Day 1 - Edinburgh Military Tattoo
August 18, 2008
on the airport bus to the city centre of Edinburgh
After arriving at the airport the real challenge startet. Getting to our guesthouse in portobello with four people, who all looked to me for guidance.
I have to confess the accent in Edinburgh was quite heavy. I was glad to had a map, whrer they could show me how to acess the public busses. I wouldn't have understand a word tehy told me. So I started a little bit nervous at this trip. Hopefully not all had this quite difficult accent. I even heard some of the people there speaking something which was later told me to be galic. Wow, it sounded really powerful.
On the airport bus we had a troup of german students and they started to ask in english for the seats next to us. My mother just laughed and answered in german, what got them really confused for a minute.
I noticed that they had sheeps with names on their sweaters and an older male had the word shepard on his. I asked them about it, and they told me they were english majors going for a roundtrip in scotland. I thought it was a cute idea with the sweaters.
After some troubles... minor ones... we got to our guesthouse near the sea. It was quite windy and cold outside but still the sea was impressive. It was called the Firth of Forth and like a bay of the Northsea. The guesthouse was owned by a couple and her daughter with some oriental influence. The daughter showed us around and it was fun to talk with her and later the dad, too. I was reliefed, that she spoke such a clear english.
After getting settled, we decidet to head back to the city of Edinburgh.
In the evening we had tickets for the 'Edinburgh Military tattoo' and that was one of the main rasons to come here. We saw it at TV every year and we planned to see it live one day.
But before we had to be there, we got down to the 'Royal Mile' and checked the old places we were as kids. We started at the train station and princess street and found it the sam e way it was back in 1994. Okay, different shops, but quite as lively. In August Edinburgh hosts some festivals which the Tattoo is part of.
On the Royal Mile you couldn't escape the sights of this festival. The street performers were everywhere. And we got here every day to look who performed new. We saw a young opera singer. She was small but had a great voice. I've only seen it once, that such a small person hosts such a big voice and thsi was a japanese vocalist of a rock band.
Then some strange looking vegetablke-masks wearing performers walked by and advertised their performance at some theater.
Japanes teenager it seems brouhgt some samples of their samurai comedy play. Musicians of different origins and skills performed. Some speakers along the way proclaimed everything from philosophics to politics. And you could buy a lot of handcrafted things at different markets / fairs.
It was quite an experience.
But on this day we just decided to visit some old sights like the the St. Giles cathedral and the Palace of Holyroodhouse. At the St. Giles cathedral I was lost in memories, because here it was, were a nice guide who worked there for free, took a liking to me, because I translated everything for my parents, and he showed me, where the Queen normaly sits during Mess and then took my hand and told me to sit down. I looked at him like a deer in headlights, but did what he said and I saw him smiling. I was nervous but this memory is one of my dearest.
Ni we were back and i had to say, the cathedral was beautiful as ever, even with reconstruction going on. It was nice to visit the 'Thistle Chapel' again. It shows so much history.
But then it started to rain and we were worried that the performance would be cancelled. But it didn't and after some food we got to the long line of visitors for the Tattoo. We waited for nearly an hour to get to our seats. The rain stopped and shortly before it got dark, the weather was fine again.
And then it started. The announcer was great. I think, he does it every day every year at the tattoo, but it was special for us. He greeted every different country and even greeted the german speaking nations and french in their mothertongue. I have to confess the accent in Edinburgh was quite heavy. I was glad to had a map, whrer they could show me how to acess the public busses. I wouldn't have understand a word tehy told me. So I started a little bit nervous at this trip. Hopefully not all had this quite difficult accent. I even heard some of the people there speaking something which was later told me to be galic. Wow, it sounded really powerful.
On the airport bus we had a troup of german students and they started to ask in english for the seats next to us. My mother just laughed and answered in german, what got them really confused for a minute.
houses in Portobello - typical britain style
After some troubles... minor ones... we got to our guesthouse near the sea. It was quite windy and cold outside but still the sea was impressive. It was called the Firth of Forth and like a bay of the Northsea. The guesthouse was owned by a couple and her daughter with some oriental influence. The daughter showed us around and it was fun to talk with her and later the dad, too. I was reliefed, that she spoke such a clear english.
After getting settled, we decidet to head back to the city of Edinburgh.
Princess Garden
But before we had to be there, we got down to the 'Royal Mile' and checked the old places we were as kids. We started at the train station and princess street and found it the sam e way it was back in 1994. Okay, different shops, but quite as lively. In August Edinburgh hosts some festivals which the Tattoo is part of.
On the Royal Mile you couldn't escape the sights of this festival. The street performers were everywhere. And we got here every day to look who performed new. We saw a young opera singer. She was small but had a great voice. I've only seen it once, that such a small person hosts such a big voice and thsi was a japanese vocalist of a rock band.
Then some strange looking vegetablke-masks wearing performers walked by and advertised their performance at some theater.
Princess Garden - everywhere you could see the signs of the festivals
It was quite an experience.
