The Motherland - Day 1

So, I'm going to try to post my travels through Scotland (aka, the Motherland, because I'm of Scottish heritage) on my blog, which I know has been virtually abandoned recently. It's as much for me as for you, so that I have a record of what I did and where I went, so I don't mind if you find that these posts lack excitement (or make you jealous), and thus you skim or skip them.

Day 1 consisted for me flying out of Philadelphia on a direct flight to Edinburgh. Nope, scratch that - Glasgow. For some reason, I had convinced myself I was flying directly to Edinburgh, only to discover right before leaving for the airport that my destination was in fact Glasgow. Not to worry, as Edinburgh proved to be a mere 20 minute bus ride to the train station in downtown Glasgow and then a 60 minute trip by rail.

I tried to sleep some on the plane, but what I did get wasn't "good" sleep under any stretch of the imagination. Upon my arrival in Scotland, it was chilly, gray, and rainy. So basically exactly what I expected. Once I made my way to Edinburgh, it was mid morning, and I was famished and slightly delirious from lack of sleep. I made my way to the tourist center (or should I spell it "centre"?) and learned how to navigate the bus system, which is as elaborate as it is confusing. Philly's bus system must in some way be modeled after Edinburgh, except in Philly you can't even get a single map that shows where all the lines go. In any case, upon getting where I was going sorted out, I made my way to a local shopping center to buy a converter for my power cables (which I'd somehow completely forgotten about during the 2 hour wait to my plane) and then had a crepe stuffed with cheese, ham, and mushrooms. Then I successfully caught a bus to my bed and breakfast and promptly took a 2 hour nap.

After 2 hours, I forced myself to get up, both because I didn't want to waste the day, and I wanted to try to adjust to the timezone as quickly as possible. I took the bus back to downtown Edinburgh and wandered around looking for the famous "Royal Mile" that leads up to the Edinburgh Castle, which sits atop the plug of an ancient volcano. I was far to mentally drained to take on lots of museums and such, so I headed downhill, away from the castle.

After window shopping a bit, I made my way to the new Scottish Parliament building. If you are not familiar with recent British, and more specifically Scottish history, not too long ago Scotland held a referendum which passed to create their own legislative branch. And when I say not too long ago, I am talking 1997, so this is new, exciting stuff. Scotland is still part of the United Kingdom, and the British Parliament still makes the most important decisions, especially regarding international issues, but it's still quite a big step for this little nation-state.

Speaking of which, I was surprised to learn that Scotland makes up approximately 1/3 of the land of the British Isle, but less than 10% of the population, at ~5 million people. While England is very densely populated, Scotland it closer to the density of the US (although still denser).

Back to the Scottish Parliament building: It's a very modern looking building, although it much of its construction is supposed to harken back to the land. It's interesting to say the least, with a very modern debate hall, which makes me wonder if, in 100 years, it will look more dated than historic. If you look at the whole complex from above, it is supposed to look like a plant, which it sort of does, so I'll give them that.

After my educational experience for the day, I decided to make the hike up to Arthur's Seat. It is atop a hilly network that's undeveloped and practically right in the middle of the city. You get fantastic views of the city and surrounding countryside, as it's probably the tallest thing in quite some distance. It was a much tougher hike than I initially expected, and after wandering around and taking many pictures for a few hours, it was time to find some dinner and then pass out.

Along the way back, I ran into an American couple who made for some interesting, if somewhat eccentric conversation. Highlights included me challenging the thesis of Jared Diamond in Guns, Germs, and Steel (which was met with silence - I'm not sure if I was shaking their religion or they didn't understand my point) and the husband telling me how he was hoping we would someday advance the human knowledge and collaboration to a point where space travel would allow our species to continue and thrive. I think the latter is an interesting point, but he said it in such an excited, Star Trekie sort of way, that it made me chuckle to myself.

For dinner, I opted for a pub called The World's End. Unbeknownst to me at the time, the pub's name is a pretty cool reference to Edinburgh history. Part of the back wall of the pub is actually part of one of the original outer walls that surrounded Edinburgh. Because many people in Edinburgh rarely left the city, it was effectively their "world", thus the wall itself marked the end of it. At my waitresses insistence, I opted for the fish and chips. I'm usually not a huge fish eater, and I'm not sure if I've ever had fish and chips, but my neighbors at the next table also vouched for the meal, so I went for it. And it was delicious. Now granted I was very hungry after several hours of hiking, and half out of my mind with exhaustion, but I think in a better state, I still would have thought it quite good. I later also found out that this pub has a reputation for having some of the best fish and chips in Edinburgh. In fact, Scotland is known for having excellent seafood, which I hadn't really thought about since I don't eat it often, but completely makes since given that it's an island surrounded by waters known to be teaming with fish. I may have to try a couple more dishes from the sea before I head home.

Thus ended day 1. I fell asleep quickly, and only awoke a few times to turn over. I ended up in an absolutely tiny room with bunk beds, which is worth mentioning because I slept in the bottom bunk, and on awakening to turn over bumped my head on the top bunk each time. I had no idea I sit almost upright to turn over when sleeping, but now I most unmistakably am aware.