Scotland > The Royal Mile of Edinburgh

I’m going for a weekend with six friends to the Scottish capital. We were actually supposed to go two years ago, but corona prevented this. The corona measures have been lifted, but the national airport Schiphol is still struggling after corona. Due to staff shortages, they can hardly handle the flow of holidaymakers. In recent days, there have been long queues. Often the line already started outside the departure hall. We leave for Sassenheim station well in advance. About fifteen minutes later, we get off at Schiphol Plaza. The crowd here is still manageable. For the weekend trip, we all only brought carry-on luggage. This allows us to go straight to security. It’s not immediately clear where the line begins exactly. The signage is incorrect. Schiphol staff show us the way. We join the queue already inside the departure hall. Security is one floor up. Slowly the crowd moves forward between the barriers. Everyone looks somewhat resigned. A few try to push ahead due to an approaching boarding time. Most people have accounted for the delay and have joined well in time. After waiting in line for an hour, we pass through baggage check and customs without further problems. We have plenty of time left to eat and drink. When we arrive at gate H4, the Easyjet plane hasn’t arrived yet. A few minutes later, the aircraft arrives. Passengers still need to disembark. Unloading and loading takes about half an hour. Flight EZY6922 takes off twenty minutes late at 1:30 PM heading for Scotland. Along the way, I overhear tips a Scot behind me shares with his neighbors. He especially recommends the Old Town of Edinburgh. Around two o’clock local time, I land in Edinburgh. There are no queues at customs here. We pass through fairly smoothly. Between the airport and the city of Edinburgh runs a tram line. We buy a return ticket and board the waiting tram. In about half an hour, we arrive at West End station in the center of Edinburgh. From here it’s just a few streets to our apartment. When we stand in front of the door, we only see lockers with codes.

Scotland - The first beer in Edinburgh

Have we received a code? We call the rental agency. While waiting for instructions, we order a sandwich at the Subway across the street. With the code received, we can enter the apartment. Four bedrooms, a living room, and several bathrooms. It looks good and is located right in the city center. We head to the historic center. From the apartment, we can already see Edinburgh Castle. To get there, we have to cross a wide street. Fortunately, there are traffic lights here. At the next quieter intersection, there are also lights, but everyone crosses anyway. You have to be careful because the traffic drives on the left. We safely arrive at the Grassmarket. There are plenty of terraces here. From the terrace, in the last rays of sunshine, we have a view of Edinburgh Castle. We walk into Victoria Street. After the Royal Mile, the city’s most famous street. Along the sloping street, houses are built over two floors. We step into the Finnegan’s Wake pub for a beer. In this Irish pub, we toast to the start of a fun weekend. The Royal Mile is a wide street between Edinburgh Castle on one side and the Palace of Holyroodhouse on the other. The castle and Royal Mile lie on a natural rock outcrop. This made the area easy to defend in the past. On both sides of the Royal Mile are old historic buildings. Small alleys lead to the houses behind.

Scotland - The last beer in Finnegans Wake pub

We walk down the alley called the Advocate Close. In this alley is the Devil’s Advocate pub. A pub with hundreds of types of whisky. Behind the bar, 300 whisky bottles are displayed. We follow the Mile a little further and turn off to the restaurant Mother India. We have a reservation there for tonight. The menu features various smaller Indian dishes. We each choose two. At the end of the evening, we return to the Finnegan’s Wake pub. The security guard at the entrance initially doesn’t want to let us in. Our group is too large, and it’s too crowded inside. After some persuasion, he lets us in. The live music is just starting.