotch patterned or a vibrant orange and rust splotch pattern. The fabric reminded me of the carpeting used at the local skating rink at home that I often went to as a child. I was not expecting that half of the seats would face towards the front of the train and the other half would face towards the back. Our chosen seats faced backwards. I initially thought that this might bother me but I stopping noticing it after only a little while into the ride.

There are small shops at either end of the train where you can buy snacks, and a train employee comes around with a food cart, usually after passing a major stop where more people board. This was one of the few things that I found similar between train travel and air travel.  

Within three minutes of leaving the Oxford Station we were in the countryside. England seems to be dotted with decent sized metropolises that are completely surrounded by agricultural fields. To me, it seem that in the Eastern United States, the change from urban areas to super rural are more gradual.

Photo by Libby Bean

The fields we passed are either blanketed in green grass or the short stalks of golden beige where hay has been grown. Many had large round hay bales lying in them waiting to be collected for sale. Sheep definitely seem to be the most numerous livestock animal in the United Kingdom. You would have a very hard time fining a hillside that is not dotted with the fluffy white forms of grazing sheep.

Some of the fields held cows or horses, their rarity making them more noticeable to my eyes. The cows here differ in appearance from the ones at home (I know that they are most likely a different breed). They seem smaller with more numerous color variations. Most of the cows in North Carolina are black or a mixture of black and white. Here, all in the same herd, you can see cows that are beige, brown, black, white, or a mixture of those colors.

I observed the passing landscape for a while then, with the rising sun blazing into my eyes, I began to take notes of my experiences on the train using as many senses as possible.

I heard a man on the other side of the aisle and one row back tell my friend Amy, who was using her tablet at the time, that the train's wifi would not allow you to stream videos or music. He seemed very annoyed by this and wanted to let people know about that annoyance. I am guessing that he did not know about the restriction until he had already paid for access to the wifi. These restrictions should probably be stated on the wifi signs in each coach so people know before they pay.

The same man later bought a bag of crisps, sour cream and onion by the smell, from the food cart and proceeded to chew loudly with his mouth open. It was disgusting to listen to and I was appalled by his lack of manners. He also took a phone call where he ranted, once more, to the person on the other end about not being able to use Youtube on the train.

The train ride was relatively smooth with minor vibration from the engines. The vibrations traveled from my feet to echo strongly within my chest cavity. After some time on the train the throbbing of the engines caused a subtle tingling in my lips and tongue. Luckily, I remembered to take motion sickness medicine before we left that morning so I had not problems with that on the ride.

Pulling into the Birmingham where we needed to transfer trains, the skyline is more modern than most English cities I have seen so far. A large number of the buildings are tall with more straight, rectangular features. Bricks, steel, glass and concrete dominate the visible landscape. Some of the buildings looked familiar to me since we passed Birmingham in the coach on the way to Ironbridge.

We had thirty minutes until our connection to Edinburgh left so we looked around in a small convenience store. The most surprising part of the rail station was that you have to pay 30 pence to use the Ladies room. This is quite a foreign concept to me but I bet the rail station makes quite a lot of money off it. I decided to save my 30 pence and wait until we boarded the train again.

The toilets on the Virgin Trains are very cool. They seem a little futuristic, like Star Trek. The doors are red and curved, large enough to allow a wheelchair to enter. To open the door you press a yellow button and it slides open. The room itself is quite large because it has to be able to accommodate a wheelchair. Once inside you press the "close" button, making sure once it is shut that you also remember to press the "door lock" button as well. Otherwise, someone could come and open the door while you are doing your business, and not be able to close the door again until it has opened fully. That would be incredibly embarrassing. When I washed my hands I found the sink water was scaldingly hot. It felt like I was being burned just for trying to get all of the soap off of my hands.

Though we expected it to be late, our train did arrive in Edinburgh on time at 2:27 pm. From there our adventure in Scotland began.