Day 5: Edinburgh!

I’m writing this post from a train traveling through Scotland to London – first class – with my family – this is the life! You’ll have to tune in tomorrow to hear more about it!

Today we visited Edinburgh – in and out in less than 24 hours. I was hesitant to add a third destination to our itinerary.  Two large cities with the kids in-tow seemed like enough. But the one thing that was repeated several times on the survey our FB friends completed was – ‘you have to visit Scotland.’  I had already booked the Airbnbs but I left a one night gap between Amsterdam and London for flexibility sake. So we filled the gap with a flight to Edinburgh and a train ride out in the morning.

Unfortunately our flight out of Amsterdam was late (due to “air traffic control’s new software system”).  We already had a tight schedule to get out of Amsterdam and into Edinburgh. We didn’t land in Edinburgh until 3:00pm, and had to make it out of the airport, to the city center, check-in it the hotel and then to the castle.

We flew EasyJet – a cheap European Airline and have no regrets. The plane was clean and felt like more space than Allegiant or Frontier. They charge for everything (like Allegiant/Frontier). But we traveled with backpacks, so only incurred charges for a water and tea purchased on flight.  Tickets were $50 a piece – we would fly with Easy Jet again.

It wasn’t easy but we made it.  Edinburgh is an old city – streets of stone, cobble and brick. Lots of steep up-hill walking and uneven pathways.

We never had lunch. We picked up snacks here and there, Miah ate everything offered to her while Samuel ate nothing.  I had packed a few mandarin oranges in his bag, and that is all he ate as he refused everything else offered to him.

Despite the lack of a proper mid-day meal, the kids rallied and made it through the streets of Edinburgh.

We dropped off our bags at our hotel – Stay Central. Then began the climb to the Edinburgh Castle.

The castle stops allowing admissions at 5:00 and closes at 6:00. We arrived at 4:45.

So far, the castle and the entire Edinburgh experience has been the best part of this trip. Though we were short on time, the castle was nearly empty – zero lines and zero waiting.

We stopped at the cafe to quickly enjoy some pastries, holding the kids over while we explored the castle.

Since it was near empty and the kids had been refueled – they had the freedom to treat the entire place like a giant playground. This sent my anxiety through the roof. There were many strong-toned-whispered threats. (You know how moms do when they are serious, but don’t want to cause a scene.)

Stop running! If you do not stop running you will be holding my hand for the rest of this trip.

Let go of your brother.

Do NOT let Miah’s hand go. (That one was for Daniel when we were near any areas I felt that she could seriously injure herself.)

The beauty of the kids treating everywhere they go as a playground is that they are in general good moods – as if they were on a playground.  The downfall is that they are destructive, loud, prone to injury and haven’t the slightest care that they are climbing on the Crown Jewels of Scotland.

Miah and Samuel are peeking through a look-out window on the Castle (and in a very typical-Diane-fashion) I’m clinging to the back of their shirts just in case they feel the urge to climb into the window (and fall out). Daniel makes a joke about my hovering, and I let go of the kids to remind him that children are unpredictable and can fall at any time.

Queue Miah falling.

Not from the window though – whew.  She turned around to run and then fell over Samuel’s feet. Point proven. But now Miah is scream-crying over skinned-knees. She realizes her cries echo against the castle walls and decides to take it up an octave.

In Summary – Edinburgh Castle is 100% worth the trip.  Arriving late is great – especially when towing children along.  No lines. No crowd. Easy to get in and out and around. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit, even if we only were able to stay an hour.

Also, the Scottish are incredibly friendly. On more than one occasion we had employees of the castle offer to take photos of us – without solicitation.  I think having cute kids, who, when walking, hold each others’ hands, helps.