Day 7 - Edinburgh

10:00

Edinburgh here I come! This time I'm on my own, as I want to indulge in art and nature today. My first stop is the RSA, Royal Scottish Academy. Currently, works by Andy Goldsworthy are on display, and since I learned about these nature installations from the artist Nils Udo many years ago, I've been a fan.

Two examples here:

Reeds, drawn on threads, surround the light shaft. No matter where you stand, you have a different artwork - The light casts striped shadows on the wall, from the outside, the natural, vertical structure contrasts with the white, smooth walls, and once you're inside, you feel like you're in a small, personal cathedral.

Knotted branches block the way when entering the small hall, reaching several meters both right and left. Just as wild and aggressive as the wood itself are the shadows cast on the floor - passage is not possible. Only when you reach an end of the hedge does the path appear, and depending on which side you stand on, you see a different destination.

13:30

Tour of Edinburgh Castle. A huge fortress, compared to German castles it feels spacious, with wide paths and standalone buildings instead of narrow, winding alleys through compiled structures... This is because the original castle was flattened after a conquest and later rebuilt by romanticized Victorians.

I treat myself to a scone, a typical British pastry, with whipped butter. Still a bit dry and a tad sweet for me, but delicious.

The Botanical Garden, which I had planned for the afternoon, now has to be skipped, as the tour took significantly longer than expected. The greenhouses, which I was most looking forward to, are closed for renovation anyway.

My regret doesn't last long; we go out to eat, and I finally get to try haggis. Very tasty! Also a great mushroom pie.