As our last kidless-in-Europe New Year's, we wanted to do something special. Scotland has been on our travel bucket list for years, and after Jon researched the top destinations for New Year's celebrations, we knew this would be the perfect time for a visit to Edinburgh. Prior to planning this trip, we had no idea what a big deal New Year's is in Edinburgh. For three days, the city hosts a variety of events, concerts and activities to celebrate the coming of the new year, or as they call it in Scotland, Hogmanay. Although our trip was only a few days, we enjoyed exploring the many sites Edinburgh has to offer.
We began our sight-seeing adventure along the famous Royal Mile. This historic road stretches from the castle to the palace and is lined with museums, pubs and shops. We decided to avoid the long castle lines by putting off our visit until the following day, and instead walked the Mile and took a bus tour of the city center.
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| The Royal Mile |
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| Edinburgh Castle |
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| Breakfast at Deacon Brodie's Pub |
Although not quite comparable to the German Christmas markets, Edinburgh had their own version with plenty of food stands offering fish and chips, Angus burgers and cottage pies.
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| Edinburgh Christmas Market in Princes Street Gardens |
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| Exploring some of Edinburgh's many pubs |
The opening of Hogmanay celebrations took place on the 30th with a torchlight procession from the city center to the top of Calton Hill. Over 25,000 people participate in this event carrying torches, led by numerous groups of bagpipes and drums. We decided to forgo participating in the walk, and watched the illuminating procession make its way through the city from a great viewpoint atop Calton Hill. Once the entire procession reached the Hill, a fantastic fireworks show began. If this is how the city celebrates the 30th, we couldn't wait to see what was in store on the 31st!
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| Torchlight procession led by bagpipes up to Catlon Hill |
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| Beginning of fireworks display on Calton Hill |
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| Beginning of fireworks display on Calton Hill |
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| Fireworks display on Calton Hill |
The next day, we visited the impressive Edinburgh castle first thing in the morning. This iconic 11th-century hilltop fort and royal residence includes the UK's oldest crown jewels, a Romanesque chapel, memorial and military museum. But, perhaps the most impressive site the castle offers is the beautiful view of the city below.
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| Edinburgh Castle |
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| View from Edinburgh Castle |
After touring the castle, we explored some of Edinburgh's neighborhoods in the Old Town along Grassmarket and Cowgate, pub-hopping along the way.
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| St. Giles Cathedral |
For New Year's Eve, we bought tickets to the festive Keilidh event, featuring traditional Scottish music and dance. Armed with tartan scarves and Jon's top hat, we braved the cold for a night of Scottish folk-dancing. The band would provide instruction on how to dance such lively and fast dances as the 'Canadian Barn Dance,' the 'Military Twostep,' and the oh-so-chaotic 'Strip the Willow.' The fast movements were a great way to keep warm and everyone had so much fun dancing with one another. At midnight, we had great views of the fireworks display above the castle. Soon after, over 80,000 people joined in simultaneous singing of the Scottish song, Auld Lang Syne. It was an unforgettable evening and I have no doubt we will 'Be Lucky in 2013', as this year's Hogmanay motto suggests.
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| Keilidh New Year's event |
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| Keilidh New Year's event |
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| Midnight Fireworks |
Our lucky streak in 2013 began right away, as we were blessed with clear skies and sunshine on New Year's Day. Though we had planned to visit St. Andrews, we learned that all regional trains were not running on this day. Instead, we decided to hike up to Arthur's Seat, which provides beautiful views over the city. This 45-minute hike up the 822-foot remains of an extinct volcano started at the Palace of Holyroodhouse at the bottom of the Royal Mile.
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| Beginning of walk up Arthur's Seat |
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| Making our way to the top of Arthur's Seat |
The views from the top were breath-taking as we could see the entire city below to the North Sea. The ascent and descent from Arthur's Seat, provided us a time of reflection on all that we had experienced in 2012, and our many new beginnings that lie ahead for 2013.
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| Almost to the top of Arthur's Seat |
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| View from Arthur's Seat |
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| View from Arthur's Seat |
After yet another delicious pub lunch, we spent our final afternoon in Edinburgh exploring the National Museum of Scotland. That night we embarked on a "ghost walk" of the city. The close quarters of the medieval old town provide a great haven for these spooky nighttime walks, which share about the harsh and gritty life during these medieval times. We walked through various "closes," or narrow alleyways, learning about the crowded living conditions of medieval times, before going below the city to explore haunted vaults under the old bridges. It was a fun way to see the city in a completely new light (or lack thereof) and provided a great evening of entertainment our final night in Edinburgh.
I am so grateful we took the opportunity to make our last New Year's as a kid-less couple meaningful. Edinburgh provided the perfect destination for a Hogmanay celebration we will never forget. Here's to a Lucky '13 for us all!
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