Edinburgh

There are many reasons to visit Scotland. The rugged yet stunning vistas of the northern highlands, the genuine hospitality of the Scots and, of course their Whisky. The weather, however is generally not the primary motivating factor. We left southern Sweden during an admittedly unseasonably warm July at 31-31 degrees Centigrade where the sun had so mercilessly scorched the earth and turned everything tinder-dry to the point where a complete, and enforced, barbecue ban was in effect. When we landed in Edinburgh, the Scots apparently were also in the midst of enjoying an unseasonably warm and dry summer. The difference here though was that in Edinburgh that meant 13 degrees and rain.

Despite being a rather unabashed fan of the outdoors, we decided that our first foray into Scotland would be in the slow lane. We’d place it safe and stick to the main cities. As a result, at the point of arrival at the Edinburgh airport where I had extra time to poke around while waiting for the one poor sod in particular that had to stand in the non-EU passport line, we looked forward to just shy of two weeks in Scotland and we were almost completely without a plan.

True to form, we had decided to stay a brisk 20 minute walk away from the busiest part of town and for us this time, that meant we were to stay in the Dalry district. Our bar for a good location isn’t sky-high, but I think it’s fair to say, it was pretty close to as good as we had dared hope for. Disregarding the dives where depressing looking smokers would stand outside in the early afternoon, we were close to two authentigri[c pubs of which one became a repeat favourite. We will forever remember the Athletic Arms pub as our local watering hole where you could always rely on a well-poured pint, more than a handful of geezers solving the worlds problems, again over a pint, plus a number of presumably mostly locals who thought it better to take the dog for a walk and accidentally end up at the pub. Sure, we had booked with Airbnb, but it was at the Athletic Arms we felt at home. Well…

As for Edinburgh proper, it has plenty to offer. Beyond the obvious tourist highlights such as the Castle and the Whisky Experience where you can Disney world-style ride in a barrel to learn about  whisky making, both of which we shunned, you’d be hard-pressed to not find something of interest. As much as Edinburgh is a city, as it most certainly is, it abuts a rather substantial and some might even say impressive park called Holyrood Park. This is not a park in the traditional sense where ladies of means stroll with their sun-umbrellas. Oh no. This is the kind of park where you lace up your cross trainers and carry more than a thimble of water because your reward after ascending the hill all the way up to Arthur’s Seat, is an unobstructed 360 degree panorama of the city and its surroundings. It also didn’t hurt that we manage to time this outing with one of the few truly sunny days.

For the budget-conscious traveller, Edinburgh has quite a bit to offer as well. The Edinburgh museum is free of charge and possibly worth a visit, but only if you’ve first thoroughly explored the impressive National Museum of Scotland. This epic seven-story retelling of both the Scottish as well as natural history is almost reason alone to visit Edinburgh. That it, too, is free is almost unfathomable. As a Scandinavian, expat – but even so, it’s interesting to see occasional reflections of Scandinavian words in everyday places in Scotland. One such example is kirkyard which, to this Swede at least, sounds a lot like kyrkogård, for cemetery. One such cemetery us nerds clearly had to visit was Greyfriars kirkyard. Why? Well, Potter-lore has it that this is where we find the final resting place of one Thomas Riddle. Who should not be named. Even though I just did. Seeing impromptu guides dressed in Hogwarts garb leading smiling fans to this, now well-trodden, grave is well worth it for those of us who are of a particular kind of nerdy persuasion.

It wasn’t all shoe-string entertainment for us however. We partied it up in the lively Grassmarket area and we went positively colonial when we splurged to go Corgi-hunting at the old Britannia. Britannia, for those who don’t know is the last of the Royal yachts that sent the queen and her entourage around the world countless times before she was retired in 1997 and made into a permanent exhibit. The Corgis, ostensibly the Royals’ favourite dog breed, were of the stuffed nature and placed throughout the vessel and to be counted for a prize by the young and young at heart. Obviously, being dog-starved we were not able to resist.