Blog

Woke up late in the super comfy bunk of the Bazpackers Hostel (recommended), and went for a cosy breakfast near the small fireplace, where I got chatting with a local guy. We agreed that there is sadly much less communication than before between hostels guests, with everyone on their phones and headphones. And it’s exactly what happened yesterday evening. Four of us in that tiny room, nobody talking.

After a short stroll through the cute city of Inverness, I take the train to Edinburgh, which is going by the same scenic route I took yesterday. Cairngorms NP is less snowy today, but still as majestic.

However, I wasn’t ready for Edinburgh. The train station is located in a sort of small valley, between two sides of the city, such that, when you exit it, you are overwhelmed to the South by the glorious buildings of the old town. Ancient buildings proudly built on top of a hill, constituting a wall of incredible architecture that culminates into the massive Edinburgh Castle, perched alone, on a huge rocky mount. Wow…

I go to the North side of the chasm, passing by the Scotts monument, which is nothing short of a gothic space rocket, and along the long park that lies far below the Castle. I check-in at the hostel and go back in town. The old town is marvelous. It is actually a multi-storey city: streets are on top of each other, in a more dense way than bridges. It’s hard to describe. There are lovely streets where the buildings’ roofs are actually pedestrian streets on the upper level. Quite frankly, it’s one of the very most beautiful city I’ve ever seen.

I spent some time at the Scottish Museum, first to see Edinburgh from the rooftop, but by now it was very misty and I couldn’t see the Castle from here. So I abused the fact it was free entrance and walk through the exhibitions. It was quite interesting, and I should definitely look for more free museums in the future. However it’s closing time now, so it’s time to leave for whom the bell tolls.

In the evening, I met for the first time with my friend Matthew, who’s been living here for a long time. It’s actually the first time I meet anyone from the online World, and I hope it’ll happen again during the trip! We got a few drinks (damn I don’t eat enough these days) and had a nice chat. He then walked me to a kebab near my hostel, where I ate a delicious shawarma, before going to bed.

Oh and I did another kind of weekly video: