Autumn through my eyes, Pt. 2: Autumn travels

... or how I fell in love with Scotland.

I always knew that Anglophone countries are what makes my heart sing with joy. Countless hours spent sitting at school listening to all those ancient stories about powerful kings, brave knights and innocent princesses left a mark on me. A mark that was only strenghtened by endless evenings spent with a book in my hand. Reading always allowed my mind to wander and explore; let the legends and heroes materialize in my mind and live their stories along with them. 

When thinking about traveling and exploring the countries I learned to love, I always thought about myself in London. I don´t know why, maybe because that was the “piece of land” I had previously explored. Maybe thinking about London was my mind placing me in a place I knew; maybe it was playing safety games with me. But recently, when I started to learn about other parts of the Kingdom, it went zig-zag thinking and mentally exploring. Apart from trying my best to learn Scots, I discovered the magic of Sir Walter Scott and his famous Waverley, Diana Gabaldon and her genial Outlander series and the stories about heroes started to materialize in my head once again. This time, it went travelling North with a speed of light.

And that´s when my parents came with an idea. “What would you like as your graduation present?” They asked. When answering “no idea”, they suggested travelling to Scotland for few days, the city was my choice. OF COURSE I chose Edinburg! How could I not? I know that there are other incredible cities up North, but I couldn´t resist.  Immediately, I started thinking about Jamie Fraser and his print shop and Sir Walter Scott sitting on a bench in the Princes Street Garden, gathering inspiration for his novels. I wanted to sit there, too. I wanted to find the mysterious Carfax Close and find the print shop. And let me tell you, I did!

Talking about Scott, the first thing I saw right when I got out of the bus was the Sir Walter Scott monument. Immediately, I started thinking about my old professor back at the uni, enthusiastically describing the biggest monument to an author in the world. Well, now I could see it for myself.

Being the ride-or-die Harry Potter fan that I am, I couldn´t resist to have a cheeky little HP hunt around the city. You know, Rowling is from Edinburgh, she gave the literary "birth" to the magic in a little café called Elephant House. Today, the café is THE central point for every fan; everyone wants to have a coffee there and feel the atmosphere of the place where all the magic was born. Well, that´s what I did. And gladly so! And, just a little advice, do pay a visit to the toilet and don´t forget to bring a Sharpie along. You wouldn´t want to miss a chance to leave a little note for Jo!

The elephant Café wasn´t my last HP hotspot. Just behind the café, there is the Greyfriar´s Cemetery, where Rowling like to go to get an inspiration for the character names, one of them being... you guessed right. The Dark Lord himself!

Didn´t missed the Diagon Alley, either. Or the Victoria street irl. Call it as you like.

Although it was raining cats and dogs the day I found it, I didn´t hesitate to stick my hand in a muddy puddle just to touch Rowling´s hand print. Talk about the fan moments, right?

Anyway, enough about my crazy Harry Potter adventures, there´s more about Edinburg worth discussing. For example, visiting the castles. One of them being the Edinburgh Castle, the gigantic fort standing proudly on a hill above the city. Also, if you want to see where the Bloody Mary lived and planned her anti-protestant movements, and where the Royal family lives when visiting Edinburg, don´t miss the chance to see the Holyrood House, with its beautiful gardens and ruins of an old abbey. Straight outta Dracula! 

The Royal Mile, a high street connecting the castle with the palace is an important spot to see, too. Apart from the great food opportunities waiting around every corner, the Royal Mile screams Scotland at you with its Tartan, Tweed and Cashmere shops all the way up to the castle. Definitely spent a small fortune over there... By the way, if you are an Outlander fan as I definitely am, keep your eyes open for cheeky little spots certified to sell Outlander merch. I found some and couldn´t resist. Hence the Fraser badge and the dragonfly necklace. The fans will get it (I hope). 

Oh, and by the way, just when I was browsing the castle on the hill (get it? get it?), the Ophelia Hurricane made its way to Scotland. Everything went dark and strangely orange.

And then, on another hill, everything went windy and the sky cleared out in the blink of an eye.

I could write about everything I saw and experienced for ever, that´s why I decided to just throw some more nice pictures for you here, so enjoy! :) If you want to, you can tell me about your new favourite city in the comment bar below this post. If not, I hope that you at least enjoyed reading about mine.

Until next time,

čauko, Lenka :)