Great Britain and Beyond
Here is another part of my trip up and ready for you to enjoy! Have at it!
7.23.06 London
Made my way into London and tubed it to my hostel in Central Hendon. I spent most of the day planning and making reservations for the next two weeks. I went to a Jewish park, bought a baguette and Nutella for lunch. I could tell I was in Britain because the kids around me were playing Cricket, Tennis and Soccer! For dinner I had some nice salty vinegary Haddock Fish and Chips. Bought myself a beer and went to shower. There’s something about drinking a beer in the shower that calms me down. Must’ve been a reminisance of those good ‘ol college days.
Met some others who were staying there and we talked in the basement. One guy, Micheal, sho I think was probably and alcoholic, but I noticed how he talked to people. We went across the street to
buy a beer and bhe talked to the Pakistani owner. He asked him his name, then if he had any children? How many? The guy seemed to warm right up to him. We returned back to the hostel and hung out in the basement for a while and I had a very interesting conversation with a Scottish girl from Edinburgh. We exchanged views and perspectives about our home countries. She said that America is very nice because it has a piece of every geographical landscape. This explains why Americans are a little more self centered. They don’t need to go anywhere else.
7.24.06 London City!
I headed out to walk London and do a massive “see everything” walk through the city. My impression af London before traveling there was that it was old, gloomy, and not very interesting. Aft
er visiting it though, I have to say it is one of the coolest cities on the planet. In school, you’d only learn about British History, not present. It is a smorgasborgue of Ancient, Historical, and powerful remnants of the Britain Empire and contemporary state of the art architecture and design movements. The Thame River I walked through the South Shaw cathedral. I continued to see Big Ben and Parliament which was very impressive. Big Ben is not too tall, but the architectural detail is amazing. I had a bus to catch down south to the coast to Portsmouth. I barely made the bus. I had to run to the bus station. I got on the bus all sweaty and nervous because I didn’t have any place to stay.
7.25.06 Portsmouth
The bus driver dropped me off at a hotel, very nice, the previous night. I ran into a serious problem because I planned on sleeping in the bus station, but they will apparently arrest you for doing so. Therer were no rooms anywhere! Fortunately the lady at the desk offered me a room out for maintanance for 40 pounds (that’s 80$). It was the cheapest I could find so I took it.
I had a great night sleep in a hotel, showered and shaved, and headed out to the Navel Shipyard Docks. I’ve read and learned about the famouse Battle of Trafalgar throughout College. This is probably one of the most famouse naval battles even when the British Royal Fleet defeated the power hungry Napolean with his French and Spanish fleets in 1805. The movie “Master and Command“ will give you an idea of what it was like as a British sailor. The Commander, Admiral Horatio Nelson is considered a national hero. He led the entire fleet from his flagship, the HMS Victory crashing directly through the French and Spanish fleet. The Admiral did something never before attempted in sea warfare. Instead of lining up the ships parrallel to their enemy and blasting each other to hell, Nelson led at the front of two separate lines of ships perpendicular and crashed through the enemy barrier of ships. Sailing in two separate lines lessened the chance of their ships getting hit and it severed half of Napoleans fleet rendering them useless because they would have to turn around and that would have been too late to save their navy.
Nelson was hit in the chest while standing on deck on the 1st ship, the Flagship Victoory, leading the attack. The survived only long enough to be told they were victorious and passed away below deck after the battle. It wasn’t just the incredible leader of Britain, that won the battle. Napoleon lost because he was going up against an island nation. A nation of sailors in their own territory, protecting their country, families, homes. They certainly are masters of the sea and have been for thousands of years. Napoleon’s fleet, although good, did not match the training and skill s that has been bread into the British.
Well, Napoleon would be rolling over in his grave to know that the Victory survived the battle and still sits afloat in portsmouth. I spent the day walking through the museaums of the British Navy, walked through the massive Victory, and took a boat tour of the port to see all of the new and old Royal Navy battleships.
I would’ve looked to go south and see the D-day Museum in respect for the “Great Generation“ and their soldiers lost. Unfortunately that’ll have to wait another day. Time calls to go to Penzance, the Pirate City on Lands End! ( Little did I know that the entire time that I’ve spent in London, my watch has been an hour ahead. So I waited and probably could’ve seen the museum after all... oh well.
