Edinburgh

It's Easter time and by now it seems tradition that it draws Marco and me somewhere to the British Islands in that period. Easter turned out to be a perfect period for a longer city trip, especially since offices in Norway already close on Maundy Thursday. This way we had been to London last year and visited Dublin during Easter 2011.

This year we left on Wednesday evening 27th of March to Edinburgh and stayed there for 5 nights discovering Scotland's beautiful capital and its surroundings.

We arrived late so we didn't do more than checking in and going to bed on that Wednesday.

Thursday, 28th of March:

Despite this first day in Edinburgh not being the most beautiful one weather-wise, I'd say we made the most out of it. Actually this turned out to be the day we saw most of the town as we had been walking the whole day. It was basically an entire day sightseeing, a discovery by foot through the many beautiful streets and corners of Edinburgh.

We started just around the corner. From our hotel, which was pretty centrally located at the modern area of Quartermile south of the Old Town, we walked to the close by Greyfriars Church.

 

Further on we took the colourful Victoria Street...

 ...which led us to "Lawnmarket" and to the West Parliament Square with St. Giles Cathedral, dating from the 14th century.

 

 

This Presbyterian church lies at about a third of the way down the Royal Mile which runs from the Castle to Holyrood Palace. Being close by we cast a quick glance at the Castle of Edinburgh. As it is rather big we decided to dedicate it a bit more time to visit than just a couple of hours we would have had left this afternoon (we still hadn't eaten). So we just had a quick look at the castle from the "Esplanade" which offered superb views over the town.

 

Walking on, in search for a nice place for a little snack.

After a little food break, the streets led us on to the National Gallery which we paid a short visit.

 

Right behind the the National Gallery lie the East Princes Street Gardens with view on the Waverley Central Station.

A stroll along Princes Street...

...led us to the Parish Church of St. Cuthbert.

 

Not far from this church we discovered "Rose Street" in the New Town of Edinburgh, a narrow street running parallel between Princes Street and George Street with a large number of bars, pubs and shops. That was the place where we decided to come back for dinner later on.

Before, though, we headed back through town to our hotel, to have a little rest and for getting changed. On the way back we even met a little squirrel.

 The "Middle Meadow Walk"...

 ...right next to Quartermile that perfectly combines the old with the modern. This is where our hotel is located.

Friday, 29th of March:
This day we dedicated a major part to the visit of the huge Edinburgh Castle throning over the town.

"Italian Gentleman" - aha! Mine looks a bit different, though :-)

Saturday, 30th of March:

In the East of Edinburgh, just at the end of Princes Street, lies Calton Hill which is included in the city's UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Calton Hill is the headquarters of the Scottish Government, which is based at St Andrew's House, on the steep southern slope of the hill; with the Scottish Parliament Building, and other notable buildings...

...for example Holyrood Palace (the official residence of the Monarch of the United Kingdom in Scotland) lying near the foot of the hill.

The hill also includes several iconic monuments and buildings:

the National Monument,

 

the Nelson Monument,

 

the Dugald Stewart Monument,

 

the City Observatory,

 

 

as well as the old Royal High School,

the Robert Burns Monument & the Political Martyrs' Monument.

And on top it offers a great view in all directions over Edinburgh city.

 

     

 

 

In the afternoon we just walked a little bit more around town.

Picturesque Cockburn Street

  
Scott Monument

Sunday, 31st of March:

For this Easter Sunday Marco and I had booked us on one of those many guided tours taking you by bus outside Edinburgh. We had chosen one that would bring us to the typical Scottish Highlands including famous Loch Ness, a full-day tour - which of course started early in the morning.

We were picked up by our hotel. From Edinburgh, the tour headed past Stirling, catching views of the Castle and The Wallace Monument, and then north into the Highlands. Passing the town of Callander we arrived at Trossachs Nationalpark where we stop at a woolen mill where we got to know the highland cow "Hamish".

 

We continued over to Rannoch Moor where the tour came to the dark brooding pass of Glen Coe - the real Scottish Highlands.

 

 

 

 

 

   

After crossing Loch Leven at Ballachulish we continued to Fort William and then followed the course of the Caledonian Canal up the Great Glen to Fort Augustus on Loch Ness. It's in Fort Augustus where we had some time for lunch and a little visit...

 

 

...before going on board a little cruise on the lake Loch Ness trying to find the famous monster Nessie. My God, what a touristic, commercialised bullshit! To be honest cruising the Norwegian Fjords is much nicer and the Nessie-hunt is such a joke! They even have a sonar system to help find the monster! I can't believe how much fuss they make about this! But well, some tourists like that kind of stuff.

 Did we really see it, Nessie the Loch Ness monster?

After an hour cruise we then drove northwards along the entire length of Loch Ness lake, passing Urquhart Castle where the water is 245m deep.

Unfortunately, more than a short photo stop from the street was not included it the programme :-(

So on through Drumnadrochit we continued to Inverness where I managed to take some quick pictures from the bus.

Sadly also here we didn't stop. We passed the Cairngorms and over Drumochter Pass, alongside the Inverness and Perth Junction Railway which is the highest point on any main line railway in Britain at 452m above sea level.

Descending through the Forest of Atholl, we should have caught a quick view (I definitely didn't see it) of the magnificent Blair Castle, home of the Dukes of Atholl for over 700 years, before making a stop in picturesque Pitlochry, a delightful Victorian resort town.

After basically just a little coffee break we head south through the Kingdom of Fife, past Perth and alongside the amazing Forth Bridge before arriving back in Edinburgh.

Of course, it was a pretty touristc tour, but it brought us to wonderful places and a great, rough landscape. It was interesting to see the areas which became already so often the stage for scenes in famous movies - such as James Bond (Skyfall), Harry Potter and many more.

Monday, 1st of April:

Our last day in Edinburgh. We used the remaining time for some little shopping (got myself a red Scottish skirt) and to stroll a little bit through the Eastern part of town.

 

In a cosy place we also enjoyed a lovely lunch - once more typical English cuisine, i.e. some mash and pie and stuff like that.

 

In the early afternoon it was already time to pick-up our luggage and say goodbye to Edinburgh.

The weather could certainly have been a little better, but it was some nice Easter holidays. I can just recommend Edinburgh to everyone! Beautiful, charming town.