We REALLY capitalized on Veteran’s Day this year by traveling six hours north to the amazing city of Edinburgh (pronouced ‘Ed-in-burra’, don’t say Edin-burg!) Scotland. There’s absolutely no way to see all of Edinburgh in one weekend, especially this late in the year when the days are so short. After squeezing in a 12-mile run Friday morning (Ironman training is still going well!) we arrived in Edinburgh as it was getting dark (4:30). We learned the lesson to not sit in a car for 6 hours immediately after a long run – we were stiff and sore and hungry! Ever heard of haggis? It’s Scotland’s national dish and I had it for dinner Friday night. I’d hated it as a kid (we ate lots of weird stuff growing up) but I guess my adult taste buds have changed because it was really nice! I know I’m going to lose a lot of people on this one, but haggis is made of sheep’s heart and liver minced with onions and a special type of oatmeal, heavily spiced, and cooked for hours. Yummmmmy.
There were so many people living within Edinburgh city walls during medieval times that there was simply not enough housing. Building maxed out at 17 story high-rises but the top floors were so unstable they’d regularly crush the people below. To make more room, people start building down into the rock, hence the many cellars and tunnels underneath the city. With the sheer number of people stuffed into the city walls, living conditions were horrific and disease was rampant. Hundreds of people sick with the plague were said to be cast away to the underground vaults and bricked in to try to contain the disease. Inspired by this dark history, we took one of the many ‘haunted Edinburgh’ tours. I’m too much of a skeptic to make that worth the money. The guide had one good story, though: As there was no sewer system, every night at 10:00 the people of Edinburgh got rid of their toilet waste by chucking it out of the window and yelling ‘guardi loo’ to warn people below. Ten PM also happened to be when the bars closed, so he reckoned the phrase ‘s**t faced’ may have originated in Edinburgh. Well, that’s £20 we’ll never get back…
Saturday we were really late getting to a day-long tour we had booked to see the Scottish Highlands. I’m blaming a slow bus systemJ. BUT we made it, and the tour was awesome!!! Our tour guide Donald drove the bunch of us around in a bus called Bessie (named after the Hairy Coo we would be photographing extensively later.)
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| Me and Chris camouflaged as Hairy Coos :) |
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| the bus |
Donald (wearing a kilt and bright orange shirt) was really proud (with a capital P) to be Scottish. After listening to his stories of how many times England had tried and failed to conquer it I could understand why! He relished the fact that Scotland had never been part of the Roman Empire, either, and laughed that either the Romans thought Scotland’s cold, harsh, wet climate wasn’t worth the fight or the Scots were just that good! Donald even taught us how to speak like Sean Connery.
Our first stop on the Hairy Coo was the William Wallace monument to learn about one of Scotland's most famous people and the truths and fictions (gasp) about Braveheart. I hated history as a student but now am fascinated by how things came to be in the areas we visit. To be able to see how geography, a couple poor or good decisions, and luck shaped huge chunks of the world is so interesting! We also stopped by a little lake to take in some of the gorgeous views.
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| William Wallace monument |
After the obligatory visit to the William Wallace monument, the Hairy Coo started the journey up into the highlands (about an hour northwest of the city.) The transition from low- to high-lands was drastic – within two miles the scenery had completely changed. This time of year the hills have a rusty red color from all the dried bracken (ferns). As he drove, Donald told stories about his family (we went through his tiny village on the way into the hills) and the history of Scotland. We stopped at the prettiest little spot to snap some photos.
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| Scottish Highlands |
From there it was off to find the Hairy Coos! That Scottish Highlands are so rugged that only a few species can survive outside all year 'round. This particular breed of cattle isn’t the best at producing milk or meat but is the best at staying alive up there! I tell you what, if I came across one of these beasties somewhere without a fence between me and it I would run the other way – in a zigzag motion to confuse it – and never return to the area. They are aggressive and have massive horns. I’m smiling in these pictures, yes, but only on the outside.
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| About to pee my pants? |
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| Feeding mama and baby Coo. |
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| Chris with papa Coo - that thing's horns completely dwarf Chris, don't they? |
The last stop on the Hairy Coo was to Doune Castle where Monty Python and the Holy Grail was filmed. The castle looked spooky as darkness fell, but Donald lightened the mood with movie quotes.
Sunday morning we hiked Arthur’s Seat, an ancient volcano that sits smack dab in the middle of the city. It’s a popular hike because the views from 800 feet up are fantastic!
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| Chris with the peak in the background. |
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| Me with Edinburgh Castle in the background. |
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| Chris (with his new pose) on top of Arthur's Seat. |
Everyone has different styles of traveling and different things they really enjoy experiencing in a new place. Right now we’re less of the ‘museum and castles’ style and more of the ‘unique scenery and food’ style. This trip fit the bill – we really got to see the countryside and beautiful mountains and lakes but didn’t spend nearly enough time in the city. So, future visitors, if you want to go to Edinburgh we’d welcome another chance to explore!
PS: As an aside, poor Chris is dying inside because there are big flocks of ducks and geese flying overhead and he’s devastated to be missing the start of Arkansas duck hunting.
PPS: How many sheep are there in Scotland? Answer: No one knows. Every time someone attempts to count them they fall asleep! Hahaha, seriously though, there are millions!
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