This was my first time on a train solo. Although simple to some, it was a challange for me. I had 3 exchanges in 2 different towns. It was hard for me to decipher the thick accents of the overspeakers, so everytown I arrived at, I had all my stuff ready to jummp out if it was the right place. Well, I jumped out too earlly at Exeter Central, not Exeter St. David station. So I had 20 minutes to run through the town to get to the next station before my Penzance train left. I was relying on some crazy sequence of directions that this janitor guy gave me and had to remember. I guess all those nights working as a server paid off by enhancing my memorization skills. I ran through this unkown city but found the station about 10 minutes before my train took off. Exeter seemed like a nice small British village and seemed pretty cool during my little panicked jog. You know when you are in a very open geographical space and the further out you look the more pale blue everything looks? Well thta’s what the countryside around Exeter looked like. A paleish blue fog, brightened by the suddle setting sun over old potted chimneys and rolling hills. Oh ya, I forgot about this part. Right before I got on the train I went to a vending machine with a craving for Skittles. Well with my luck the freakin Skittle bag got stuck dangling in the machine. I’m already pissed from my own stupidity of jumping off the train to soon, so I shook the machine to knock it loose. A Kit Kat Chunky Peanut Butter Bar fell instead. Damn it! I want my Skittles! So I kept shaking, despite the awkward stares of bystanders and it eventually fell along with another candy, Maltesers. Boo ya! Luck paid off and I got away with 3 candies. A sign that Penzance holds a fun time for me and I think I’ll blend in quite well now that I smell like a bloddy Pirate after my run.
The train arrived and I walked along in the dark with all my stuff through a town known for Pirates...ironic isn’t it. I found my place, a bed and breakfast pension called Camilles Bed and Breakfast. The wonderful lady, Kathy, waited up late for me to let me in. I immediately passed out.
7.26.06, Penzanca (Penzaance)
I walked down the street after a lovely English breakfast made by Kathy, which consisted of a fried egg, a lemony flavored fried piece of toast, thick bacon, a fried tomato and coffee. I had an entire day and night in front of me, so I was all about sitting back and relaxing. The smell salty sea breeze air and the harbor instanly set off a barrage of memories. I hopped over the sea walk edge and down onto the rocks where the tide had left tiny snails and sea creatures in the nooks and cranny’s. I used to do this as a kid walking along the Marginal Way off the coast of Ogunquit, Maine. I felt like a kid again, getting my hands and clothes dirty looking for slimy sea creatures. I found a really cool place behind the sea wall of this swimming pool. The rocks led out and behind the pool wall from the street, completely hidden. Around the corner the rocks came to an end with a cluster of rocks. Some hand rails extended off the rock and into the water. There were 3 booey’s, each about 100 meters out from each other. Stretching straigh out into the bay. A lady with a swim cap was calmly swimming back from the booey. I’d have to come back later and try that.
I walked on the beach looking for sea shells to the large St. Micheals Mount out in the next bay. A few fishermen claimed to see the Archangel Micheal appear on top of the rock island just off the coast inside the bay. So, they built a castle on the top in dedication to the sighting. The cool thing about it was that there was a causeway that lead from the beach out to the island and you could only get to the mount at low tide. The walkway swallowed by the sea at high tide. The castle was so-so. the view on top was awesome. I especially liked leaning over the edge of the wall to feel the constant sea breeze blowing up the rock walls and through my hair. It smelled of the sea and perfumed by the flower garden at the very base of the wall. I took my time walking back and read my book on the beach. It was nice to just take a time out and not have to be somewhere at a certain time.
I made it to the bus station and tried to catch a bus to the Minnack Theater and Lands End. The bus system was a total mess. I couldn’t figure out which one to get on and didn’t want to pay, so I just walked back to the spot behind the pool sea wall, read and looked into the sun. A teenage girl apprached me and started talking. She said something kind of weird. I told her I was from the US and described my hometown, then she asked me if it was the same plase as America. Then she asked me if there was a lot of “Dark skinned people“ down there. I said “Black people?“ She said ya. I told her “Yes, I guess it depends where you go...“ Then she said “isn’t it dangerous in America?“ I kind of laughed and said it depends where you go. I said probably no different than walking around Penzance late at night.
I decided to go get some Fish and Chips and try some English beer, so I walked up the steep slope into town. Penzance is definately a tourist town because everything was laugh out loud expensive and modern, but if you walk foar and deep enough, you’ll find the real deal. I found this fish stand right next t oa pub...perfect. I walked into the pub andasked her how Scrumpy Jacks is. She filled up a small glass and gave it to me. It turned out to be a ccider and said no thanks, I want some English beer. I went to get some cod n chips with lots of salt, vinegar, and ketchup and then bouth a pint of Eden. Good, strong English beer. I sat outside on a pub bench and took in the rays of the late afternoon sun. I was watching this guy playing with these two youngsters. He was pretending to fight them and looked like a fighter himself. A real English tough guy, maybe a boxer, not bulging with muscles but you just know he could kick some ass. Everyone was just so laid back and ready to start a fun night of drinking. It seemed like thy all knew each other. A really nice small town bond that maybe I will experience some day. I was getting extremely tired and had walked many miles onver the last two days, so I went back and crashed.
7.27.06
I woke up around 7am and decided to grab my towel and head to my spot on the harbor coast behind the swimming pool. I had determined myself to swim out into the bay to the third booey, 300 meters. The water was frigid cold, but as I noticed an old lady splash in right next to me and slowly doggy paddle out, I mentally punched myself in the face and said stop being such a bab y. Even grandma over there doesn’t mind the cold. So I dove in off the rocks and started to head out from the coast. The cold immediately took my breath away but I told myself to keep swimming. I know that I’m a string swimmer and could handle this, but I had to keep reminding myself to breath. When I looked down into the water and only saw dark, almost black blue, I started to get a little freaked...especially because the last chapter in the book I was reading ended with this guy getting attacked by a shark. I knew there were no nets installed in the bay because seals were swimming around earlier. The cold, the dark, the deep, and the distance all started to freak me out. I was passing grandma by this time and couldn’t tell if she noticed that I was loosing my cool. I just wanted to touch the 100m booey turn around and haul ass back. I knew it was very deep here and seeing how far away from the rocks I was just made me swim faster when I turned around. I knew it was highly unlikely, but I just kept having images pop up in my head of a shark rising out of the deep to take my legs off. I made it back in one piece though. Well, I was a little dissapionted with myself. The guy who was captain of his High School Swim Team, the guy who ran with the bulls, couldn’t handle a little swim in the bay. Well I’m sorry I can’t handle deep dark and cold ocean water, but I was born and raised in Colorado for crying out loud...whatever.
When I got back to the pension, Kathy had made breakfast for me already. She was so nice and I told her about my swim. I think she could tell because I was shivering. Good thing she gave me coffee to warm up. She even put my suit in the dryer for me. I said thatnks and took off for the bus to New Quay (New Key.)
New Quay, a surfer hot spot in Europe. I only had an hour here, so I checked my email. I took a taxi to the airport. It took me 40 minutes to get from New Quay to Cardiff. I had an entire night to burn but I planned on crashing on an airport bench so I had to stay near to the airport. My flight took off early that morning. The security guard told me there was a free bus to Roose, a town 3 km from here. I went to the bus and asked the driver if there was any food in Roose. He looked at me like I was crazy and said why do you want to go to Roose? There is nothing there! Well I decided to go anyway because it beats sitting at the airport. I had an awesome conversation with the guy. Never got his name, but he told me the has a wife, two kids, and has never lived in more thtan two towns in his whole life. He found out what I was doing and pretty much cursed himself for not doing it himself before he got married because his wife doesn’t like to travel anywhere. I told him not to worry because he has 2 beautiful children. I noticed his face brighten when I said that. I knokw he didn’t like his job. He was regretting not traveling, but when I mentioned his kids he lit up. He asked me some things about America and Colorado. He said that all he hears about America is violence and guns. I said well the movies don’t really help that. He found it interesting when I told him that the states all thgouh they look like small countries are very unifies as America. He told me that in Britai, the Welch hate the Cornwalls, or the Scotts hate the English, yadda yadda. He said they’ll even treat you differentely depending on where you’re from. He asked me about racism in America. This was interesting because he was a black man himself. I told him that it does still exist, but it is slowly dwindling out with each generation. He asked about crime and I mentioned Detroit and New Orleanes as being pretty bad. Then he brought up the topic of the Hurrican Katrina and how the government didn’t help anyone. I explained to him the way our country works and the difference between the state and federal governments. The federal will help when the state declares a state of emergency and that is where the mess up was. I said that people try and spin it one way or another for their plitical gain, but thats what it really comes down to. He said the papers reported that George W was a Racist!!! A racist!! I laughed and said that is so rediculous to think that soething like a natural disaster rescue operation failure could be blamed on race. I told him our president is not a racist. He seemed to be enlightened more than anything. He was absorbing my info instead of debating it which felt really nice for a change to know that somebody wanted to learn about my country instead of condem it. We talked about currencies and unions and the French...haha... We both agreed that they complain way too much and that their country revols around people protesting, striking, and rioting...in a joking, stereotypical mannar of course. Anyway before I said goodbye to him I told him he should take the train to France someday. Traveling is really not as difficult as you might imagine it to be. I wonder if I had any effect on him when I shook his hand and said goodbye. Maybe he will try and travel out of Britain for once and expand his borders.
