Underneath the Kilt

Edinburgh 2010

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Contents6-7 Introduction8-11 Accomodation12-13 Public Transport

14-19 Food & Drink20-29 history & sights

30-35 Museum & Art36-51 Literature & Film52-59 Shopping & Fashion60-77 Entertainment78-81 Surrounding Areas

82-87 Highlands

88-90 Scottish vocabulary

91 About Us

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Photos on this page by Sanna Giovanoli

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history & sights

Places to know, Places to go

Text & photos by Sylvia Kasmann

History is all around

When walking through the streets of Edinburgh, you feel as if you have just tra-velled 600 years back in time. The ancient castle which has dominated the city’s skyline since the seventh century lets Edi glow in the light of long gone kings. The cobblestoned streets and winded alleys seem to be shaped by old stories from Edinburgh’s founding days to the modern times. Medieval houses guard those streets and not few of them were sites of murder, theft and betrayal. You simply cannot escape history while visiting Edi. We know that history is not everybody’s thing but you do not have to listen to dull stories told by someone who looks as ancient as the things he talks about to learn something about the city. Instead, you can stroll around the capital and have a look at its many sights which reflect Edinburgh’s history in an illustrative way. Edinburgh wears history on its sleeve. You will learn about Maggie Dickinson who was hanged but lived another 40 ye-ars after that. About the most faithful dog in the world, Bobby, that did not leave his master even after the latter’s death. About the creepiest poltergeist haunting in Edinburgh, about a king on a donkey, and many other things. So just have a walk through Edi, you will see that it’s worth your time.

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The Royal Mile

The Royal Mile is a real ragbag of sights. It leads from Holyrood Palace up to the Castle and is one mile long (the Scots are not really the most crea-tive people when it co-mes to naming things). You can find a lot of his-tory on it, like at St. Giles High Kirk or the Castle, as well as a lot of shops that lure you with cashmere, tartan, tweed and Celtic jewellery.

Holyrood Palace

You can find the Holyro-od Palace at the east end of the Royal Mile. It is the official residence of the Queen when she stays in Scotland, so watch out for the British flag while visiting it. If it is hoisted, she is in town. However, Holyrood has not always been a royal home. Ori-ginally, it was an Abbey, build in the 12th centu-ry that was expanded throughout the years. Since the 15th century it has been serving as a residence for monarchs and accommodating fa-mous people like Mary, Queen of the Scots.

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The Parliament

Whilst in Edi, you have to see the new Scottish Parliament Building, finished in 2004. It is a spectacular example of modern architecture situated next to Holy-rood Park. The architect, Enric Miralles, wanted to design a building that would seem to grow out of nature. Therefore, he threw some leaves on a piece of paper and decided that the newly established Scottish parliament should look exactly like that. If you look at it today, it is easy to see the natural influences, like the leaf shaped buildings and grass covered roofs. Go there, it’s worth a visit.

St. Giles High Kirk

This church is located in the middle of the Royal Mile and has been one of Edinburgh’s religious centres for 900 years. It was named in honour of the pat-ron of Edi, St. Giles. The kirk was founded during the 1120s when the royal Scottish family made efforts to spread Christianity. It played a decisive role during the Reformation in Scotland as one of its priests was John Knox, who was the founder of the Presbytarian Church. He was buried in the graveyard of the ca-thedral, which was turned into a car park a couple of hundred years later. Besides the historical impor-tance, St. Giles is an interesting piece of architecture as well. Its gothic style and colourful windows create an atmosphere of warmth and mystery.

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Photos on this page by Sanna Giovanoli

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Calton Hill

Another prominent peak is Calton Hill, which is quite close to Arthur’s Seat. It offers a fantastic view of the city as well, but unlike Arthur’s Seat, Calton Hill harbours several buildings and monuments. There is for example St. Andrew’s House, which has accommodated part of the Scottish government since 1999. Moreover, you can find the National Monument up there, which is a memorial to those who died in the Napoleonic wars and many more. Therefore, Calton Hill is the perfect mix of relishing a great view and history.

Photos on this page by Pamela Kölbl

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Scott Monument: 287 steps to the top

A 61,1 meters tall Victorian Go-thic spire that reminds you of a space rocket, dominates the south side of Princes Street - the Scott Monument. Completed in 1844 it is dedicated to another Scottish writer who became well-known throughout Euro-pe because of his novels. He was the first English speaking author who had success ab-road. He is also responsible for two major trends that carry on this day. Scott invented the mo-dern historical novel and reha-bilitated the public perception of Highland culture after years. That makes him a lead figure in the development of Scottish history. The monument incorporates statues of three Scottish Mon-archs, 16 poets and 64 of Scott’s characters in its architecture. From the top of the pinnacle you have a panorama view over Edinburgh’s historic Old and New Towns.

