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September 27, 2005

Farmers Mercats n Open Doors

Edinburgh's Calton Hill

The third and final installment of my Edinburgh journal, written in an Irvine Welsh-inspired phonetic Scots. I promise I won't do this too often. -andy

Eftir our usual granola n scoon breakfast combo at the High Street Starbucks, Susanne n Ah paid a visit tae the Tron Kirk. The church is now home tae an archeology exhibit, as the floor ay the church wis dug up tae unearth the remnants ay one ay the oldest streets in Edinburgh's Auld Toun. A wood platform followed the perimeter ay the exhibit; along wi information aboot archeology, the platform displayed biographies ay various notorious residents ay the surroundin area.

We didnae hae specific plans fir the day, apart fae takin a train tae Glasgow late in the afternoon so we wid be close tae the airport fir our flight the next mornin. We hud contemplated a trip tae Roslyn Chapel oan the outskirts ay toun, but decided we'd want tae make the moost oot ay the limited time we hud left in Edinburgh.

Eftir shoppin fir a while oan the Royal Mile, we walked back doon tae Princes Street. The sun wis strong n bright today; Ah found myself havin tae carry mah jacket rather than wear it. Neither ay us hud ever walked the lower perimeter ay Edinburgh Castle fae Princes Street Gardens tae Grassmarket, so we decided tae gie it a go.

We walked along Princes Street until reachin the Scott Monument, then entered the gardens, heidin downhill tae the bottom ay the valley. It's amazin how peaceful n quiet the gardens are, despite the fact yu'r in the middle ay one ay the biggest cities in the UK. Susanne n Ah strolled along the gardens, walkin past small groups ay tourists, families n a handful ay homeless people. To our left, Castle Hill loomed large, wi Edinburgh Castle at its summit. We walked parallel tae the hill, towards the small cemetery not far fae Lothian Road. Eventually we reached rocky base ay castle n started tae follow it anti-clockwise. The path went higher n higher, until we were well above the valley floor.

Edinburgh Castle. Click the image tae see a Quicktime VR panorama.

Not far tae the west, we spotted a row ay tents full ay people buyin n sellin things. Apparently it wis some type ay weekend mercat, so we decided tae investigate. Indeed, it wis the Edinburgh farmers mercat, a pleasant affair ay merchants sellin a range ay organic goods, fae venison n ostrich tae cheeses n haggis. Ah sampled a few small pieces ay cheese n crackers, listenin tae several street musicians entertainin the crowd. Susanne spotted a lute player dressed as a jester; she shot some video ay um while Ah listened tae one merchant talk aboot his family's brewery.

Video clip ay a lute player at the Edinburgh Farmers Mercat

Beyond the mercat, we found a stairway thit led doon tae western end ay Grassmarket. The neighborhood is maist famous fir two things: its view ay Edinburgh Castle n its prominent role as a leadin place fir executions durin medieval times. This has made the place popular fir ghost n goblin tours, wi visitors stoppin at pubs wi names like The Last Drop (as in, droppin wi a noose roond yir neck). The weather wis simply glorious; sun poured doon oan us fae the south, causin the castle tae glow in the distance.

We hiked east through Grassmarket, investigatin various places fir lunch. We eventually settled oan The White Stag. One ay the auldest pubs in the city, the White Stag once hud poet Robert Burns as a guest. It wis also a base ay operations fir a notorious pair ay murderers, Burke n Hare, whae wid befriend thir victims, murder them, then sell thir warm bodies tae the University ay Edinburgh's medical college fir dissection. Back in the early 1800s, the medical college wis allotted only a small number ay executed criminals fir dissection purposes, so it became common fir people known as resurrectionists tae dig up fresh graves n sell the bodies in the name ay science. Burke n Hare started thir enterprise as grave-robbin resurrectionists, but eventually decided tae skip the diggin part, instead throttlin unsuspectin victims before sellin them tae a well-known surgeon named Dr. Knox. In the end they were caught; Hare turned King's evidence, Burke wis hung (n donated tae the medical college fir dissection, ironically), while Dr. Knox left the city in disgrace. Some day Susanne n Ah will git roond tae writin a screenplay aboot the incident.

Despite its notorious history, the White Stag is a charmin place. Ah hud an excellent curried chicken sandwich fir lunch while Susanne hud a soothin bowl ay tomato soup. It wis probably the healthiest pub meal ay our entire trip.

Lookin at a map ay Grassmarket, Ah realized we were a short walk tae Greyfriars Kirk n the university campus. Since the weather wis so nice n we didnae hae anythin else oan our schedule, Ah suggested we return thit wey fir a wee while. The church wis open, so we poked our heids inside tae see its beautiful pipe organ. An elderly gadge walked his scotty through the cemetery.

