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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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IntroductionText by Raphaela Schedel, photos by Sanna Giovanoli

Sure, you all want to know what‘s underneath the kilt. It was probably the reason why you opened this book - but not so fast. This is not a dirty magazine but a travel guide about Edinburgh. Shame on you and your nasty thoughts!

Nevertheless: In this city it‘s not unusual to see men in kilts. They are not a cliché but a reality in Edin-burgh as well as in the whole of Scotland. As the capital of a stunning country, Edinburgh is like the moon among many stars. The town has the perfect mixture between dark and mysterious on the one hand and modern and energetic on the other.

As a tourist we all know that it‘s kind of a must to do some typical tourist things. The first thing to do is to see all the famous sights of a town. Especially in Edinburgh there are so many sights that it might be difficult for you to see all of them. Edinburgh Castle, Arthurs Seat, Calton Hill, The Royal Mile, The Grass-market, Greyfrairs Churchyard. And so on.

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Secondly there needs to be an entertaining pro-gramme. Here is where opinions differ: For those of you who love the thrill, Edinburgh holds scary gra-veyards, evil spirits and dark undergrounds for you to discover. Others again want to visit museums, learn more about Scottish history or just simply want to go shopping. The rest just wants wild party nights out. (That‘s probably the largest group).

Be assured that all of your desires will be fulfilled: Most of the museums are for free, there are plenty of shopping malls, streets and little shops and as for the nightlife there are so many pubs and clubs that everyone will be taken care of.

If not you have the choice to come to Edinburgh when a festival is running and lucky you: There are lots of festivals during the whole year.If you finally have enough of this varied city you can visit Edinburgh‘s beautiful surrounding areas.

A little too much right now? Don‘t worry. We made this guide for you to make your trip to Edinburgh unique and unforgettable. So go on discovering this guide. It will be a help for you. (Don‘t you dare say something different) Keep this guide always by your side and enjoy your time in Edinburgh: City of end-less opportunities.

Your Travel Guide Team

P.S. Oh, right. What is underneath the kilt..? That‘s up to you to explore.

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AccomodationSweet dreams

Text & Photos by Julia Nickenig

There are many hostels and hotels in Edinburgh not overstretching young people’s budget. Here is a selection with the most important information (All prices as at March 2010, seasonal changes possible.).

Hostels

Budget Backpackers37 Cowgate, Edinburgh EH1 1JR+44 (0)131 226 6351

Located near Grassmarket this friendly hostel is in the neighbourhood of many individual stores, pubs and clubs. It offers self-service kitchens, a dining room and a chill-out room. Internet terminals and Wi-Fi are available. The reception is open 24h a day.Dorms from £8.50, Twins from £17.00; linen included, breakfast: £2; lockers in every room

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Cruisin’ around

Text & Photos by Sanna Giavanoli

Going upstairs on a double-decker bus while the bus driver is showing off his skills can be a shaky adventure. First you have to find the bus stop you need. Bu-ses only stop at every other stop in the city centre. Arriving at the right stop you may see a queue. Join the end of the line, otherwise you might get a disappro-ving glance. When you get on the bus, have the exact fare ready; the bus driver won’t give you any change. After taking the ticket, the really courageous person dares to go upstairs now. But take care, don’t break your neck! Once safe on the second floor, enjoy the view. Don‘t forget to say thank you to the bus driver, when you leave the bus, even if you don‘t know where he got his licence.

Buses are the best way to move through the city, its surrounding areas and even the whole country. There are several bus companies, specialising in different are-as. Lothian Regional Transport is the main provider of bus services in the city and runs mainly double-decker buses. Most of the routes go via Princes Street. Lothian Buses run the night buses too. For travelling further afield Scottish City-link goes to cities across the UK. The Flybus links the city centre to the airport in twenty minutes. There are also diffrent open top double-decker buses for tourist sight seeing. The tours start at Waverly Station in the city centre.