Roose was such a small Welsh town. It had one restaraunt and it was closed for the next week. So I bought a Lunchables from the gas station. I felt like I was packing a lunch from kindergarten, but it did the trick. I wasn’t going to just sit there for 5 hours, so I decided to explore. I kept thinking about this quote I wrote in the front of my journal...Experience is not what happens to a man, it’s what a man does with what happens to him – Aldous Huskey. So I found a path leading down into a field. I followed it about a half a mile and it opened up to this beautiful rocky cliff coast of a large sea inlet. The other side was miles and miles away. I went down to the rocks below and explored the caves and cliffs. The tide was coming in and I didn’t want to be caught down there when it did, so I had to hurry back to a spot where I hid my backpack. A little kitten had appeared next to me when I was sitting there. It had a tag on it, so I knew it was just one of the locals. Anyway, he tugged along with me for a while. After enjoying the view, smells, and sounds of the Ocean, I walked up into a field above the cliffs, followed by the cat, and watched Wedding Crashers on my Ipod. The sun was setting and it was getting cold, so I said goodbye to my friend and took the bus back to the airport.
By the way, my clothes have now gone from smelly pirate to craggy mountain yetti.
7.28.06 Glasgow, Scotland
What’s the first thing to do when arriving in Glasgow? Go see Superman Returns of course. I hadn’t seen a movie in so long that I treated myself to one. Glasgow is a very industrial city. You can tell just by the look of the cranes that hang over teh river as it travels deep into the city. The reason I came here was to see the design of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Mackintosh 4. They were a milestone in design history and can be seen through art, architecture, etc. It was an Art Nouveau style and can be seen on pretty much every building in Glasgow. I went to the Glasgow School of Art. A place I studied while I was a student at KU. Unfortunately I missed the last tour because it was full. But I did get to go inside for a bit. Walked around town for a bit and went home to take a nap.
I went out to a bar that night that a girl recommended to me called Campus. The Glasgow nightlife is supposed to be the best in Scotland. It was alright. Campus’s theme was a “Frat“ college party. So pretty much everything I’m used to. But I met a guy wearing a Coheed and Cambria shirt and we had a long talk on good bands. He told me some great Scottish bands to look up. I bought some Subway and walked home.
7.29.06 Stirling
I took a bus to Stirling, where William Wallace defeated the English at the Battle of Sirling Bridge in 1298. This is a very cool city, nestled just below the highland mountains. There is a Wallace Monument, a tower placed on a nearby peak dedicated to Wallace, Scotlands national hero. The city is on somewhat of a slope, with Stirling castle resting on the top. Much smaller and less touristy from Glasgow. I stopped at the hostle, Willy Wallace Backpackers, and met Victor from Holland. He was sleepingn in the bunk above me and we both decided to start walking around. We bought some food for dinner at the grocery store, then walked 3 miles to the Wallace Monument. It is a very narrow, very tall column, kind of like a miniature Saurumons Tower in the Lord of the Rings. Outside, a Scottish guy dressed as a soldier fighting for Wallace gave a re-enactment of a soldier about to fight at Stirling Bridge. The English threatened to take away Scotlands independance and they were fighting to keep it. I love the way they talk, amazing. Halfway up the tower is William’s actual sword. It is massive, at least 4.5 feet, probably 5 feet with the handle. In order for a man to carry a sword this big, Wallace must’ve been about 6.5 feet tall and very big. After Wallace was betrayed and tortured to death in London, his body was dismembered and sent to the four corners of Scotland to remind the Scots not to cross the King. But it did not have the Kings desired effect. Robert the Bruce continued Wallaces fight and 16 years later he defeated the English at the bBattle of Bannockburn. 5,000 Scots defeated 20,000 Englishmen! Completely amazing. You can understand why the Scots have so much pride of their county and heritage. The top of the tower had amazing views of the Fifth of Forth Valley and you could see the battlefields of the past where William fought at... Falkirk, Stirling, etc. The thing about Wallace was that he was only a common man. He was not a noble. He had no titles, nor was he rich. He just had followers and they believed in his cause.
