This weekend, my British Studies friend group decided to take a last minute trip to Edinburg, Scotland. I honestly had no idea what to expect because I had never even heard of Edinburg before visiting it. Edinburg is a surprisingly beautiful place; the city is made up of original Gothic style architecture mixed in with new, fancy modern buildings. Our train trip to Scotland was interesting to say the least. We all paid about $260 for round-trip train tickets from London to Edinburg, but all decided against the "reserving seats" option, because we were kind of unsure what it was (and it cost a few more pounds that no one had to spare). This was a fatal mistake; upon boarding the train, we learned the previous train to Edinburg had been cancelled, and because of this there were only about 5 seats that weren't reserved. So, for the first 2 hours of the trip, our group of 12 was forced to camp out in between train cars on the floor. Considering we were all a little exasperated and annoyed that we had paid so much to take the train and not even gotten seats, we made an executive decision to crack open the wine and cider. We headed to the very back car of the train and made our camp next to a few random people. One guy had the same idea as us, and was silently making vodka cranberries to wash down the his own seat-less disappointment. We began making casual conversation with said vodka-cranberry guy, who turned out to be a pretty cool DJ traveling to Newcastle for a gig. Once we got this guy chatting with us, our next mission was the crack the guy in the corner listening to his iPod. There were plenty of opportunities for him to join the party, but he was not taking the bait. Just when we thought all hope was lost, Meredith pulled out the trivia. And damn, this guy lovvvved his trivia. By this point, we were pretty much having a full-scale party in the back of the train, and we had all stopped fantasizing about how nice it would be to be able to feel our legs and have something soft to sit on. Eventually, seats began to open up, but we all stayed in the back car (the "VIP room", if you will) for the rest of the 5-hour train ride. A true example of making the best of any situation you are given.
Around 11:30, we arrived to the Caledonian Backpacker's Hostel. Upon entering the hotel, I immediately was reminded of my hippy high school. The attendants all had a plethora of tattoos and piercings, the walls were covered wall-to-floor with graffiti, and Radiohead was blasting from the bar upstairs. Yes, there was a bar in our hostel, and also a room called "The Cucumber Room". It was a strange and eclectic, yet awesome, place. Unfortunately, because we booked our reservation so late the only room available was the 30-person co-ed room. Some people did not mind this at all, but personally I really like my privacy and to be completely comfortable after a long day. Don’t get me wrong, the hostel was definitely a good experience (plus a ton of fun), it’s just not exactly my thing as much as it is other peoples. But it was only 3 nights and I survived just fine.
The next morning, we visited the Edinburg Castle, which was only a mile walk from our hostel. The castle was actually pretty fantastic, and once again, any description I could provide would not do the place justice. My favorite sightseeing activity we did was by far our volcano hike. Basically, there’s a giant fucking volcano right in the middle of Edinburg. We spent a good part of the day hiking up the volcano (unknowingly doing the longest trail, which we actually probably all needed after all the drinking and eating), and picnicked at the very top. The view was spectacular (see the photos). In the past two years, I have gained a new appreciation for hiking. Not necessarily the actual act of walking up a mountain, but the rewarding feeling of conquest and beauty that comes with reaching the top. It’s a moment I can’t necessarily describe well, but breathing in the crisp air and looking out at all of Edinburg, I was reminded of how very small and insignificant my life is in the grand scheme of everything. Nature’s wonders often remind me that all the negative things in my life that I consider major problems are actually unimportant, and that I have control over my own life. Hiking rewards you for your endurance and physical exertion with the refreshment of feeling absolutely amazed by the world around you.
Around 11:30, we arrived to the Caledonian Backpacker's Hostel. Upon entering the hotel, I immediately was reminded of my hippy high school. The attendants all had a plethora of tattoos and piercings, the walls were covered wall-to-floor with graffiti, and Radiohead was blasting from the bar upstairs. Yes, there was a bar in our hostel, and also a room called "The Cucumber Room". It was a strange and eclectic, yet awesome, place. Unfortunately, because we booked our reservation so late the only room available was the 30-person co-ed room. Some people did not mind this at all, but personally I really like my privacy and to be completely comfortable after a long day. Don’t get me wrong, the hostel was definitely a good experience (plus a ton of fun), it’s just not exactly my thing as much as it is other peoples. But it was only 3 nights and I survived just fine.
The next morning, we visited the Edinburg Castle, which was only a mile walk from our hostel. The castle was actually pretty fantastic, and once again, any description I could provide would not do the place justice. My favorite sightseeing activity we did was by far our volcano hike. Basically, there’s a giant fucking volcano right in the middle of Edinburg. We spent a good part of the day hiking up the volcano (unknowingly doing the longest trail, which we actually probably all needed after all the drinking and eating), and picnicked at the very top. The view was spectacular (see the photos). In the past two years, I have gained a new appreciation for hiking. Not necessarily the actual act of walking up a mountain, but the rewarding feeling of conquest and beauty that comes with reaching the top. It’s a moment I can’t necessarily describe well, but breathing in the crisp air and looking out at all of Edinburg, I was reminded of how very small and insignificant my life is in the grand scheme of everything. Nature’s wonders often remind me that all the negative things in my life that I consider major problems are actually unimportant, and that I have control over my own life. Hiking rewards you for your endurance and physical exertion with the refreshment of feeling absolutely amazed by the world around you.