Let the Traveling Begin...

Over the next few months that I have in Belgium, I have a lot of of traveling to do. I mean A LOT! There is so much to see! And while I am perpetually gone, I know I am only just beginning to see all that Europe has to offer. Balancing classes and traveling is less than simple. My mind is perpetually stuck at "GO". Go here. Go there. Go. While it is at times exhausting, the years of learning to use my time wisely are truly paying off.

Where to begin...there has been so much.

My final trip around Belgium with my program was on Saturday, October 2. We went to Bouillon. It is only a few miles from the French border. It was so tempting just to walk to the border and make an "appearance" in France. But it was rainy, which resulted in a chaotic day. Our schedule was perpetually being changed, because we could not spend too much time outdoors. However, we did visit a museum to learn about Godfrey of Bouillon before seeing his castle. Godfrey was a leader during the First Crusade and helped "liberate" Jerusalem in the 11th Century. Crazy right? It is amazing to me that his castle still remains! He was also the first ruler of the "Kingdom of Jerusalem". He is called a ruler because he did not want to be called King in the land of God. Only God is King in the land of Jerusalem. We also saw a falconry show while at the Castle. Being that I hate birds, I clearly did not enjoy the show. Here are a few pictures though!

Now to the more exciting part of things of late...my trip to Edinburgh!!!! AMAZING!!! Scotland was wonderful. And while I was there from Tuesday evening to Sunday morning I did not get my fill!

So first off, I have to thank my really good friend Thomas Sullivan. He let me crash in his flat and taught me so much about Scotland. Plus, wanting to see him in Europe gave me a great excuse and reason to visit Edinburgh. For all of that I am truly thankful to him.

Just heads up, Scotland will probably take a few entries.

Well to get to Scotland I took RyanAir. Well that was an experience. RyanAir flies out of Charleoi, which takes about 2.5 hrs to get to from Leuven by public transformation. But it was a stress-free adventure (at least getting there, on the way back was a different story). Let's see...I had this guy sing to me on my train, at the airport I was called Miss America, a pretties version of Jennifer Lopez, and laughed at for being American. Haha yeah. An experience. I do not think I have had so much fun just laughing at people and having them laugh at me!

Before I know it I am in Edinburgh, and Thomas is waiting at the airport to pick me up. The first thing I learn is how ignorant I was about Scotland. I really could not think of very many famous Scots. I unknowingly accredited England with achievements that were actually Scottish! Woops. My bad. Sorry Scotland. Thomas quickly filled me in on Scottish government, politics, and history. I crash course for an ignorant American. It was wonderful. Haha and when I went on tours around the city I was impressed by how much I had already learned from Thomas!!

Wednesday was my first full day in Scotland. And I immediately knew I was going to love Scotland. The first thing that I see on my walk is a chalk picture of a balloon that underneath says "defy gravity". If you do not know Wicked is my favorite musical (can't wait to see it again for my birthday!). One of the songs from the show is "Defying Gravity". I was so excited when I saw this. I don't know if it is meant to be a reference to the show, but I took it for a good sign of all that was to come.
I saw this on my way to visit the National Museum of Scotland. I only got to spend an hour though!! There was so much I did not see. Can I just say, always take free tours! You learn so much more when you do, and you always see the highlights of the museum! One cool thing that I saw at the museum is that there is a replica of Mary Queen of Scots coffin. The original is at Westminster Abby. I am starting to have an appreciation for why countries (ie Scotland) hate the English. The English have a wonderful track record of taking important symbols and relics for themselves from other countries (colonies). That is bound to rub people the wrong way England.

I did not stay long at the Museum, because I wanted to meet up with Thomas after class. This worked out perfectly, because after we went to lunch his program had scheduled a trip to another museum...The Writers' Museum. I was so excited!!! The night before Thomas had informed me that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, Sir Walter Scott, Robert Burns (Woops, again I thought that these people were English! Ah! I need to stop assuming British means English). Robert Burns is a poet who wrote "To A Mouse". This poem was the inspiration for Steinbeck's title Of Mice and Men. Here is an exert.    

But Mousie, thou are no thy-lane,  

In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men,
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy! 