But on this day we just decided to visit some old sights like the the St. Giles cathedral and the Palace of Holyroodhouse. At the St. Giles cathedral I was lost in memories, because here it was, were a nice guide who worked there for free, took a liking to me, because I translated everything for my parents, and he showed me, where the Queen normaly sits during Mess and then took my hand and told me to sit down. I looked at him like a deer in headlights, but did what he said and I saw him smiling. I was nervous but this memory is one of my dearest.
railway trails towards Waverley Station
But then it started to rain and we were worried that the performance would be cancelled. But it didn't and after some food we got to the long line of visitors for the Tattoo. We waited for nearly an hour to get to our seats. The rain stopped and shortly before it got dark, the weather was fine again.
What can I say of the performances.
.. nothin much, because I was speechless. To see the marching bands perform on such a wet surface and on such an accurate speed it was marvelous. At the end, when all of the people started to sing the same song and clasp each others hand, everyone was moved.
The woman next to me was scotish and pointed out the lone piper on the castles wall. It was sad in a way, because he marked the end of the tattoo and a more than wonderful experience. On the other side, he showered us with a calm feeling.
With the end of the tattoo we all noticed, that it had started to rain somewhere in between, but nobody cared about it.
Scott Monument with railway trails towards Waverley Station
The woman next to me was scotish and pointed out the lone piper on the castles wall. It was sad in a way, because he marked the end of the tattoo and a more than wonderful experience. On the other side, he showered us with a calm feeling.
With the end of the tattoo we all noticed, that it had started to rain somewhere in between, but nobody cared about it.
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on the airport bus to the city c…
houses in Portobello - typical b…
Princess Garden
Princess Garden - everywhere you…
railway trails towards Waverley …
Scott Monument with railway trai…
small streets and corners were e…
inner yard
inner yard with my dad taking pi…
Royal Mile - Souvenir shop
Edinburgh castle's esplanada - y…
Mum and Dad on the castle's espl…
our block - 3rd row from the bac…
The Hub, fomerly known as Highla…
St. Giles' Cathedral and Royal Mile
The Edinburgh Military Tattoo - …
The Edinburgh Military Tattoo - …
The Edinburgh Military Tattoo - …
The Edinburgh Military Tattoo - …
The Edinburgh Military Tattoo - …
The Edinburgh Military Tattoo - …
The Edinburgh Military Tattoo - …
The Edinburgh Military Tattoo - …
The Edinburgh Military Tattoo
The Edinburgh Military Tattoo - …
The Edinburgh Military Tattoo - …
The Edinburgh Military Tattoo - …
The Edinburgh Military Tattoo
The Edinburgh Military Tattoo
The Edinburgh Military Tattoo
The Edinburgh Military Tattoo
Budget guest house by the beach
I've chosen this guesthouse because it was within my price range and we could stay near the firth of fourth.
Maybe it could use some kind of renovation, but it was clean and if you're just there for the night, it's okay.
Our hosts were friendly and really helpful. I liked to speak with them and they provided us with a good breakfast. You could choose between continental and english style. So it was okay.
On the 'bad side' was the roof, which leaked and the shared bathroom got moist, because we had a rainy august.
Finding it in the backstreets was a little bit tricky, but that wasn't so bad at all. Sometimes it's difficult to navigate in foreign territories.
Inside the rooms there wasn't much space, except for walking. The en-suite bathroom was like 2 m x 1 m and really tiny. Even the heights of the sink was like for a child. As a grown up you had to bend really bad to look in the mirror (see attached photo), which wasn't so good for the back of my Dad.
The best side was the location, in a quite suburban area and near the beach. We saw it from our window and used every dry moment in the evening to walk at the beach.
You can take some food with you from one of the stores in the area and eat at the beach. With the sun going down it's quite romantic.
You have a very good bus connection to the city centre of Edinburgh and the busses are going every ten minutes until late in the night. So you don't have to worry, getting there after sundown.
Maybe it could use some kind of renovation, but it was clean and if you're just there for the night, it's okay.
Our hosts were friendly and really helpful. I liked to speak with them and they provided us with a good breakfast. You could choose between continental and english style. So it was okay.
On the 'bad side' was the roof, which leaked and the shared bathroom got moist, because we had a rainy august.
Finding it in the backstreets was a little bit tricky, but that wasn't so bad at all. Sometimes it's difficult to navigate in foreign territories.
Inside the rooms there wasn't much space, except for walking. The en-suite bathroom was like 2 m x 1 m and really tiny. Even the heights of the sink was like for a child. As a grown up you had to bend really bad to look in the mirror (see attached photo), which wasn't so good for the back of my Dad.
The best side was the location, in a quite suburban area and near the beach. We saw it from our window and used every dry moment in the evening to walk at the beach.
You can take some food with you from one of the stores in the area and eat at the beach. With the sun going down it's quite romantic.
You have a very good bus connection to the city centre of Edinburgh and the busses are going every ten minutes until late in the night. So you don't have to worry, getting there after sundown.
The main entrance to the guest h…
The beach behind the guest house…
The beach behind the guest house…
View towards the guest house wit…
The en-suite bathroom in a wardr…
My parents bed.
The day is starting over the sea.
