Old Friend

Plenty of Rain

Mike spent the day out with an old friend. When we were here in Edinburgh two years ago, he got together with this friend on several occasions, each time for the day. They renewed their relationship today during another hill walk. This walk, as with others, involved public transport to the start, a point-to-point hill walk, and public transport back. The scenery and 12-mile route were terrific; a mix of walking along country roads and well marked tails. This walk also allowed Mike to put in a few more miles on one of the famous long distance trails here in Scotland, the Southern Upland Way. That is the trail that goes from coast to coast.

Turns out, it rained all day. Turns out, his old friend is M-U-D. That's right, Mike and the dozen other hill walkers, spent the day walking in the mud. Mike is now just as well acquainted with the mud as the other members of the hill walking club. Welcome to Scotland, where the frequent rain turns perfectly good walking paths into mud. He also learned a new expression, "There is no bad weather in Scotland, only bad clothes." Fun was had by all. 

Now We Are Three

William Arrives

Now there are three of us here in Edinburgh. Our son, William, just arrived. We are excited. He is a University professor at Louisiana Tech, and his teaching responsibilities just ended for the summer. He intends to spent the next couple months focused on his political science research. Doing that allows him to progress toward meeting the University's tenure requirements. Fortunately, he can do the research from anywhere there is an internet connection.

We took the 30 minute bus ride from the Edinburg city center to the airport and eagerly greeted him after his 24 hours of travel; all three of us rode the airport bus back into the city. Now, all three of us can enjoy some of what Scotland has to offer.

Wee Washer/Dryer

Wrinkled

Not all flats have a washer/dryer; we are glad ours does. Take a look at the photo and you will see a very compact unit under the kitchen counter; it does the wash and it drys. Laundry loads are quite small, an armful at a time at most. And, it takes a long time to do that armload:  an hour and a half for the wash and a couple of hours to dry. Caution, drying anything beyond damp results in wrinkle city. Really, we have never seen laundry that wrinkled, worse than the face of a Shar Pei.

Fortunately, we have a couple of clothes horses. AKA drying racks, airers, clothes maidens, or winterdykes. Now, there is a name for you, winterdykes. In Scotland, the word "dyke" means a wall or a fence made without mortar that was occasionally used for hanging laundry in the summer months. Hence the winter dyke refers to drying in the colder weather months.

Wee Gym

Glenogle Pool

Bear with us. Here is another bit of Scottish terminology. I expect that once we have been here for a longer period of time we will have mastered the basics of Scottish terminology and will be less fascinated with sharing. But since we are not yet at that point, here we go.

Beth resumed her membership at the Glenogle Swim Centre, something she enjoyed during our pervious stay here. It is but a short walk from our flat. That center is one of many such facilities run by the City; it is the one with the most spectacular Victorian pool (as shown in the photo). The century old facility underwent a total renovation ten years ago; the original baths are now a swimming pool. And, they now have a small fitness area, which is properly referred to as a wee gym. "Wee" meaning extremely small; a gym that size suits Beth perfectly.

She goes to the wee gym to spend an hour on the elliptical and rowing machines and runs the pathways on the alternate days. The wee gym is usually uncrowded and sometimes empty; others are more likely to be in the pool.

The Bomb

 

Gullane Point

Let's start with the bomb. Yes, that kind of bomb. This is not another terminology lesson. We are talking about the kind of bomb that explodes. That is what we happened upon today. We joined the hill walking club on a walk along the coast of the North Sea; technically, since there were no hills, it was just a walk, not a hill walk. Anyhow, our path oscillated between the firm hard low tide sand and the path along the dunes. We went for miles point-to point with a bus ride at each end. It was spectacularly scenic. The wind was unusually calm for Scotland, and the sun frequently greeted us from behind the intermittent clouds.

It was along one of the dunes near Gullane Point that we happened upon a man and a woman frantically waving and shouting as we approached their location. Perhaps it was because the wind had momentarily picked up that we had a hard time making out what they were saying. But their body language was unmistakable; they were in distress. Some of us stayed back while others of us continued to approach the frantic couple. Strangely, that approach only seemed to amplify their distress. Come to find out, he was an off-duty member of Her Majesty's Coastguard; he had found what he suspected was an unexposed WWII bomb poking out of the sand but a foot away from our path. Those of us who had approached sheepishly apologized for ignoring his warnings while the others circled safely around.

After the walk was over, but before we boarded the bus to go back, we happened upon a pub where we each gave our differing versions of what happened. Got to love Scotland. The Darwin awards were mentioned. By the time we finished that discussion, I doubt there was much truth left in the version we all agreed we liked. 

Blue Sky Day

Arthur's Seat

Today was a terrific day to get outside. And, plenty of people did because of the perfect blue sky warm weather, the fact that it is a Saturday when most are off from work, the fact that it is a Bank Holiday weekend (official holiday), and the fact that the UK is celebrating the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. Whatever the reason, people were outside; so were we.

Mike directed his daily exercise walking energy toward the highest point in Edinburgh, Arthur's Seat. This former volcano is now a 600+ foot hill of mostly rocks offering spectacular views across Edinburgh to the coast. He was hill walking. Although no certainty exists regarding the name, one leading theory is that the Arthur's Seat name is from the Scots Gallic phrase "Àrd-na-Said," which means "height of arrows." This is one of the "you haven't really visited Edinburgh unless" type of places.

The afternoon was spent leisurely strolling around the Royal Botanic Garden; a picnic lunch was included.  And, on the way back to the flat, you guessed it, we made another stop at the grocery store. We have stopped counting the number of those trips. We have started carrying a small day pack and a small shopping bag with us pretty much everywhere we go, just for this purpose.

No Pants

Trousers

Well, Mike is now walking around Edinburgh without wearing pants. No, thank goodness, he is not in a kilt. This is another terminology thing. Turns out, he is wearing trousers. Here, pants means underwear. Well, he is wearing that too, just not so anyone can see. Trousers it is. Travel is so educational.

This trousers thing came up when he went into Tiso, a popular outdoor chain (not unlike REI in the US). His old pair of hill walking trousers (hiking pants) are in need of replacement. They had a huge selection just as expected; remember Scotland is a walker's paradise. He waited to do this shopping in Scotland, rather than in the US, for this very reason. We sorted through about two dozen racks of different brands and styles. Finally, after two trips back to the same store, he purchased blue trousers. Less than ten minutes after arriving back at our flat with the purchase, he was online visiting the manufacture's website ordering the same trousers in a black color; he is going to return the blue pair. Just wondering what the Scottish word might be for this situation.

Royal Botanic Garden

Spectacular

A short walk from our flat is one of the world's leading botanic gardens. This is yet another reason we picked Edinburgh and the Stockbridge neighborhood. We took a two-hour naturalist guided tour and were struck by just how international this place is; they have plants from and cooperative agreements with countries all over the world; Chili, China, and Nepal were featured on our tour.

This place is spectacular, not just what you can see, but the work that goes on behind the scenes. The garden of 60 acres includes a quarter million plants and features special collections of rhododendrons and heaths. The herbarium holds almost two million dried specimens.

Five years ago, when we returned home from seeing countless elaborate ceilings in Italy (including the Sistine Chapel), we thought about starting a project to upgrade a couple ceilings in our house. After today's visit to the Botanic garden, we are talking about upgrading our yard at home. Not. Never gonna' happen. Nice fantasy, though.

Hill Walking

All Year Ramblers

Scots do not hike. They hill walk. We learned this terminology when we were here two years ago. At that time, Mike joined the All Year Ramblers hill walking club. He was so impressed with that experience that both of us are now members. The club, as the name implies, goes on hill walks throughout the year; they go in all weather, twice every week. As mentioned in an earlier post, since it bears repeating, Scotland is a paradise for people who like to hike; excuse me, hill walk.