Public Transport

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Cider

Imagine a wood pa-nelled, narrow pub. A rugby game is shown on a television in a dark corner. Bulky guys sit at the counter, drinking - cider. Yes, cider. Forget the smooth summer evening in a bistro in Provence in France, ci-der is a famous drink in the whole of UK and you can find it in nearly eve-ry Pub in the Burgh. Like beer, cider here is drawn on a tap like ales. And if you cannot quit with beer, just order a Snake Bite and the Bartender will mix you the cider with a shot of light beer. Cheers!

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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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Edinburgh Castle

The most popular attraction in Edinburgh is of course the castle. This mighty fortress is the city’s symbol and, together with the Old and New Town, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its most prominent characteristic is that it is built on a huge rock which was created by volcanic activity approximately 340 million years ago. There have been settlements on this rock since 900 BC. The first histo-rical reference to Din Eidyn, a fortress on the rock, stems from 600 AD. The castle has often been in the centre of the never ending quarrels between the Scots and the English. It has been repeatedly invaded by the English and recaptured by the Scots. If you are planning to visit it, you should have a lot of time on your back as it offers many different museums to illustrate its history.

Grassmarket

The Grassmarket is a small area of central Edinburgh, southeast of the castle. From the 15th to the early 20th century it used to be a market of horse and cattle as well as place of public executions. The most famous story about Grassmarket is that of half-hanged Mary Dickinson. Today you do not encounter any (supposedly) dead people dangling from the gallows, but a lot of students, lively pubs, cool clubs, individual second-hand shops and cheap hotels. The young cannot miss Grassmarket.

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Museum & Art

aMUSEuMent par excellence!

Text & photos by Anna Katharina Laschke

Beside shopping malls and other touristy entertain-ment, Edinburgh`s cultural landscape offers various opportunities for all art lovers or ‘thirsty-for-know-ledge-ones’ to spend their leisure: Meet famous Mo-dern Art at the Dean Gallery, dip into Scottish History at the National Museum or be consumed by visual illusions at Camera Obscura - everyone to his own taste! Select your favourite and get aMUSEuMent started!

“Your journey of discovery starts here…”– The National Museum of Scotland–

The Royal Museum, housed in a magnificent Victori-an building of the 19th century on Chambers Street, and The Museum of Scotland were merged into The National Museum of Scotland in 2007. Various arte-facts of past and present life are exhibited on the six levels in the modern part of the Museum today: St-arting on the ground floor with the Beginning - the first three billion years of Scotland`s history with origins and evolution of the Scottish landscape, flo-ra and fauna – further on with the Early People, the Kingdom of the Scots, Scotland Transformed, Indus-try and Empire up to Scotland: A Changing Nation on the sixth floor. The collections tell you the “story of Scotland, its land, people and culture.”, supplemen-ted by objects from around the world, encompas-

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sing archaeology, geology, natural history, science, technology and art, which are presented in The Royal Museum. Walking through the exhibition may feel like exploring a maze: Your tour is not predetermined and the room layout offers various ways to discover the museum. Every single room holds its own surprises, especially the so-called “Discovery-Zones” for children as well as enthusiastic grown-ups. Even if you may not be that interested in museums, it is worth a visit: The correla-tion of modern architecture and the historical samples of the exhibition creates a unique atmosphere and is definitely worth seeing! And don`t forget to spend some time on the wonderful terrace on the seventh floor, where you will have a splendid view over Edi`s Old Town!

Address: Chambers Street Edinburgh EH1 1JFContact: Tel: 0131 225 7534 Website: http://www.nms.ac.uk/default.aspx Opening times: daily 10am-5pm Admission: free

additional offers: shop, café, special exhibitions, events and shows, guided and themed tours, touch or signed tours for visually impaired, school visits etc.

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Life is short, art is long! – smARTful Edinburgh!

Addicted to the Arts? Then don`t miss experiencing Edinburgh`s art scene! Not only official museums, like the National Galleries of Scotland, but also private gal-leries and ateliers as in Stockbridge with their temporary exhibitions are a sight to see! So enjoy drifting through a proper universe of past and present artworks and learn more about the ARTistic side of Scotland`s capital city!

“There‘s more to Da Vinci than codes and more to Warhol than cans.”

