This hostel is amazing. I got here, took one look around and immediately extended the amount of time that I was planning on spending here. The hostel is run by a group of about 30 younger adults (like 19-24 yrs) who each just work for like 6 or 8 hours a week keeping the place clean and running the desk. Then all the money that they make on the hostel goes towards running it stuff. So essentially, they all just work 6 to 8 hours a week and it pays for their personal rent. Plus they end up with an AWESOME place to live. They’re all kinda bohemian and the whole place has a very mideival/hippy feel. It’s awesome. Plus the views from here are just awesome. Few pictures of the hostel:
The view out of one of the windows in my room.
This is the view of the window that is right beside my bed. Like if I wake up on the right side of my body, when I open my eyes, this is what I’ll see.
This is a poor picture of the main common area in this hostel. It’s really large with lots of big couches and tables and all that good stuff.
OK so if I’m completely honest, Ireland was a let down for me. Maybe my expectations were too high but I just wasn’t impressed. Honestly it just didn’t seem like anything special to me. Just my personal opinion. I mean it did have some pretty ountryside…but that’s about it.
Edinburgh, on the other hand, is BLOWING ME AWAY! Like I have every intention of forcing Laura to come back here and check it out while she’s here with me. The whole time I’m here, I just can’t help but think about how much both my mom and Laura would be loving it. It is amazing and, contrary to Ireland, this is a place that tempts me to uproot from the US and move here. Today I went to Edinburgh castle which I didn’t really get any good pictures of just because I hate pictures with a ton of tourists in them and it was pretty full of people. Even with all the people in it though, it was so so awesome. It was one of those castles that is just massive and basically houses an entire city inside of it. It is also the home of: 1. The Scottish War Museum – which was really awesome and I will talk about more in a minute. 2. The Scottish War Memorial – which was basically a memorial with the names of everyone known who has ever died in a Scottish battle. They go back like 1000 years, and if you had Scottish ancestors who had died, you could find their names in the books. They also had an equivalent to the US’s tomb of the unknown soldier which was intriguing. 3. The dungeons – which were insane!! It would have SUCKED to be a prisoner back in the day. Like you would literally never see the sun. And it is just freezing down there and oh my gosh. It would really suck. And then 4. There was a museum holding the Honours of Scotland (the Crown Jewels) which I will also talk about more in a second.
So the War Museum: it was really cool and really emphasizes how much history Scotland has and how important they have been strategically in a lot of wars. It was cool to see the progression of their country as a power throughout the years and then to see it just suddenly die when Britain took them over and they became British. Very interesting and, like I said, I couldn’t stop thinking about my mom in there and about how much more time she would have spent than me; looking at every little thing and reading all the things on the walls. Hah She’d have loved it.
I also kinda had a moment in there. There were a couple of groups of little school kids taking tours of the castle. One group of them was in this museum while I was and I caught up with them right as they hit the big “weapons” part of the museum. I just thought it was SO interesting to see the difference in the reactions of the girls compared to the reactions of the boys. The girls seemed to have no great reaction to the WALLS of awesome weapons in there. The boys, on the other hand, were immediately ENAMORED and obsessed with the weapons. They pretty much erupted with joy looking at all of them and thought they were just sooo cool. It kinda made me think a little bit and I think my conclusion is this: Men were created to battle. I think that, as we grow up, society today says that war is just a horrible horrible thing and should be avoided at all costs. However, as I think was apparent in these young boys, we are born with something in us that WANTS to fight and I think a lot of us lose that over the years. Now I’m sure this just sounds extremely reminiscent of something in Wild at Heart or something. But for me today it was really moving. Now of course I do not want to just go pick a fight for the sake of fighting because I still believe that if something can be solved peaceably, it should be. I would always prefer not to have to fight. But at a time when my government is slowly (I believe) taking away the rights of it’s people, I think there could potentially be a point where men may have to decide whether these rights are something we wish to fight for. And really I just think it’s something that is true in all areas of life and jumps right over into the spiritual realm. I think I have a lot of friends who just despise war because it is war and have kinda convinced me almost that war is never necessary. I really just disagree. I think that God has given men the desire to be willing to fight for the things they care about and I don’t want to lose that gift. I want to care enough about some things that I really would be willing to physically fight for them if need be. Now, don’t get me wrong though, I still think war sucks and I desperately hope that war is never a necessary part of my life. I am simply saying that when you, as a guy, look at the different things that are in or are a part of your life, the realization that there are some of them that you would REALLY FIGHT for, is really cool and is a gift I believe. And I really believe that the political and social desires for peace and for eradicating war from our world have transferred over into the way that we think spiritually. I think there are also spiritual truths and spiritual “rocks” in my life that I want to be willing to “fight” for. And I think it’s funny that I just put “” around the spiritual warfare. Hah cause honestly, it’s the one that really matters and not the other. Spiritual warfare is where the battle is that matters. Anyways, so there’s my thoughts on that…
OK, so the crown jewels of Scotland consist of a scepter, a sword, and a crown. If this museum was set up where you would just walk in and they would all be sitting there in a glass case, it would not be that exciting. However, this museum delays your actual sighting of the jewels a really long time. From the second you walk in, you begin on a journey of where the crown jewels have been from the beginning. It is so cool to see it because they know the names of the people that have put work and time into the jewels and they just has such a history. Throughout the journey, you really get a bit of an understanding for what these items mean to the Scottish people and to the Scottish heritage. By the time you get to the end and actually get to see the jewels, it really is moving. And the sword was HUGE too. They were just beautiful and had a special beauty to them that definitely came from the journey I had just taken through their history.