Today was Mike's first hill walk with them since we arrived last week. And, they genuinely welcomed him back; very nice people. Today's hill walk was a point-to-point on one of Scotland's famous trails, the Southern Upland Way. They spent an hour and a half on the bus getting to the hill walk and the same again returning. They covered 13 miles with 2,500 feet of elevation gain with unobstructed views; no trees to limit the view distance. This 200+ mile trail; oops, another language slip. This 200+ mile foot path extends coast-to coast paralleling, and not far from, the border with England. When it opened, it was the UK's first officially recognized coast-to-coast long-distance route.

 Both Beth and Mike will join the club later in the week for another hill walk.

Dogs Aplenty

 

Lots of Dogs

Let's add dogs to the list of what Scots are fond of. We already know they are fond of cheddar cheese and walking. And, when we are out walking, we encounter dogs aplenty. Haven't seen a cat yet. This is not an overstatement, we see 50+ dogs per day while out on our walks. Scots are fond of dogs.

Interestingly, we have never heard a dog bark. Never had a dog jump on or threaten us. Never seen a dog without its owner. Almost never seen a dog on a lead. This is not to say those things don't happen, but we have not seen it. Pictured is a dog and owner we saw on a popular walking path. We asked ourselves how this can be; so many dogs, so well behaved. Now we can add one more item to the list of things Scots are fond of, dog behavior. The official Scotland Control of Dogs Act 2010 (updated in 2020) lays it all out in considerable detail. The Act states that dogs must be "kept under control effectively and consistently." It appears that Scots take this seriously, like a point of pride.

Cheddar Cheese

Lots of Cheddar

So, there we stand, in front of the display case in the supermarket; see photo. And we are a bit taken aback. We know from experience that Scots, as well others in the UK, like cheese. We do too. And, we have come to expect a wide variety of flavorful cheeses to be commonly available. This is true for the large supermarkets, for the small express grocery stores, and true in the extreme at the cheese shops. As an aside, we have two cheese mongers within but a short walk from our flat. Back to the point. We were taken aback by an entire display case of just one kind of cheese, cheddar. Who knew that the Scots had such a liking for cheddar. We found a wide variety of other cheese types in a separate display case. Let's hear it for cheddar cheese.

Speaking of grocery shopping. This is our fifth day in Edinburgh, and we have grocery shopped five times. That's right, we have shopped for groceries every day so far. Let me explain. Firstly, the refrigerator in our flat was empty. Since we intend to prepare most meals in the flat, you get the rest. Secondly, without a car, all of our groceries are being carried back to the flat in our daypacks or in a handheld grocery bag; limited capacity. Thirdly, our favorite grocery store (Sainsbury's) is a 1.7 mile walk each way; lucky that our second favorite (Tesco) is a mere half mile walk each way. Besides, one of Mike's hobbies is cooking. He actually enjoys grocery shopping, especially in different countries. Some like museums, he likes grocery stores...

Stockbridge Market

Stockbridge Market

We went to the Stockbridge Market today; it is located but a short walk from our flat. Since it is held every Sunday, we expect to return often. They had about 40 vendors selling crafts and foods; most of it local. The huge pans of Spanish Paella pictured gave off an irresistible aroma. This is quite a well-known market. After all, it has been going on since 1825; first across the street, then moving to its current location a century ago.

Here is a bit more local history. The Stockbridge name of our Edinburgh neighborhood is taken from Anglic stocc brycg, meaning a timber bridge. The bridge spans a stream running through Edinburgh named Water of Leith, which empties in two miles into an estuary named the Firth of Forth, which empties into the North Sea. Great names.

And, even a bit more local history. Our flat is in a building built 25 years ago; that is when the 19th century tannery complex and silver mill that stood here were redeveloped. We are on Silvermills Lane; named, naturally, after the former silver mill. Although the tannery complex is gone, as is the silver mill, the medieval routes of both East and West Silvermills Lanes were preserved in their entirety.

