Ok folks, first some business. We now have a phone!! We have two numbers, our land line which is 0144 131 221 0316 from the US, and our mobile (thats a cell phone for all you yanks), which is 0144 787 585 2427.
That settled, the theme for the rest of this entry will be the fair city of Edinburgh. The first thing to know about Edinburgh is that is is not at all as dreary and miserable as we Americans have been led to believe. It actually doesn't get any more rain than London and in fact unlike Western Oregon, it rarely rains for a long period. Rather, it often will rain at night or in the morning, only to become lovely and sunny by midday. This is great because if you wait until the right time to go out, the weather will be very pleasant. Otherwise, if it is sour you can always duck into one of the thousands of cafes and pubs the city offers for a hot drink.
Though Edinburgh is a very old city, it is today a young one, in that in most parts it seems to be crawling with twenty something hipsters. (Right now leggings, sweater dresses and big boots seem to be the thing.) There are several reasons for this I think, one being that there are several large universities in the city, another being that Edinburgh is considered a hip city to live in if you are young and thus tends to attract these types. The benefit of all this, is Edinburgh has a great night life. Any given night of the week, you will find large groups of people clogging the streets and pouring out of nightclubs. Unlike London, where by law, all pubs close by midnight (which surprised me, by the way) Edinburgh pubs and bars stay open very late. In addition to these, there are many many clubs and music venues with shows going on all the time, and which tend to be open very late (I walked by one yesterday that didn't OPEN until 3 am). Many of these venues are located in interesting and historic buildings. For example, there are many pubs and concert halls in old churches here (why I have do idea, something to do with the iconclasm of the Scottish Protestation reformation taken a different turn in modern times?) There are also cool arthouse movie theaters that have late night showings of films, and my personal favorite, the many 'take away' joints that offer late night revelers Edinburgh specialities such as deep friend Mars bars as well as British classics like chips (thats fries) and pie. One of my favorite features of the Edinburgh nightlife are the many rickshaws that scurry around town hauling drunks. They are brilliantly fun and riding in them necessitates much hooting and hollering as the poor driver hauls his or her passengers up the city's many hills, and then goes flying down the other side, careening around the narrow corners and streets. The drivers seem to enjoy themselves, and they are actually a bit cheaper than a taxi.
Now about the city itself. Edinburgh is interesting because it is very old, but has gone through many re-developments and expansions. As a result, different parts of town have a particular character to them. Old town, in the city center is very characteristic of what we picture an old city looking like. Tall, narrow stone buildings and little winding streets. Small windows with uneven glass, cobblestone streets with strange names and insane intersections with five different directions converging at one point. Newer parts of town are more orderly, with neat rows of pale stone houses and shops, each surrounded by a thin iron railing and with its own steps to the front door. Surprisingly the city has many parks and these are scattered thoughout it. Some of them are actually very big, some even have golf courses and lawn bowling fields in (golf is much more of a people's sport in Scotland than in the US). One park that is a five minute walk from our house is a half mile long and full of open spaces. Another, Holyrood park is the biggest in town and includes a series of large hills where you can go hiking. The largest of these, known as Arthur's Seat, is the highest point in the city at its top and carries with it all kinds of historical lore. Holyrood park is so massive that when you enter the park it is like you have left the city (like forest park but without the trees). One of its best features is a series of massive crags that are actually bolted and set up for rock climbers (yea!).
Apart from the parks and buildings, the geography of Edinburgh is very interesting. It developed around the castle, which is on a massive cliff surrounded by valleys and hills and so the city covers many different elevations. In certain sections there are actually two levels, as streets are extended on bridges above the city below. Likewise there are high points in town where you can actually get a view of the sea. Aside from the winding and crazily intersecting streets, there are a number of small pedestrian passages throughout the city known as 'closes.' These sometimes lead to little squares, and at others through buildings to other streets, and often different levels of the city (many closes are made up of stairs). Often walking through the city you can glimpse these amazing views through these little passages, and they are a very fun way to explore the city.
For the size of the city, Edinburgh has a thriving business community. On every street there are countless stores, pubs and restuarants of all kinds. In our neighborhood, we are within a five minute walk of at least fifty restuarants, at least twenty bars, five grocery stores, six hairdressers, three department stores, two movie theaters, a locksmith, a pawnshop, a stereo store, and countless news agents (which are like mini marts). We end up going shopping at least four times a week because it is so easy and that way our food is fresh, and we don't have to plan ahead much. Though everyone says the UK is expensive, Edinburgh is relatively cheap. Food is definately much cheaper here than in the US (if one ignores the exchange rate), and so are many other consumer goods. Even rent is cheaper in Edinburgh than in Eugene!!
Finally the people of Edinburgh. Though it is a very cosmopolitan city with many immigrants from all over the world, it is definately part of Scotland. It is not rare to hear bag pipes and to see big burly guys in kilts (I am not kidding here). Scottish people have a very unique accent, and especially when a little pissed (drunk) they can become utterly incomprensible. One of the big pastimes for Scottish men seems to be getting drunk and then walking down the street in big groups singing loudly (and badly). On a one-to-one level, Scots are very friendly and nice, though don't expect to much in the line of customer service. They love sport but are also big on art. Besides the countless theater and dance companies in the cities, there are traveling troupes that go all over the country. They have a great deal of national pride, though they are generally friendly with English folk. Scots are also friendly with Americans (they are plenty of us here), though if you hang around certain parts of town expect to be taken for a tourist.
Well, I have expended my free time for now, I must get on with my homework. I hope this little bit has been interesting and enlightening for those of who haven't been to our new home as well as those that have. We hope life is well for all of our friends where-ever in the world you may be. We are thinking of you all every day.
love, Alletta (and Ryan)
No comments:
Post a Comment