The Evolution of a Scotsman - Edinburgh Weekend Trip!

I giggled quite a bit, not going to lie. 

This past weekend I re-visited Edinburgh, Scotland to see my friend Abby and celebrate her 21st! I say revisited because I traveled to Scotland before with my orchestra in that awkward age in between middle and high school for the annual Fringe Festival. I was surprised with myself, but I remembered how to get around the major areas of the city - and I even remembered many of the important landmarks (including where Jenners and the castle were)! I even gave some guy directions how to get to the castle.. granted, it literally was just up the road and all I had to do was point straight up High Street, but still.. I was proud of myself :)

the famous castle, which unfortunately cost 14 pounds to get into...

After booking a plethora of flights all over Europe with Ryan Air, this was the first time I actually got on one of their planes. I was a little scared, considering the price of the tickets, but I survived! Surprisingly, I didn't need my passport at all leaving Ireland and getting to Scotland (I had checked in online). They only asked for my plane ticket. Weird, but I'm all about convenience and being lazy so I didn't complain. I didn't have to pull out my passport from the depths of my backpack, but unfortunately I won't be getting any stamps in my passport reminding me of all of the places I've been to (in case pictures and memories won't be enough). But at least I do have a stamp that I voted in the Latvian elections this year!

Upon landing in Edinburgh, I was surprised at how similar Dublin was. It wasn't identical, mostly because everything in Ireland is written in both Irish and English, but the architecture and the general feeling from the cloudy skies and rainy weather was welcoming in my mind. What I found interesting, was the amount of restaurants that were dedicated solely to the potato. You would think that Ireland would be the country with a bunch of potato restaurants (you know.. the famine and all of that), but it doesn't compare to Edinburgh!

just one of the many potato venues I didn't have the opportunity to dine at

Without my knowing, I visited on the weekend that Scotland was playing France in the Six Nations Championship. Countries playing in this rugby tournament: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. Guess who I am supporting? You guessed right! France, duh! No, but seriously... Ireland. Let's be real here, where am I living for 4 months of my life? Tickets for these games go for about 300-400 pounds... you wouldn't have guessed with the amount of people walking around in kilts, Nessy hats, French flags and face paint! True supporters of their country! 

just one of the many supporters walking around..

Not only did we see a bunch of people dressed in their respective country's traditional garb or colors - we also saw people dressed in costumes ranging from characters in Alice in Wonderland to Braveheart! It was quite the scene in Edinburgh this weekend. Not sure if the characters of Alice in Wonderland were going to a party or what, but it was interesting seeing a person who actually look like the Mad Hatter walk around the city. It proved to be a wonderful weekend to visit - bagpipes and entertainment all around! It reminded of the last time I visited during the Fringe festival.. where I had the great opportunity seeing someone stick two long swords down his neck and live to tell the tale. Yeah, gruesome, I know. Anyway...

the aforementioned characters of Alice in Wonderland.. parody of all of the fans, maybe?

He told me this was our wedding photo...

... but then proposed to Abby anyway... what is going on?! 

My personal favorite was Abby photo-bombing one of the actors on the street with traditional Scottish garb. I took the picture and upon snapping the shot, the guy turned around, screamed something and then all of High Street heard a little squeal from dear old Abigail and saw her scurrying away. The guy couldn't help but laugh afterwards. 

I kind of want his outfit.. so stylish, right?

The weekend also included eating at a bunch of touristy places, including the Elephant House (the cafe where J.K. Rowling began writing Harry Potter) and Greyfriar Bobby's. The Elephant House is covered in, you guessed it, a bunch of elephants and African decoration. Made me miss Kara who is down in the southern hemisphere in South Africa! (take plenty of pictures of elephants, ok?) Not only was the cafe  decorated with a plethora of elephants, but the bathrooms were covered in little notes to J.K. Rowling from avid Harry Potter fans. I unfortunately did not write anything because I didn't have a pen on me and a lady was pulling on the door of the bathroom while I was simply trying to get a picture of all of the wizard comments written all over!

