A Week in Scotland (Pt.1)

About a month ago, I had the chance to travel to Edinburgh for a week, along with 39 other 10th-graders and two teachers from my school.  

Is there anything more tourist-y than taking a picture of red telephone boxes?

I consider myself pretty well-travelled, especially for my age, and have been on more trans-atlantic flights than I can count, but this was my first time both in the UK and flying on my own. Even though I had to get up at two in the morning on the day of departure (we were flying from Cologne, which is about four hours away from where I live in Germany), I was up until 11pm the night before, checking and double-checking that I had my passport, my chargers for my phone and camera and everything else I might need for a week away from home in a place I’d never been. As a result, I was insanely tired when my alarm sounded just three short hours after I’d gone to bed and I ended up spending most of the bus ride to the airport in the early hours of the morning asleep. My nerves weren’t calmed until after we’d passed through security, where any feelings of anxiety vanished and were replaced by nothing but excitement. 

The 1.5 hour flight went by quickly, and before I knew it, we were at Edinburgh International Airport. Customs were no problem, I found my luggage and I was able to exchange my Euros for Pounds easily, thus eliminating three more of my worries, and by the time I was in the bus headed for the school we’d be taking classes at, I felt like life was perfect. The rest of the day consisted of introductions, short placement tests and then going home to our host families. Being a native speaker of English, I was a bit worried about the reactions of the Scottish to 1) my american accent and 2) the fact that the goal of the trip was to learn to speak english more fluently, which I obviously already could . As it turned out, I needn’t have worried, because everyone was incredibly friendly, and I learned that the main focus of our classes wouldn’t be grammar or spelling, but rather topics like scottish myths and legends, communication and social networking and music throughout the ages. 

The "birthplace" of Harry Potter

My first two full days in Scotland were filled with a rally around Edinburgh, a trip to Edinburgh Castle and an all-day excursion to St. Andrews, a lovely seaside town with a large university where Prince William and Kate met. Being the Harry Potter nerd that I am, I particularly enjoyed seeing the Elephant House in Edinburgh (a.k.a. the cafe J.K. Rowling began writing Harry Potter in), along with all the old buildings and the view from the castle. 

Edinburgh Caslte…

…and the view from the top!

Because our host family lived in Portobello, which is right by the sea, my friend and I made several stops by the beach in the evenings. Seeing as southern Germany is very far from any beaches, I hadn't really been to many since my move from Michigan nearly four years ago, so I was (naturally) very excited to feel wind in my hair and the sand under my feet again. 

St. Andrews was beautiful as well. We saw the Ruins of an old castle, the Uni and an old graveyard, and then had some free time to walk around the charming main street and along the beach.

The castle Ruins in St. Andrews

I had so many adventures that I couldn't possibly fit them all into one blog post without it becoming insanely long, so this will only be part one of my trip: part two will be up as soon as possible!