When in Scotland...

#38 Sunday, October 2: Fall break officially began when we arrived safely in Edinburgh and had the opprounity to explore. One of Caits friends from home, Katie, studies in Scotland, so she met us in Edinburgh and showed us around. We were starving so we decided to stop for food at "The Elephant House". This little cafe was where J.K Rowling wrote the first three Harry Potter Books. It is very much a touristy spot in town, but the food is pretty cheap so we were game. We enjoyed lunch and then where able to see "her spot" in the cafe, as well as her view of the Edinburgh castle from that "spot". Her vision of Hogwarts was very clearly modeled after the Edinburgh castle and we all felt like we understood the story a little bit better after seeing it. All of Edinburgh has a burnt look on the exterior of the bulidings. It is a very different architecture then what we have seen in Germany, and it kinda made the story come alive for us...as dorky as that sounds.

This picture does not do it justice, but the jagged rocks and little windows defintely made it look like Hogwarts.

After lunch, we decided to walk up the Royal Mile to the Castle. Although the Castle was under construction, it was still cool to see.  On the way down, we stopped in all the cashmere and wool giftshops looking for the cheapest price for plaid scarfs. When in Scotland, ya gotta get some plaid. Finally a success! We continued all the way down the Royal Mile until we came across quite the interesting street performer. He was an American, dressed in all Orange, who DEMANDED the attention of those passing by. We watched him for a good hour because we were too scared to have him embarress us if we tried to leave. He was pretty funny, but he started making Nazi jokes, and that killed it for us. Finally we were able to sneak off, and tour the rest of town. Around 5 we all split up. The girls were headed off to St.Andrews to visit friends, and I had to catch a bus to Glascow to visit Michelle.

Although my ipod died, the ride was really enjoyable. I loved seeing all the countryside of Scotland. There were tons of sheep (now, I get why they are known for wool), cows, horses, and beautifully green rolling hills. Michelle met me at the bus station and I think I scared her when I came running full sprint to hug her. ha It was so excited to see her! It was like being back at NCC. We walked back to her dorm, and swapped stories about Germany and Scotland for hours. We had a lot to catch up on. We then made Stirfry with Alina, and headed off to bed.

Monday, October 3: Time to explore Glascow! Michelle, Alina and I headed into town to see their University, but first we stopped for breakfast. #39 PORRIDGE with bananas and honey, toast and a Mocha, great way to start the day! It felt good to have some healthy hearty food on that cool fall day. Once we got on campus, I fell in the love with the city of Glascow. I'm not sure if it because I so happy to hang out with Michelle, or because it finally felt like Fall for the first time...but I loved it. There were tons of students around, and for the first time since I have been at home, it felt like I was on a college campus. The main buliding looks more like Hogwarts than the Edinburgh castle and it we had fun exploring all the little passageways, and walking paths. The leaves were starting to change colors and were crunching underneath our toes....I was in heaven! Michelle and Alina headed off to class so I took up exploring on my own. I walked through their HUGE campus park for about in hour, and also toured the Kelvingrove Art Museum.

Then Mother Scotland decided to hold true to character and it started to rain. Michelle said typically it rains everyday in Scotland, but it was normally just a mist. Of course with my luck, today was not a "normal" day and it poured. After a few misfunctions with the umbrella, I decided just to dodge into one of the cute coffee shops for some shelter.

I have been drinking alot more coffee on this trip, and I am not happy with it. I really like coffee now, but I don't want to get addicted. Therefore, instead of coffee I decided to be like the real Scots and try IrnBru.

#40: IrnBru was probably the most interesting Pop I have ever had. The minute you open the cap, an overwhelmingly bubblegum scent fills the air. Although it is orange, IrnBru smells and tastes just like Bubblegum. It is the weirdest thing, but actually pretty good. It was a  little too sweet for me, and I am not the biggest fan of carbonation, but it was def worth trying.

Around 5 Michelle and Alina got out of class, so we headed back to the dorms to get ready for our night ahead. They wanted to make sure I got the full Scottish experience, so we went to a cool little pub for #41: Fish and Chips, Hard Cider and to try out some #42: Haggis. Here is a picture of our lovely Haggis BonBons. They were actually pretty decent. They tasted like stuffing. I probably wouldn't order them again, but I am glad I got to give them a try.

After dinner, we headed out to a bar called "Campus". The Universitys in Scotland sponsor tons of clubs for students, and the girls got a bunch of coupons to this bar so we decided to check it out. We got in for free, and had a bunch of coupons on these random drink specials. Worked great for our college student, study abroad budgets. We danced the night away and ruled the dance floor. I am really not just saying that, the DJ loved us and we won all the little dancing competitions they had. So much fun! We danced like fools..it felt just like being back home at the PV house :)

Tuesday, October 4: The next morning we headed into the City Centre for a bit, and then had to say our goodbyes so I could get back to Edinburgh to meet up with the girls. I was sad to leave, but I HAD a blast in Glascow and could totally see myself studying abroad there.

The girls arrived in Glascow about an hour before me and went to go tour the inside of the castle. I decided I wanted to do a little bit more, off-the-beaten track exploring, so I ventured out alone. I just started wandering in hopes of finding the castle, but instead came across a huge hill with lots of Monuments. I decided that would be a good place to explore, and if it was tall enough, I might be able to find the direction of the castle and go from there. It was a little hike, but so worth it. I was able to see the entire city as well as out over the water. BEAUTIFUL!

After the monuments, I headed out across town and back up the Royal Mile to the castle. From there I decided to check out all of the little "closes" in Edinburgh. Closes are like little alleyways all over the city, that lead either to other roads, or private homes. They are very well known in Edinburgh and so much fun to explore. I also found some very creepy cemetaries in these groves and they got me all excited for Halloween. After 3 hours of wandering the town, I decided to meet up with the girls again. We had some time to kill, so once the rain died down we wandered a little more together and then stopped for food before our 9 hour bus ride.

Overall, Scotland was beautiful! So green and just such a different enviornment from Germany. We loved it, but we were also really excited to head off to London!!! If only not for the bus ride....