Viking Vela In Search of the Northern Lights and British Isles Explorer Cruise Day 25/32 – Edinburgh, Scotland - Castles, Pasties, and Jazz Hands
We've been dodging weather issues all trip, and getting lucky every day. Sure, we've lost a couple of ports, but we got either extended time in port or a new port to make up for it. We've had terrific weather at nearly every port, with only one truly rainy day, and that was only for the morning.
Our guide this morning apologized for all of that ending. We were looking at rain and potentially wind for most of the morning. But the weather gods smiled favorably upon us once again, and other than a little drizzle here and there for a few minutes, we had yet another great weather day in Scotland.
The morning sky didn't look promising
Edinburgh was a tender port.
Lowering a tender
Moving away from the ship
We are Norwegian-flagged, so they raised the Norwegian flag
We rode the tender to the pier.
If you look in the lower left, you can see that we were greeted by a bagpiper
We boarded our bus for Viking's included tour, Panoramic Edinburgh & the Forth Bridge
.
The Royal Yacht Britannia, Queen Elizabeth's royal yacht for over 40 years
Our first glimpse of Edinburgh Castle
Much of the construction in Edinburgh was done with stone cut by stone masons
Our first stop was near the Firth of Forth, a bay in Edinburgh that is an inlet of the North Sea. Our stop was to get photos of the three bridges that span it.
Queensferry Crossing, a cable-stayed bridge built in 2017
The Forth Bridges Viewpoint
Forth Bridge railway crossing
The bridge opened in 1890 and was the world's first cantilever-style bridge
Forth Road Bridge from 1964
Queensferry Crossing and Forth Road Bridge
Our panoramic tour continued.
More stone buildings
Stewart's Melville College
We spent time driving through town - this is Princes Street
St. Stephen's Church, 1828
The Dome on George Street, 1847
Melville Monument, 1827
General Register House and the Duke of Wellington statue
Robert Burns Monument
Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official residence of the British Monarch in Scotland
Scottish Parliament Building
The King's Gallery, formerly known as The Queen's Gallery, is located at the entrance to the Palace of Holyroodhouse
We saw seriously old grave markers dating back to the 1500s
St Cuthbert's Church, 1894
Bum the Dog, a stray dog in San Francisco - this honors the sister city status of San Francisco and Edinburgh
Edinburgh Castle, high atop Castle Rock, dates back to the 1100s
Ross Fountain from 1862, London, and was relocated to Edinburgh in 1872
That completed our panoramic tour. Rather than ride back to the pier, we left the bus and headed out on foot.
Grassmarket area, below the castle
The castle is visible from many places throughout Edinburgh
Victoria Street in Edinburgh's Old Town - said to be the inspiration of Diagon Alley from Harry Potter
George IV Bridge
St Giles' Cathedral, from 1124, is located on the Royal Mile
Walking up the Royal Mile leading to the castle
Almost to the castle
Edinburgh Castle in all its glory
78th Highlanders Memorial
A view of the city from in front of the castle
George Heriot's School, said to be the inspiration for Hogwarts School from Harry Potter
A bagpiper playing for tips - he accepted cash or tap-to-pay payments
We plugged in Princes Street into Google Maps, and it told me to take a left up ahead. That was impossible because we were in the middle of a long block. What was up with that?
It turns out that there was a small alley-like opening in the middle of the block, and that was our route
Scott Monument
School of Divinity of the University of Edinburgh, built in 1846 for the Free Church of Scotland
The Balmoral Hotel, 1902
Royal Scottish Academy, 1826
A bronze relief model of the city
Adam Black (1784–1874), who was a prominent Scottish publisher, politician, and twice Lord Provost of Edinburgh
Another view of the Scott Monument, 1846
Sir Walter Scott
The castle plus a double-decker tour bus
Royal Scots Greys Monument
We were feeling a little hungry when we happened upon a shop displaying traditional Cornish pasties. Having attended Michigan Tech in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, we were both quite familiar with these delicious meal-in-a-crust delicacies.
We split the traditional steak version, and it was absolutely delicious
Dean Ramsay Memorial, a Celtic cross monument
We returned to Charlotte Park and met the shuttle bus for the ride back to the pier. When we arrived, there was a tender ready and waiting. We boarded and were off to the ship. The wind had whipped up the waves a bit, and our tie-up to the ship proved even more challenging than our bumpy ride in Dublin.
As we sailed back to the ship, we spotted these monsters on a COSCO ship
These are the underwater bases and mounts for wind turbines, built in China and delivered here for a wind farm in the North Sea
We watched a few of the lectures on Alan Turing and Bletchley Park, where the Enigma machine was developed. It is such an interesting story how the geniuses there brought WWII to an early end by cracking Germany's previously unbreakable coded messages.
We hit the Explorers Bar and watched what appeared to be a small rain squall approach the Vela. We confirmed it was rain as it passed the ship, and we were presented with a brilliant rainbow just off the starboard side.
The photos don't do the rainbow justice - it was super vibrant
We sailed past a lone lighthouse on a rock island.
We wandered down to the World Café for a fish & chips dinner. They were offering special Scottish drinks featuring a gin cocktail made with Irn-Bru. Irn-Bru is a Scottish carbonated soft drink, often described as "Scotland's other national drink" after Scotch whisky.
It was actually quite tasty
The fish and chips were fabulous
Chef Arthur also loves mint chocolate chip gelato, so he made some and set it aside for me
We played trivia again tonight, falling a little short. Our misses:
What is the only mammal covered completely with scales?
We guessed the armadillo - we were close - it was a pangolin
In dates, what do BC and AD stand for?
One member felt strongly that it was Before Christ and After Death - it was Before Christ and Anno Domini, which is Latin for in the year of the Lord
What color is a polar bear's skin?
I was sure it was black, but the team said pink - it was black
What year was the Boston Tea Party?
We guessed 1774 - it was December 16, 1773
Tonight's show was Cruise Director Kate Syrett's signature Celtic Kate show. Kate is the consummate entertainer, mixing her Scottish heritage into song, dance, stories, and humor.
At one point, she needed some audience participation
She brought up a large group of men from the audience
That's me, on the left, in the yellow shirt
We were sworn not to put this on social media. Well, this is our blog, so that doesn't count, right?
The show was engaging, fun, and deeply personal. We enjoyed it immensely.
Tomorrow starts even earlier than today, when we have to gather for our excursion at 7:30 am. Yikes was today. Holy crap qualifies for tomorrow. We will dock in Aberdeen, Scotland, overnight at 2:30, and we'll be running bright and early tomorrow morning.