It started to rain and Victor and I walked back to Stirling. The remainder of the day we spent talking to travelers in the hostel. Victor traveled the Aussie Outback for 6 months. He told me taht he worked on farms and in return they gave him a room and food. It is a very cheap way to travel. He said the water was so fresh there that they would drink right out of the stream, or grab leaves and tip them to sip the rainwater from them. A group of Jewish girls asked me to open the front door for them because they weren’t allowed to on this Jewish holiday. I tried to ask her to explain it but she laghed and said don’t even bother. They served in the Israel army, which all citizens must do, and have been teaching in Sweden for a year and is now returning home. They tried to convince me to go. Still, even though they are now at war with Lebanon they say it is not as dangerous as you might think. It is sad because they wish to travel around the World, like Egypt, but they are forbidden to because they are Jewish. Muslims will not let them travel in their countries. I met another guy from Hungary and we probably spent two hours looking at a wall size world map and talked about where we’ve been, where we’re going and so on. I talked to some Aussies from Melbourn about surfing and telling shark stories. Met a guy from South Africa who is in a very famous rock band and he let me play his guitar. I told him about myspace.com and showed him how to load his music up for free and he flipped out on how cool it was. Victor and I made some pasta. I ran into the Jewish girls again they let me eat some of their kosher food. One girl grew up in Cleveland, Ohio until she moved when she turned 10 to Israel. Went to bed.
4.30.06, The Trossachs
Victor and I took the bus out to the Highlands, the Trossachs, to do some hiking. There are not many people out there, so we had to ask the bus driver to let us off at a trail along the road. The Highlands are gorgous. They are very wet and gloomy, but the sun was out when we arrived. The foilage is very lush green and the Loch Achray and Loch Katrine are nearby. We got off at a place called Tigh Mur and hiked up to the top of a mountain called Ben A’an. It was about an hour hike to th etop, fairly steep. When I got to the top I could see so far in the distance. I felt like braveheart standing on the cliff overlooking the Trossachs, and I couldn’t get that damn Braveheart theme song out of my head... although it did add a little more sense of Scotland to the scenic view. The air was very clean and little streams trickled down everywhere. The grass seemed to grow right over the trees and mossy rocks, so it looked as if a green river flowed gently over the terrain.
We made it back down to the dirt road and sat on the side of the road waiting for a bus to drive by. She did, thank god, and we returned to Stirling. I decided to introduce my new friend to Quesidillas. Incredibly simple to make, yet nobody over here has heard of them. So we bought some groceries and dropped them off at the hostel. Next, Victor and I walked up to Stirling Castel and tried to sneak in without paying. We failed. The doorman was alert and ready to catch those pesky travellers who had no money. So instead we wandered through the graveyards and explored a bit. We came across the “beheading stone“ ... hmm I wonder what that was used for... It was the which stone used to place peoples heads on before it was separated from the neck by a dull axe blade.
Back at the hostel, these two girls were messing around with a program on the computer called Google Earth. It is basically a visual modle of Earth put together by satelite photos. It zooms in so much that I showed the visitors aroud me Mile High Staduim, the pool I used to work at, and even my own backyard with my trampoline visible! Completely amazing. Sw we took turns zooming into our own homes.
I showed Victor how to make Quesidillas. The rest of the night was spent hanging out and exchanging music. I showed Victor my Ipod video and convinced him to buy one when he returned to Holland.