Summer (April - September inclu-sive): Monday - Sunday 10am-7pm

Winter (October - March inclusi-ve): Monday - Saturday 9am - 4pm Sunday 10am - 4pm

Admission: £3

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Shopping off the beaten track

Text & photos by Stephanie Haupt

Keep your eyes open all you bargain hunters and fa-shionistas out there

Powerful men in kneelength-skirts in tartan patterns - better known as kilts – that´s what you may have in mind when you are think about Edinburgh´s fashion scene.

Of course there are a lot of traditional Scottish fa-shion stores all around the city as mentioned before. So don´t be surprised if you see hairy legs just co-vered by ancient skirts from the 16th century, even if it´s f-f-freezing cold outside. But that´s not the only thing the fashion world of Scotland´s capital has on offer for all you shopaho-lics. Here you can also find real fashion treasures and the hottest fanciest clothes besides the bog-stan-dard shops you can find in every city. When strolling around your eyes will glaze over at the kinds of fa-shion you can choose from .

So if you are interested in an individual and unique fashion experience you will love the second-hand shops all around Edinburgh. One of the best stores for cool vintage and retro clothing is Armstrongs (83 The Grassmarket & 64-66 Clerk Street), stocked from floor to ceiling with great stuff. There you can find beautiful dresses, jackets and tops as well as great accessories for a costume party. Belts, bags, hats and, of course, exatraordinary shoes from all periods of time will complete your look. And the best part is they are affordable, even on a small budget.

If you not only want to save money but also want to support aid organisations you can have a look in one of the many charity shops especially in Nicolson Street, Clerk Street and Stockbridge. There you can

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find a huge variety of modern and vintage stuff. Ex-actly the right spots to find desirable fashion.

If you’re more interested in new, yet special clothes – just a bit different – try a visit to Victoria Street with its funky and pretty cool stores like SWISH (22 Victo-ria Street) – easily found because of its purple façade. There you can snatch up playful dresses, rocking t-shirts and huge variations of bags.

Great places to find young and modern clothing are the various shops in Cockburn Street. You definitely should go to Pie in the sky where you will find a huge range of unique dresses, cool shirts and pretty stylish jewellery.

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EntertainmentEntertainment

Let me entertain you!

The Fringe effect

Text & photos by Ruth Amelung and Anna Katharina Laschke

The streets are roaring and every last alley, nook and cranny are crammed with masses of exhilarated peo-ple. A nice mid- summer breeze carries the sound of laughter, clapping hands and jubilant cheers to every corner of the capital. And with that the festival sum-mer has officially begun. Every year people from all over the globe flock to Edinburgh to visit any of the 12 cultural spectacles the European festival hotspot has to offer.

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So if you already happen to have plans, especially for the weeks of August, consider rescheduling because all eyes will be on this city that knows like no other how to throw a festival.The Edinburgh International Festival lures millions of inspired visitors to its shows every year. Three weeks from around mid- August, it is host to the ‘who-is-who’ of international theatre, opera, music, drama and dance promising world class performances and outstanding exhibitions. The Fringe, the world’s biggest arts festival, holds the pole position in the Festival hit list. Originally it was established as a protest by eight theatre groups who were not invited to the inauguration of the Edin-burgh International Festival; yet felt that they should have the right to perform. The idea of the Fringe was born and from 1947 alternative performers could participate and present anything they wanted - as long as they found a venue. Today around 270 ve-nues are nearly bursting and over 30.000 individual performances turn the city into a colossal stage. Also part of the Edinburgh festival is the Royal Edin-burgh Military Tattoo. It is the biggest music festival throughout Scotland and takes place on the Esplana-de, right in front of the Edinburgh Castle. The name Tattoo is said to be derived from the Dutch language meaning “last orders”. Military bands, British armed forces and the Commonwealth are still the center of the musical attention and perform an entertaining mix of parades and military ceremonies. The complete festival program will be published three months in advance, tickets and reservations are available online.

