I’ve been wanting to take a trip to Edinburgh for a looong time and this year in September I finally did it! I have to admit that in that moment I didn’t feel like taking a city trip: I had a lot to do around the house and we were heading to South Africa soon anyways. But at the end of the day, of course, I am glad I went. I was extremely surprised by all the things Edinburgh has to offer.

This time I had booked a bed in a girls-only dorm at a hostel near the center on Queen Street. Everyone was kind of keeping to themselves, but at least we enjoyed a respectful atmosphere and there were no snorers, etc. (memories from Madrid…)

As I only had two days in the city, my schedule was packed. On Saturday morning I went to Calton Hill, which turned out to be the right decision. I had a wonderful view over Edinburgh, perfect light for pictures and I had time to peacefully enjoy my breakfast muffin, before groups of tourists would show up.

Afterwards I went to visit The Scottish Parliament, where you can enter for free. What a modern and fancy building that is! The Holyrood Palace is just right next to it, but I skipped that one. I have seen too many palaces in the past years 😉

As the sun was shining brightly (not at all typical for Scotland in September as everyone assured me) and I was nearby, I decided to walk to Holyrood Park or rather up the hill to Arthur’s Seat. It is amazing that you can climb a hill in the middle of the city! From every point you had a great view. If you wanted, you could walk the different routes all day long, from one hill to the other, to the lake, etc.

I didn’t have enough time to do that though. 😉 This is why I took Canon Gate/High Street and walked to the beautiful St Giles Cathedral. Of course I went inside. I particularly liked the colorful glass windows and the light reflections as well as the wood carvings.

One highlight was still missing on my tour: Edinburgh Castle. I had bought a ticket online to skip the line (which turned out to be the right decision). So I strolled along the castle, looking at the different buildings and enjoyed the view over the city once again.

The castle itself didn’t blow me away. It looks more beautiful when you look at it from down below and I found the different museums rather boring. Nevertheless, the castle is of course a must see when visiting Edinburgh.

After getting something to eat at Grassmarket I still had time to explore the South of Edinburgh and to stop by The Meadwos. The Meadows is where young people meet and hang out to BBQ, drink, etc. I really liked the atmosphere! Apart from that, I saw quite a number of cute places: Edinburgh just has a great vibe to it!

On Sunday, the weather turned rather Scottish on me, meaning: grey. It wasn’t that bad though as it didn’t rain and it wasn’t too cold. I first went to the museum or rather to the Royal Yacht Britannia in Leith. The former royal traveling ship that sailed `around the world´. Even the Queen has traveled on it! I gained a lot of insides taking the audio tour and I am just always fascinated by ships. I was surprised by how simple the royals traveled – the galleys are not very pompous or large in size. Of course, they were still bigger than the galleys of the servants. ;

The port with its anchored ships fascinated me even a bit more. I took some very nice pictures of the ships, despite the grey weather. I walked around a bit in Leith, but as I didn’t find interesting sights, I quickly left for Edinburgh.

I still had some time until takeoff, but I had seen the main highlights. I didn’t feel like going to another another museum. So instead I walked to Dean Bridge and from there along the Water of Leith to Stockbridge, where I ate at the small food market they have on Sundays. I really liked Stockbridge in general – small shops and restaurants / pubs everywhere. Unfortunately I don’t have any nice pictures from my walk – sorry. 😉

After I had done a bit of shopping to spend my last pounds, I headed back to the airport to fly to Amsterdam. It was a packed, but amazing weekend! Edinburgh is definitely on the list of my favorite European cities. Click on the picture below for more pics: