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Edinburgh Castle:
You can say it was love at first sight. Edinburgh is everything i imagined this heritage city would be - castles, old cathedrals and historic buildings.
Well the first impression was good. We were greeted by the sound of bagpipes the minute we stepped off the train from London. How Scottish is that! Here the buskers play bagpipes unlike in London where they play mostly guitars. I even saw a woman bagpipe busker.
I have also imagined a Scottish setting to include highlands as well. Watching too much movies like Highlander and Rob Roy, I guess.
The problem is I am not willing to pay the price to fully appreciate all these treasures. No, it has nothing to do with money. It is just that I am not willing to walk a lot, and that is precisely what you have to do. And hike up steep places.
Take Edinburgh Castle, for example. You have to do a lot of walking and climbing if you want to explore this medieval fortress which covers so many buildings, with its oldest surviving building, St Margaret's Chapel, dating back to the 12th Century..
Built high up on an extinct volcano, over 130 metres above sea level, it is an amazing work of human endeavor. I am amazed at how they managed to build this fortress on solid rock without the aid of modern equipment and technology.
So the walk begins. The bus only takes you to the foot of the hill and from there you have to hike up all the way to the castle gate.
We were rewarded at the end of our hike. There was a short performance by a Scottish Guards military band, bagpipes and all. Oh, the sound and sight of Scotland. The Guards were preparing for the coming visit of the Queen.
This is the esplanade of the castle, the site of the famous Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Already we can see construction going on for the staging of the annual event, scheduled to be held from Aug 2 to 24 this year
So if you want to visit Edinburgh,make sure you schedule it for August where you can join in the merriment with over 100,000 other visitors.
Edinburgh Castle is so rich in history. If only the walls could talk. What colourful tales it will reveal. However, you may not get the complete story as some of the walls are missing, so to speak.
One interesting story is that of the Stone of Destiny or the Stone of Scone which is kept here together with Scotland's Crown Jewels. This stone was used in the installation of Scottish monarchs to give them legitimacy.
This tradition was later adopted by English monarchs when the stone was removed from Scotland. It has now been returned to the castle and will only leave Scotland again when there is a coronation in Westminster Abbey.
I wanted to know about the history of the Scottish monarchs, so I had to climb up a flight of stairs. Their history is traced on the walls of different floors of the Royal Palace, culminating in the making of the Scottish Crown Jewels on the top level. Talk about letting your legs do the learning.
After that, I had to hurry back down to the battlements before 1pm to witness the firing of the One O'Clock Gun, a tradition started in 1861. The joke here in Edinburgh is that locals check their watches when the gun is fired while tourists jump out of their skin. Believe me, many did.
Why 1pm, and not 12 noon for the time signal, someone asked. "If it is noon, you have to fire the gun 12 times," came the reply.
From the battlements, you can have a panoramic view of the city. It was breathtaking and i hate to admit it but well worth all the walking.
If you want to get another good view of the city, visit the Scott monument, a 60-metre tower built to honour the city's most famous son, author Sir Walter Scott. You can get a certificate if you walk up the 287 steps to the top of monument. I passed as I did not need the certificate.
Another famous Edinburgh author is Robert Louis Stevenson, who wrote Treasure Island and the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. I am more familiar with this author but the city apparently does not rank him as highly as Scott. I understand he has only a small monument.
Well these are not the only two celebrities produced by the city. There are many more.
I am sure everyone knows Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone. Apparently he did not set out to invent the telephone. He just wanted to produce a hearing aid for his mother.
Some were eccentric, like James Young Simpson, the inventor of chloroform. He used his dinner guests as guinea pigs until he eventually figured out the right dosage of chloroform to be used for medical operations. Lucky for him, none of them died from overdose of that stuff.
Of course, the city has produced serious scientists too, like James Clerk Maxwell, the third greatest physicist of all time. In fact he was the source of inspiration for Albert Einstein who kept a photo of him on his study wall.
There must be something in the water in city to produce so many great people. And animals, too.
Have you heard of Greyfriars Bobby? The city loved this dog so much that they built a statue for him at his grave. But the greater honour is that they named a pub after him -- Greyfriars Bobby's Bar. That is how they honour their heroes in this city.
What did this dog do? He showed exceptional loyalty to his owner by guarding his grave for 14 years.
Remember Dolly the sheep, the first animal to be cloned. There is a special place for her at the National Museum of Scotland, a short walking distance from the pub.
Part of the charm of the city is that the people are friendly, and very relaxed. During a tour of the city, the guide pointed out to us the home of Alex Salmond, the First Minister of Scotland. He is like their Prime Minister.
"Look, there are no guards outside his house,'' the guide said. "Anybody can knock on his door and ask, Alex what are you doing today?"
I don't see that happening in many countries in the world.
There is so much to see and do in the city. There are over 20 historic buildings to explore.
I enjoyed my short visit to Scottish National Gallery which has a good collection of art pieces, Including some masterpieces from Rembrandt.
We were also lucky to visit the Royal Yacht Britannia when it was giving a military send off for HMS Edinburghwhich was to be decommissioned. What luck and timing. A bonus on top of a very enjoyable tour of this majestic vessel which was home to the Queen and royal family for over 40 years.
I have been told that there are at least three things you must do if you are here for only a short visit -- visitEdinburgh Castle, walk up to the top of Arthur's Seat, an extinct volcano which is 250 metres high, and finally, eat that strange concoction called haggis.
I have done only one out of the three. I will definitely want to come back to this charming city but i am never going to try the other two must-do things.