So anyways, I walked down the main historical street in Edinburgh today after the castle. The castle sits atop large cliffs at the west end of the mile and then there is a Scottish palace at the east end. The entire mile long strip is just steeped in history and I have to guess that most of the buildings are at least a few hundred years old. It was awesome and this was the part where I really couldn’t stop thinking about bringing laura here.
Just off the way a bit was a Starbucks. Now keep in mind that this is a very busy part of Edinburgh. So this was a pretty big starbucks and it had quite a bit of business when I saw it. This may sound like a typical Starbucks sighting but it was NOT! The reason it was special was because, directly next door, there was another coffee shop called “The Chocolate Soup” (which is a dominate name I think) and it was HARD CORE outselling the Starbucks. Like this coffee shop is pretty gutsie to go in right next door to a Starbucks but they’re actually doing it! I just thought it was really rare to see another coffee shop in a big city that was outselling a Starbucks. I liked it. I went to the Chocolate Soup and got some coffee just cause.
So I think it’s really funny here in Scotland because here, if there is a trash can, it doesn’t say trash on it. It says “Litter”. Then there are always other bins that have the little recycle sign nearby which is where most people throw trash. It think it’s a funny idea because it’s almost like they are implying that refusing to recycle something is essentially just littering somewhere else (such as a landfill). Very interesting thought. But anyways, they appear to recycle just about everything.
Another thing: today I saw a couple that had 4 kids. They were in front of me at the little restaurant that I ate lunch at. I was watching them as the mother asked her four kids what they would like to eat, heard them all state their orders, then turned and gave each of their four orders perfectly and then placed her own order as well. I realized that, to have four kids, you have to be smart. I mean meal orders is just one of the many times that you have to be keeping track of 5 people at once. A mom with 5 kids has to keep track of 5 schedules! So I’ve decided that, whether this means having a dominate memory, or just coming up with a really solid system for keeping everything organized, parents with four kids ARE smart.
Ok so I just got up and bought candy bar from a vending machine. I swear, every single time that I ever buy something out of a vending machine there is a split second where my stomach drops out cause I have that moment where I doubt that the little corkscrew will not spin around QUITE enough and my candy will be left hanging on the edge. And I think this fear is strengthened by the fact that it happens all too frequently.
So I was talking with a few Spanish girls and a Dutch guy last night and one of the Spanish girls asked me whether I’d ever had “some drink name”. I was like, “I don’t even know what that means.” So she made me taste what she was drinking. It was red wine mixed with Pepsi. Oh my gosh it was like delectable heaven. I just couldn’t believe that it was really pop mixed with wine. Like that just sounds gross doesn’t it? I’ll answer that. Yes it does. But don’t let that fool you. It’s good.
Ok so I didn’t take many photos today cause I’m definitely planning on making laura come here and so I figure she’ll dominate this place photographically and that it will end up looking like a much more photogenic city than it would if I were to take a bunch. But here are the few that I did take:
Sweet cathedral on the royal mile. I went inside but "no pictures please!" It was really awesome inside though.
Something...
Another church on the royal mile. Also went inside. Also "please no pictures". Also too bad cause it was gorgeous.
View from somewhere in the castle.
This is the front of the war memorial in the Edinburgh castle.
As is this...
View from another place in the castle.
AAAND...you guessed it. Yet another view from in the castle. So whereas I felt like Ireland could be done justice with photos, I do not believe that Scotland could possibly be captured effectively. However, we'll see what kind of magic Laura can work when she gets here.
Ok well this post is already a beast in length so I think I'll stop for now. Plus, I'm wasting good daylight and there is more I need to see today!!
I'm not a hundred percent sure who all reads this, but I'm pretty sure that I'm safe saying that I LOVE YOU ALL AND MISS YOU! However, if there happens to be some random creeper on here, that does not apply to you...sorry...
Rod!! er..ick.
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