Edinburgh Castle

On a drizzly afternoon, after our first day at Buckley's class, we all headed up to Edinburgh Castle. This is one of the main tourist attractions in the city because of its centralized location. After reading Bob Morris' article on the history of the castle I knew a bit of information previous to my visit. Looking at the Castle from the outside it looks very beautiful and stands apart from the city. The class waited in a long "Cedar Point" style line that progressed rather slowly. Finally, we were able to explore the castle. When I entered, they were about to shoot the cannon off, which was pretty cool. Apparently, they do that every hour. I took some landscape pictures of the city and a few on the fake cannons that they had set up. Then Kevin and Kelly and I went inside to see the Crown jewel and the stone of destiny. I was very claustrophobic in the room because there were so many people squeezed in together. Besides the cool view and the cannon shooting off, the castle really did not impress me all that much. Previously, the class learned that before the castle was open to the public, it used to be a military barrack storing supplies. The curators of the castle made it seem inauthentic to me.  The castle was also smaller than I imagined and had a few add-on buildings that were not there when the actual castle was built. The other castles I visited while in Edinburgh were so much better and did not have the fake reproduction feel that Edinburgh castle had.

Craigmillar Castle

I went to visit Craigmillar castle on a beautiful day after class. It is a quite undiscovered castle in terms of people that go there. It is kind of off the beaten path of the regular tourists locations in the heart of the city. It seemed so still be really well preserved. I learned that the castle was constructed around 1400, probably by Sir George Preston. The castle cost a a low entrance fee, but once you enter you are allowed to roam around as you please. This castle was in a sense, the most realistic castle I visited. There were no re-enactments of any kind, and there were make-believe decor.It also captures a great view of Edinburgh! However, I am sad because I forgot my camera that day!

Gladstone's Land

This 17th century high-tenement house situated in the Old Town of the city still survives. It has been restored and furnished to look as how it did way back when. This is a popular tourist destination and is located on the Royal Mile. The tenement has six levels and housed different families from different social classes. Originally the building was owned by a textile merchant. However in 1934 the building was condemned and scheduled for demolition until it was rescued and restored by the National Trust of Scotland. While on the tour of the old tenement, I was amazed at the cramped spaces that these families resided in. I learned that the women sat in front of the fire with a shield infront of their face so that their wax makeup wouldn't melt off. We also learned about the term, "garde loo" or to toss human and other urban waste out the window. Before they threw it out they would yell the term "garde loo". I  do not know how people back then could live in those tight and unsasnitary conditions. And to think that Gladstone's land was a wealthy tenament makes me wonder how bad the poor tenaments must have been.

Trip Safety & Traveler's Insurance

One of my lowest experiences during Edinburgh when I had my room broken into. I was sitting in the kitchen, or “teacher’s lounge” as we liked to call it, pretty late at night on my computer. When I returned to my room, I discovered I was locked out. After about an hour of dealing with Pollock halls security, I got into my room. I noticed my window was open and that some one had broken in. We determined that the person who broke in must have entered through my unlocked door, and exited through the window. I hadn’t realized anything was gone at first, but after noticing a few drawers we open, I checked for my cell phone, glasses, ipod, and camera, and they were all missing. I felt really upset and stupid for leaving my door unlooked, even though I was just 5 feet away from the door. I wondered why I hadn’t purchased traveler’s insurance and why I was never advised to do so. One of the biggest pieces of advice I have for students traveling abroad is to always protect yourself and your belongings because they might turn up missing. I am thankful nothing more important was stolen, such as as my laptop and passport, and that I was not hurt. 

My Favorite Field Trip

After lunch was through, I hurried back to Pollock Halls to retrieve my forgotten bus pass. Kelly, Kevin & I met the rest of the group on the intersection of North Bridge and Princes Street just in time to leave for the waste cabin. I really did not know what to expect from this “waste cabin”, but was eager and interested in learning more. After the 20 minute bus ride out of town, the gang headed up to the recycling station. We entered into a small “waste cabin” which was much more of a visual and hands on learning experience. Our guide Anita was helpful in explaining how the facility worked and its connection to city waste disposal. The waste cabin itself was essentially a learning tool geared towards a younger crowd, but our group found it amusing. This field trip was right up most of our allies, being a common interest in many of the group members academic studies.

Following a short video showing how a piece of trash is distributed through the waste disposal system, Anita threw us our very neon, and very small kid-sized safety vests. The group then departed for a tour of the facility. We first went into a large warehouse that reminded me of a giant yard sale. This was a space where citizens could bring their unwanted furniture and other items for reuse within the community. The facility provides this instead of yard sales because they are illegal in Scotland. Next the group and I made our way to the recycling bins. They were organized within categories like: batteries; wood; metals; etc. However, my favorite part of the tour had to be when a large machine called “The Crusher” (which is exactly what it sounds like) came to compact one of the bins. This large machine had the looks of a giant spiked roller, that would smash and rotate the recyclables until they were packed tightly.  It was really neat to see and I even got to snap a video and a few pictures.

We learned this particular recycling facility is a very important part of the Edinburgh Council’s waste structure, as well as one of the most efficient in Europe. Scotland is determined to minimize waste to ZERO within the next five years with their “Zero Waste” policy, and is the first in Europe to do so. Our group was lucky to be able to observe and take that experience into our future careers. Personally, I thought this field trip was really amazing. I like how organized the recycling units were and how everyday citizen’s cared enough about keeping their city gorgeous by preventing, minimizing, reusing, and recycling. I believe its important for the U.S. to take note of these practices and jump on the band wagon. These waste disposal practices can save money and can teach those to feel good about how they dispose of their waste in the proper and environmentally friendly way. Furthermore, I had a wonderful time and our visit to the Waste Education Cabin was one of my favorite field trips thus far. Thoughtfully, we were not left without a small but really cool gift: a recycled notebook made out of tires!

My favorite Pubs

I have had some great memories at many of the pubs around Edinburgh. Located on almost every street corner, they’re not hard to find. The groups “home base” pub would have to be the Abby. It was very near Pollock Halls, had amazing and inexpensive food and great times. Another memorable pub was the Thistle street pub. We went there after class one day and made a new friend, Carson the Pub dog. He was so friendly and welcomed us by hopping right up on our laps as soon as we arrived. The gang and I found some great beer gardens as well. These were nice because you could sit outside and relax with friends. Two of my favorite are the Aude town beer garden located in Tollcross, as well as the Pear Tree beer garden which is much larger and has a good young atmosphere. Some other fun spots were: The One Below, which has amazing “mirror rooms”; Frankensteins has three levels; Sneaky Pete’s has a great sound system with spectacular DJ’s; and if you like a good Rock n’ Roll bar, Opium is the best option. 

National History of Scotland Museum

I went to visit the National History of Scotland Museum one afternoon. I definetly needed more time inside, I had no idea what I was in for. There were 7 floors FULL of artifacts, fossils, and much more. It covered the entire history of Scotland, from how the geography and geology was formed, to who settled there first, the vikings, and from the enlightenment period all the way up to the industrial revolution and present day Scotland. I wish I went back because I only got to cover about half of the museum and skimming through some exhibitions that I wish I hadn’t. One perk about this museum is that it is FREE!! Its a great activity for a lazy afternoon, but don’t go to late because it closes early around 5pm.