England/Scotland 2024 Pilgrimage – Day 7

Saturday, September 7, 2024

Edinburgh, Scotland

Today was cool, foggy, and drizzly most of the day. We took the tram into downtown Edinburgh to explore.

Though it looks to Americans the name of this city is Ed-in-burg, they pronounce it Ed-in-boro. Another clarification to a curious question I had: what, exactly, is a tram? Is it the same as a bus? The answer is no.

For our Hungarian friends, it is a modern villamos. Europe’s version of an electric street car. It runs on tracks and there are electric lines overhead. Once in the city, the tracks are in the road. It is like a metro subway in that it has a set out-and-back route.

The tram has multiple cars which are attached in such a way that they can “bend” to go around corners. Yet the are enclosed seamlessly so you can walk from car to car without realizing it. I wish we had them in the USA!

Um, you don’t have the right ticket

We got on the tram at the airport station which is the end of the line. The other end is Newhaven, at a port. We planned to get off in-between to walk the Royal Mile, see some churches and possibly the castle. We were winging it with no “have to see” items on our agenda. So, we bought an “airport return” ticket (round trip.)

We bought our tickets at the airport stop. Once the tram began moving, a ticket checker walked through the cars and punched the ticket that we had used the outbound portion. Part way into our trip, I suggested we stay on until the end, then come back to the city center and get off to walk around. Seemed harmless and we’d get to see the city from one end to the other.

At Newhaven, we changed seats so that we would be looking forward again, since the tram “driver” got out and walked to the other end to “drive” (which is probably just pushing. It is a push me-pull you. When the tram began moving, the ticket taker came through again. He wanted to punch our return ticket. We explained our plan. He agreed that we didn’t want to use our return ticket yet, but that meant we were on the tram without a valid ticket. Gulp.

He said in almost so many words, I can see you are an ignorant tourist. I’m not suposed to sell tickets once the tram leaves the station but I’ll make an exception for you. That will be four pounds (two apiece.) Whew! He validly could have charged us 10 pounds each for not following the rules. Thanks be to God!

St. Mary’s Catholic Cathedral

We got off the tram and were met by a statue of Sir Conan Doyle. So fun! Also at this intersection is St. Mary’s Catholic Cathedral. We went in and prayed before taking a few photos. There were many people in there praying so we didn’t walk around out of respect. The diocese seems to be very active with programs for the needy, youth, and even an Alpha course being offered.

St. Paul and St. George’s Scottish Episcopal Church

We went across the street to see St. Paul and St. George’s Scottish Episcopal Church. Sadly for us, through happily for the church, they were closed to the public for a “family event” happening for a while longer. Gregg noticed many “prams” (strollers) inside. A lady invited us to return later in the day. We weren’t in that area of town later.

Kilt Shopping Anyone?

Walking on, we finally got to The Royal Mile. Which also meant The Tourist Shops Mile. Gregg went in to look at kilts, asking if he should get one for Rachel’s wedding. He did not purchase one. I enjoyed looking at the plaid scarves. The cashmere were the softest. At 70 pounds ($92 USD), it was not hard to pass. Too bad because I think my sister, Bryn, would like one for the winter. She has been wearing scarves to protect her thyroid surgery scar. Sorry, Bryn.

Need Change? Get Ice Cream!

We walked through a mall for a short cut and decided to take advantage of the toilets. Alas, they required 30 pence a person to go through the turnstyles. Gregg had a little change, but not the correct amount. So, we used it as an excuse to buy a small cone of Scottish Tablet (caramel flavored) ice cream and a bottle of water. Now we had the correct change.

St. Giles Cathedral

Next stop was St. Giles Cathedral. It was origionally founded in 1124 as a Roman Catholic Church. But during the Scottish Reformation, it adopted Protestantism. It was John Knox’s Parish Church until his death in 1572, and is considered to be the mother church of Presbyterianism. So, the Church of Scotland is Presbyterian. There is also a Scotish Episcopal Church which is part of the Anglican Communion.

The church is beautiful and curious. The floorplan is in the shape of a cross. Most churches would have the “front” of the church where Jesus’ head would have been on the cross. The pulpit was in the intersection of the cross, looking towards a short end of the cross. The choir sat in that short end. Parishoners would sit to the left and right of the pulpit, with a few beside the choir. Maybe this is where the term “preaching to the choir” began.

The Royal Mile

We continued walking uphill along the Royal Mile towards the castle. The closer we got, the more buskers were on the street. Several bagpipers were playing, people dressed as statues were entertaining, and two people with huge owls were allowing people to “hold” them for photos.