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Did you know, there are more

Science Festival 2 weeks around april -inventions and innovations in science and technology

Bank of Scotland Imaginate festival 6 days in May -theatre for youngsters

Edinburgh International Film Festival 10 days in June -innovative and exciting cinema

Jazz and Blues Festival 1 week beginning of august music -from old and new artists

Edinburgh Art Festival one week beginning of Sep-tember -modern and contemporary art

Edinburgh Mela Festival beginning of August - peo-ple, places, identities reflecting the world

The Fringe

Edinburgh Military Tattoo

Edinburgh International Festival

International Book Festival 2 weeks in August -lar-gest in the world

International Storytelling Festival 10 days in October ( traditional and contemporary storytelling)

Edinburgh Hogmanay (New Years) 5 days of celeb-ration

For further information please check out

http://www.edinburghfestivals.co.uk/festivalshttp://www.edfringe.com/http://www.eif.co.uk/

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Everybody dance now!

Text by Sylvia Kasmann

Fast rhythms, exuberant dancing, sweaty faces, and a lot of fun. This is no description of some fancy night club, but of an important part of Scottish culture: ceilidh.Ceilidh is a traditional Gaelic dance that is accompanied by Scottish live music. So if you join a ceilidh night, you will get a real taste of Scottish culture. Now you might think of elderly peo-ple dressed in kilts who are waltzing to some bagpipes tunes. But you are severely mistaken. Mainly young peo-ple visit these ceilidh nights that con-sist of couple and group dances. They may start slowly but do not be fooled by this. After a while the speed acce-lerates and you might have problems keeping up. But don’t worry, there are always nice Scots around who will help you. Ceilidh is the perfect opportunity to get into contact with some locals in Edinburgh as you will have to switch partners repeatedly in the course of the night. Conversations will develop easily and maybe you can get some insider tips concerning Edi and its sur-roundings. If you go to a ceilidh night, you will experience a fantastic atmosphere of Scottish music and playful dancing. At some point it will become impossi-ble for you to stop laughing because you are either stumbling over your own feet or just enjoying yourself very much. So if you would appreciate some change to the usual night clubs,

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The Gift of the Scottish Pub

Text by Anne Becker and Sharne Plummer

The way I see it, everyone has a gift. I discovered my gift fairly late in life, well, perhaps not late but defini-tely not until I was of legal age.

I like to think of myself as something of a connois-seur of alcohol and pubs. If I’m honest Scotland’s pubs are topping my list for atmosphere, character and personality.

I’m fairly confident I’m not alone when I say that ha-ving the infamous Whisky or a pint in a Scottish bar is quite high up on the “must do” list of anyone tra-velling to Scotland. It’s hard to avoid the plethora of warm, inviting pubs with friendly faces inside.

Whether it be for a quiet beverage with friends or an all night bender Edinburgh will be able to cater for you.

Edinburgh is full of traditional pubs like Port of Leith, Canny Man’s and Café Royal where you can talk to lo-

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cals in a friendly atmosphere with original Victorian style interiors. Edinburgh locals use their neighbour-hood bars as a social centre to meet friends, watch sports, listen to live music or just relax with a wine or one of the long beer brewing heritage originals.

However, if you are in the mood for a party don’t miss Bramble or Amicus Apple or one of the many other cool, stylish bars with occupants dressed to impress. These bars come fully equipped with DJs, a young trendy crowd and state of the art cocktails. All over the new town, particularly on George Street, you will find many of the city’s most fashionable cocktail bars.

As Edinburgh is a city with more than 700 pubs and has more bars per square mile than any other UK city it can be a bit tricky to know where to start. If you are travelling alone or need a little guidance, there are a multitude of pub crawl tours only too happy to assist. These tours vary in price and cater for a variety of age groups. The most common location to pick up one of these tours is the Royal Mile. In summary, Edinburgh is certainly a drinking town par excellence.

I feel I need to mention the two words most com-monly uttered the morning after a really good night – hangover cure – the Scots believe Irn Bru and a fry up can relieve the symptoms of a hangover. Conside-ring they are experts in the field I fully support this approach.