7.31.06, Edinburgh
I ate cold spaghetti for breakfast, better than nothing and it actually didn’t taste that bad. It was an hour and a half bus ride from Stirling to Edinburgh. I bought some groceries while wating for the free shuttle to my hostel, th Globetrotter Inn. It still baffles me how expensive this country is. I have had to have spent close to a thousand dollars jsut in these two weeks. I am going to have to save some serious cash down the road. Crackers, meat, cheese spread...mmmmm.
The hostel was out on a lake miles out of the city. I had to plan out what I wanted to see because I would only have about three hours to see museums, etc. I took the bus back into the town center. Edinburgh is a really cool looking city and has to be the best in Scotland. It is midievil, has large castles, scary architecture and has an incredibly haunting past. Some say that it is among the most haunted places on the planet. I walked the hills and saw the castle, cathedral and a few art museums. I decided to spend my limited cash on a tour of the undercity. The dark side of Edinbugh.
I went back to the hostel and slept until 8pm. Took the bus back to Edinburgh, walked to the store and bought a Tennents bresky, just to get into the mood for walking into one of the most haunted places on the planet. It started at 10pm, so I had a little while to wait on the steps of this cathedral and watched as the sunny Edinburgh slowly turned into the dark and gloomy Edinburgh. I met this Aussie who was waiting for the tour to start as well. He had been roadtripping around the US for a month and told me all about it. I guess he ran into some guys with a van in Seattle and he just hopped along with them and ended up driving all the way to Boston!
<<< I warn you, this is not for the faint hearted>>>
I’ll try and describe to you what our tour guide said. Edinburgh had a very nasty past. Over history, the Scots have put about 9 million of its own people to death. There used to be a small lake or pond at the base of the old city which is now a park. The streets were so crowded that many people were homeless, and the King decided that being homeless was illegal. Thus anyone who was homeless must be tortured and killed. So the bodies of these people were eventually dumped into this pond because they couldn’t bury them anywhere. Now here comes the gross part... The lake would eventually become full of bodies. On a hot Edinburgh day, it was said that a “crust“ would form over the lake so thick that it could support the weight of a grown man. Oddly enough, this was Edinburghs main source of drinking water as well. Then came the Witch Burnings. Accusing someone of being a witch was as simple as pointing out a mole or birthmark, which was thought to have controling powers over evil animals, or simply by wearing too much make-up. Also if one girl wanted revenge on another... call her a witch! It turned into a form of entertainment for the city to kill these young women. In order to see if she is truely a witch, they would perform the “float test.“ Back then, people considered water to be a holy liquid, after all, it did fall from the heavens. They would nail the victim’s hands into her kneecaps and cut a hole in the rotting crust of the lake and throw her in. If she sank, she died, but she was a true christian after all and is now in heaven, so everything is ok. If she floated, then the devil must’ve been using his force to hold her up and therefor she must have the devil burned out of her. By the way, they would always float because the fluffy dresses they wore took a while to fill with water to sink. So, they would hang the poor girl just to know her unconciouse to tie her to a stake and light a fire at her feet. It was common curtesy to knock her out so she didn’t feel the pain. If murder and burning witches isn’t enough to give this place a bad wrap, next is torture. I’ll skip describing the items used because it’s simply way to horribying. Just ask me some time and I will tell you.
Now, the city couldn’t really expand outwards because there had been a wall built to keep the English out. So they built downward, literally creating a sub city. The tour guide brought us down into the streets below edinburgh. This was a very, very creepy place. You wouldn’t want to be left alone in this place, no joke. They have reported over 170 people coming out of the sub city with burns, cuts, or bitemarks that are inexplainable. Even in the tour this has happened. There were many evil people who used to live in these walls. One was a famous murderer and rapist. Women seem to be more often hurt down here than men... interesting. The sub city was not a pleasant place. The rock cieling swould leak constantly from rain and human waste dripping down from the streets above. There were no bathrooms or trash bins. The floors would be coated in waste and straw. The next vault is known to have one of the highest levels of paranormal activity and has been featured on may ghost film documentaries. A fire occured a few hundred years ago and the city fled to the undergrounds for protection. The vaults were pitch black and over crowded. The fire burned for three days with no escape. Every singel person down there was cooked to death in that dark hell hole. When the bodies were discovered they were not buried. They were simply boarded up and blocked off in the vaults, hoping that they would be forgotten about. This is the vault that I was now standing in, lightless, and honestly scared. I can now understand why people think this place is haunted... hell, I can feel why it’s haunted. Well I survived the haunted sub city of Edinburgh with out getting any bite marks, but there isn’t a doubt in my mind that if I were down there alone by myself I would have a heart attack.