At one point, I reached back and felt my knapsack’s front pocket zipper was open. Had someone gotten into my bag??? Gregg felt in there and said that my gum and my ear warmers were still there (almost priceless except I was in the land of all things wool and warm.) I had ALMOST taken my new battery charger with me. I remember thinking the front pocket would make it easy to access. Duh…for pickpocketers, too!

I don’t think anything was taken. Thanks be to God! And maybe I just forgot to zip it. Who knows. It was definitely a good lesson learned. Even though it will hide my AU emblem, I will wear this knapsack with the front pocket towards my back from now on.

Our Historic Scotland Explorer’s pass was back at the hotel, so we skipped trying to see the castle. We probably needed a timed entry reservation anyways. It was fun to be at the gate, seeing the grandstands where we sat years ago with Cathy and Erica, watching the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

If you like bagpipes and you are visiting Edinburgh in August, I recommend getting (advanced) tickets.If I could figure out how to add hyperlinks with this computer, I’d give you the link. Sorry! The show features companies of bagpipes and drums, Scottish dancers, fiddlers, horses, international militaries from around the world, and more. It was thrilling.

Tea Time!

We found some walking streets and enjoyed looking around. Upon finding Bird and Blend, a tea shop, we thought about our niece, Emilee, who loves tea. I went in just for a quick look.

Three samples, a new friend, Taylor the sales woman, a comforting cup of pumpkin chai latte, and purchasing a bag of pumpkin chai loose leaf tea later, we continued on. For future reference, the pumpkin chai had steamed oat milk and a pump of Sweet Bird cinnamon syrup (I didn’t understand her pronunciation of the word syrup and told her I didn’t know that word. Haha!)

As we strolled, that red tea mug with an infuser wouldn’t leave my mind. After discussing our options for how to get it home (including breaking down and checking a bag since we each get to check one with our tickets, and also leaving a few items behind, like my fuzzy blanket gifted to Gregg after a blood donation), we turned around and went back to purchase it.

But wait! Have we got a deal for you! For “just” 10 pounds more, you can get a measuring spoon. PLUS two bags of loose leaf tea from a choice of four flavors – which did not include pumpkin chai. Why not? So now I’m set for tea for a while!

Halloumi Cheese

When I was in Scotland with Kathy Armstrong Holtgrieve in 1986, looking for her Scottish ancestors, we loved going into bakeries and buying a “meat pie.” So I was hankering for one. The closest we found was a chicken pie. I passed on it. Wanting to eat before returning to the airport, but not finding the type of meat pie I wanted, we were both pleased with our Plan B.

A woman from Wisconsin talked to us at dinner last night for a long time. The topic of cheese curds came up. And the fact that fresh cheese curds squeek when you chew them. She mentioned that her husband had a Halloumi “cheese burger” – as in, no burger, just a slice of grilled cheese. And it squeeked!

I found a Halloumi Cheese Wrap that was not “Scottish” food but was DELICIOUS! Gregg went to another vendor and had yummy curry chips – nice thick steak fries with yellow curry sauce poured over them.

I hope to find Halloumi in the States. Brandi, do you know this cheese??

A Google search produced this AI description:

Halloumi is a semi-hard, white cheese that originated in Cyprus and is made from goat’s or sheep’s milk, or a combination of the two. It has a high melting point, a salty-sweet flavor, and a squeaky, springy texture.

St. John’s Scottish Episcopal Church

On our way back to find the tram, we passed St. Cuthbert’s Church of Scotland church. Well, at least the graveyard. We could also see the Edinburgh Castle behind it. Once we finally found the entrance, it was closed for a while for a choral singing. Brahm’s something or another if I remember correctly. How cool!

Then we passed St. John’s Scottish Episcopal Church. I’m confused on the details, I think it wasn’t open until the evening service at 7pm. For whatever reason, we didn’t go into this church either.

Tram back to the Airport Hampton

Our wanderings had taken us past many bookstores. Gregg wandered into one connected with a church. It was fun to see which books they offered. They had some beautiful Celtic designed items. We left without purchasing anything, just enjoyed browsing.

It wasn’t difficult to find a tram stop for the airport tram. We enjoyed the 15-20 minute ride back. It was nice to be back in the hotel room. I put my feet up and began the blog. Gregg worked on updating the budget, finding a hotel for Monday and Tuesday nights (we have a reservation for tomorrow night,) and he enjoyed reading.

Tomorrow morning, we plan to go to Dundee, Scotland, about an hour and 15 minutes from here. I want to attend a small church where Sharon Garlough Brown’s husband is a priest. She is a spiritual director and the author of the Sensible Shoes novel series. Though fiction, her books have impacted my life.

Time to upload photos. Then zzzz. Gregg already has a head start on me.