I finally made it to the UK! I went to London for only about one night, and then now I have been in Edinburgh, Scotland for about three days. I went to London by myself and this was the first time I have ever travelled alone. I was a little nervous, especially about meeting people.
When I first got there, naturally I had trouble finding my hostel. I always seem to have trouble with this. Although I had a bit of trouble, I found it quicker than I would have say I was in a non-English speaking country. I was actually able to talk to anyone for the first time! I cannot tell you how weird and exciting that was. This was the first English speaking country I have been in since January. Yes, Finland was not difficult to get around, but I still did not speak the first language. For the first time I was really able to hear what others where talking about, read the newspaper, understand advertisements, and speak as quickly as I wanted to. I didn't think I missed it that much, but it felt so great and weird at the same time. It took a couple days to get used to to be honest.
So my first night I ended up meeting some people who I hung out with my entire stay in London. I was looking for an ATM around my hostel and I thought they were as well. I heard them speaking English in an American accent, so I just assumed they were staying at my hostel as well. Turns out they had nothing to do my hostel nor were they looking for an ATM. But it was three guys who has all studied together at Oxford University a couple years ago and were having a reunion back in England. Two were from New York and then one was English. They were very nice and even gave me a grand tour of the city the next day.
Since I only had one day in London I had to speed see. So I ate egg's Benedict, saw the London Towers, The Globe, Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Parliament and Big Ben, a ton of double decker buses, rode the tube, and I even went to platform 9 and 3 quarters (for the Harry Potter fans out there) all in one day! I was very tired by the end. Everything was so amazing and I wish I had had more time to spend. I will have to go back to London. Big Ben was so huge and beautiful as well as the entire Westminster Abbey. The London Eye was really neat, but too expensive and long of a wait for me to ride. I tried to see Romeo and Juliet at the Globe that night, but sadly it was sold out. How cool would that have been though? Buckingham palace was really pretty, but sadly I did not see any guards with the red outfits and funny hats. There were guards outside the Palace, but not the typical uniform. The tube, or metro as everyone else calls it was interesting. It was a lot skinnier than other metros, and an English voice speaks to you a lot. Mind the Gap is said over and over in some parts. I loved it. One of the main highlights though was going to platform 9 and 3 quarters at Kingscross. I don't know if that is sad or not.
That night I took a night bus from London to Edinburgh. Night buses suck, far more than night trains. This may be too much information, but my feet were actually really swollen the entire ride. I think my body had finally had enough after about two straight weeks of going non-stop. I think I half way slept through the 9 hour ride, but it was not a comfortable sleep. When I woke up and couldn't sleep anymore, I looked out the window to see the sun rising, rolling green hills, and sheep everywhere! Yep, we were in Scotland. Oh I was so excited!
I have been wanting to come to Scotland for a long time! I was a little nervous that my high expectations would just let me down. However, not only have I been impressed with everything I thought I would, but so many other things have impressed me too! I am not sure if that made sense.
Abbie and her mom picked me up from the train station in Edinburgh around 5:30am. We went back and had a cup of tea and a scone. It was so nice and so British, I loved it! Once I was able to shower and prop my feet up the swelling finally went down, which was really nice. Then we took a drive around the town so I could see a little bit of Edinburgh. It was so lovely! Most of the buildings are original and so beautiful. The entire city is also very green, with a beautiful garden in the middle of the city. There is also a castle!! We even drove up Arthur's Seat, which is a huge "hill" that over looks the city. It was so lovely.
The next day I took the free walking tour that I have taken in both Amsterdam and Paris. It was so great here! I went by myself, but ended up meeting two other American girls who had studied abroad in Europe this past semester as well. It was neat because we all were kind of going through the same thing.
On the tour we saw J.K. Rowling's inspiration for Hogwarts, which also turned out to be the school her kids attended. They called it the original Hogwarts! It was right next to a graveyard and is rumored to have been the source of her names for the book. Sadly I did not have enough time to check and see if it was true. We also went by the coffee shop where J.K. Rowling wrote the first book!! They claimed it to be the original birth place of Harry Potter. So, in about three days I saw three Harry Potter things that I just found so fascinating and really neat(which makes me a dork...)
The Scots are known for their fried foods, so I had a fried Mars bar. Although it is something they are "known" for, everyone asked me what I was eating when I walked out of the chip shop. Plus, not one Scot I have talked to has ever eaten one. I guess they usually just get fish and chips.
Sunday we took a drive to the country to visit her parent's house in Perth. It was so nice and beautiful! It was only about an hours drive away, but the whole ride was just amazing. This country is so beautiful, I think I am in love. I saw more sheep, more rolling hills, a lot of farm land, cows, and those beautiful yellow flower fields for the oil I saw all over Holland. I was taking pictures left and right, which of course Abbie and her boyfriend seemed to find a bit funny.
Her parent's cottage in Perth was so nice and I really had a great time. We all drank tea and ate desserts together, and then took a walk around the country side. Once again everything was just so beautiful and green! Her grandparents were there as well. I think I did pretty well understanding the Scottish accent.
I am so sorry these posts are so long. Tonight is my last night in Scotland. I cannot tell you how nice it was to have a home to stay in and not a hostel. I feel so much more energized and relaxed at the same time. I don't think I realized how tired I really was. This stay at Abbie's came at the perfect time in my trip by being in the middle. I have had proper home cooked meals for the past three days, including a huge Scottish breakfast and steak.
Now I am off to Berlin where Abbie and I will meet Asha in a couple days. Back to hostels, cold showers, and limited internet time (which I think I am finding as a good thing since I didn't come to Europe to be on Facebook). I am not complaining though, I am actually really excited for the second half of my travels.
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