Edinburgh. Admittedly I was not expecting a whole lot heading into the trip, but this is mostly due to the fact my only knowledge of the city came from movie Trainspotting. I expected cold, cloudy weather and surly people but I can say now that I was pleasantly surprised about just how nice of a city Edinburgh was. While it is possible that the sunny and warm weather was an aberration we are unlikely to experience if we visit the city again, I think myself and my fellow travelers would rate the city’s populace and atmosphere just as highly as we would the weather.
Our first ride on British Rail gave us a pleasant view of the English countryside as we made the five-hour ride north into Scotland. We arrived and immediately began our tour of the city that we quickly began to realize, although nowhere near its size, could be just as unique and enjoyable of a city as London. Initially the tour of the Scottish Parliament took the wind out my sails a bit, partly due to its pretentious architecture but mostly due to the fact that we were missing the USA-Slovenia World Cup match. Thankfully we caught the end of the game, which gave the energy I needed as we headed to the next part of our trip, the double-decker bus tour. Sitting in the back of the bus because my fellow fun-loving gentlemen and I were drinking cider. It was during this bus ride that I was able to appreciate the beauty of the city.
After a quite fun night out on the town, I was a little bit wary of our decision to hike to the top of Arthur’s Seat after our tour of Edinburgh Castle. Thankfully I put aside the notions and was able to take pleasure in what became my favorite part of the trip. Besides the childish glee I got from running up, down and all around the side of a small mountain, the view from the top was truly something to behold (which I would have loved to have shown in a picture, but my camera's battery was dead), as we were able to see for kilometers in all directions and drink in all Edinburgh had to offer. A late train on the way back turned into a bit off good fortune as we were transferred into a first-class carriage, capping off what I can safely say was one of the highlights of this summer so far.
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