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Surrounding Areas

Escaping the city

Leith - the new upcoming “Hot-spot”

Text & photos by Pamela Kölbl

With modern houses by the port, many different pubs and restaurants and the new shopping centre “Ocean Terminal”, it’s easy to see why Leith is known as the new trendy neighbourhood. A lot of people know the cult hit-film “Trainspotting” from Danny Boyle (based on Irvine Welsh’s novel 1993), but few realise that the story was set in Leith. The film is about a generation in the 1990s who were caught up in the drug scene, once known as a problem area. During the last 10 years many changes have occurred and the district has become quite ambitious in impro-ving its reputation and social scene in Edinburgh. There will be more changes in the future. Leith also sees itself as distinct and separate from Edinburgh. Locals proudly call themselves “Leithers” rather than Edinburgh residents. So, if you want to experience an adventure, just start at the top of Leith Walk and head the whole way down to the harbour. Don’t forget to stop at one of the charming Swedish pubs like the Victoria Bar. Due to its location it is filled with local residents and you’ll have an extensive drinks menu with Lagers from all over the world. After having a pint with a real “Leither”, the Leith Walk will lead you to the historic port of Leith where you can, among

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other things, visit the “Royal Yacht Britannia”. This ship was home to the Queen and the Royal family and is today a popular tourist attraction. Across the street you can have a different shopping experience in the Ocean Terminal based on the waterfront. Apart from having over 70 stores under one roof, you’ll also find a great selection of bars, restaurants, spa, cinema and an indoor skate park. Be careful as you may find your-self with an empty wallet. If you are still not tired of discovering, don’t miss a good dinner in one of the seafood restaurants around the harbour.

Did you know that you can listen to live-music whilst enjoying a pint in a pub on the Leith harbour?

The WaterlineShore, Edinburgh, Midlothian EH6, Phone: 0131 554 2425‎

Did you know that Leith has its own arts festival which takes place every year in June?

www.leithfestival.com

Did you know that you can find on the top of Leith Walk the best fish & chips restaurant of Leith “The Tai-lend”?

The Tailend:12-14 Albert Place, Leith Walk, Edinburgh, EH7 5HNPhone: 0131-5553577

Victoria Bar265 Leith Walk, Edinburgh, Midlothian EH6 8PDPhone: 0131-5545706‎

Royal Yacht Britannia Ocean Terminal, Leith, Edinburgh, Midlothian EH6 6JJ, Phone: 0131 555 5566

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Chill-out zone

Text by Pamela Kölbl

Beaches around Edinburgh

Edinburgh is not only a vibrant city, it has much more to offer. If you like to have a break you don’t have to travel far from the city to enjoy a fresh breeze at the sea. As Edinburgh is situated on the coast you’ll discover tranquil beaches where you can find a place to relax beside the sparkling water.

Portobello Beach

With its short distance from Edinburgh, this beach is the “town-beach” and well-attended on the weekends. The long promenade invites you for a walk in every season of the year. In the summer you’ll find a lot of surfers, swimmers and sun-bathers who enjoy the expansive sandy coast. Don’t miss a first class lunch in one of the pubs right by the beach or simply have an ice-cream at one of the ice-cream vans.

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Cramond

This small beach has a charm of its own. You can wander along the coast on a footway or you can cross the pedestrian bridge to Cramond Island. Be mindful of the tides, as you may stay overnight when the tide comes in. This beach is easily reached by bus or by car. If you like to have a pint and a good dinner near a fire-place before you go back to town, don’t miss the village pub “The Cramond Inn”.

Gullane Bents

This picturesque expanse of beach with its sandy dunes is situated next to the little village of Gullane. It’s easy to get there by bus and by car as it is only about 15 miles from Edinburgh. As well as watching the gorgeous surfers, it is also po-pular for its breathtaking views of Edinburgh. It’s just a short walk to the cosy village where you’ll have a large choice of pubs, cafes and restaurants.

Did you know that you can find an old Roman ruin on the coast of Cramond?

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No Englishmen around? - Just fight with each other!

Text & photos by Raphaela Schedel

Imagine, on a really hot July-day in 1746 you‘re walking around through the won-derful nature of the Highlands. You see the mountains, the Lochs, some red deer.But you‘re not here to enjoy the nature. You are here to fight. To battle for your life. You are wearing a kilt and a huge sword. You are running into your enemy and hopefully you are the one who beats him to death. Otherwise...

Highlands

Battles are daily bread for the Scottish people. The history is full of it. Up to this day, no one knows exactly, why they fought that much. But it‘s sure that combat is in the Scots‘ blood. They just love to fight each other, and for cen-turies the English.So if you are this kind of person, who likes bloody battle stories then you are totally right for the Highlands. There are hundreds of clans in the Highlands. They still exist nowadays. And they are very proud of their history as well as of the battles. Just to mention a few: The MacDonalds, The Frasers, The MacKenzies and so on, revel in their blood-stained history.

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