Fall Break

After six days of traveling, I have returned to London safe and sound. We had a great week, and you should definitely check out the pictures.

While most of our fellow students were jetting around Europe, Rick and I took a decidedly different fall break trip. Some people I know are doing things like sky-diving in Switzerland or visiting five different cities in Italy. While there's nothing wrong with that, can you imagine visiting five cities in 10 days? I think that eventually all my memories would run together, and I would be so tired that I wouldn't remember much at all.

Perhaps one of the best aspects of our trip was that by traveling by train, we got to see the countryside, which was absolutely beautiful. In fact, I have a very strong inclination to move to Northern England or Scotland and raise sheep and shaggy cows.

Friday, 19 October 2007

Friday morning we woke up at the ungodly hour of 6 a.m. After some breakfast and finishing up our packing, we took the Tube to King's Cross (Yes, the same King's Cross where Harry Potter caught the Hogwarts Express. I hear there's a plaque marking Platform 9 3/4, but I couldn't find it). It was a sunny, gorgeous day (albeit a little chilly), and the countryside was a sight for sore eyes after being in London for so long. We arrived in York around 10:30, and luckily we were able to check our baggage at the station for the day.

Our first stop was the National Railway Museum, which boasts that it is the largest railway museum in the world. It certainly was huge, with exhibits ranging from the oldest steam engines to the bullet trains of today. Part of the museum was an old roundhouse with the turntable still intact. We also got to step inside one of the old steam engines to listen to a presentation on how it worked. Being an engineer or fireman (who shoveled the coal into the furnace) was quite a dangerous job back then!

This museum provided some nostalgia for both of us: Rick's father is a train enthusiast, so he has been to a lot of railway museums and taken the train a lot. As for me, it is amazing to see how much I know about trains from sitting through countless hours of Thomas the Tank Engine with my brother.

It was funny to look at the other people in the museum. There were two distinct groups: young children and senior citizens. But then again, Rick and I are each basically just a mix of those two.

We then headed toward York Minster, the largest Gothic cathedral west of Italy. We walked around the church and through the gardens, but didn't go in yet. Like a lot of big cathedrals, you have to pay to go inside, but you can get around that by attending any services there.

From there we headed to Clifford's Tower, the last remaining part of York Castle. The tower is atop a hill, and at one time the whole castle was surrounded by a moat - now it's a parking lot. The tower had a large open space in the middle with displays and a small chapel. By climbing to the top, we had a great view of the city. There was also a very cute gift shop with toys that modeled medieval times. To anyone in my McCabe family - be happy that the wooden bow with suction cup arrows was too big to fit in my suitcase. I almost bought it for Jack.

In medieval times the entire city of York was surrounded by a defensive wall. Some of it has crumbled away, but much of it still remains and you can walk right on it around the city. We explored the city by doing this and wandering through the many pedestrian-only streets. I don't remember if I've mentioned this yet, but on every major trip we've gone on, we've seen Native American performers. It's very bizarre. We'd seen them in London and Stockholm, and sure enough we came across them in York. They stand in pedestrian areas, playing music and selling CDs. Very, very odd.

At 5:15 we returned to York Minster to attend the Evensong service. As the name implies, basically everything other than the readings and sermon was sung. York Minster proved to be even more impressive from the inside. It was very brightly lit, full of medieval stained glass, and enormous. This provided a perfect setting for the Evensong. The Minster has boys', girls', and men's choirs, and they all performed together. The performance was breathtaking - especially the kids.

Time was a little tight after the Evensong, so we grabbed some takeaway fish and chips and booked it to the train station. There was actually no need to rush, because our train turned out to be half and hour late. Apparently the train in front of ours was having some technical difficulties. We arrived in Edinburgh at about 11 p.m. We were welcomed into the city by the majestic sight of Edinburgh castle just across the street from our hostel.

The hostel itself was really cool. It was quite large, featuring a kitchen, movie room, and lounge with pool and ping pong tables. It is run by backpackers, and has a very young person vibe. All of the rooms are named, and subsequently each bed has a related name. Our room was called "Plant Biology"; Rick got a bed called "Root" and I climbed into "Nice Pear" and fell asleep almost instantly.

Saturday, 20 October 2007

Saturday happened to be my birthday. I'm no longer a teenager - I feel old!

Some geographical information: Central Edinburgh is split into Old Town and New Town. As you may have surmised, Old Town houses old buildings like the castle, while New Town has restaurants and higher-end shops. The Royal Mile is the main route through Old Town, ending at Holyrood Park. Aside from the park, Holyrood also houses the palace that is the Queen's official residence in Scotland - even though she rarely ever goes there.

Along the way down the Royal Mile, we stopped at St. Giles, the High Kirk in Edinburgh (I think that means cathedral, but it's not called a cathedral because it's Presbyterian). The outside was intricately decorated and featured an open, arched belfry. Inside, the 19th century stained glass windows complemented the excellent wood carvings. St. Giles recently got a new organ, which was 15-20 feet tall and gorgeous - but we weren't allowed to take pictures inside.

Our main objective in going to Holyrood was climbing Arthur's Peak, a cliff overlooking the city. There were many rough, unmarked paths to the top, some of which were really steep at some points. After much huffing and puffing on my part, we finally reached the top and were rewarded with a spectacular view. In the distance, we could see the Scottish Sea fade into the horizon. The castle, St. Giles, and other old monuments and buildings poked up through the city.

After heading back down, Rick and I did some quick souvenir shopping, ate lunch, and went to the castle. It sits on a cliff (Edinburgh is very hilly - it used to be a volcano) and is architecturally stunning - how often do you find a castle in the middle of a city? The castle houses several museums; we visited the National War Museum, the war memorial, a museum devoted to a particular mounted regiment of the army, the Royal Apartments, and an exhibit of the Scottish crown jewels. The history between the Scots and English is very complicated. I went in thinking I would know a lot, having done a report on Elizabeth I in 9th grade. I think I left more confused than when I went in.

Although Scotland has been a part of Great Britain for over 300 years, there is a fierce sense of independence. Scotland has its own parliament, which can make laws on things like health and infrastructure. The displays in the castle describe how the Highland warriors bailed out the English in several of their wars. We even saw graffiti that said, "Scottish forever - Never British."

Saturday night was the Rugby World Cup final - England vs. South Africa. As we had been watching the matches right along, we didn't want to miss the final. Rick took me out to dinner at a pub down the street, both for my birthday and to watch the match. The game was dismal - England lost 6-15 - although I guess that's better than 0-36 the last time they played South Africa.

The food, however, was quite good. I was not as brave as Rick - he had haggis, a traditional Scottish meal made of....well no one really seems to know what. It's sheep lung or stomach or something like that, and served with "tatties and neeps" - potatoes and turnips. I figured I was still having something Scottish by having an Angus burger. I also had a traditional Scottish dessert, cranachan. It was alternating layers of raspberries and cream with a whisky (no "e" in Great Britain whiskey) sauce. I think there was something else mixed in with the cream, because it had a gritty consistency that was a bit like oatmeal.

Overall, it was a very busy and very wonderful birthday.
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Okay folks, that's it for now. I will continue this post either later today or tomorrow. I can't type any more and the Christmas music in this coffee shop is driving me bonkers. Christmas music! It's not even November yet!
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To be continued.....