My week in Edinburgh #1 | Archive Travel

Posted on October 17 2024 by Katja in Travel Adventures / 6 Comments

My trip to Scotland was an amazing solo adventure from the past: welcome to Archive Travel, the blog series.

First posted in Dutch on May 14 2018 and updated on October 16 2024.

In my Airbnb

Day 1

Scotland had been on my bucket list to visit for a very long time. And on Tuesday, May 1st 2018, I finally flew to this beautiful country. Well, I can tell you that I did not shout with joy that morning… I had a sore throat and a slight fever. Still, I decided to go. After 7 months of internship and a very busy month of April, I knew it was because all the stress came out at once. However, it turned out not to be my best decision. During the flight, my sore throat turned into an ear infection. And that was quite painful. But once I saw Scotland from my window, I knew that I had made the right decision to go. Despite the fact that it was quite a health risk (you are not allowed to fly with an ear infection) and I was deaf on one side for the first 2 days.

Arriving at the airport in Edinburgh I quickly walked to the Trams, for me that was the most convenient means of transport to get to the city. From St. Andrews Square I walked to my Airbnb where I was welcomed by my host. And wow, what a fantastic place to stay! Super clean and a lovely bed. After a visit to the supermarket, eating something and a shower I decided to go to bed early. I had already asked quite a lot of my body and therefore wanted to take it easy.

Day 2

Without a plan I walked into the city and before I knew it I was at the Royal Mile. My eyes were wide open. What beautiful buildings! You feel the stories and the history behind them when you walk through the streets.

Suddenly, while I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going, I arrived at the castle. I decided the following: if it’s quiet then I’ll buy a ticket, if it’s busy I’ll try tomorrow morning. What turned out? It wasn’t that busy! Since it started to drizzle while I was standing in line, a lot of people also left because they didn’t want to get wet. While I thought: what did you expect from Scotland?

Once inside, it started to rain really hard. I went to the Red Coat Café which is located on the castle grounds. I had a large cup of coffee and a delicious scone.

It wasn’t exactly dry when I had my caffeine shot, so I went to the museum first. There I mainly learned about the different wars that Scotland has fought.

The weather started to clear up carefully, so I could finally explore the grounds and I also explored different rooms where I learned a lot about the Scottish royal family.

By now I had already spent about 4 hours in and around the castle. How I enjoyed the history and I sometimes even saw Dutch influences! And the view when the clouds cleared, absolutely stunning.

During my holiday in Scotland I also learned a lot about photography and I was also able to try out some new techniques.

After the castle I walked towards the National Scottish Museum and stuck around for around an hour.

After a day of culture I went back to my Airbnb. During my walk I came across several nerdy shops and I think this one on South Bridge is my favourite.

On the same street you can find Blackwell’s, the oldest bookstore in Edinburgh. Of course I bought a book!

Day 3

Wow, how time flies! Before I knew it it was Thursday and I took a long city walk to go to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. It was super quiet. There are not many tourists who make the effort to visit it. I thought it was really cool and especially the current exhibition. In addition, it is nice to combine it with going to Dean Village afterwards.

Dean Village is located in the valley of Edinburgh, about a 5-minute walk from Princes Street. The name of the village is derived from the Gaelic word Dene, meaning “deep valley”. For over 800 years it was a fertile area for grain production. In its heyday there were no fewer than eleven mills, traces of which are still visible today. After the construction of the Dean Bridge and the more modern mills in Leith, the village slowly fell into disrepair. In the mid-1970s, however, people began to recognise the charm of the village again. The village was renovated, without losing its authentic elements, and became a quiet residential area.

That was it for now, part 2 will be posted next week! Honestly, translating these blog series makes me want to go back to Scotland.

Love,

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6 responses to “My week in Edinburgh #1 | Archive Travel

  1. Ik ben jaren geleden naar Edinburgh gegaan, maar ik had de nerdwinkels toen niet gezien! Ziet er erg mooi uit Katja, heb nu weer zin om er heen te gaan 🙂 Ik had trouwens tijdens mijn vakantie helemaal geen regen, we hadden toen echt geluk!

    • Katja

      Ik heb echt zo ontzettend veel scones gehad toen ik daar was! Alleen al daardoor heb ik zin om terug te gaan.

    • Katja

      Ja, scones! Er zat een dag bij dat ik er wel 4 had gegeten op één dag!

      Edinburgh is inderdaad zo fijn!

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