So the planned in me thought it was a good idea to sleep 2 hours from Tuesday to Wednesday last week.. My thought.... I'll get done with class at 4 pm on Wednesday, shower, eat, and go straight to bed! At 6:00 pm I was in bed asleep! Woke up ready to leave... only to see that it was midnight!!! I went back to sleep around 1:00 am and at 3:45 I woke up with my alarm. I sluggishly got my things together and walked to the train station. The walk was a mixtures between peace, strangeness, and creepiness.... The train was a few minutes late and with 3 minutes to change from the train to a bus (located at a mystery stop, whose location I was not very sure of) I was concerned. As expected I missed my bus! The next on would get me to the airport at 5:50... my plane left at 6:50 and the check in closed 30 minutes before!!!! Well.... I would have taken a taxi... but I had no cash. My goal was to wait to get cash in Edinburgh, since I needed pounds... NOT Euros. Sooo... bus finally pulls up with a sweet looking woman driving.... Too sweet... It was the longest bus ride of my life!!! Traffic jams, stopping for people who were running to catch the bus (2 blocks away), etc... At one point, she even turned the bus off!!!! I thought it was a joke! I made it to Tegel with 20 minutes left to check in, so I hurried to my gate... or the gate that I thought was mine. Boy was I wrong! My gate was on the complete opposite side!! So I ran!!!! Made it with 10 minutes to spare and out of breath... The first flight was short and sweet. I felt like I was back in Boston flying to NYC to interview for my internship. Why? Because it was clear by the suits that most of the people were traveling to Cologne on business. I, on the other hand, was sporting the no make up look that I have perfected over the years. Cologne was a nice 3 hours of resting. If it hadn't been such an early morning, I would have gone out to see the city, but I didn't want another close call! I went to go through passport check and was told that I was too early ... sooo I got breakfast and waited. The flight was long, but I slept a good bit of it!
Once in Edinburgh I started the never ending immigration line... I always feel like I'm being herded through these lines! While standing in line I made a self diagnosis... I am suffering from a disease called language confusion. There was Spanish, there was English, there was German!!! AAAHHH! What am I supposed to respond in?? Ugh. After immigration I found an ATM and got some pounds. I headed over to the first store and bought some overpriced water, so that I could get change for the bus. Why? Because one must pay with exact change (good thing I had done my research). The people that I rented a room from (airbnb) suggested a few different buses that would take me from the airport to the house... I picked the one that didn't require me to change buses. Too easy right? I'm still not sure if it was the right choice, since it took over 1.5 hours, BUT I did get to listen to some Spanish, look at lots of landscapes, and save some money (apparently, since Keith, the landowner said it was the "economical option").
Once I arrived at the house, I got the royal tour. The house was located in a very non-touristy precious neighborhood full of older couples and families. The house was a small two story "old house" (just 130 years old) that had one tiny, narrow, very steep set of stairs that led to my room and the tiniest master bedroom I have ever seen... The host was supper welcoming ( in his pajamas and robe) and informed me that they would always have breakfast, coffee, and tea ready for me in the morning. I never met his Japanese wife, but apparently she exists and they own a deli. Soooooo... I thought I was missing stuff when I spoke to people in German... I'm not sure I missed any less when certain people spoke to me with a Scottish accent!!! Keith introduced me to the cat but I still don't know what her name was, because his accent was soooo thick! She apparently lives in "my room." Side note: I'm allergic... So NO THANK YOU!
After getting advise from Keith on the best routes to take to walk to the center of the city, I headed out! I quickly realized I was not in Germany anymore when a man saw me taking a picture of Arthur's Seat (please keep in mind that I was in a very NON-touristy part) and said in a precious Scottish accent, "miss, are you taking a picture of me, because if you are, I'm going to have to charge you, miss!" I can't remember the last time someone spoke to me on the street... probably before I got to Germany! After a fifty minute walk, I made it to Old Town and my beloved Royal Mile.
Memories started flooding in... Performing on the mile in 2009 with the OHS Fringe Festival group, walking the streets with my friends, and the countless trips down those roads during our 10 days there... Man it was amazing... I walked all the way up the royal mile to the castle, and since it was already 3 pm, I headed for lunch! Fish and chips!!! Yum!!! Again, the 3 ladies working at the restaurant were incredibly hospitable and chatty! So much so that I didn't know how to respond sometimes!!! It was sooo refreshing! Their accents were priceless... One of them told the other "me and me granddad are going...." I'll never forget it! Soooo funny! At one point, when leaving I almost spoke to them in German, but I caught myself!! I'm telling you... this language things is hard!
Walking back to the house I made two observations. First, people walk on the wrong side of the sidewalk and refuse to move. I couldn't figure out why people weren't following the stay on the right side of the sidewalk rule!!! Then.... I realized.... they drive on the other side!!!! So the one walking on the wrong side was yours truly!!!! As if walking on the sidewalks wasn't hard enough, crossing the street is terrifying. I never knew which way to look... so after a point... I just decided to go for it... I believe DSG called it playing chicken when we did that crossing the streets in Greece in 2005! Haha! My second observation is the amount of WIFI that this gorgeous city offers. Not only do almost all restaurants have wifi, but the phone booths on the streets and the museum lobbies do too!!! Berlin... you have a lot to learn!!!! On my way home I stopped at a phone store to purchase a charger for my phone... Yes, I brought the wrong one. I wasn't going to bother with my phone, but then I remembered it was my only way to take pictures!
After a VERY long day, I returned "home" and was asleep by 6:00pm... only to wake up at 11 pm. But I was back asleep by 2:00 am and slept until 8:30!!!
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