I wish I sat in this chair in the worst way possible...

one of the walls of the bathroom - beautiful isn't it?! LOVE HARRY POTTER. 

Overall, it was a wonderful weekend and I got to celebrate Abby's 21st birthday abroad in another country! I couldn't miss her birthday, considering we have celebrated together for three years now - going to continue celebrating every year! But even after visiting again, I'm still not completely sure how to say the name.. Edinborough, Edinbrah, Edinburg.. still so confusing! Hopefully one day I'll learn from an actual Scotsman? 

An Ode to Dr. Pepper

Yes, I am talking about the soft drink. I have missed it so and I had the wonderful opportunity to have a bottle while waiting for my flight from Edinburgh to Dublin. I have not been able to find any bottles of Dr. Pepper (not that I have been actively searching for it.. but maybe I have?) in Ireland, but imagine my excitement to see this wonderful logo when I had an hour and a half to wait for a flight! I was excited. And to think I almost got the Diet Coke placed next to it.. blasphemous right?

As I was drinking this wonderful drink, I decided to write notes about my real-time reactions to drinking it. 

I am sure I looked as if I was writing a very serious piece of work, but in all reality.. it was all about Dr. Pepper. Not Coke. Not Sprite. Not Fanta. Dr. Pepper. Honestly, it's like my crack. And not even the Irish kind spelled craic, meaning grand fun or something to that effect. 

It's wonderful and here ends my blog post dedicated to the ecstatic feelings and absolute bliss I had while drinking the wonderful drink known as Dr. Pepper. It is a little weird, I suppose but these are things I don't really worry about. 

Kilmainham Gaol

Adventure Tuesdays started up again this week! Thank God, because honestly.. it had been way too long since we had one! This week we decided to venture to the Kilmainham Gaol (pronounced Jail, just so ya know). After running into bus ticket enforcers (who unfortunately took our student bus passes away because apparently you need more proof that your'e a student aside from having a valid student ID.. I'm not bitter or anything) and a couple of run-ins into puddles, we finally made it to the gaol.

This gaol was very influential in Irish history as a reform jail which imprisoned many of the leaders of the Irish rebellions. The British army also executed some leaders, including James Connolly, after the 1916 Easter Rising. We saw the insides of many of the jail cells, including some pictured above, as well as some that weren't located in such a spacious area. This area was known as the "all seeing" area mostly because a guard working this particular area of the jail could do a quick sweep of the area and see anything happening at any given time without changing location.

almost looks like a ghost came into the picture..

This is a quick little picture I took through a small peep hole while walking by. It's what the jail cells looked like.. Yes, you see basically a square room made of stone with a small window letting light in. This is what any offender had to live in. About 5 prisoners were kept in one room; there was no segregation of the sexes. Many times, men, women and children were kept in the same rooms with a single candle that was to provide heat and light for two weeks, when they would reach another. During the Famine, even more people were put in one cell, due to the fact that even more people were imprisoned. 

Now, I realized that smiling in a jail cell where people suffered isn't exactly what I should be doing, but I got inspiration for this particular picture by my friend Kara who went to the jail where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned in South Africa. Fun fact: Charles Stewart Parnell, an Irish political leader who formed the Irish Parliamentary Party, is considered to be the Nelson Mandela of Ireland. Bet you didn't know that, did you? 

As you can see in most of these pictures of the jail cells, they all have windows letting ample amounts of light in. In some instances, you could even see the outside world. This was meant to be a form of torture for the prisoners - they were stuck inside, rotting in a jail cell, while the outside world was about living their lives. Additionally, there were peep holes in every door so that the guards could look into a room at any time they wanted. There was absolutely no privacy at all as a prisoner of this jail - you were constantly being watched. 

The most interesting (but yet difficult) part of the tour was going to the courtyard in which many of the Irish rebels were executed. Pictured above is the exact area in which James Connolly was short. Connolly was a Socialist leader who was the last to be executed as part of the 1916 Rising. His death, more importantly, in the manner in which he was killed, led to the biggest surge of progress in Irish independence. He fought during the Rising and was shot in the shin area, leading to his inability to walk. His wounds guaranteed his death in a matter of a couple of days, but yet, the British were adamant about executing him. He was rolled into the area through the doors on the right, placed in a chair (unlike his fellow rebels who were blindfolded with hands tied behind their backs standing in front of a haystack on the other end of the courtyard), and shot until dead. The cross is placed where he was executed. As I mentioned before, this caused unwanted attention from America, leading to the ultimate declaration of Ireland as a Free State, not yet Republic.

We also learned the meaning of the Irish flag.. something I probably should have known earlier but now I do know. The green represents the Gaelic tradition and the orange represents the followers of William of Orange in Ireland with the white representing peace, or trust, between them. 

Overall, it was a very interesting and informative adventure Tuesday. I had grand fun learning more about Irish history. It's truly a blessing to be learning about the history of a country while having the opportunity of studying there for a whole semester!

Latvian Elections in Dublin

As most of you know, I have dual citizenship with both Latvia and America. I consider this a blessing because I consider myself to be as much of an American as I am Latvian. Therefore, when the time came to vote whether or not Russian should be the second official language of Latvia, I obviously had to go vote for my country. I believe that voting for Latvia to keep its unity as a country is just as important as voting for the next president of America. 

This is what the line looked like when I got there, at 5 pm.

To be honest, I did not in my wildest dreams think that I would be spending close to 3 1/2 hours on line waiting to vote. Boy, was I surprised. I got to where the embassy is in Dublin and was completely shocked. I even asked someone in the crowd, "šis ir lai balsot?" which translated means, "this is to vote?" He looked at my like I was a crazy person and just said yes. The embassy is located in the middle of the street bordering one of the ends of St. Stephen's Green. The line reached all the way to the end of the block and probably continued around the corner. I got there relatively early, so I didn't have the opportunity to stand completely at the end. 

This is what the line looked like when I left, close to 8:30. 

The first couple of hours I spent standing, turning my iPod on and off - I couldn't decide if I wanted to listen to music or listen to the people around me speaking Latvian (and in some cases, Russian). I ultimately decided to eavesdrop on as many conversations as I could. I haven't heard Latvian being spoken, outside of my immediate family and members of my church, in a while. It was an experience that made me extremely excited to head to Latvia for half of my spring break! 

I've had this picture for a while, just wanted to include it.. 

I ultimately made friends with the woman who was standing next to me. I honestly felt like a shiny new toy - I was the American studying music abroad in Ireland who spoke fluent Latvian, but still had an American accent while speaking. At times it was difficult thinking of the correct translation of words, but that was mostly because I was trying to explain the different monuments in Washington or how universities work in the states. 

The one question that really stumped me (that she had asked me) was whether I considered myself to be Latvian or American. Like I said in the beginning, I consider myself to be both Latvian AND American, but when she asked, she was implying that I had to pick one or the other. That was difficult. I have grown up and lived in America for my whole life, but I was raised learning the Latvian culture, language, music, etc. Being Latvian was second nature to me. I never thought that I would have to choose one or the other (which makes dual citizenship perfect for me). I bounced back between my answers like the indecisive person about 5 times before I ultimately told her that I am both Latvian and American. To that, she said she understood. Thank God. 

If y'all didn't notice.. this is in Latvian, yes. But essentially what you need to know is that people voting AGAINST Russian being the second official won by a landslide - 74.8%! I knew that standing in line in the cold and rain, singing Latvian folk songs, seeing people in traditional folk costumes and ultimately getting sick was completely worth it! Sarauj, Latvija! 

