Week 14: Edinburgh

We did not expect to come to Edinburgh during our travels this year, but we are all so glad that we had the chance to visit Scotland. Edinburgh is beautiful (even if it was really cold), and we had the chance to see many amazing things while we were here.

On Monday, we began our visit with a bus tour as usual. We got a preview of many sites that we would get to explore this week, and got a better idea for the city layout. Our favorite sight from the bus tour was the pub named after Maggie, who was executed for hiding a pregnancy. Fortunately for Maggie, a doctor declared her dead before she actually died. Since the sentence was hanging until pronounced dead, Maggie completed her sentence and was allowed to finish the remainder of her life in peace. The bus tour was cool, but the hit of the day was definitely the Harry Potter walking tour, which was phenomenal. We began at the Greyfriars’s kirkyard where we saw many of the names found in the Harry Potter books, including McGonagall and Tom Riddell. We also saw where the inspiration for Quidditch, the school houses, Diagon Alley, Gringotts, and the dementors came from. Additionally, we saw the coffee houses Spoon and Elephant House where JK Rowling wrote much of the initial Harry Potter books. The girls loved getting to borrow wands from the tour guide and practicing a spell to change the crosswalk lights as we walked around town, and tried to change the lights using the spell all week. Unfortunately, without the wands the spell did not work nearly as well during the later parts of the week. For anyone who is a fan of Harry Potter, the Potter Trail walking tour was an incredible experience. It even inspired Audrey to write her weekly report on JK Rowling. In addition to Greyfriars’s Kirkyard containing Tom Riddell’s grave, we also found the grave for Greyfriar’s Bobby. In honor of the famous dog who was so loyal, we found sticks to place on his grave.

We packed our afternoon on Tuesday. We began with a visit to Mary King’s Close. A close is a small street. Closes were named after the most prominent business or person on the street. Thus, Mary King’s Close was named after Mary King. Mary King’s Close was a cool experience because we got to go under current Edinburgh and see several historic houses. We learned about the plague and life in Edinburgh during the medieval times. After our visit concluded, we walked over to the Elephant House to see where JK Rowling wrote at the corner table. While we were there, we stepped inside the women’s bathroom to see the Harry Potter graffiti wall. We also got some Elephant House shortbread to enjoy on our way to the National Museum of Scotland. We spent most of our time in the Scottish history section, learning about the formation of Scotland being formed though volcanoes and glaciers. We learned about Edinburgh’s history with the Romans, the Vikings and the Scottish clans. We also had the chance to see Dolly the famous cloned sheep and learn about her story as a clone! We stayed at the museum until they chased us out promptly the minute the museum closed. Audrey and Maurene enjoyed the museum so much that Audrey decided to ask Kris to take her back on Saturday if they have time.

The girls enjoyed a treat on Wednesday, because their mom Kris was able to come with us to the Castle of Edinburgh. Edinburgh Castle was built on top of a mound of old volcanic rock, making it a wonderful location for both a royal residence and a military stronghold as it was more easily defended. Even so, it changed hands back and forth between the Scottish and the British many times throughout history. At one point, the Scottish even destroyed the original castle to prevent it from being taken by the British. One of our favorite tidbits of information that we learned about Edinburgh castle was that there was even a short period of time after the original fortress was destroyed that it was occupied by sheep – used as grazing land by a local farmer! Within the castle, we had the chance to visit St. Margaret’s chapel. St. Margaret’s chapel is the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh, believed to have been built around 1130. The Honours of Scotland, the Stone of Destiny, prison cells and the dog cemetery for soldiers were all hits to see as well. Additionally, we had the chance to see the room where Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to her only son – James VI/I who united England and Scotland.

We have had the chance to visit several castles and palaces throughout our journey so far. On Thursday, we added a new royal residence visit to our list: a royal yacht. The Yacht Britannia used as the Royal Yacht for Queen Elizabeth II for over 44 years. We learned about the ship’s travel, uses and crew.  She was sailed so much that if you average out her miles, the yacht would have sailed around the world one time each year she was in use. Audrey and Maurene enjoyed learning about using flags as symbols while sailing, seeing the queen’s bedroom and pretending to be sailors off duty. We kept running into a wonderful curator who helped the girls ring the yacht bell and dress up in uniform – which was definitely the girl’s favorite part of the visit.

