30.04.: Rosslyn Chapel and the Holy Fips...

What did we plan for ourselves?! Have a peaceful breakfast, pack our backpack and head up to Calton Hill. It's right outside our door and supposedly offers a magnificent view of the city. Then, head towards the bus stop to go to Roslin and visit the chapel there.

That was the plan. Now let's talk about the reality, which differs slightly from our planning the night before.

5:59 am, a quiet but understandable 'PIPI' wakes us up. Tired and of course with too little sleep, Lars drags himself with the baby to the toilet, where instead of peeing, she falls asleep on the toilet!

So, we put her back to bed, but after a lot of whining, Ida ends up in our bed, which unfortunately always ends with none of us being able to sleep.

So breakfast follows...since eating is always great, the lack of sleep doesn't affect our mood so much, which leads us to extend it and do other things during that time.

A big mistake, as it turns out later. We decide to leave at half past 10. Put on pants, sweater, shoes, and immediately take them off again because Ida makes a huge fuss and starts screaming, so we decide not to leave at all.

With loud protests, the little rascal is put back to bed. A big thanks to the inventor of the crib with high side panels.

After 2 hours of nap, we finally head towards Rosslyn Chapel under hopefully better conditions. The bus ride there taking about 60 minutes only briefly concerns us. Ida is eagerly looking out the window and asking when we are going to continue at every stop.

However, the reason why the bus takes almost an hour for a distance of not even 20 km becomes clear after just a few hundred meters. A bus stop after every intersection. Really after every intersection. Memories come back from school days when bus stops were about 6 km apart and we were grateful for every bus ride. So, we had enough time to take a close look at every intersection in the Edinburgh suburb. The highlight was a shopping center that had 2 bus stops within 50 meters!!!

But this journey eventually came to an end.

Rosslyn Chapel!

Built in the mid-14th century, it has survived the test of time and various religious conflicts following the Reformation relatively well and has been restored (thank goodness) for the past 20 years. We gladly pay the £9 admission!

Since taking photos inside is forbidden, we have to refer to scenes from the movie 'The Da Vinci Code'.

Outside the chapel, there are still a few tombs, which are wonderfully climbable for children's feet. As long as it's good for the mood, we let our little hobgoblin do what she wants.

So far, so fun! Inside the chapel, the mood slowly but surely changes. Who can blame Ida? Such an old building with similarly old visitors is also extremely boring. So, she quickly grabs our attention by saying 'I HAVE TO POOP!'

Good thing hardly anyone here understands us...but this means that we can't give the chapel the attention it deserves.

Since we found a great hiking route around the chapel and the old castle beforehand, we didn't want to torture Ida any longer and started the hike. Past the chapel's own cemetery, we walked cross-country along a slope through the forest. Simply magnificent and exactly how you imagine Scottish nature. Lush greenery as far as the eye can see.