Scotland Day Nine

You know it's a good trip when the last day is the best day. We arose early to work out in the gym. Workout availability has been spotty, with everything from no gym at all to one that would be okay next to LA Fitness. This one is quite adequate. At 8:00, you guessed it, full Scottish breakfast, and then we got ready for church, or kirk, as they say o'er here. We arrived at the Mayfield Salisbury Church in plenty of time for the 10:45 service. This is the church where Ben did his internship in summer of 2002, and the church remembers him well. They welcomed all of us with open arms.

Church over here is much more formal that we're used to in Arizona, even in those AZ churches that have "high church" services. There is the organ, in this case a small pipe organ, I believe. All of the music was either hymns or classical music, and we sang every verse of every song. Their hymnal has only the melody line, and in some of the songs harmony is discouraged by the notation that it is to be in unison. The pastor gave a very well-written, intellectual sermon that I enjoyed. During the service, he dedicated their new altar and pulpit tapestries, done by several of the women in the congregation. The theme was created by a professor of design from the University of Glasgow, and it is modern but blends well with the Victorian furniture to which it was attached.

After the service, we were treated to a "feast" (they don't appear to do "pot lucks") downstairs, and then changed clothes before being dropped off on High Street, near the Edinburgh Castle. We had a glorious five hours of free time, and we used it well. Some of the people took a walking tour with our tour guide, but since Denise and I had been here twice before, we struck out on our own.

High Street is also called the Royal Mile, and runs from the Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Palace. About a third of the way down from the castle is St. Giles Cathedral, an imposing structure that is, of course, a Church of Scotland (=Presbyterian). A little further down is John Knox's house, the one in which he was born in 1505. He was a Catholic priest, newly ordained, when a cardinal in Edinburgh burned Wiseheart, a messenger from King Henry VIII, at the stake. This angered Knox, who became a sworn enemy of the Catholic church, and he then studied under John Calvin in Geneva. He returned to Scotland and began the Scottish reformation. Mary, Queen of Scots, was reported to have said, "I fear the prayers of John Knox more than all the armies of Europe." Needless to say, they did not agree on much of anything.

After walking and shopping for a couple of hours, we stopped in at a Starbucks near Canongate, and had the first good coffee we've had since arriving in this country. After a brief respite, we walked over and climbed Calton Hill. Without visiting Calton Hill, I don't feel like I've been to Scotland. As hills go, it's not that high, but at its peak are several monuments, and a spectacular view of the city. On the other side we could see the Firth of Forth, the port that serves Edinburgh.

By this time, it was raining, so we returned to High Street, shopped some more, then had dinner in Deacon Brodies Tavern. The pub is named for William Brodie, who was a respectable Deacon of the Cabinetmakers Guild, a wealthy businessman. By night, however, he was quite a party guy, spending a great deal of time in the tavern drinking and gambling. In 1786, he started committing burglaries to pay his gambling debts. He would make a wax impression of the key when he would do work in wealthy clients' homes, then return at night to steal their property. In 1788, he was caught, and was hung on a gallows he had previously designed himself, being a proper carpenter and all.

We had standard pub fare. I had a steak and ale pie, which was amazing but not quite as good as it is in the Rula Bula pub in Tempe. Then, we stopped at a small cafe and Denise ordered a deep-fried Mars bar. I sort of turned up my nose at the idea, but I have to tell you, a deep fried Mars bar is not your mother's Mars bar. I had a couple of bites, and it was almost a religious experience.

At the end of our time, we boarded the coach for our hotel. In the morning, we arise early, and will head for the airport and home. It has been a charmed trip, and we have all enjoyed almost every minute of it. I hope you've had fun reading my travelog. Thanks for humoring me.