Scotland2005: In Edinburgh

Good evening from Edinburgh. Once again, here we are on very familiar turf -- the same Internet cafe, but it is no longer above our favorite conveyor belt sushi bar, which is where we were hoping to have dinner tonite.

There was a glorious sunset over Edinburgh castle, and right now the spotlights are just coming on and the castle is lit up. This is really one of the most wonderful cities in the world. Like yesterday, it was a bit of deja vu all over again today, especially coming into Edinburgh's Waverly station, walking up the stairs and seeing the castle and old town. Getting here was much different however, and it took nearly twice as long as usual due to the track work and rail detour.

We finally faded off to sleep about 940p last night in London after finding our favorite tacky, almost Denny-esque, British chain restaurant called Garfunkels. The reason we liked it so much last time was their simple dessert that once we saw it we went "duh" and wondered why we hadn't seen it elsewhere. It consists of a waffle, topped with vanilla ice cream, with maple syrup and crushed nuts and toffee. It actually was quite good, as good as we had rememberd, and better than the Atkins version we tried to make when we got home after the last trip.

I woke up wide awake about 3a (which would have been 7p PDT) just as I feared I would, from having gone to bed that "early". I hate jet lag. We managed to doze until 7a when we woke up, packed up and went downstairs toa rather expensive breakfast buffet in the Hotel before heading to the tube for the trip uptown to Kings Cross station. The station PA recording still barks MIND THE GAP!!! several thousand times whenever a train comes into the station -- you'd think Londoner's and tourists would have learned by now..and when one has only had a tepid cup of English "coffee"(so weak you have to drink it in the dark), it is a tad jarring on the nerves.

We had planned on taking a 945a train north, but got to Kings Cross at 830a and decided to take an 845a train. The train was a newly refurbished one with wi-fi making us wish we'd have brought the laptop -- hotel Internet access is much better than it was two years ago, and we could have uploaded pictures to post on our blog site...but we'll know better next time. Makes me wonder if the Brits can figure out how to do wi-fi ona fast moving train through the countryside, why can't Washington State Ferries figure out how to do it on cross sound boats that stay within line of sight of Seattle? But I digress.

We still had to plan on changing trains in Newcastle, England due to the track work. On our way north, in our nice first class seats with in-seat coffee and tea service and a wonderful view, we noticed in the on-board magazine an article detailing a one-hour walkabout of Newcastle. With the flexibility of the railpass, we could just wait for another train, so we decided to do the walkabout and stowed our luggage at the "Left Luggage"stand and headed out.

Newcastle is accurately named if you consider the "New" castle is one built by the son of William the Conqueror in the early 1100s, which replaced an "old" castle that dated from Roman times. Much of that castle still stands so we headed over for a look-see, and climbed to the top which has a commanding view up and down the Tyne river and stands directly in front of the train station. The top was cluttered with photographers and a BBC crew waiting for a steam powered excursion train that we'd passed earlier on our run north. A castle full of rail fans and train buffs. Tony and I both noticed a number of train photogs and railfans -- more so than I ever see in the states. Here they are called called "Trainspotters"...some rather young ones too, which Tony said should remind me of my younger days, and I suppose it did. Tony got a taste of that too as I introduced him to vestibule riding.

The train from Newcastle to Edinburgh was an older, unrefurbished one but still elegant, and it had vestibule windows that opened. We spent a good deal of the run riding there with our heads out the windows, much as dogs do when riding in a car. There is nothing like riding the rails in an open vestibule, and Tony actually spent a great deal more time there than I did-- though nothing to compare with the 14 hours my friend Dave Harmer and I spent between Salt Lake City and Denver one year a long time ago.



[Tony here-I just had to interject-I admit it was fun riding in the vestibule, but it was more fun after I sat back down. Gary remained out in the vestibule and when I looked up as the train lurched around a corner, I watched Gary stumble from one side of the train to the other. I half expected to watch him fly off the train... Until the train went around another corner and there went Gary stumbling back to the other side.]

The rail detour took almost twice as long as expected, but when we started to enter Edinburgh, and could see the castle on the mountain, it was all worth it. The national rail network timetable changed today, but no one has the new timetables available, so we aren't sure how to plan what to do and where to go tomorrow. We'll just play it by ear.

More important now is finding a place for dinner before we head out to a country dance put on by the local Bear club of which Tony is a member. This should be interesting ifnot down right scary. Especially if they are doing line dances in kilts. We'll let you know.

From New Town Edinburgh
Gary and Tony