The final day in our journeys led us to the capital city of Scotland. We boarded the train yet again Thursday morning but this time we went in the opposite direction than we had the rest of the week. Our destination was the city of Edinburgh this day. For everyone reading this from America, please know that the name of this city is not pronounced like it is spelled. It is in fact pronounced Edinbura. If you were to say "Edinburgh" here people would look at you funny and definitely know that you were American (if your accent didn't already give that away).
In Edinburgh, the only site we were set to visit was the Castle. This castle still serves its original purpose in housing the royal family when they are in Scotland. It also is the site of various festivals and military services throughout the year.Like Stirling Castle, Edinburgh Castle is located at the top of a hill overlooking the city. It seems like all the streets in the town angle up to the castle in the same way that they say "all roads lead to Rome." Uniquely though, Edinburgh Castle sits atop an extinct volcano. It is the most expansive of the castles I have visited in my abroad to be sure. The oldest part of the castle is the Saint Margaret's Chapel which was built in 1251 AD by King David I. Though every castle has cannons, Edinburgh Castle has Mons Meg, a super gun (called by some the Atomic Bomb of its time). Since the royal family still lays claim to this castle it is no wonder why it is the home to the Scottish crown jewels. Sorry, no pictures are allowed of the actually crown jewels but it was very interesting to see the history of this part of Scottish heritage and what all it represents.
One of the buildings within Edinburgh Castle is the Scottish National War Memorial. This cavernous building lays near the heart of the Castle and hold the records of military personnel starting in the early 1900's. This was another building where pictures are not allowed to taken. Inside various regiments are honored with displays of their regiment coat and a full listing of the personnel in that regiment throughout the years. This was Remembrance Week in Scotland; this is much like Veterans Day or Memorial Week in America. People purchase and wear poppies around to show their support of those who are serving and have served in the armed forces. Visiting the War Memorial during this week was particularly special for me, being a foreigner, to remind me what the week was about. The military is honored in various ways throughout the castle through paintings, representations of weapons through the years and even a grave yard for military dogs.
After we toured through the castle we tried to make our way to Princess Street. I had been to Edinburgh before but much of the city was under construction. Much of what I usually gaged my whereabouts off of I did not recognize and long story short we were lost for about an hour. Finally we set our selves straight and got to where we needed to go. Somehow we got done with everything we set out to do about an hour earlier than we had anticipated. We needed to be back in Airdrie by six that evening because we had been invited over to the Pastor Andrew's house for dinner. We enjoyed having dinner with all six of the Quigly's that evening and the time of family worship held afterwards. It felt strange to see my mom here with everyone I have befriended in these past three months. God certainly blessed my mother's trip and we had a wonderful time. She speculated soon before leaving the next morning where she would have to travel next to visit me. I guess we all will just have to wait and see.
https://picasaweb.google.com/108532852514122909750/EdinburghCastle?authkey=Gv1sRgCMiZjJzt9dmnCg#5673494772307922002
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