Andrea Weil - Edinburgh – Sights and Secrets

The tour finishes at the forbidding yet enchanting ruins of Holyrood Abbey, the place that inspired Felix Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony. In summertime, visitors can also walk through the Royal Gardens.

Tip: The Queen’s Gallery next to Holyroodhouse hosts a changing programme of exhibitions from the Royal Collection.

Palace of Holyroodhouse, Canongate, The Royal Mile, Edinburgh EH8 8DX.

£11. Audio guide and guided tours for free.

Nov - Mar 9.30am - 4.30pm. Apr - Oct 9.30am - 6pm.

www.royalcollection.org.uk

discover edinburgh – take a guided tour

text and photo gerald biebersdorf

As a first-time Edinburgh visitor, a good way to get your bearings and a great experience all around is a free guided tour. Our guide, Ben, is truly passionate about his city, performs like a stage actor and tells fascinating stories. As you progress from the starting point at the Tron Kirk on High Street, you will hear Ben’s opinion of the film Braveheart , learn the history of St. Giles Church as you pass it on the Royal Mile, and visit Edinburgh’s oldest cemetery, Greyfriars Kirkyard, where you will find the graves of many famous Scots like architect James Craig, who laid out the New Town, and Duncan Ban MacIntyre, the most famous Gaelic poet. Ben will also probably tell you about when a tourist asked him where he could find Sean Connery’s grave. “Ahem! – Sean Connery is still very much alive.”

But there’s another story of this cemetery, one that will touch your heart: just outside the entrance, you see a monument to a dog named Bobby. The story goes that when his master, old sergeant John Gray, died, Bobby came here every day for 14 years, waiting for his master to come back. Locals brought him food and water and were so touched by his loyalty that when Bobby died, in 1872, they placed this life-size bronze statue of him here.

Tron Kirk, High Street, Edinburgh.

Meeting point in front of the Starbucks Coffee.

Mon - Sun 11am, 1pm, 3pm.

www.newedinburghtours.com

notes from the parish – a visit to greyfriars kirk gaelic service

text lydia ranke, photo gerald biebersdorf

There are over 60 churches in Edinburgh, but only one where you can experience a service in Gaelic. Every Sunday at 12.30 pm, Greyfriars Kirk in the Old Town holds a Gaelic Service for its small but loyal congregation. Usually, attendance is between 10 and 20 people. So visitors are heartily welcome!

As a non-Gaelic-speaker, the service is a great opportunity to get a sense of this traditional, historic, and endangered language. And if you’re very lucky, you might even get to listen to a Gaelic song sung by a native Gaelic speaker, like 87-year-old Roddy Macdonald from the Isle of Skye. The basic content of the Service is also kindly translated for the visitor.

After the service, the visitor may stay and chat, have a tea or a coffee, and enjoy the charming company of the members of the congregation. And after all that, if you’re still not ready to move on, the famous kirkyard surrounding the church, dating back to the 16 thcentury, is well worth a stroll around.

1 Greyfriars, Edinburgh EH1 2QQ.

Services every Sunday: Main Service 11am, Gaelic Service 12.30pm.

Duration: approx. 1 hour.

Tip: Bring some change for the collection.

www.greyfriarskirk.com

calton hill – a photographer’s delight

text and photo werner gritzbach

The eastern end of Princes Street rises towards Calton Hill, created by volcanic action 340 million years ago.

In 1724 the city of Edinburgh bought Calton Hill and turned it into one of Britain’s first public parks. There are a number of buildings and monuments here dating from 1760 to 1820, a period of great artistic, literary and scientific advancement known as the “Scottish Enlightenment”.

As you enter the hill from Waterloo Place, you pass Rock House, which was home to pioneering photographer David Octavius Hill.

Further up you come to the lighthouse-like Nelson’s Monument. Climb the 143 stairs inside for one of the most beautiful views over the city.

The National Monument, built by famous Scottish architect William Henry Playfair, looks like half a Greek temple with 12 Doric columns, but is not nearly so old as it looks: it was built to commemorate the victims of the Napoleonic Wars. Does it seem half-finished? The story goes that the money ran out during the construction works.

A walk round the hill is worth it for terrific views across Edinburgh to Arthur’s Seat and the entire coastline of the Firth of Forth.

Tip: On the other side of Waterloo Place you can visit a beautiful old cemetery, the “Old Calton Burying Ground”, where you will find the graves of many famous Edinburghers like David Hume, painter David Allen, mathematician John Playfair and actor Charles MacKay.

Calton Hill, Waterloo Place, Edinburgh EH7 5AA.

Nelson’s Monument:

1 Apr - 30 Sep: Mon - Sat 10am - 7pm, Sunday 12 pm - 5pm.

1 Oct - 31 Mar: Mon - Sat 10am - 3pm, Sunday 12pm - 3pm.

£4.

the balmoral hotel – eat the luxury

text and photo sabrina wendling

The Balmoral Hotel on Princes Street may be a very old lady, but still attractive at over a hundred years old. With its opulent Edwardian architecture and outstanding clock tower, you might think it was once a castle, but in fact it was built as a station hotel to serve Waverley Station just below it.

The Queen Mother frequently had lamb for lunch in the hotel restaurant; other famous guests have included Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor and Paul McCartney.

If you want to feel like a celebrity for a day, treat yourself to the award-winning afternoon tea. It’s served in Palm Court, a room bursting with the opulence of the British Empire – large glass dome, velvet settees and tall palms stretching up to the ceiling. Tea is served in a silver pot, and the food comes on a three-tier cake stand. A little snowman made of lemon cream here, an orange madeleine cookie there, and freshly baked scones everywhere. The savoury course includes smoked salmon on bread, chicken curry in puff pastry and cheese crackers. And then, even more cake. You’ll never manage it all! But never fear, you’ll also be given a small box for taking away. Expensive? Yes, but it’s an extraordinary dining experience in a unique setting.

Tip: You can order as much tea or coffee as you like along with your afternoon tea. If you don’t like the flavour you’ve chosen, just ask for another one.

1 Princes Street (next to Waverley Station), Edinburgh EH2 2EQ.

Afternoon tea costs £29 and is served between 12 and 5.30pm.

www.roccofortehotels.com

national museum of scotland – following historical traces

text and photo sascha ihns

The National Museum of Scotland opened its doors in 1866 as the Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art. Today it is Britain’s largest museum outside of London, with more than 20,000 items on exhibit and drawing up to two million visitors a year on average. In 2011 the original Victorian-style Royal Museum was refurbished and integrated into the postmodern National Museum building (inaugurated in 1998) with its distinctive castle turret at the front.