Edinburgh in 24 hours

Anyone who knows me knows that I love a bit of travelling and a bit of an adventure, so in May 2014 right after I finished my first year of University and had two weeks before leaving for the summer, my lovely friend Tom and I decided to go to Edinburgh. He had not been before and I loved Edinburgh; I’d gone once before but didn’t get to see much of the city due to some unprecedented situation that forced my friends and me to cut the trip short. But that’s another story.

Edinburgh is about 5 hours away by train from Norwich, and rail travel is not cheap either (invest in a rail card, guys! It’s worth it!) but we were adamant to go with the little money and time we had left, so the rational decision was, of course, to stay for one night in a cheap hostel and make our time count!

We are both history nerds so the bulk of this trip was visiting sites such as the Edinburgh Castle, and the National Museum of Scotland, both of which I strongly recommend for anyone who loves history, and walking through the historically rich city. It was beautiful, brown-yellow bricks steeped in the rich orange of the setting sun, especially after a whole day of rain!

Dinner was Haggis with mashed potatoes and swede (or turnip as they say!) and the verdict was it was delicious! The suspicion is that the haggis was not authentic but a modern version that did not involve innards. No complaints here!

The hostel was… a hostel. I have never been in one before and so it was a new experience. The slight odour of socks and the chatter of strangers (we had to share a room with 5 others) were quickly overlooked due to exhaustion and sheer excitement mingled together.

No trip to Edinburgh would be complete, however, without a cheeky climb up Arthur’s Seat. The beautiful rock structure stood imposing before we started the climb, and the inappropriate footwear did not make the task any easier, but once we got up there and saw the city, I felt at the top of the world. It was glorious.

We made the late afternoon train and was on our way back, tired but extremely happy, having been well hosted by Scotland’s capital. It remains one of my fondest travel memories and one of my favourite cities. 

So if anyone has a spare 24 hour period during the holidays, get a train up to Edinburgh, I could not recommend it more!

(I was also yelled at by a Scottish homeless man, but that too, is another story)

Angelika (Indonesia)