Situated right in the heart of Edinburgh the National Gallery Complex is made up of three interconnected buildings: The National Gallery of Scotland, which is “home to a major part of Scotland`s sensational national collection of fine art”, the Royal Scottish Academy Building (RSA), which is one of Europe`s “premier venues” for international exhibitions, and the Weston Link, which connects the two buildings and offers areas for learning, shopping, eating and drinking! So spend a little while strolling around in these peaceful surroundings and discover masterpieces from Raphael and Rembrandt to Rubens!

The Scottish National Portrait Gallery, the first pur-pose-built portrait gallery in the world, is currently undergoing a major refurbishment and is actually closed. Following the planned reopening in 2011 more portraits will be shown “within the context of various historical and thematic exhibitions” and will reveal the “fascinating stories behind the sitters and the artists.” The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and the nearby Dean Gallery will be your favourites, if you cherish modern and contemporary art in all its vari-ous forms. And even if you`re not that keen on visit-ing art-exhibitions – enjoy the beautiful surrounding parkland with the sculpture works by important ar-tists or rummage in the wonderful galleries shops!

for further information please check out Website: www.nationalgalleries.org/ www.museumonthemound.com/ www.nms.ac.uk/ www.edinburgh.gov.uk/

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Literature & FilmFor book worms and film nerds

Where Book Lovers have to go

Text and photos by Melanie Schütte

Why Edinburgh is THE book-city

Edinburgh was the first UNESCO World City of Literature. This is not the only rea-son why you should have a look at the widespread history of literature in this city during your stay. There are a lot of opportunities for literary interests. Discover the places where famous authors found inspiration for their stories on a litera-ture tour. Learn more about them in the National Library and finally go shopping in the unique antiquarian bookshops.

The Writers’ Museum

Start your literature adventure with a visit to the Writers’ Museum. You can reach it easily from Royal Mile going down Lady Stair’s Close. Even the courtyard is just worth having a look at. This place is called Makars’ Court and also known as the ‘walk of fame of literature’. The inscriptions carved into stones commemorate all famous Scottish writers from the 14th century to the present.The museum is quite small but a comfortable place because of its homely ar-chitecture. Built in 1622, it was home of one of the city’s wealthiest families. The permanent exhibition is dedicated to three famous Scottish authors: Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson. A comfortable couch on the second floor invites you to sit down and have a look at the books of the three authors.

Writers‘ Museum and Makars‘ Court Lady Stair‘s Close, Edinburgh, EH1 2PAMonday - Saturday 10am - 5pm Sunday 12 - 5pm (during August only) Admission free

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Robert Burns – The Greatest Scot

Let’s start with the most celebrated Scottish Poet: Robert Burns. Of course you don’t have to know all poems of this world-wide celebrated author, but at least the most popular one: Auld Lang Syne (engl.: old long since) is traditionally chanted at Hogmanay and became one of the best known songs in the English speaking world. A lot of Burns works are in Scottish dialect. Regar-ded as a pioneer of the Romantic Movement, Burns was even voted as the greatest Scot in a public vote TV-Show in 2009. And because the Scots love him so much he has even got his own holiday called Burns Night or Burns Supper celebrated 25th of Janu-ary. This day is not just celebrated in Scotland but also everywhere in the world where Scottish migrants live. The supper includes traditional Hag-gis, a toast to the author accompanied by whisky and one of his songs or poems. If Haggis turns your stomach, try a war-

ming soup, neeps and tatties, a main course of Scottish salmon or Aberdeen Angus beef and rounded off with a Scotch Trifle.

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Where Book Lovers should go

Text & photos by Kerstin Mahler

Having been on a literary journey through Edinburgh you surely want to get yourself a book that you could take back home with you. You, of course, could go to the big Waterstones Stores in Princes Street, but for real book lovers, the side streets are much more interesting. Here you can find second hand bookshops. They are not only worth a visit because they often sell bestsellers cheaply but also because the atmosphere of some of these shops is quite unique.One of the most impressive second hand bookshop is the Old Town Bookshop in Victoria Street near Grassmarket. The narrow room is crammed full of books from the bottom to the top. It gives you the impression, that someone was set the fol-lowing task: Fill a small space with as many books as possible. So you stand in the shop in awe and secretly ask yourself how someone could ever reach those top shelves. If you have the overview you could find exotic titles like Birds in Britain Volume 41, Portraits in oil and vinegar or Games and sports in the Army but also well known books like an Ian Rankin novel. While being at Grassmarket you should stroll down West Port. Here are several second hand bookshops next to each other. If you are a fan of fantasy or science fiction the Transreal Fiction Bookshop in Cowgatehead is just the right location for you. You’ll find everything from Adams to Tolkien. Also highly recommendable is the Broughton Street Bookshop. It is located in the New Town and provides a wide range of quite cheap bestsellers. Additionally there is another very interesting life story to discover as Brian Rafferty, who runs the shop, suffers from the Aspergers Syndrome (a form of autism). If you just want to get yourself a cheap book though you should pop into one of the charity shops, like Oxfam or PDSA (Pets in need of Vets). In one of these you can buy donated books for a small amount of money and do something good at the same time.

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Aaaaaaaaaaaand action!

Following the footsteps of Ewan McGregor and Tom Hanks

Text and photos by Friederike Ebel

Imagine you are on a shopping tour on Princes Street, looking in the windows, chatting with your girls, ab-solutely amazed by the city. Suddenly you hear some hectical steps behind you, and just as you’re turning around, three thin, pale boys nearly bring you to fall by running down the street. As you follow them with your eyes, you think: “Was that really Ewan McGre-gor?”With a bit of imagination or the help of whisky and beer, you could really feel like being a part of Danny Boyle’s “Trainspotting”, which was shot in Edinburgh and Glasgow in 1996. It deals with heroin abuse and the problems of young people who grew up in Leith, an economically depressed area of Edinburgh in the 80s. You may recognise some houses or crossroads while walking down Edinburgh’s most famous shopping paradise, Princes Street, but there are a lot more places which are worth a visit for a Trainspotting fan. Just stroll down Leith Walk, the main street of Leith. Irvine Welsh, the author of the novel, was born in this quarter of the city, which is known for its troubled past, drug addicts, unemployment and a high crime rate. Today Leith is about to become the new fashio-nable quarter of Edinburgh, but you can still feel the special atmosphere, which made the book and mo-vie so authentic. At the end of Leith Walk you’ll arrive at “The Foot of the Walk”, a pub where some drinking scenes with Ewan McGregor were filmed. Feel free to sit down, grab yourself a beer and clink glasses to Mark, Spud, Sick Boy, Tommy and Begbie. But be care-ful not to copy the movie figures too much, the bar-man might get angry when you start throwing beer glasses like Begbie did in the movie.

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In addition, some parts were filmed on the train tracks between Edinburgh and Glasgow, so if you’re on a one day visit to Glasgow, don’t miss thinking of Mark and Sick Boy lying in the grass, watching trains go by and talking about Sean Connery films. As a real Trainspotting addict, you can join the Trainspotting tour, which is offered all year around. For further information check out the programme of the Trainspotting tours on www.leithwalks.co.uk or call 0131 555 2500.Prices: about £4, all tours take around 2 hoursmail@leithwalks.co.uk

If you’re not that interested in drugs, alcohol, sex and crime, but in adventure and tension, there is an old, mystical place near Edinburgh, which played an im-portant role in the 2005 blockbuster “The Da Vinci Code”. Do you remember Tom Hanks and Audrey Ta-tou alias Professor Langdon and Sophie Neveu ente-ring a church, placed in romantic surroundings, just to find out the secret of the Holy Grail? This scene, full of magic, was filmed in the 15th century Rosslyn Chapel, which is not far away from the capital. You can reach the chapel by bus. It is seated near the little village of Rosslyn and is only about 30 minu-tes away from the city centre. There may be pictu-res of the movie popping into your head when you enter the romantic church, and while you’re walking around the nave you’ll probably empathise with the excitement Robert and Sophie felt by discovering who Sophie’s ancestor was. When you are climbing down the stairs to the chamber where Langdon and Sophie were expecting the Holy Grail to be arranged in, you will feel a prickle in your belly and your feet may tremble.So enjoy your visit and keep in mind to walk the little path down to the Rosslyn Castle, an old hulk of ma-sonry next to the church. It is the perfect backdrop to take some nice pictures and to enjoy the beautiful

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A Sean Connery view on Edinburgh

An elegant man is leaning against the bar. His eyes are brown, his hair black. The suit he wears is of the best material. All of the women in the room glance him with interest. One of them will spend the night with the stranger. The man smiles, lifts his eyebrow and then, very slowly, turns to the barman: “I have it shaken, and not stirred! “

Everybody knows that famous sentence from James Bond, who was first played by Sean Connery in 1962. After his James Bond period, Sean Connery develo-ped into an actor with a strong character and ap-peared in a lot of famous movies such as “The Name of the Rose”, “The Hunt for Red October” and “Finding Forrester”.But this man, known for being someone men want to be and women want to be with, has not always been that high-flying. He was born in the Edinburgh of the 1930s, not in one of the nice quarters but in Fountainbridge. The factories made the area dusty and dirty. The Connerys weren’t very rich and lived in an old tenement at 176 Fountainbridge with no hot water and no bathroom.At age 13, the young Connery left school to earn some money for his family by delivering milk around the city. You will have a lot of problems seeking the Connery’s former home today. It was knocked down in the 1960s to make way for a new bottling plant. Today Fountainbridge is unrecognisable from the area that Connery grew up in. You’ll need a lot of imagination to fancy the streets, shops and houses of his child-hood. There is also McEwans brewery, where Sean Connery’s father worked.The world renown Edinburgh College of Art sits at Lauriston Place. In his young years the actor was also a bodybuilder and because of his athletic physique and of course good looks, Connery earned some ex-

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tra money by posing nude for art students. Some naked pictures still survive of the man voted as the Sexiest Man Alive in 1989 and the Sexiest Man of the Cen-tury in 1999. Take the time to visit the King’s Theatre at Leven Street. It is one of the most im-portant and historical theatres of Scotland and the starting point of Connery‘s career as an actor. In addition to his model jobs and the bodybuilding, he picked up some extra money by helping out backstage at the King’s. This is where he got interested in acting.Even in the evening Connery’s footsteps echo around Edinburgh. When the ac-tor, who is now living in the Caribbean, comes to visit his city he likes to have dinner at the Italian restaurant “Ciao Italia”, which is close to the Royal Mile at 64 Southbridge. If you are really lucky, the person at the table next to you may be Connery himself. Ask him questions about Scotland. He is very passionate about Scottish politics and its history.So enjoy your trip to Connery‘s hometown. Maybe you can feel a bit of the passi-on he feels for his city yourself.

Did you know…There’s a small tho-roughfare that is named after Sean Connery? It runs past the site of the tenement at 176 Foun-tainbridge where Sean Connery was born.“When I took a taxi du-ring a recent Edinburgh Film Festival, the cabbie was amazed that I could put a name to every street we passed.‘How come?’ he asked.‘As a boy I used to deliver a milk round here,’ I said.‘So what do you do know?’That was rather harder to answer.”Sean Connery, in: Being a Scot

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Shop till you drop

Shopping that suits everyone!

Text & photos by Desi Ilker

The second most visited tourist destination in the United Kingdom, Edinburgh offers a shopping experience like no other. It’s a place with a variety of shops and malls and whatever you’re looking for, the city has something to suit. Edinburgh’s shops are not only best known for traditional Scottish souvenirs, but also for an increasing number of designer stores and funky boutiques providing a wide ran-ge of opportunities. You’ll be spoilt for choice.

