Saturday, September 20, 2008
A view of the city centre, 15 minutes walk away from my flat.As Wikipedia so helpfully notes, Auld Reekie (Old Smoky) - Edinburgh - is so nicknamed for the thick, pungent columns of smoke that blackened the skies in the olden days, when wood and coal fires are the norm in every household. Thank goodness there aren't many of those left functioning - the air here feels crisp and clean and invigorating. Sure, the skies are a constant colourful mix of grey, light grey, and dark grey, and it threatens to rain only about 100% of the time, but it's only been a couple days, and already I can tell it would be so easy, so easy to stay here and never leave.
After all, what is there not to like? A town big enough to hold endless castles, chapels, vaults, and alleyways, and yet small enough to feel like home? A city with centuries of history, lucky enough to look it yet cool enough to be hip and modern through and through? An accent familiar enough to understand yet exotic enough to sound foreign? A people so good-natured that their openness and directness radiate outwards to touch strangers in their midst with just the slightest word or gesture?
One of the narrow, maze-like alleyways tucked away in every corner of every street.
Case in point: There's a restaurant hidden inside there, can you tell?Walking down The Royal Mile, I often hear the cacophony of festive bagpipes ricocheting up and down the narrow lanes. Anywhere else, and this would have annoyed the hell out of me. But somehow, among the narrow, cobbled streets of Edinburgh city, it sounds so joyous, so appropriate - I truly am in Scotland.