Day Sixty - 9/11/2012 - Edinburgh, Scotland

     Andrew, Melina, Meng, and I took the 0300 AirCoach to Dublin Airport for what was to be Meng and my first Ryanair flight.  We had been warned by friends and by email from the airline itself, that Ryanair, while having the cheapest fare, is very strict on cabin baggage allowances. Bags must be 55x40x20cm and less than 10 kilos or they charge you €50/£50 on the spot, whichever they prefer. We had heard horror stories of a mean lady who comes around with a cardboard box of the above dimensions, preying on the nervous passengers waiting outside in the cold rain to board their flight. If her box doesn't fit over your luggage without significant pushing and shoving, then you are charged on the spot. If you can't pay them your bag doesn't come with you. Thankfully we encountered no such lady.  The airline reduces its fares by operating Boeing 737s, with no bells nor whistles. All things considered, it was not bad at all. For a flight from Dublin to Prestwick, you paid €45. The equivalent British Airways flight was €150. The flight was surprisingly fast (Ryanair prides itself as being the airline with the most on-time flights and pilots get bonuses based on their consecutive on-time flights) and it seemed that we never reached cruising altitude but rather began our descent before finishing the ascent,
     Upon landing in Prestwick, we walked through the airport into the train station by means of a skywalk. ScotRail offers a great deal where you get half off rail fare on the day of your flight, making the train cheaper than the bus. We waited by the train station next to a curious sign instructing passengers to buy tickets on the train.  When the train did arrive, everyone boarded and took their seats. The train departed. We started passing and stopping at stations, but still no apparent way of purchasing tickets had presented itself. After thirty minutes of traveling, we were about to pull in at the terminus, Glasgow Central. At the last minute, the ticket vendor came through. We were able to buy our return tickets for another day at the reduced rate, something to keep in mind when traveling by rail in Scotland.  At Glasgow Central, we took a shuttle to Queen Street station for another train to Edinburgh. Transportation in Europe seems to move faster than in America. Trains in the rail next to us came whizzing by so fast that you only heard a whoosh after a split second flash of blue. After all falling asleep on the train, we pulled into Edinburgh Waverly, right underneath Edinburgh Castle. It then became apparent how tickets are checked for ScotRail. After exiting the carriage you must pass through a ticket check machine to be able to exit the platform. Sadly, the machine keeps your ticket.
     Exiting the station required use of four flights of escalator stairs to gain the level of Princes Street. We began to walk as a group towards the hostel. We walked up Leith Street, passing the Omni Center, a mall/gym/food court which was presently adorned with the naked torsos of four Scottish rugby players, much to the delight of the female members of our group.
     Eventually we reached the Edinburgh Central Youth Hostel, at Haddington Place on Elm Row.  Meng and I headed to I Heart Cafe on Haddington Place. Meng got their famous pulled pork sandwich while I had a delicious Reuben with sauerkraut. As the cafe was one of the few places in Scotland with free WiFi, I availed of this and downloaded the Scotland app, featuring downloadable and therefore offline street maps of Scotland, which proved invaluable for the duration of my trip. The app is put on by the Scottish Tourism Board and offers discounts along with the maps and catalogues and locations of accommodation and attractions. Best of all, it can be used offline.
     I then attended to some business on Princes Street which will be addressed later. We met Andrew and Melina at the head of Princes Street and briefly explored the Princes Streets Gardens before heading to the National Gallery.  The Scottish National Gallery houses a collection of art from the early Renaissance to the end of the nineteenth century.
     After the gallery, at about five in the evening, it had gotten dark. Back at the hotel, we watched some television, ironically American TV shows broadcasting on BBC 4, including How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory. Later, a show with Derren Brown came on as he tested the placebo effect.  Brown is a British illusionist who creates TV specials to showcase various illusions and deceptions, and this week he was focusing on the placebo effect of a made-up drug.
     All in all, it was a fantastic first night in Edinburgh, a city that would prove to be historical and inviting.