At the museum I learned a lot about Scott and Stevenson. I definitely recommend looking into Scott. More about him to come though in another entry. For now some things on Stevenson. Stevenson's classic novel Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was actually inspired by a true story. Stevenson' father used to tell him the story of Deacon Brodie. Deacon Brodie was a notable person in Edinburgh. He attended Church regularly and was thought of as model person. He also build various cabinets and chests for families to hold their values. Deacon Brodie actually made one for Stevenson's father, and the chest stayed in the family. It is now exhibited at the museum. 

While during the day Deacon Brodie was a noble person, what people did not know was that he "transformed" at night. After completely a chest for a family, Brodie would make a copy of the key for himself. Then, after it was safe, he would creep into the house and steal all the family's valuables. This went on for years, and no one suspected Deacon Brodie. Eventually, the authorities even created a search committee to focus on catching this thief. Ironically they chose Deacon Brodie to head this committee. But Deacon Brodie was eventually caught. Knowing that this could not go on forever he made the classic mistake of criminals. He decided to do/orchestrate one more big "job". However, this time he was aided by others in order to get more money. Unfortunately, or fortunately, one of the people helping Deacon Brodie slipped on his way out of a house spilling all the jewels onto the street. He was immediately arrested. When Brodie did not come to help his accomplice the accomplice squealed on Brodie in exchange for his freedom. By this time Brodie had already left Edinburgh and was making his way to the US. However, he was captured a few hours before getting on the boat for America in Amsterdam. He was found because Brodie had been writing to his two mistresses in Edinburgh. Hoping for some female company on his journey to America, he had included an address where he would be waiting. Well, that is how he got caught! 

Okay, I swear, I am almost at the end of this great story. Here is a dark twist to this story. At the time hangings were a form of entertainment. However, a few years back the local gallows broke. Needing it to be repaired, Brodie was commissioned to design new gallows. He did and on 27 August 1788 he was killed by his own invention! Poetic justice maybe...

After the museum, Thomas, Julia (Thomas' flat mate) and I explored some of Edinburgh. We walked down the Royal Mile. The Royal Mile is about a mile long walk from the Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace. The distance is actually a little longer than an exact mile, so there is actually something called a Scottish mile. It is 1.8 km instead of 1.6 km. Silly silly Scots. Anyway (ps people: anyways is not a word! It is a huge pet peeve of mine!) along our walk we saw some really cool things.

RUB DAVID HUME'S TOE FOR GOOD LUCK!


 

We also visited St. Giles Cathedral aka the High Kirk of Edinburgh. PS it is not actually a Cathedral, but it is stunning all the same. Here are some pictures that we sneaked, because they were going to charge us to take photos inside. 

Julia with a statue of John Knox

Another famous Scotsman is John Knox. John Knox was a leader in the Protestant Reformation during the 16h Century. During his travelings he met John Calvin in Geneva. This is where he learned more about the Reformation, and he was deeply influenced by this experience. So much so that he brought the messages of the Reformation back to Scotland.

Knox was ultimately buried behind St. Giles Cathedral. However, the space behind the Cathedral is no longer a graveyard. Instead, like most things, it is now a parking lot. Therefore, the only thing that denotes where Knox was buried is a yellow square in parking spot 23.

 As we come near the end of the Royal Mile there is the new Scottish Parliament building. Julia and Thomas are doing an interesting Study Abroad. For the first half they took classes. Now, they are just beginning their internship with the Scottish Parliament! So cool!

Here is a little background about the Scottish Parliament. Scotland does not have full autonomy. instead it is a devolved nation. This means that Great Britain has conceded some rights to Scotland. They are able to make decisions over some regional issues like education and healthcare, but the UK still makes decisions regarding issues like defense and foreign relations in England.

Power was transferred from Westminster to the new Scottish Parliament only in 1999.  It was facilitated by Tony Blair, who made devolution a part of the platform of the Labour Party in 1997. Mind you, the reason he did this was to gain votes in Scotland. After he was elected Prime Minister, he helped Scotland get its own parliament.

^{Here is a bit of some of the things that I learned about Scotland. I know this was long, but there is so much to share about Scotland. And of course, this is only the beginning. More to come! And remember...}