Mel Gibson (and Annija) have been here - Trim Castle

You're probably wondering why I uploaded a picture of Braveheart, right? Well, it is not because I just felt like it and I'm assuming it's a great movie (which I still need to see), BUT it is because along with the Newgrange trip, we also visited Trim Castle - where they filmed Braveheart. I have officially stood where Mel Gibson once stood. SO dope.

Here's me with the castle. We got a private (with all 50 of us) guided tour of the castle. I really wish that I got a picture of the key that got us into the castle - it was about 6 to 7 inches long. Basically looked like what anyone would imagine a medieval key would look like. Upon entry inside we got to climb up spiral staircases almost as terrifying as the ones at Blarney Castle - except these ones only had a light rope you could hold onto on the left while holding on to the original stone on the right. The combination of uneven steps and not too much support led to an adrenaline rush beyond words and the constant fear of falling down step by step. Yes, I am afraid of stairs and imagine myself falling and/or tripping down them every time. Without fail. 

Despite my (sometimes silent) fear of stairs, I made it to the top and was thankful I made it up. The view over the top was spectacular. We saw an arial view of the rest of the castle grounds, as well as the new Trim Castle Hotel and the Castle Take-Away restaurant - what a treat! The town of Trim definitely does everything they can to build up tourism by naming things after this spectacular castle. But who would blame them? It's absolutely gorgeous. 

It was a just little bit windy, to say the least at the top. I had the intention of my hair just sweeping behind me like in a picturesque movie ad, but clearly it didn't work out. Unless, this is some kind of newage movie. This fits my personality more so, I believe. I look like Cousin It and I ain't even mad. 

I want to do a hitch-kick pose, but I decided that way too late and only made out with this picture. Our group of 3 AU girls were the last to leave the roof of the castle because we were pining to just continue taking pictures. It was absolutely beautiful and we wanted to stay where Mel Gibson had once been for as long as we could.

Newgrange - Boyne Valley, Ireland

View upon getting there. 

Newgrange, a Stone Age Passage Tomb, was constructed about 5,000 years ago (which according to wikipedia, means that it's over 500 years older than the Great Pyramid in Giza, Egypt and over 1000 years older than Stonehenge. WOW). Honestly, while hearing this and looking at the structure and all of its intricacies, I'm totally in awe of the people all those years ago. The details, which include the entrance way made of stone carved with symbols from their language, the way the structure itself is built and what Newgrange is most known for - the illumination of its passage and chamber during the winter solstice. We weren't there during the winter solstice, obviously, but what I did learn is that there is a lottery in which 100 people can see the light shine through. Unfortunately, over 10,000 applications are sent in to be able to view this - slim chances to see it, but I guarantee what you would see is completely worth it.

What I found most interesting was the origin of all of the stones that the people used to build this huge, kidney shaped structure. Our tour guide (the only way to see this area is to go with a guide) told us that the different stones (which I believe are white quartz and granite) were transported from over 20 kilometres away via the River Boyne. These stones were transported great distances and only then were they placed in these shapes and designs. I don't know, it just seemed like a lot of work and time went into making this.. which I was correct. Our guide then told us that it took about 80 years, or 3 generations to build this. Imagine that! 

IF ONLY.

I honestly wish I could say that this is my own picture, but if you look close enough in the upper right corner, you can totally tell that I would be completely lying... Anyway, this is what the passageway in Newgrange would look like if I were there during the winter solstice. At dawn, from December 19-23, the sun beams through the passageway, slowly illuminating the whole chamber until it hits the back wall. It lasts for about 17 minutes until 9am. It was used as a time-telling device by those who created it, marking the coming of a new year. 

This is the entranceway to the tomb. Definitely had to watch my head a couple of time while walking into the chamber (where we unfortunately could not take pictures) just so that I don't end up like my dad - who hit his head while visiting the Blarney Stone all those years ago. Although, it definitely would have made a pretty good story, because after all, his story is wonderful and I laugh like crazy whenever he tells it. 