Much Daylight

City Vegetable Gardens

One of the many benefits of being in Edinburgh in summer is the daylight. We have a lot of it. 17+ hours. The sun is currently rising at 4:40AM and setting at 9:40PM. Take a look at a world map and you will see that Edinburgh's latitude is 800 miles north of Montreal, Canada. And since our top floor flat has so many windows, the light pours in. That is a real treat, especially compared to the heavily wooded siting of our house in Roanoke.

With so much daylight and with adequate rain, the conditions are perfect for gardens. We see them most everywhere we walk. Since we are in a city, most houses are connected in rows or stand alone but quite close to each other. Invariably, the yards we have seen are well-tended gardens. It seems to be a national value, and pride. Likewise, communal vegetable gardens are commonplace. The one pictured abuts one of the walking paths(greenways) we use, that are everywhere in the city.

Nice Flat

Exceeds Expectations

Wow, what a nice flat.

Since there is no comprehensive single centralized flat rental system for Edinburgh, we surfed many of the individual letting agency websites looking for something that suited us. The flat we were looking for had to be in the Stockbridge neighborhood, had to be in a quiet location preferably on the top floor, had to be fully furnished with utilities included, could be one or two bedrooms, and needed to fall within our price range. Well, when we were looking five months ago, when considerable uncertainty continued to exist about Covid and travel, the inventory of flat listings for the summer was quite limited. We found only one flat that looked like it would be suitable and immediately booked it. We hoped that the photos/description on the letting agency website were accurate.

Turns out, the flat exceeds all expectations. How nice is that. It is located on a dead end super quiet street very close to everything we wanted. It is a big bright top floor unit with plenty of windows on three sides in a recently constructed four story building. It has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and modern appliances and furnishings. We are thankful, pleased, and delighted.

Uneventful Trip

Edinburgh Airport

Well, the trip over was uneventful. That is about the best we can hope for in today's travel world. We picked up a one-way rental car in Roanoke, drove to Washington Dulles Airport, boarded an on-time United Airline flight with direct service to Edinburgh, quickly cleared customs, Uber'ed to the Letting office to pick up the key to our flat, Uber'ed to the flat, and settled in by 2PM. Total door-to-door travel time was 12 hours. Nice.

This contrasts sharply with the harrowing trip we had prematurely returning to the US from this very spot two years ago. Covid struck the UK seemingly overnight. One day we were out and about enjoying an event at the Edinburgh Castle. The very next day we packed and left our flat. Since the Edinburgh airport had just closed, we took a 6-hour train ride to London, overnighted in an airport hotel, boarded the very last flight from there to Washington Dulles, drove a one-way rental car to Roanoke, and quarantined for two weeks. Anything but uneventful.

Returning

We Are Returning

We are delighted to be returning to Scotland. After covid cut our trip short in 2020, we have been intending to return to Edinburgh and pick up where we left off. Our lifestyle there and the people we were getting to know really suited us quite well. We will spend June-August in Scotland.

We have rented a flat in the Stockbridge neighborhood in the capital city of Edinburgh; that is the same neighborhood we enjoyed previously. The flat is close to everything:  shops, restaurants, grocery, city center, transportation, and sights. We have rejoined the hiking club and are booked on several day hikes. Scotland, with its National Right to Roam law, is a hiker's paradise; all trails on public and private land are available. We will also be looking to book travel to other areas around the country. Should be fun.

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Final Blog Post

Kiwanis Rubber Chickens

We intend to return to Edinburgh and pick up where we left off, when circumstances allow. We were fulfilling the two primary purposes of the trip, lifestyle with some volunteering, and can easily continue doing those when we return.

As far as lifestyle, living in a flat in the Stockbridge neighborhood of Edinburgh really suited us. Beyond the novelty and excitement of a new place, which there was and will continue to be when we return, we found ourselves quite at home. The people we met and spent time with were so very warm and friendly. The conveniences and amenities just outside the front door of our flat were wonderful. The spectacular diversity within a country smaller than the state of Virginia excited us. And the societal values, which more often tilted to the long-term greater good of all, were closely aligned with our own.

