What's great about the Edinburgh Castle is that in addition to the castle itself, there's like five different museums inside of it: The National War Memorial and the War Museum, the regimental museum of the Royal Scots Greys, the Scottish Crown Jewels and the (supposed) stone of Scone, St. Margret's chapel, the oldest building in Edinburgh, prison dungeons, and a great many halls and rooms dedicated to James VII and Mary Queen of Scots. Most of the castle is from the 16th century, after all, the medieval fortifications having been destroyed in a series of sieges. To say that I ran around like a chicken with its head cut off, rainbows of joy instead of blood gushing from my jugular, would be an exaggeration, but not by much.
The only downers were that it was crazy crowded, and a pretty Disneyfied site overall - with grass you cannot stand on, seriously, because a uniformed official with a radio suddenly will apperate and yell at you in three different languages. The crown jewels exhibit was the worst in the respect. Its lead you through a history of the symbols of state using very, very creepy manikins with wigs worse than
Jack's beard and has a strong It's A Small, Small World vibe. However, when I got to the room which had representations of all the kings and queens of Scotland and saw these two pictured above, I nearly lost my fool mind. My fool, Shakespeare-loving mind. The only other time I squealed audibly was in the Scots Greys museum, their claim to fame being that they captured a French Eagle at Waterloo; They still have the eagle, and the still-blooded flag of the French regiment they took it from. So cool.
After two hours at the castle, I walked down the Royal Mile with no definite aim besides to find a cash point. There was an ATM on the Mile, but the line was almost to the curb, and so I turned onto George IV Bridge (it's not really a bridge), on which the great swarm of tourists thankfully seemed less present. So I was taken completely by surprise to walk past The Elephant House, the coffee shop where J.K. Rowling apparently did a lot of work on the first Harry Potter. Naturally, I went inside and sat down to a cute elephant cookie and a fat glass of hot chocolate. It was funny, because the decor of the place was very The Village Indie Coffeehouse. It was really the most American place I've been in yet. It was also very crowded. I finished up quickly so a Scottish woman and her two kids could have my table. Not exactly a Potter pilgrimage, but it was a neat, delicious detour.
Down the street was the National Museum of Scotland, which was free. If you are ever in Edinburgh, people of the internet, take advantage of this. Yes, there are many families with very small children screaming for being unfairly subjected to "culture," but there are also racecars, and stone lions carved by the Romans, and a Claymore that's taller than a NBA center. The exhibits on the Kingdom of Scotland and Ancient Peoples of Scotland were both fantastic. Plus, there was a cash point there with no line at all. The only way it would have been better, as a museum, is if there had been dinosaurs/a giant statue of Teddy Roosevelt. By the time I got through it, I was pretty walked out, so I have less pictures.
I definitely am going to go back to Edinburgh sometime over break. It's so easy to get there and there's so much to do. By the time I walked back from the museum to Waverly station, it was getting close to six and colder as evening came on. I couldn't have timed it more perfectly, because as soon as I had validated my railpass, they were letting people onto the platform for my train back to Leuchars. I waited with one of those really adorable, affectionate old couples - the man was sporting a military beret, I'm pretty sure the lady had a hermes scarf, and they were basically hugging every time I looked over - and I found a window seat with relative ease. The ride back was uneventful and the bus pulled in with just enough time for me to run to meet it. On my way back from the station, I picked up Chinese from the Ruby - the Chinese food here is the only real culinary disappointment, but it's still edible - and later Darren and Stuart came by and we played some pool at the Union. A great, full day.
What's great about the Edinburgh Castle is that in addition to the castle itself, there's like five different museums inside of it: The National War Memorial and the War Museum, the regimental museum of the Royal Scots Greys, the Scottish Crown Jewels and the (supposed) stone of Scone, St. Margret's chapel, the oldest building in Edinburgh, prison dungeons, and a great many halls and rooms dedicated to James VII and Mary Queen of Scots. Most of the castle is from the 16th century, after all, the medieval fortifications having been destroyed in a series of sieges. To say that I ran around like a chicken with its head cut off, rainbows of joy instead of blood gushing from my jugular, would be an exaggeration, but not by much.
The only downers were that it was crazy crowded, and a pretty Disneyfied site overall - with grass you cannot stand on, seriously, because a uniformed official with a radio suddenly will apperate and yell at you in three different languages. The crown jewels exhibit was the worst in the respect. Its lead you through a history of the symbols of state using very, very creepy manikins with wigs worse than Jack's beard and has a strong It's A Small, Small World vibe. However, when I got to the room which had representations of all the kings and queens of Scotland and saw these two pictured above, I nearly lost my fool mind. My fool, Shakespeare-loving mind. The only other time I squealed audibly was in the Scots Greys museum, their claim to fame being that they captured a French Eagle at Waterloo; They still have the eagle, and the still-blooded flag of the French regiment they took it from. So cool. 
After two hours at the castle, I walked down the Royal Mile with no definite aim besides to find a cash point. There was an ATM on the Mile, but the line was almost to the curb, and so I turned onto George IV Bridge (it's not really a bridge), on which the great swarm of tourists thankfully seemed less present. So I was taken completely by surprise to walk past The Elephant House, the coffee shop where J.K. Rowling apparently did a lot of work on the first Harry Potter. Naturally, I went inside and sat down to a cute elephant cookie and a fat glass of hot chocolate. It was funny, because the decor of the place was very The Village Indie Coffeehouse. It was really the most American place I've been in yet. It was also very crowded. I finished up quickly so a Scottish woman and her two kids could have my table. Not exactly a Potter pilgrimage, but it was a neat, delicious detour. 
Down the street was the National Museum of Scotland, which was free. If you are ever in Edinburgh, people of the internet, take advantage of this. Yes, there are many families with very small children screaming for being unfairly subjected to "culture," but there are also racecars, and stone lions carved by the Romans, and a Claymore that's taller than a NBA center. The exhibits on the Kingdom of Scotland and Ancient Peoples of Scotland were both fantastic. Plus, there was a cash point there with no line at all. The only way it would have been better, as a museum, is if there had been dinosaurs/a giant statue of Teddy Roosevelt. By the time I got through it, I was pretty walked out, so I have less pictures.
I definitely am going to go back to Edinburgh sometime over break. It's so easy to get there and there's so much to do. By the time I walked back from the museum to Waverly station, it was getting close to six and colder as evening came on. I couldn't have timed it more perfectly, because as soon as I had validated my railpass, they were letting people onto the platform for my train back to Leuchars. I waited with one of those really adorable, affectionate old couples - the man was sporting a military beret, I'm pretty sure the lady had a hermes scarf, and they were basically hugging every time I looked over - and I found a window seat with relative ease. The ride back was uneventful and the bus pulled in with just enough time for me to run to meet it. On my way back from the station, I picked up Chinese from the Ruby - the Chinese food here is the only real culinary disappointment, but it's still edible - and later Darren and Stuart came by and we played some pool at the Union. A great, full day.
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