This last weekend was absolutely incredible. Julia and I made a list of places that we wanted to go visit or things to see back when we first got to Germany. The list had countries, cities, regions and things to go and see in Europe. One of my most anticipated places was Scotland. Well, this last weekend we spent three days in Edinburgh and the surrounding lowlands. It was amazing.
The first day that we got in we didn’t actually do anything since we were traveling. Our flight left from Germany at 7:00pm and we flew to Glasgow and then had to take a train in to Edinburgh, and then find our hotel. It was about 11:00 by the time that we got to our hotel. The next day we went to the Edinburgh Castle. The castle is one of the neatest castles that we have seen in my opinion. The Castle is a national symbol for Scotland as it has been pretty much been where the royalty of Scotland has lived for almost the existence of Scotland itself. There are a couple museums in the castle several memorials and a couple of headquarters for Scottish Regiments.
We also got to see the Scottish Crown Jewels which were very impressive. We saw the English Crown Jewels about a year ago in the Tower of London and they were pretty amazing, but Julia and I started talking about the differences. The English Crown Jewels were destroyed by Oliver Cromwell in 1649 and so the Jewels that are seen today are the replacements that were made much later. The Scottish Crown Jewels or “The Honours of Scotland” (some words in British English are spelled differently, just for those who thought that I misspelled Honors) have never been destroyed and are significantly older. The stories about how they were saved on several occasions from capture by the English are pretty amazing. As a result, Julia and I liked the romance surrounding the Scottish Crown Jewels more then the English Crown Jewels.
Ones we finished the Castle tour, we went down to enjoy the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre. We learned how they make Usge Beatha (said oosh va bay uh) or Scotch Whisky. We also learned what the different types of Scotch there are and why they are different and then took a “ride” though the history of Scotch Whisky. This was a pretty fascinating tour. And we learned how to say a Gaelic toast, SLAINTE MHATH! (said Slan juh va)
When we finished the “Whisky tour” we went on down the Royal Mile which is the road that stretches from the Castle down though the old city. We ate at a nice pub for lunch and then moved down to see the North Bridge and take pictures of the Castle during the day.
By that time, the sun had pretty much set and so we ate at an Italian restaurant and then had dessert another pub called Worlds End which was a nice place and we had a nice traditional Scottish dish called Cranachan. It was a bowl with oats on the bottom topped with cream and fruit. Simple, but very good.
The next day was probably the most fun that we had. We rented a car! Now most people in Europe drive standard shift cars. I can drive one no problem, except for in Italy for some reason, but that is a different story. Now driving a standard and having to shift with my left hand since all of the cars in the UK are right-seat drivers, that’s a different story. Fortunately, we were able to get an automatic. It was still pretty awesome to drive on the left side of the road. It was beautiful to drive through the Scottish country side. We drove for about an hour and we happened across this quaint little coastal town named after a saint. The town was St Andrews and if only I had my golf clubs.
The golf course was the most beautiful one I have ever seen. It was a Sunday and the Old Course is not open for play on Sundays so we were free to walk out on the course as we wished. Every hole was special with its own character. The bunkers were daunting for sure. The bunkers had sheer lips all the way around which requires a skillful stroke to clear the top. Few bunkers in American courses are built this way. The course is comprised of three courses intertwined together on a strip of coastal sand dunes. There is the Old Course established some time prior to 1552, the New Course established in 1895, and the Jubilee Course established some where around 1897. There are several other courses in the area but these are the most renown. The wind blowing from the see was strong enough to make any professional wince and I can see how this is a difficult course to play. Regardless, it would be a dream to play a round at the “Home of Golf.”
We drove back that night and the next day we went back up to the Royal Mile and we took a tour of Mary Kings Close. This is a narrow street that was built over by the city in 1753. The street and rooms that were used as the foundations for the new building and everything that we saw there were amazingly well preserved. It was a neat history of medieval Edinburgh. Then we spent the last of the day over in Glasgow before we had to fly out that night. In all, I think that it was one of the most exciting trips that we have taken. Now we have only one more country we want to see in the UK. Ireland!
My Dodgers are workin' hard for their money this season. Coming off a win against the D-Backs puts them at a 12-0 record at home. Last time that was done was 1911 by the Detroit Tigers. With Andre Ethier hitting at .327 and 26 RBIs right after Manny in the line-up and Chad Billingsley and Jeff Weaver unstoppable on the mound, this team is destined for great things this year. 
