On a whim, I decided to go to Scotland over Ireland. It was just because the price of the airline tickets were less. Before going, several people who had been told me that there wasn’t much to see. When I told them that I would be there for a little over a week, they gasped and looked confused. I was determined to prove them wrong.
Flying out of Luton airport to Edinburgh (pronounced Ed-in-buruh, not ed-in-burg), It took three hours in the airport versus 55 minutes in the actual plane. Little did I know that I could have just made a 6 hour bus ride instead. The Luton airport experience was one that I can do without repeating.
Here is what I knew about Scotland before I came: It is supposed to be beautiful, cold, and rainy. This is where golf was invented. And in my travels, I’ve never met a Scot that was anything shy of spectacular. The last part was what made me happy to learn that the flights to Ireland were too expensive. Upon arriving in Edinburgh, you take an affordable public bus that snakes it’s way form the airport into the heart of the city. With every turn, you see a more and more impressive structure, until finally you get to the heart where I distinctly remember the audible “WOW” that came out of my mouth.
This place is stunningly beautiful. The dramatic architecture in high contrast to the bright green grass that lines the flowing parks is incredible. Did I mention how stunning this place is? There are about 5 to 8 obvious things that you will want to see in this city alone just by having a walk.
Scotland is a fiercely prideful nation with a strong military heritage (says the museums). I found that the people here are light hearted and soft spoken. I have to admit that I am a sucker for Scottish accents. It’s chilly here, but not too bad at all. I walked around in a t-shirt all day (confused at why people had such big coats). A little info about the country, it’s not officially a country at all. Its part of the UK, but as far as I am concerned, I’m in a completely different country.
Speaking of weird, when you go to a bank here, you will get pounds out of the ATM, but I might be printed my the bank that you are withdrawing from. Thats right, multiple sources of the same currency. Weird? Yes. Think of the possibilities.
One of the places I went today was a 200 foot high monument to a famous writer and poet with the last name of Scot. This monument had a spiral stair case that was so vertical and narrow that if you fell, you could easily roll down the entire thing. It was vertigo educing in fact. And you were guaranteed to hit your head on the ever narrowing ceiling. Just my type of place.
By now if you haven’t been wondering if I tried Haggis, shame on you! Haggis is the most famous of local dishes that is made of everything from lips to “but holes” from the sheep cooked in it’s stomach. It’s one of those fabled dishes that I had never even seen, let alone tried. I thought back to all the well know foods that I had already been eating back home for years and only had the thrill of eating a purer version from the source (sushi, curry, etc.), but haggis, that’s a whole new frontier. I’ve heard a lot about how taste it is and then a little about how nasty it was. My suspicion was that it tasted great but has a bad reputation due to the ingredients and preparation style.
Surprisingly enough, It’s easier to find Nachos in this town than it is haggis. This proved to be a little bit of an annoyance, but eventually I found a place. I ordered the dish and expected something grim and graphic to appear in front of me, but texturally I was surprisingly let down. It looked like a big plate of ground beef. It actually looked like if you turned a meatloaf into the consistency of rice or couscous.
The flavor was lovely, and the texture was rich and hearty like comfort food. It tasted peppery and salty, but not over doing either one. I would suggest that everyone try this dish at least a few times before they die. Need I say I was a slight bit disappointed by the lack of foul nature found in this dish?
As always, I spoke to some people in my hostel to get some bearings of where I want to spend the rest of my time in Scotland. Tomorrow I leave for Inverness (the main hub for people who wish to explore the highlands of Scotland). From there, I will be visiting some of the less traveled spots which are said to be beautiful nature spots. Can’t wait!