The medieval buildings which elegantly dominate the city are already asto-nishing eye catchers. What is also recognizable about Edinburgh are its inha-bitants wearing stylish clothes with screaming colours. Let’s have a look which

Shopping & Fashion

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shopping areas are the most worth seeing and which stores bear a hand to fill Scottish wardrobe:The main shopping quarter is Princes Street. It’s a shopper’s paradise with a diffe-rence. It combines shopping and sightseeing at the same time. On the north side you’ll find the most favourite department stores, such as Zara, Gap, H&M, Top-shop, Jenners and many others, opposite you’ll see the spectacular Edinburgh Castle. A block away from Princes Street you’ll find George Street. Flooded with boutiques, bars and restaurants, it’s the city’s most stylish street. St James Shop-ping Centre is the place extending the fabulous range of stores on Princes Street. It is home to stores like Next, Republic, River Island and John Lewis.The best place for Scottish souvenirs is the Grassmarket. Popular for its deep his-torical background, it offers a large variety of interesting things to see and do. Also worth visiting is the Royal Mile, where you can’t avoid shop windows de-corated with scary-looking dolls wearing traditional tartan and kilt outfits. Here you’ll find finest cashmere and first-class tartan as well.Amongst all this tourist kitsch, the beautiful St. Andrews Square offers much for all those who are looking out for chic clothes, designer stores and exclusive bou-tiques. Like the multi-coloured tartan patterns found in the boutiques and High Street stores, Edinburgh mixes different kinds of shopping: From tourist kilts to high class design.

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Entertainment

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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Celebrating the New Year at Edinburgh’s Hogmanay

Text by Fred Gratzer

Come to Edinburgh to take part in one of the most important and traditional festive days in Scotland.

To celebrate New Year’s Eve‘ at Edinburgh’s famous Hogmany, which is Europe’s biggest winter festival, is really exciting. During the four day celebration, which lasts from 29 December to 1 January, you and further more than 200.000 enthu-siastic revelers have the opportunity to enjoy over 20 events around the city cen-ter. Visitors are getting spoilt by live music stages in Princes Street, giant screens and laser and light shows and finally you will certainly be impressed by the spec-tacular midnight fireworks which illuminate the sky.

The celebrations begin with the spectacular Torchlight Procession which starts at 6.30pm on 29 December on Parliament Square leading along Princess Street and Waterloo Place to end up at Calton Hill. Hundreds of torch carriers will be accompanied by the pipes and drums in both traditional and contemporary out-fits. By visiting the festivities of the Night Afore International on 30 December, you will get a foretaste for the next night’s Hogmanay celebrations. With enjoy-ing the carnival of street theatre, Scottish dancing, music, bagpipes and ceilidhs you will be in high spirits for the following day.

The highlight of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations on 31 December is the street party, which claims to be the biggest New Year celebration in the world. Music and dancing takes place along the entire length of Princess Street and at Waverley Bridge. The concert in the Princes Street Gardens, where famous artists perform after 9 o’clock, is the music centerpiece of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay and is really worth to be visited. If you aren’t tired after celebrating the New Year in the “Home of Hogmanay”, you can follow the tradition to enjoy the sunrise from Arthur’s Seat. Joining Scotland’s capital on New Year’s Eve’ will be certainly an unforgettable experience.

Facts: more information at www.edinburghshogmanay.com Tel.: +44 (0) 131 5293914The main party area is ticketed after 8pm on 31 December. Advice: book in advance!

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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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Whisky in the jar

Text by Anne Becker

If you want to have a wee dram of the world’s famous drink, that keeps Scotland warm in the winter and genial in the summer, don’t miss a trip on The Scotch Whisky Experience right opposite the Camera Obs-cura at the beginning of the Royal Mile.

There you can enjoy a single malt whisky tasting. Choose between the Silver, Gold or Collection Tour and experience for yourself the varying aromas and whe-ther you like fruity, sweet and smoky flavours. Enjoy a tutored nosing and tasting of their selected dram within the world’s largest collection of Scottish devil water. For the cheapest tour an Adult pays £ 11 and Concessions £ 8,50. This one inclu-des a dram of Scotch Malt whisky, a Glen Cairn whisky tasting glass to take away plus a discount voucher for their shop. Under 18’s are given a soft drink.In 1736, the word whisky developed from the Scottish-Gallic word uisge beatha, spoken uschkeba and means water of life. A real scotch whisky shouldn’t have less than 40 % of alcohol and a regular maturing of three years in an oak wood barrel. In Scotland, there are 99 active distilleries and 31 inactive. Twenty five of them are in the Highlands. From south to north the flavour gets heavier and smokier. The region of Speyside is the main production with 48 active distilleries.The upper-class of Edinburgh taste their devil water at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society in Queen Street. They buy the barrels, casks and butts from the distil-leries and don’t dilute with water to 40 %. These whiskies are not reduced and can get up to 68%. If you are standing at the bar upstairs, don’t wonder about the number on the bottles. They are all limited. The first number stands for the distillery and the second for the cask. If you want to take part on this tasting, you must be a member. The tasting and nosing begins with the lightest one from the

