This week started our fall break, or “reading week.” I decided to use my time to explore the UK even more and head up to Edinburgh, Scotland, with 5 of my friends! With luck, one of my great friends also lives in Edinburgh so I was delighted to catch up with her and hang out. The trip up there lasted about 9 hours, as we had decided to take an overnight bus from London.

Pros: the bus was very cheap (compared to the train and/or plane) and hypothetically you would be sleeping for most of it.

Cons: Something could go wrong, and you’re delayed a while and then can’t go to sleep.

We all started off with high spirits and headed towards the Victoria coach station Friday night, excited to start this little trip to Scotland! Unfortunately, it didn’t go as planned. As we got further away from London and towards Heathrow (which is an hour away), a guy on the bus made us aware that he was not completely in his right mind. He was singing, and mindlessly talking when people were trying to sleep. So, at midnight the bus had to pull over and have help from the police in the area, who promptly took him off the bus and spoke to those who were around him. While the incident was calm and handled well, we were about an hour behind the schedule, and we still had 8 hours on the road to complete. Next, was the fact that neither me or any of my friends could fall asleep for more than an hour at a time. I was so exhausted when we finally arrived in Edinburgh! The bright side? I got to see the Scottish countryside during sunrise!

While we were all tired and wanting to take naps, we wanted to hike Arthur’s seat more! So, we separated for some breakfast, where I went and met my friend and dropped off my suitcase at her apartment. And then, off we were to hike Arthur’s seat! Truly, an easy hike up, and it was quite a warm sunny day! However, the wind at the top was so insane, I stumbled and felt like I was getting pushed! It was so much fun to experience the wind, the view, and being with my friend in Scotland!

This trip truly was wonderful, with amazing memories and people. I got to hold an owl, which was so surreal, and explore the Edinburg castle, as well as try the surrounding cafes. We also walked around Dean Village, which was a charming little village that reminded me of Germany and Austria. It was similar to the countryside of England, where it was very silent and a peaceful place to walk around. My friends left 2 days before me, as I wanted to spend as much time with my other friend and in Edinburg as possible! While my friend went to her classes, I walked around more and explored on my own! It was so much fun to explore and go where I wanted to, on a whim. I ended up sitting at a park, journaling, while having a wonderful view of the castle. I also got over my shyness of asking someone to take a photo of me.

However, as the trip came to an end, I smiled at all my memories and the beautiful city, said a “see you later” to my friend, and headed back to London, but this time on the train. I always wanted to take the train from Edinburgh to London (or vise-versa) and it was so much fun to travel like this. I got a window seat, and looking at the beautiful countryside, the sea, and listening to my music made the 4 hours fly by. Alas, there was also something wrong with the train, so about 3 hours in, we had to make a train-switch, which by all means was easy and fast. It shows how things could go wrong in travel, but to make the most of it because it turns out to be wonderful. I still had an amazing trip in both Edinburgh and the train regardless.

Now, here I am after a jam-packed past few days, recounting all of this with a smile on my face. Not to mention Halloween! After Scotland, I celebrated Halloween with my friends. During the day, I walked around a beautiful park, with orange leaves littering the ground, kids dressed up as Harry Potter running around, and swans swimming in the lake. I picked up a delicious chai and chocolate croissant and enjoyed my time walking around, journaling (again) while sitting up against a tree and watching the people walk by. It was such an amazing day enjoying the nature hidden in a city and with my own self. At night, I rejoined my friends and had a fun time dressing up and hanging out with them. By all accounts, I had a wonderful past week, with some incidents, but it all makes for a wonderful story!

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