Edinburgh: Harry Potter Heaven

This past weekend was absolutely amazing! Sarah, Liz, Erin and I went to Edinburgh, Scotland and had an incredible visit! We stayed in the High Street Hostel which is right off the Royal Mile (the street that has the Edinburgh Castle at the top and at the bottom is the Queen's official residence in Scotland.)

Most popular tourist attraction in Ireland! J.K. Rowling had a view of this castle while writing Harry Potter 1 & 2! It's built on a cliff like Hogwarts! 

As soon as we arrived from our quick little flight thanks to Ryan Air we had dinner at a restaurant right down the street. I had the Potted Hough, which was beef on bread with some cranberry/apple spread. Yum! When we returned we headed out on pub crawl sponsored by the hostel. We went to six different pubs and ended at a night club--what a great first night. The pub crawl (my first!) was amazing because we got to meet so many people throughout the night who all lived in our hostel or the one up the street. We befriended Australians, French, Canadians and Germans and spent time with them throughout the weekend! The pubs were all very different and included one traditional pub, a posh modern pub, an Aussie pub, a Frankenstein pub, a heavy metal pub and a sports pub. When we finally got to the night club we were all ready to hit the dance floor!

Pub crawl with some of our new friends: Aussies and a Canadian! They enjoyed their new kilts a little too much.

The hostel itself was wonderful and the best first hostel experience I could have asked for! The building was from the 1500's and was a famous resident's house. So cool! My favorite part, besides the friendly people, was the complimentary Cadbury's hot chocolate that was provided in the kitchen! I now refuse to drink Nestle or Swiss Miss--it's Cadbury's or bust. All of the beds in the hostel were named--mine was Indus! Staying at the hostel felt like camp because of all of the people, relaxed community and bunkbeds!

Throughout the weekend we visited the National Museum of Scotland, hiked Arthur's Seat (mountain/hill/cliff that overlooks the city/ocean with stunning views), toured the Edinburgh Castle, visited two smaller towns (Linlithgow and Stirling) to see other castles, took a free city walking tour, awed at St. Giles Cathedral, took a torture and ghost tour of the vaults underneath the city where people once lived in poverty/when they had the plague/while running from the law, ate traditional food (but no Haggis for me), had full Scottish breakfast at a tea room and followed it up with homemade pastries, drank lots of tea and tried Irn-Bru (Scotland's other national drink--an orange soda described as cream soda on crack), saw where Robert Burns once lived, drank a 'Shandy' (half lemonade/half Tennets), and met amazing people from all over the world.

Down in one of the city's old vaults where people lived and fought to stay alive during the plague and while living in poverty/running from the law.

Yum.

When we visited Linlitihgow and Sterling I was enchanted by the magnificent castles that were inhabited by some of the most noteworthy British rulers! My favorite castle was the one in Linlithgow which was only comprised of the oringial stone structure. It was essentially a stone playground that we could explore without hindrance. I could see where old fireplaces, doors, windows and rooms used to be, and there was something really enjoyable about imaging what had once been there.

This was so Hogwarts. It was such a playground and the four of us definitely got lost from each other while exploring!

The city itself was majestic, to say the least. The architecture was stunning, the kilts and cashmere were in abundance and being in the same places as royalty like Mary Queen of Scots and the King James' lived was incredible. I will give you fair warning...the next part may cause some of my readers to fall over in severe fits of envy, and I honestly don't blame you. If you are a Harry Potter fan, read on at your own risk...this is almost too good to be true.

My favorite part, however, was being able to sit in the same spot as J.K. Rowling where she wrote the first two Harry Potter books at The Elephant House--an adorable cafe. From her view, Ms. Rowling (who I met this summer when I sneakily spotted her at SeaWorld while working) could see Edinburgh Castle built on a cliff and the George Heriot School--the school that Hogwarts is based on. To make the weekend more of a Potter pilgrimage, I saw the grave where Thomas Riddle is buried--the inspiration for Tom Marvolo Riddle (I am Lord Voldemort when unscrambled!) Whenever I was in a castle or the graveyard I hummed the Harry Potter theme song under my breath...it was only appropriate! However, on my last day I was walking along Calton Hill looking at old monuments and viewing the city and I heard another man singing the same tune! Yes! I'm not the only insane one around here!

No caption needed :)

Outside the George Heriot School...this school inspired Hogwarts! I'm in heaven.

I took a walk to the castle on the last night (one of our two non-rainy evenings!) and simply admired the moonlit view of it and the George Heriot school. It was a moment I'll never forget and one that I felt so calm and at peace (I'm feeling that a lot since I've been across the pond.) I only saw a few other tourists around, and for a few several still moments I took in the beauty of something that has inspired something so incredibly meaningful to my childhood. I tried to leave the spot where I was standing three times, but I suppose some kind of spell held me in captive awe.