If you look at the stone placed in front of the entranceway, you'd notice that there are pretty little spirals (how cute, right?). These spirals were not just for decoration, though. Historians (or rather, our tour guides) speculate that the people who constructed Newgrange engraved a map or description of the area in their own language. They believe that the three concentrated spirals on the left represent Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth (the three largest) while the other spirals could represent the plethora of other ancient tombs that they had created. 

 Just me chillin' in front of the entranceway next to one of the stones, that I believe make up the Great Circle, or what remains of it. I would include a picture of the three AU girls that went on the trip, but unfortunately, that picture is on my friend's camera and hasn't uploaded the pictures yet... eventually though! 

That's all for Newgrange! Hopefully you read through all of it, mostly because it was a history lesson but this place was so cool and being there totally makes a difference in understanding all of this.

Dope Irish Places - Blarney Castle

If you haven't noticed, I've decided to start a thread of places I really like visiting in Ireland, named "Dope Irish Places". I usually don't say the word dope, but I feel like it would be taint if I didn't use a good ol' habit of my friend Ben back in the states. Gotta represent across the ocean somehow right?

just an example of the bilingual signs they have all over Ireland

Last weekend as part of visiting Cork, the girls of the group (because the guys were sleeping, naturally) went to go visit the Blarney Castle. This Castle was built nearly 600 years ago by one of Ireland's greatest chieftains, Cormac MacCarthy. It is an extremely popular tourist attraction, so clearly we had to visit. We're only in Ireland (at this age) once right? Might as well make the most of it!

me kissing the stone!! 

A big part of visiting this castle is the opportunity to kiss the Blarney Stone. Essentially, if you are to kiss this stone, you are to get the "gift of the gab"... flirting, never being lost of words, etc. You will be the lift of the party! Clearly, I need help in this department so i needed to kiss the stone... am I right? (because I'm totally not a friendly person at all... 

The "family room" of the castle... or what's left of it. 

One of the biggest thrills of going to this castle was not only the views at the top, but the view you get while kissing the stone. Honestly, after kissing it, I had the same feeling I get reaching the top of a roller coaster. I sat down, got in upside down position to kiss it and got a complete adrenaline rush. I looked down, with an old man's slight support holding me ensuring I don't fall, and looked down into the grass approximately 100 feet away. It was one of the most thrilling experiences I've had outside of amusement park rides, therefore I needed to blog about it. No way I wouldn't.

And here we are making Ireland the new Italy. Who needs the Trevi fountain when you've got the Blarney Castle river, right? It's basically the same thing... 

These benches were the coolest thing since sliced bread. Not only did they remind you exactly what castle you were visiting, but they also provided you with a place to sit down. Super legit. 

things i love!

I honestly could not be more thankful for the group of people I'm here with. We aren't exactly the same, but we still somehow mesh extremely well. We hang out and people have been known to say, "oh hey, totally didn't expect you guys to be hanging out together!" - of course, this was completely sarcastic. We spend a fair amount of time together and our time spent apart is spent wondering where the others are (almost kidding.. but not really since we actively miss each other when we don't see each other.. kind of)

I suppose I could just include a few pictures of how awesome we are together. And by awesome, I mean, how completely abnormal we are and for some reason... society still accepts us.

Noel from UNC Chapel Hill - proved to be a wonderful friend! 

the best friends that were made before they even met each other. it was just meant to be. 

I feel like this caption almost needs an explanation. Basically, everyone knew who this Tom Langevin was... except for Rachel. So she took up talking about him as if he were her best friend. When the day finally came when they would meet, she automatically just assumed they were the best of friends already. And of course, Tom did not reject in the slightest. As seen by the picture... Oh, those drunken nights spent in Ireland.

this here is tom taking care of me...

Oh hey, Kara.. remember when Tom would be taking care of me?! That awkward moment when...

Rachel, Lucy and good ol' Noel. 

