Tag Archives: Edinburgh

8 August 2019:
Edinburgh (Leith), Scotland:
Castle on the Hill

August 8, 2019 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler

Edinburgh has been recognized as the capital of Scotland since at least the 15th century, and is the location of the Scottish government within the United Kingdom.

The city’s Palace of Holyroodhouse is the official residence of the Monarchy in Scotland. The palace is at the bottom of the Royal Mile, at the opposite end from Edinburgh Castle, which occupies the high ground above town.

Holyrood Palace is a setting for state occasions and official entertaining. Mary, Queen of Scots spent most of her turbulent life in the Palace. Mary’s 16th century Historic Apartments and the State Apartments which are used for official and state entertaining, are open to the public throughout the year, except when members of the Royal Family are in residence.

Queen Elizabeth II spends one week in residence at Holyrood Palace—usually from the end of June to the beginning of July, carrying out official engagements and ceremonies.

Holyrood week begin on the forecourt of Holyroodhouse with the traditional ‘Ceremony of the Keys’, with the Queen officially welcomed to the city of Edinburgh.

Why she needs keys, and why she needs them again and again, I don’t know.

Today I went to the National Museum of Scotland. The building combines a truly grand old design, dating from 1861, with a great collection and modern presentation.

The view from the rooftop is also grand, Edinburgh on display.

Here’s some of what I saw today:

**All photos by Corey Sandler, all rights reserved 2019. Please contact me if you would like to obtain a copy**

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE ANY PHOTO OR AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

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Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

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7 June 2019:
Edinburgh (Leith), Scotland:
The Athens of the North

June 7, 2019 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler

We have sailed back across the North Sea to the glorious city of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Welcome to a famous city, the capital of Scotland, a place that is among the more commonly mispronounced locations in the world.

Resist the urge to call it Edin-BURG.

In Scotland and Northern England, starting from King David I in the 12^th century, significant communities were awarded the status of a Royal Burgh, never mind the spelling.

Elsewhere there are places that spell the word in the Scottish sense but pronounce it in the Germanic style. Like Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, and Lansingburgh in upstate New York.

It is the equivalent of the word borough, which is in use in many places around the world, and the spelling of that word includes one of those magically invisible “O-U-G-H” vowel-like sounds.

Places like downstate New York, where New York City is made up of five boroughs, which is different from the remainder of the state which is divided into counties.

If you really want to sound as if you are either very, very knowledgeable—or extremely out of touch—you can try one of the old nicknames for Edinburgh:

“Auld Reekie”, meaning Old Smoky,

Or “Edina”, the source of the first part of the city’s name, before it became a burgh.

Or this one: “The Athens of the North”, s nod to the many classical designs for grand buildings.

We went for a long walk in the morning sun. Here is some of what we saw today:

**The memorials to the explorer David Lingstone (born about 35 miles west of Edinburgh, and celebrated throughout the United Kingdom), and in the background that of author Sir Walter Scott.**

**All photos by Corey Sandler, copyright 2019. All rights reserved.**

More Photos of Edinburgh from Previous Visits

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE ANY PHOTO OR AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

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Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

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14 July 2018:
Edinburgh, Scotland:
A Festive Place

July 14, 2018 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler

Welcome to a famous city, the capital of Scotland, a place that is among the more commonly mispronounced locations in the world.

Resist the urge to call it Edin-BURG.

In Scotland and Northern England, starting from King David I in the 12^thcentury, significant communities were awarded the status of a Royal Burgh, pronounced BURR-ah, never mind the spelling.

Someone should tell that to the residents of the steel town of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.

By most appraisals, Edinburgh has the strongest economy of any city in the United Kingdom outside of London and the highest proportion of professionals in the UK with 43 percent of the population holding a degree-level or professional qualification.

The modern economy is based mainly on financial services, scientific research, higher education, and tourism.

Today, Edinburgh is the United Kingdom’s second most popular tourist destination.

Edinburgh is a festive place, whichever nickname you choose to apply. There is a gathering of some sort almost every month of the year, but in the summer, from July to September, they are almost continuous.

Among the most famous are the Edinburgh International Festival, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, and the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

All together, the festivals attract about 4.4 million visitors, generating more than £100 million pounds for the local economy.

The longest established is the Edinburgh International Festival, first held in 1947, with a program of theater, classical music, and other performances.

This has since been overtaken both in size and popularity by the Edinburgh Fringe, which began as a program of comedy and marginal acts alongside the “official” Festival and has become the world’s largest performing arts festival.

And then there is the Edinburgh Military Tattoo which occupies the Castle Esplanade every night during its run, with massed pipers and military bands drawn from around the world.

And as it happens, we will be in town on the second day of the Edinburgh Blues & Jazz festival, which generally (but not always) does not include bagpipes.

We enjoyed a day of bright sun, warm temperatures, and spirited political demonstrations.

Here is some of what we saw today: