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Foto: Miriam Steimer

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Andrin Schumann A brilliant mystery Page Number 4–5

Sigrid Scheler There shall be a Scottish Parliament Page Number 6–7

Isabel Metzger Back to Black Page Number 8–9

Christiane Nönnig Whisky and freedom Page Number 10–11

Monique Schmahl Following Authorial Footsteps Page Number 12–13

Miriam Steimer On the traces of... Half-Hanggit Mary Page Number 14–15

Julia Schweinberger “What nonsense!” Page Number 16–17

Martina Peters Come on, hide away in my stories... Page Number 18–19

Michael Bernhard The Road to Murrayfield Page Number 20–21

Kathrin Lotholz The best place in town Page Number 22–23

Daniela Elpers Whisky on the rocks Page Number 24–25

Inga Sprünken My way to find the ghosts Page Number 26–27

Imprint Page Number 28 Foto: Miriam Steimer

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A bril l iant mysteryStruggle for words while visiting EdinburghAndrin Schumann

I tried to write an article about this city. But I failed. I refused to choose one theme and totally concentrate on it. There are too many impressions, numerous thoughts, ideas and feel-ings – so that I got unhappy every time I was forced to make a decision. Edinburgh is a pool of inspiration - albeit not for my writing!

I know that this is quite a subjective kind of experience since Edinburgh is a UNESCO City of Literature and has inspired lots of writers like Rob-

ert Louis Stevenson or Robert Burns. Nevertheless I cannot find the right words in the right order to describe how I saw the city. Anyway I will try to.

Edinburgh made me dreamy. It filled me with melancholy – luckily a good sort of melancholy, which gives me a sort of trust in my abilities. Nearly everyday I walked through the streets, saw all the different grey shapes ... and maybe for the first time in my life I really enjoyed the moods of Novem-

ber. I visited places like Arthur’s Seat and Greyfriars Cemetery, walked into old book shops, drank a lot of hot chocolate in pretty cafes or bad beer in famous pubs. And while doing all that, one word popped up in my head over and over again: enchanted.

Staying in Edinburgh – for me – felt like a pause from reality. There are ancient houses which become even more beautiful at night when their windows light up. You have to pass stony streets which sparkle in the rain

and where the cars always come from the wrong side. Over the city there sits enthroned the Castle of Edin-burgh like a guardian of the past. And at every corner you come across the melodic sound either of the bagpipe or the Scottish language.

In Edinburgh you are permanently confronted with the beauty of books and the importance of literature. The city’s inhabitants are crazy about tales and mysteries. They preserve them in various museums and old bookshops.

Icon of Edinburgh: the Skye Terrier Bobby Foto: Miriam Steimer

One of the Edinburgh Book Sculptures made by an anonymous artist Foto: Julia Schweinberger

View onto Greyfriars Bobby`s Bar in Candlemaker Row Foto: Miriam Steimer

Also they are very proud that their town is meant to be the place of ori-gin of stories like Harry Potter or Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Probably there is no other city where a little dog called Bobby would become such an important symbol. It is said that in the 19th century the Skye Terrier spent fourteen years guarding the grave of his owner. He became an icon and his image is spread over the whole city.

Stories and enigmasEven the book sculpture mystery of 2011 fits nowhere better than in Edin-burgh. For almost one year an anony-mous artist left tiny sculptures made out of book pages at several places in the town. She – the only certainty people have is that the person was a woman – attracted huge attention with her action – precisely because: In Edinburgh everybody loves a good mystery.

Surely all these reasons make the city a tourist attraction as well. So there is a feeling of “waking up“ from the lovely time-travel dream whenever you stumble across one of the uglycommercial shops – unfortunately Edinburgh is riddled with them. Also the weight loss your purse will suffer during your visit will bring you back down to earth.

Whatever, these sentences, roughly strung together should emphasise – regardless of my inability to capture Edinburgh in words – that I highly enjoyed being there. It will not be my last visit because I would like to dream again. Maybe I will come back in summer... to discover a totally different city from the place I have experienced so far.

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IMPRINTAuthorsMichael BernhardDaniela ElpersKathrin LotholzIsabel MetzgerChristiane NönnigMartina PetersSigrid SchelerMonique SchmahlAndrin Schumann Julia SchweinbergerInga SprünkenMiriam Steimer

Foto: Miriam Steimer

LayoutDaniela ElpersMartina PetersJulia SchweinbergerMiriam Steimer

Tiltshift by Daniela Elpers

This project has been funded with support from the European Commis-sion. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.