"I have wished you joy since first I saw you."

Finally home!

At least that's how Edinburgh felt. We immediately fell in love with the capital of Scotland. The structures don't have the ornate beauty of Paris or Prague, but rather a character of humility and resolve. The castle in the middle of the city sets the tone for the rest—old stonework is everywhere but without gaudiness or pretense. We passed the home of John Knox, founder of the church of Scotland (or what we know as the Presbyterian Church) and the statue commemorating Edinburgh professor David Hume, one of the foremost philosophical thinkers in history.

Mr. Hume

We immediately noticed the friendliness of the Scots—not that we could understand half of what they were saying. Our airbnb flat was nestled a mile away from the city center, a row house with a small garden in front and in back. During the two days we stayed we met both neighbors on either side and felt like we knew them better than any of the neighbors we had in Boston, besides our landlords.

The best pub name I have ever seen.

We also happened to be in Edinburgh during the Fringe Festival: the biggest theater, music, and comedy festival in Europe that happens every year in August. We didn't make it to any shows, but we enjoyed street performers galore and the vibe of the city as it doubles in size during this season.

When the Heather Was Purple. Thank you Scott Cunningham.

Our best day was hiking to the top of Arthur's seat, a large hill located within the city limits that offers an awesome view of the city.  We asked a friendly Scot nearby about the whereabouts of a particular pub we had seen on the internet. "The Sheep Hide? I 'aven't 'eard a pub bah that name. Oh! Yeh mean the Sheep Heed--you know, like 'Sheep's 'ead.' Thars a wee village by the loch down thar on th'other side. You'll fin' it."  We struck the trail, narrow and filled with pollen, very nearly ravaging my sinus system.  After a short ramble, we feasted our eyes on the village walls. Through a short tunnel and we arrived at the oldest pub in Scotland—The Sheep Heid Inn. For almost 700 years a pub has stood in this location. Further evidence of the Scot's friendliness was exhibited here when I realized that I didn't have our credit card and we were forced to return hours later and pay for our meal. No big deal, said the bartender.

In Honor of Travis K.

The beer experience was different in the U.K. than in Germany. Here people drink mostly ales instead of lagers. Neither of us had been very keen on ales before we came, but we're keener now.

This is me, you know, scaling the castle.

The Castle View from Arthur's Seat.

Of any of the cities that we've visited—friends and family ties not being taken into account—Edinburgh and the surrounding Scottish countryside is the one we'd most like to return.

A'hve nevah seen a lass so beautifool in all m'life.