Ireland has been an adventure so far, to say the least. It's been filled with the traditional sight seeing as well as all of the not-so-touristy sight seeing of Ireland, which includes the visitation of many a pub. When in Ireland, do as the Irish do? We're only here for about four months so we better live up to it, right?

SCORE. LOVING IRELAND SO FAR. 

Dope Irish Places - Cork

This past weekend, a bunch of AU kids and others headed over to Cork for a couple of days. Although waking up before the sun is up is difficult at times, it sure is a whole ton easier when you know you're doing it for the purpose of exploring a new city. We had a relatively early bus (10 am) and finding the Bus Eireann depot in Dublin was a bit confusing mostly because the only directions we had before getting there was, "The bus station is somewhere off of O'Connell Street". Now, O'Connell street is rather big, so there were plenty of places this station could be. We finally did get there and upon sitting down on the bus, we all passed out essentially until we got to Cork. 

Our hostel from the outside

The hostel we stayed at (Bru Bar and Hostel) was a combination of a bar, hostel and internet cafe. How completely accurate is it that in Ireland a bar is attached to a hostel? It proved very useful when we had some time to kill before meeting up with others.. all we had to do was walk down the stairs, order a pint and wait until everyone got there.

This is what you see upon entering our hostel - reception is just to the right behind the bar

After settling in for a few minutes, we headed down into downtown Cork. Walking through this city was spectacular. We all fell in love with it and were surprised that Chris, our friend who grew up there, didn't talk about it as if it were the best city in the world. Essentially, we all were beyond happy. When I envisioned being in Ireland, I imagine small to medium sized cities with cobble-stoned streets lined with shops and the occasional chain restaurant or department store. Cork (and possibly Galway) is what I envisioned. Dublin isn't exactly what I expected, but most major cities are extremely influenced by tourism and the increased population of international citizens. 

The view from the bridge we had to cross to get to our hostel. 

Something that I noticed in Cork more so than in Dublin or Galway so far - the politeness and the general home-y atmosphere of our surroundings and the people. Every person that we passed by could tell we were tourists (mostly because we were taking pictures of everything and anything - sorry I'm not sorry) and they did everything they could to help us out. At one point, we had a map out looking for the next place to visit and a local came up and asked us if we were lost. Irish hospitality and politeness at its finest. 

Downtown Cork - City Centre

Street in Cork.

English Market Cork!

One of the major attractions in Cork is the English Market. It was an indoor market but with the sun shining through the many windows, it gave it an outdoor feel. Because this place is so popular among both tourists and the locals, we stopped by and explored. The market was honestly one of the most amazing places to walk through. There were plenty of bakeries, wine shops along with cheese, meat, and fish - all completely fresh! Walking through this market reminded me of the Amish Market I have been to in downtown Philadelphia near City Hall. I wouldn't really want to compare America with Ireland, but the similarities between the two were extremely apparent.  If only everywhere had the opportunity to get food as fresh as it was here.. 

I'm not even the biggest fan of olives, but I would convert in order to thoroughly enjoy these.

Fresh chicken and food galore! 

Nomz. The baked goods were so good! 

view from the top of the market looking down on a section! 

Enjoying our baked goods and coffee at the city park :)

After exploring Cork during the day, it was time to explore Cork at night. We had heard about a local pub crawl that was said to be a lot of fun. Unfortunately, all of the people that were involved in the pub crawl that night were about 17 (with fake IDs) or babies who had just turned 18. We didn't have a problem getting into the first bar, but the overwhelming amount of young biddies with pounds of make up on (to the point of changing their skin color from white to a dark shade of brown), tight skirts barely covering their asses, bandeaus as shirts and heels that averaged 5 inches was too much to handle. It was worse than the Welcome Week crowds at AU... that's saying something. Overall, the crawl was not well organized, therefore we hassled the man in charge and got half of what we paid for back. We then found a local little pub and spent the night there. This first night was really a bonding experience and brought us that much closer with each other. Yay friends!