Lowlands, developing to a little heavier, but sweet aroma from Speyside and the Highlands, with much more flavour and ends with a smoky and peaty drop from Isla. For every taste you need 15 minutes, to let it work its magic.After your trip to Edinburgh, you should not miss buying one of over 300 different Single Malt, Grain and Blended scotch whiskies on The Scotch Whisky Experience, to remember such a truly breathtaking experience.

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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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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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Dipping into a Highland adventure for a day

Text by Julia Nickenig

Beautiful lochs, great mountains, historic castles - a trip into the Highlands is unforgettable. Explore the wildlife with sheep, goats and highland cows grazing in the meadows and enjoy the calm-ness of nature. You will be impressed by the amazing landscape surrounding you.

The Highlands are the mountain range located in the north-west of Scotland. They are home to 650 000 people living in Inverness, the northernmost city in the UK, in small villages or even in the middle of nowhere. Due to its natural beauty thousands of tourists come every year to spend some relaxing days in the moun-tains.

Loch Ness, famous for its legendary monster Nessie, is the most visited place in the Highlands. With an impressive depth of 226 metres it is the largest loch in Scotland by volume. On your way to Loch Ness you will pass another su-perlative - Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles. It is 1344 metres high and simply known as “the Ben”.Many locals and visitors refer to the Highlands as the real Scotland. Indeed you can see traditional culture there. The Gaelic language has survived and although everybody understands English the native folk are still able to speak the old language. If you are there in summer don’t miss the chance to see one of the Highland games that are held in diffe-rent villages. You can observe competitions in discip-lines like throwing the hammer or tossing the caber, as well as enjoy music and dances in traditional kilts. Since Queen Victoria first attended the games in Bra-emar in 1848 the Royal Family is traditionally a guest of the spectacle.

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The Scottish Kilt

Did you know…?

- the history of the kilt dates back to the 16th century

- its origin lies in the Highlands – in the rough land kilts were more practical than trousers

- most clans have their own pattern

- it is knee-length and shouldn’t touch the ground when the wearer kneels down

- most people don’t wear a kilt in eve-ryday life but on formal occasions and sport events

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Scottish Vocabulary

The Scots are very proud of their own country being separated from the Eng-lish. Of course they also formed their own Scottish slang (out of the Gaelic lan-guage) which has over 25,000 different words and can sometimes be very hard to understand. As a little help for you, we have collected some Scottish words. Have fun with the pronunciation, it could be difficult.

Scottish Slang English

Alba The Gaelic name for ScotlandAye YesBen MountainBonny Beautiful Cannae Cannot, can‘t.Chaynge No ideaCludgie ToiletDruthy ThirstyGlen ValleyBurgh TownHing aff us Leave me aloneHogmanay New Years EveHowff PupLaddie Young ManLassie Young Lady Loch LakePiece SandwichPockle SwindleNaw NoNippin Nagging

Scottish vocabulary

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Last WordsAll good things come to an end. And so does this travel guide.Now that you‘ve read this guide - hopefully you did because otherwise you might have missed some important facts - and we hope that you en-joyed it!For more information about what‘s going on in Edinburgh please see the attached websites and addresses.

Your Travel Guide Team

About usLayout/Design: Sanna Giovanoli

Editor: Ruth Amelung

Writers & photographers: Sharne PlummerJulia NickenigMelanie SchütteFred Gratzer Kerstin MahlerDesi IlkerAnne-Kathrin BeckerAnna Katharina LaschkeRaphaela SchedelJanine GlozatStephanie HauptFriederike EbelRuth AmelungSylvia KasmannSanna GiovanoliPamela Kölbl