Week 13 Impressions by Steve Fisher

To celebrate the upcoming end of our semester abroad, our LC class was treated to a few days in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. I had already been to Edinburgh once before with Niku during spring break, so it wasn’t completely new. Still, we had not explored the city thoroughly, and we were all looking forward to the opportunity to go somewhere new, especially somewhere far away from smoggy, familiar London. And what better place for a change from southern England than Scotland?

Our journey began on the morning of Saturday the 31st of March. We took the Tube to get to the train at King’s Cross. Some people left early in the morning so they could explore Edinburgh a little. I thought they were a bit too keen, and slept in, catching a later train along with most other people. The train ride itself was very long (thank God for iPods), and as I had made it before the scenery was not quite as fascinating as it might have been. Still, it was nice to see nothing but green farmland after having spent so long in the city. My companions, not to be named here, took full advantage of Britain’s lack of open-container laws, while I, feeling a little cold coming on, chose not to indulge. Yet.

We arrived in Edinburgh late in the afternoon, although the sun was still out. It was gorgeous weather; I only needed a sweatshirt instead of my usual sketchy ensemble of orange sweatshirt and bulky, black jacket.

When those of us who have a more pessimistic approach to life heard Tom mention the name of the place in which we would be staying, we took particular note of the word “Backpackers,” and immediately guessed the worst; a youth hostel. Some of our group, who have more hopeful dispositions, heard Tom say hotel, and were sorely disappointed upon arriving at what was unmistakably a very big hostel.

That night was our only night of free stuff. We got a free dinner, not at Pizza Express, which was booked, but at a little Italian place which wasn’t bad. There, we also received tickets for a free bus tour of Edinburgh, to be enjoyed on our own time. After that we got a ghost tour, led by a short, slightly insane guide, who seemed to enjoy whipping Tom and Alex a bit too much. (I’m not complaining, though; that was the funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time.) After our guide finished describing the gory details of some of Edinburgh’s more famous crimes and punishments from long ago (with her eyes popping slightly out of her head), she led us down into what was once an underground lair of some sort for those who couldn’t afford to live above the ground: supposedly the most haunted place in Britain. I saw no ghost; the only times I felt nervous were around the guide, who seemed to find it amusing to scream at random moments, making much of the group jump out of their shoes. Thespians. Go figure.

The next day Maura, Sasha, Niku, Alex, and I went for a long, enjoyable walk through the city. The rest of the group got the bright idea to find the highest peak in Edinburgh and climb it, much to my dismay. I’m not what you’d call an active person, and the thought of climbing a big hill was not at all to my taste. Still, I did it, muttering to myself the entire way (in between gasps of breath), and I must say I’m glad I did it. The view was amazing, even if the wind almost blew me off the hill. We came down from the hill and got lunch at a pub. Before you shudder at the thought of pub food, this was not your typical dark, smoky pub. For one thing, Scotland does not allow smoking indoors, so pubs are much more enjoyable. Secondly, it was very well lit, and thirdly the food was superb, as was the beer.

After this we went on the whisky tour (minus Maura) and learned about the process of brewing Scotch, and all the different kinds. I know nothing about whiskey, and less than nothing about Scotch whiskey in particular, so this was a very educational experience for me. I learned that I do not really enjoy the Island Scotches, which have too smoky a flavor for me, but the rest were drinkable, if not as enjoyable as a good Bourbon.

I will make no mention of that night; partly because I am ashamed and partly because I can’t remember much of it (for some reason). What I know is that we met a nice Russian girl at the hostel and proceeded to drink wine with dinner, followed by several pubs. You get the idea.

The next day was our last day in Scotland. Most people again left early (the train ride is quite long), but Sasha, Maura, and I stayed for a few hours, enjoying the French market and the big park in the middle of the city. We tried to go on our free bus tour, but, in a cruel twist of fate, the buses absolutely refused to stop for us. This was annoying; one of the few activities LC provided for us was apparently beyond our reach. After a few hours in the sunshine it really was time to go, and we got on the train, sitting next to a nice guy from London who was obviously a junkie of some kind. (I’m not kidding. The poor guy was literally shaking. Still, nice dude). Sasha and Maura played gin rummy with cards of a mortifying nature (or hilarious, depending how you look at it) while I listened to my beloved iPod. We knew we were back in London when we couldn’t see any green anywhere.