We had a double day on Friday, visiting the Museum of Childhood and the Dynamic Earth museum. The Museum of Childhood was great fun for the girls. We learned about how school, toys and family life have changed throughout time. The girls got to play dress up and play older games. Maurene adored the puppets, and Audrey was in awe of the dollhouses and old books. The Dynamic Earth museum was also very fun. You enter the museum through a “time machine” that takes you back to the time of the big bang. After watching the Earth form, you disembark from the time machine near a volcano. In the volcano room, the floor shakes and the lights flash to mimic an eruption. After surviving the volcano, we went to learn about glaciers. Then we moved on to learn about life throughout time, beginning with the dinosaurs. As we made our way through the museum, we learned about many different biomes. There were exhibits about oceans, rainforests, and the arctic. We also enjoyed a wonderful 4D “flight” film that taught more about a variety of other biomes. Audrey and Maurene even got “snowed” on during the plane landing, which they loved!

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to do one of the coolest things I have ever done. When we were talking about places to visit outside of the Schengen Visa Zone, Edinburgh was one of a few places we considered. Kris insisted that we pick Edinburgh, which worked out splendidly for me. Growing up, I was always told that the Ramsay clan, who I am descended from on my mother’s side, used to have a castle in Scotland that had since been turned into a hotel and spa. After doing some research, I learned that Dalhousie Castle is only a short car ride south east of Edinburgh. I also learned that the Ramsay’s kept possession of Dalhousie Castle longer than any other clan kept any castle in Scotland. It was originally built in the 13th century, with most of what can be seen now being built around 1450.

This weekend, I went and stayed in my family castle, and it was everything it ever could have been.

I stayed in one of the turrets. To get to my room I went in the door, and turned to walk down a long hall to the bedroom area. Within the room, some furniture stood out beyond normal hotel furniture. There was a fourposter bed, a fireplace and nine chairs. (I did sit in every single one at some point, just to be able to say I did.)  Within my room, and throughout the hotel, there were brochures, art and artifacts detailing the history of the castle during the time the Ramsays owned it. I spent hours wandering around inside and outside Friday evening, soaking in the whole experience.

On Saturday, I had a spa day. In the morning, I used the spa facilities to relax. My favorite was definitely the hydro pool airbed, which was like a hot tub you lay in and the jets massage your back. I ate lunch in the Orangery overlooking the castle grounds, and then had a massage and facial. It was exactly what I needed to rejuvenate after traveling for three and a half months. After my spa time, I explored a little more before heading back to Edinburgh. There was a wedding going on at the castle on Saturday. They were using the Ramsay room as the reception room, but the hotel staff let me in to look around after I told them I was descended from the Ramsay Clan. This whole weekend has made more interested in learning as much as I can about my family heritage.

I hope to be able to go back to Edinburgh with my mom at some point, to share all of the family history I was able to experience in Edinburgh. When we make the trip, I definitely want us to try the falconry class held at Dalhousie Castle.

On Sunday, we boarded a train back to London for our last city before returning to the United States for Thanksgiving.

Edinburgh was unexpected, but was one of my favorite places that we have visited so far. Edinburgh has been added to my future bucket list as a place to visit again – hopefully multiple times.

Things I’ve learned in Edinburgh:

1. The name Ramsay is found on street signs and building names in Edinburgh.
2. Edinburgh Castle is built on ancient volcanic rock.
3. Sheep inhabited the castle ruins for a while after it was destroyed to prevent the English from taking it back over.
4. The US Starbucks app can be used in the UK.
5. JK Rowling wrote a significant part of the Harry Potter books in Edinburgh, and still lives near Edinburgh.
6. The UK flag is Union Jack. Don’t call it the British flag. It’s not the same flag, and you will offend the Scottish.
7. The Unicorn is the national animal of Scotland.
8. The “New Town” section of Edinburgh was built over 200 years ago.
9. People in Edinburgh don’t like new construction.
10. The streets in Edinburgh are tiny because they were built to accommodate horse drawn carriages, not cars.
11. People driving on the opposite side of the road is a way bigger adjustment once you’ve learned to drive.
12. One of my distant relatives helped save the life of King James VI/I, who is credited with uniting Scotland and England.
13. Mary Queen of Scots is said to have stayed at Dalhousie Castle at some point.
14. Bonfire day is a huge deal in Edinburgh. Fireworks are shot off in the evenings for days preceding bonfire day.
15. On Halloween, people like to dress up as wizards and go have duels at Tom Riddell’s grave in Greyfriar’s Kirkyard.
16. So many people come visit Tom Riddell’s grave that the city of Edinburgh decided to clean the gravestone to allow better viewing and pictures. Unfortunately, they only cleaned the one stone. This means that the rest of the Riddell family’s gravestone is a much different color.
17. J.K. Rowling changed the spelling of Tom Riddell’s name for the story, taking away the second L. This was so that Tom Riddle’s name could spell out “I am Lord Voldemort.”

Next stop: London!