Now that we’ve been settled in Edinburgh for a while, we’ve had a chance to really get to know this town, and what a great town it is. Edinburgh is Scotland’s capital and 2nd largest city. With only about 500,000 people, it has all the great attractions of a city without all the crowds and craziness. We live right near the center of town, about a 15 minute walk from the castle. The people are friendly and outgoing, the beer is strong, and there is always a place to go to hear live music. Rob is still working over the internet, and Shannon found a job as a waitress at pizza restaurant. (Yes, they actually have really good pizza here!)
For our anniversary in July, we took a short trip to small town called Fort William. The town sits cozily on a loch (or lake, as we say in the States) and gave us a nice break from the “big city.” During the afternoon we decided to try a thing called canyoning. Canyoning is a new sport where you get geared up in a wetsuit, life vest, helmet, and climbing rig, jump in a river, and make your way down the canyon. (Have we ever done anything even remotely normal in our lives?) It really was a ton of fun. We slid down natural waterslides, climbed down waterfalls, and jumped off 30-40 foot cliffs. Since we were the only 2 people on this trip, we were able to have a lot of fun with our guide and take as much time as we wanted on our trip down the canyon. The area was absolutely beautiful, but unfortunately we weren’t able to take any pictures. Afterwards we went to a pub and Shannon was finally able to sing a little karaoke for the first time since leaving Chicago.
During the first weekend of August we took a 3 day trip to the Highlands of Scotland. The Highlands is the mountainous region in the north of the country. With very few roads and difficult terrain, it has a unique culture that has remained strong despite many attempts by invaders to conquer it. Our tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable of Scottish folklore, history, and culture. He was able to take us to the places where William Wallace planned his amazing victory over the English at the battle of Sterling Bridge, tell us stories about Scottish clans massacring each other in the valleys between the mountains, and show us the battlefield where all hopes for Scottish independence was ruthlessly squashed by the British Army. (This last battle, by the way, changed the entire history of the world. Had the Scots won, King George would not have held the throne of England, the American colonies might never have revolted, and the British Empire might never have existed.) Finally, we had tea on the shores of the famous Loch Ness. We didn’t see the monster despite Shannon’s attempts to jump in the loch and try to coax it to the surface. Yes, she actually swam in Loch Ness.
Now that we are in the middle of August, the Edinburgh Festival is in full swing. The festival consists of 3 weeks of plays, musicals, shows, street performers, and any other type of entertainment you can think of. We’ve seen a few shows now, some good, some not so good. In all, there are about 1,800 shows each week to choose from, so we haven’t really even touched the tip of the iceberg.
In a few weeks we will be taking our final big trip through Europe. We will start by going to Norway to visit a friend we met when we arrived, then into Copenhagen, Slovakia (to stay with another friend for a few days), then Austria, and finally Germany. Oktoberfest will be in full swing when we get to Munich, so we’ll have a chance to experience the highlights of German “culture.”
Once this trip is over, our stay here in Europe will be near its end. More to come later on those details, though…
