Edinburgh | burgers, beer & kilts
When I saw the impressive backdrop of Edinburgh's Old Town the 1. When I saw Edinburgh Castle for the first time in the movie Hallam Foe, it was clear "I have to go there". Unfortunately it took several years to finally get there! And what can I say? My dreams were exceeded by far! Edinburgh is since the 15. The city was the capital of Scotland in the 19th century and with almost 480.000 inhabitants the second largest city in Scotland. Since 1999 the center of Edinburgh belongs to the world cultural heritage. By the way, you can find many tips about Edinburgh at www.scotland guide.en.
At night
As it is appropriate for a visit to a city like Edinburgh, we stayed in a hotel, which is housed in a townhouse from the 1860s.
It was obvious that the Ritz Hotel has long since passed its prime. The carpet had several stains, the four-poster bed was a bit wobbly, and the furniture was otherwise very worn out. But it is tremendously plush and wonderfully old-fashioned. And our little room was clean too! In addition, the location of the Ritz is great, because we could walk to the sights in Old and New Town easily. And that in not even a quarter of an hour walk! We found the Hotel Ritz definitely topp- especially because there was a carpet in colorful tartan on the stairs.
Address: 14-16 Grosvenor St
In the morning
Because we didn't book breakfast at the hotel, as usual, we had breakfast at Ryans Bar ( 2-4 Hope St) with a view of the nearby Edinburgh Castle. By the way, the interior is very beautiful, especially the ceiling painting makes a real impression. Fortunately, there is a vegetarian version of the Scottish Breakfast there. And so we happily munched on vegetarian sausages, grilled tomato, potato scones, hash browns, scrambled eggs, white beans in tomato sauce and toast. The breakfast was very tasty and so rich that we were satiated almost the whole day.
While strolling through Edinburgh we also discovered the Foodlights Bar (7 Spittal Street). And since there is also a vegetarian breakfast on the menu, we of course had to try it out right away. The interior of this pub could be a bit more neat, somehow everything was a bit sticky. Above all, the bottle with the hot by us and dearly loved HP Sauce. But then it tasted quite good. I especially liked that they served fried eggs.
During the day
Edinburgh is not for nothing a World Heritage Site! For me, this tranquil city is simply a work of art. And contemplative also because you can walk to almost everything can do. For example, we only bought tickets from the airport to the hotel and back, as well as a day ticket for our trip to Leith.
By the way, Leith is only worth a visit if you want to see the Royal Yacht Britannia, the Queen's old luxury cruiser. Surprisingly, it is considered one of the biggest tourist attractions of all. Or you can go shopping in the Ocean Terminal. Otherwise, Leith is very quiet and almost a little boring. Unfortunately, we didn't get much of the great cafes and restaurants on the Shore of Leith, since we were already on the road early in the morning and they were therefore still closed.
Especially fascinating we found the Old Town, which lies at the feet of Edinburgh Castle. A visit to the Edinburgh Castle is an absolute must, despite the high price of 16 pounds. So we spent about three hours on the extensive area and of course not only admired the long lost crown jewels and the coronation stone. We were also impressed by the Scotch Whisky Experience: We have never seen so many types of whisky in one place before! If you are a fan of the Scottish national drink, you should not only visit the store (like we did) but also take a tour with tasting.
But the Old Town has much more to offer. Just strolling through the Royal Mile is simply impressive and is complemented by many attractions such as the St. Giles Cathedral, the Canongate section lined with the Musem People's Story, the Canongate Kirk and the Palace of Holyroodhouse. And now and then by a bagpiper in a kilt.
Of course we walked around all these sights and afterwards we even hiked on Arthur's Seat. This is the 251 m high local mountain of Edinburgh, which is of volcanic origin. From here we had an impressive view of the whole city, the Firth of Forth and the southern Highlands.
Of course we didn't miss the most famous church including the most famous cemetery of the city: Greyfriars. In front of the churchyard is the popular Greyfriars Bobby statue, which was erected in honor of a very loyal dog. The little fellow watched over the grave of his dead master for no less than 14 years!
The National Museum Of Scotland (Chambers Street) is definitely worth a visit. It was created in its current form by the merger of the Museum of Scotland (with collections of Scottish antiquities and cultural-historical material) and the Royal Museum (with collections on science, technology, natural history and world culture). On the almost endless exhibition area we not only dived deep into the history of Scotland, we also learned a lot about the animal world and foreign customs. From the roof terrace, we enjoyed the magnificent view of the city and took dozens of photos. And it's all free, because admission doesn't cost a penny!
After more than three hours in the museum, we strengthened ourselves at Le Cafe Blue (W Port, near Grassmarket) with Choclate Cheesecake and Wellbaked Tarte. The cafe is small and wonderfully colorful, so that I didn't know where to look first. And the pastries were also very tasty! I also found it nice that there were several herbal teas from PUKKA to choose from.
The New Town was in our eyes not quite as appealing. We were disappointed by the three famous streets George Street, Rose Street and Princess Street. Of course, there are also imposing buildings, chic pubs and many, many exclusive stores here- but we were less enthusiastic about all this.
But our visit to the Botanical Garden was really, really great! Here we spent several hours with strolling and botany. Nearby is also Vettes College, the J.K. Rowling was the inspiration for Harry Potter's Hogwarts school of magic.
A gem is the picturesque Dean Village, which was once a village with many different mills, which were built by the river Dean were operated. The old mills have long been renovated and converted into homes, which immediately awakened the desire to move here immediately in us. You simply can't live more quietly and contemplatively!
A visit to the statue of Sherlock Holmes was also a must. It stands at Picardy Place, where in house no. 11 the spiritual father of the master detective, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, was born.
And we also climbed the famous Calton Hill! There we could enjoy the Nelson Monument , the unfinished National Monument as well as the great view of the city.
In the evening
Edinburgh not only has a lot to offer culturally, but also in terms of culinary delights. The times when Scotsmen only ate Haggis- so sheep stomach filled with offal- The hours we spent eating here are long gone. According to our travel guide from Reise Know-How*, Edinburgh is known for its diverse gastronomy and can even boast five Michelin-starred establishments. Since Mr. Wallygusto and I were craving for burgers and fries, we always went to eat in the pub. However, we did try the vegetarian version of the haggis for once. However, this could not convince us, because it tasted a little bland. By the way, we didn't dare to try the legendary deep-fried Mars bars, they were too special for us :-).
Incidentally, the largest selection of pubs, cafes and restaurants can be found at Grassmarket. Since the beers are also served in half pints, it was also possible to test some of them without any big problems. Of course, not only an almost inexhaustible variety of beers is offered, also lovers of whisky and gin do not come too briefly. For a better overview, we will soon provide you with a list of the pubs we visited :-).
Conclusion
Not only thanks to the many sights, Edinburgh is so indescribably beautiful that I can hardly put it into words! The whole city is just incredibly friendly, relatively clean and we felt very safe the whole time.
Mr. Wallygusto and I are also already planning the next visit. Then, however, combined with many walks through the nearby Highlands- that must be then simply!