I’m back from my weekend trip to Edinburgh, with fresh memories, photos and a back injury. The latter is annoying, but will hopefully cease to be a problem soon, as midterms are coming up and I have little time to be incapacitated. For now, ibuprofen is my best friend and closest allies, and I get out-walked by ajummas (아줌마). Edinburgh was pretty bloody amazing though, even the small trip to the hospital that reminded me that health care is actually free in some countries.
The reason for the trip was a meeting with the board of directors for ANSA, so Friday afternoon and most of Saturday was spent sitting around a conference table at the University of Edinburgh. The rest of the trip however, was spent sipping whiskey, eating deep-fried Mars bars (hell yes!) and checking off Harry Potter-sightseeing spots like The Elephant House (were JK used to write) and Thomas Riddell’s grave (aka. Tom Riddle aka. He Who Must Not Be Named). Not bad, eh?
Selfie with Thomas Riddell’s grave.
1. Selfie! 2. Groupie! (group-selfie). 3. Deep-fried Mars bar for dessert. Yum!
Our neighborhood in the Old Town.
Lunch at The Elephant House. Delicious baked potato with bacon and brie. Two thumbs up!
Edinburgh Castle. Or a small version of Hogwarts.
As always, I devoted an hour to tour the city in a tourist bus. The best way to get introduced to a new city!
In the 1800s, Edinburgh decided to name itself the Athens of the North. One of the buildings constructed to honor this self-proclaimed nickname was the National Monument, inspired by the Parthenon. The construction started in 1926, but was not finished due to lack of funds. Ops!
Arthur’s Seat. I like it when a city has parks and green space so close to the center.
Miniature Kelpies at the University of Edinburgh.
1. Hospital-selfie. 2. We discovered a photo booth at Urban Outfitters. 3. We’re all bananas.
Have you ever been to Edinburgh?