We said hello tae Greyfriars Bobby one mair time before returnin tae Bristo Square n the university. The square wis buzzin wi activity. Dozens ay young boys practiced thir skateboardin moves in the square's courtyard, while older visitors were comin n goin roond MacEwan Hall. Today wis Edinburgh Open Doors Day; throughout the city, buildins thit are usually closed tae the public were open fir free, includin MacEwan Hall n other university buildins we'd nivir visited durin our stey here.

Enterin the hall, we were blown away by what we found. The interior wis as grand as any church we hud ever visited. The walls were decorated by an extraordinary collection ay frescoes n marble, wi a semi-circle ceilin high above us. The buildin, created in the late 1800s, remains the place ay university graduations - somethin thit we, as study-abroad students, nivir hud the chance tae experience.

Splendid interior ay MacEwan Hall

Ah picked up a pamphlet listin aw the university buildins participatin in the Open Door events. Among the buildins involved were the medical school's historic anatomy theatre, n Reid Music Hall. Havin jist visited the White Stag fir lunch, Ah couldn't think ay a mair appropriate place tae go than the anatomy theatre, which probably played host tae the bodies ay some ay the very people murdered by Burke n Hare. It wis such a notorious story, how could we say no tae thit?

The anatomy theatre, located oan the second floor ay the medical college, wis quite intimate. The room extended upwards fir two floors, wi a circle ay seats risin aw the wey tae the top. A student sat near whair the anatomists wid present thir research. We were tempted tae pepper her wi Burke n Hare questions but she probably hud heard enough ay those today.

Next door, we found Reid Hall. The hall itself hud nice acoustics, which we discovered as someone played the house pipe organ. There wis also a small musical instruments museum adjacent tae the hall. Several rooms were packed fae floor tae ceilin wi instruments ay aw shapes n sizes; basic workin models ay instruments were available fir people tae play fir thissels. Numerous bairds ran roond the museum, gettin thir hands oan every instrument available tae them. Ah wonder how much time the curator spends sanitizin the instruments.

Susanne at the Auld College

On our wey back tae the Royal Mile, we walked through Edinburgh's Auld College. The dark, grey buildins surrounded a gravel courtyard lined wi park benches. Ah'd hud one class at the Auld College, so it wis quite a flashback tae stand in the middle ay the courtyard again. Susanne hudnae visited the Old College as far as she could remember, though she suspected the university wine-tastin society hud gatherins in one ay the basements here. Ah didnae recall.

With a bit mair shoppin completed along the Royal Mile, we decided tae visit Princes Street Gardens one last time. We reached the gardens by wey ay Lady Stairs Close, one ay Susanne's favorite closes in the Auld Toun. Heidin downhill, we passed the writers museum; outside, quotes fae famous Scots were engraved intae the pavement. Fae the bottom ay the close, we soon reached the National Art Museum, located in the middle ay the gardens. We strolled through the gardens, pausin momentarily tae use mah mobile phone tae dial 999 n report a sudden garbage can fire thit appeared ready tae consume a tree n a park bench if it hudn't been fir a man workin at an espresso kiosk dumpin several buckets ay water oan the fire.

Flappers havin tea ay the Balmoral Hotel

Once the excitement wis over, we decided tae wrap up our visit tae Edinburgh wi one mair visit tae the Balmoral Hotel fir afternoon tea. We arrived jist past 2:30pm n were telt thit we wid hae tae come back at 3pm, so we killed the remainin time by walkin up n doon the north bridge, admirin the views ay Calton Hill n Arthur's Seat. Back at the Balmoral, we hud another roond ay tea n scoons. At an adjacent table, a group ay women were dressed in 1920s costume, havin a grand auld time. We nivir goat the nerve tae ask them what the occasion wis, though we did manage tae take a nice picture ay some ay them.

Our tea n scoons consumed, we hud wee else tae do except collect our rucksacks fae the hotel n heid tae Waverly station fir our train tae Glasgow. One last time, we hiked up the Mound n up Lady Stairs Close, takin our time tae admire each ay the writers quotes engraved in the pathway. "There are no stars as lovely as Edinburgh street-lamps," read one quote fae Robert Louis Stevenson.

Our enormous rucksacks burdenin us again, we left the hotel n walked doon Cockburn Street tae Waverly Station, pausin long enough tae take photos ay the Malt Shovel Pub. Soon enough, we were oan the five o'clock train tae Glasgow. Aheid ay us we'd find quaint accommodations near the Glasgow School ay Art, n a pleasant evenin at the Merchant City street festival. But aw we could do thit night is think aboot the views ay the castle, the tea rooms, the crags, our friends at Abbotsford n our strolls along Princes Street gardens. More than a dozen years hud passed between our visits tae Edinburgh. Never again wid we let such a dry spell pass.

Posted by acarvin at September 27, 2005 2:35 PM

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