The volunteering piece was falling into place nicely. Beth had already begun two volunteer jobs and had been accepted for two additional volunteer jobs that were about to start. Mike easily managed to support a client back in the US while an ocean away, joined a wonderful hill walking club, and had applications in the works for two volunteer jobs.

Now, we will get back in the swing of life in Roanoke at a pace dictated by the coronavirus situation. And yes, as shown in the picture of us at the black-tie 100th anniversary celebration of the Roanoke Kiwanis Club taken shortly before we departed the country, we will even reunite with the rubber chickens.

We will close this blog with a quote from Khalil Gibran, best known as the author of "The Prophet," which is one of the best-selling books of all time. "Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens."

Returned Home

Home in Roanoke

We are home in Roanoke. Because of the coronavirus, the situation in the UK, Scotland, and Edinburgh was degrading quite rapidly. We were no longer able to meet the two primary objectives for taking the trip:  lifestyle with some volunteering. A doctor friend in the US, whom we highly respect and trust, advised us to return. The President urged all US citizens to return. And, importantly, our son urged us to return.

Not only that, our son is largely responsible for the fact that we actually did make it home. Thanks to his quick and clear thinking, we abandoned our initial plan to return next week on a flight from Edinburgh. He accurately advised that flight, and virtually all other flights from the relatively small airport of Edinburgh, would be canceled; they have been. He accurately advised that a direct flight from the major London Heathrow airport to Washington Dulles would be our lowest risk option if we could get to it the very next day; we took that flight, which turned out to be the last one to be flown on that route. Our trip home involved a rather hurried effort to pack and exit from our flat, a ride on a train for six-hours from Edinburgh to London Heathrow, a non-stop flight, screening at Washington Dulles airport by TSA and the CDC, and a car rental drive to Roanoke; that train from Edinburgh, and most of the others on that route, have since been canceled. Many of the doors to get home were closing right behind us. We are now self-quarantined for two weeks.

We thank our doctor friend. We thank our son. We thank the young man who house-sat for us. We also thank the many friends and acquaintances who corresponded with us while we were in Scotland. And, we thank the many who followed us on our blog.

Episodic

Holyrood Palace

Here we are in from of the Holyrood Palace, one of the homes of the Royal Family. We toured the place just prior to the coronavirus shut down. This is a terrific place to visit for sure, but not really the subject to be addressed here. Instead, let's address the associated fool's errand. Note the Wikipedia definition of fool's errand is "to travel some distance and request an impossible object by name." Not saying who the fool is here. Follow along.

Since we like to walk, we enjoyed the five-mile round-trip walk from our flat to the Palace and back; took us through both the Old Town and new Town sections of Edinburgh. However, when we arrived back at our flat we realized that the $37 we paid for admission could have been converted to a pair of annual passes at no extra charge if we had gotten our tickets stamped upon exiting the Palace; we did not do that. So, one of us gets up early the next morning and walks back to the Palace, arriving there when the doors open, and determined to return to the flat with a pair of annual passes. Not saying which one of us is doing the extra five miles of walking.

But, that individual returned to the flat empty handed; did not realize that more than the previous day's purchase receipt was needed. Undaunted, and highly motivated to save money, that same individual, within minutes after completing the fool's errand, sets out on yet another Palace five-mile round-trip walk. Well, not quite immediately. Since the crucial documentation had already been deposited in the kitchen waste bin, together with wet and smelly food scraps, and since that waste bin had already been bagged and deposited in the rubbish bin on the street, a bit of dumpster diving was in order. Ever persistent, the valuable documentation was retrieved, carried to the Palace ticket clerk, who definitely remembered the the failed attempt a couple hours earlier, and success. This is where the angles sing. We now have a pair of annual passes to the Holyrood Palace. That evening, Mike enjoyed a wee dram of Scotch.