Edinburgh: Day 2

It occurred to me for the first time that maybe we weren't going to have enough time to see everything we wanted to see while in Edinburgh. Nevertheless, we did our best to cram in as much as possible. The result was less sleep, but well worth it. And as long as we keep alternating days on which we sacrifice sleep with decent sleep, we should survive. Hopefully...

Saturday in Edinburgh found us at Tynecastle in Midlothian for a football (soccer) match between the Edinburgh Hearts and the Inverness Caledonian Thistles (CT). Hearing the Hearts fans cheer for their team and trash talk the other was worth the experience alone. Sing-song chants like "You're a wanker!" and "You don't know what you're doing!" will forever echo in my mind from that game. And of course, there were far worse outbursts that probably aren't blog-appropriate (yes, I'm starting a separate category for blog-appropriate and blog-inappropriate stories). After staking a 2-0 halftime lead, the Thistles got a gift in a questionable penalty kick that they converted into a goal and a 2-1 deficit. Then, in the 92nd minute (final 60 seconds of stoppage time) CT struck again, stunning the home crowd as they were already beginning to file out of the stadium, having assumed the victory was all but secured. As we walked out in shock, we were glad not to have been too invested in the team. We were also glad they didn't sell alcohol in the stadium; can't imagine a US sporting event without beer.

After the match, we returned to our hostel to freshen up for the night. We met Matt and his friend Mike at our hostel's bar, toasted to being together in a foreign city (such good fun!), and walked up to Edinburgh Castle for the most magical marching band performance ever: The Edinburgh Tattoo. Words can't quite describe how simply marvelous the performance was, with the best marching bands from Scotland, England, Australia, Canada, the US, Sweden, and Norway weaving in and out of formations to the backdrop of a castle that inspired none other than the greatest wizardry story of our time. The show concluded with all the bands coming together as the whole audience joined hands and sang the age-old Scottish tune, Auld Lang Syne. It was a very powerful and moving performance.

We headed back to our hostel to regroup and enjoy some of Matt's new bottle of Glengoyne Teapot Dram whiskey before sitting down to a late dinner at Arcade, a Scottish restaurant Matt and Mike frequent on their visits to Edinburgh. For some reason, it seemed like an acceptable challenge to try the Luxury Tour, which consisted of five Scottish whiskies of increasing quality. Let's just say the haggis and tatties helped a lot; I can see now why they're a good pairing.

After dinner, it was nearly midnight. So of course, the next logical thing to do was to go out on the town! We had tickets for a DJ show called Hot Dub Time Machine, a journey through music from 1956 to 2012. I've never had so much fun at a scene like this, and apparently neither had the DJ. He was so pumped by the end that he kept the party going for several more bonus songs, and awarded us Best Party Ever status. Maybe he just tells all his crowds that, but it didn't matter to us. What a blast!

We all agreed that Edinburgh, even without the Fringe Festival on, is a city worth revisiting, perhaps in conjunction with a more thorough exploration of the Highlands. For now, we've had a fantastic first taste of Edinburgh and of Scotland on the whole, and will have to reluctantly say farewell as we pack our bags again and head to Amsterdam.