8.1.06, Newcastle, England
Nothing really exciting today. I took a bus from Edinburgh to Newcastle and walked around for a while. I walked into the city Library to mooch off their free internet, then walked back to the train station in the rain. I had to burn off the remaining British Pounds I had so I went to buy a 6 inch Meatball Sub from Subway. Then I bought my metro ticket and rode to the airport. I found a nice secluded area to take up the next 12 hours in the airport. I sewed on my remaining badges and tried to get some sleep. I tried to get comfortable by sleeping on the airport chairs, but those fixed arm rests alwayse get in your way. I slept on the floor, but at least it was carpet this time and not tile like it usually is. I have had enough of Britian for now. I think I will head now to.... Eastern Europe?!
7.23.06 London
Made my way into London and tubed it to my hostel in Central Hendon. I spent most of the day planning and making reservations for the next two weeks. I went to a Jewish park, bought a baguette and Nutella for lunch. I could tell I was in Britain because the kids around me were playing Cricket, Tennis and Soccer! For dinner I had some nice salty vinegary Haddock Fish and Chips. Bought myself a beer and went to shower. There’s something about drinking a beer in the shower that calms me down. Must’ve been a reminisance of those good ‘ol college days.
Met some others who were staying there and we talked in the basement. One guy, Micheal, sho I think was probably and alcoholic, but I noticed how he talked to people. We went across the street to
buy a beer and bhe talked to the Pakistani owner. He asked him his name, then if he had any children? How many? The guy seemed to warm right up to him. We returned back to the hostel and hung out in the basement for a while and I had a very interesting conversation with a Scottish girl from Edinburgh. We exchanged views and perspectives about our home countries. She said that America is very nice because it has a piece of every geographical landscape. This explains why Americans are a little more self centered. They don’t need to go anywhere else.
7.24.06 London City!
I headed out to walk London and do a massive “see everything” walk through the city. My impression af London before traveling there was that it was old, gloomy, and not very interesting. Aft
er visiting it though, I have to say it is one of the coolest cities on the planet. In school, you’d only learn about British History, not present. It is a smorgasborgue of Ancient, Historical, and powerful remnants of the Britain Empire and contemporary state of the art architecture and design movements. The Thame River I walked through the South Shaw cathedral. I continued to see Big Ben and Parliament which was very impressive. Big Ben is not too tall, but the architectural detail is amazing. I had a bus to catch down south to the coast to Portsmouth. I barely made the bus. I had to run to the bus station. I got on the bus all sweaty and nervous because I didn’t have any place to stay.
7.25.06 Portsmouth
The bus driver dropped me off at a hotel, very nice, the previous night. I ran into a serious problem because I planned on sleeping in the bus station, but they will apparently arrest you for doing so. Therer were no rooms anywhere! Fortunately the lady at the desk offered me a room out for maintanance for 40 pounds (that’s 80$). It was the cheapest I could find so I took it.
I had a great night sleep in a hotel, showered and shaved, and headed out to the Navel Shipyard Docks. I’ve read and learned about the famouse Battle of Trafalgar throughout College. This is probably one of the most famouse naval battles even when the British Royal Fleet defeated the power hungry Napolean with his French and Spanish fleets in 1805. The movie “Master and Command“ will give you an idea of what it was like as a British sailor. The Commander, Admiral Horatio Nelson is considered a national hero. He led the entire fleet from his flagship, the HMS Victory crashing directly through the French and Spanish fleet. The Admiral did something never before attempted in sea warfare. Instead of lining up the ships parrallel to their enemy and blasting each other to hell, Nelson led at the front of two separate lines of ships perpendicular and crashed through the enemy barrier of ships. Sailing in two separate lines lessened the chance of their ships getting hit and it severed half of Napoleans fleet rendering them useless because they would have to turn around and that would have been too late to save their navy.
Nelson was hit in the chest while standing on deck on the 1st ship, the Flagship Victoory, leading the attack. The survived only long enough to be told they were victorious and passed away below deck after the battle. It wasn’t just the incredible leader of Britain, that won the battle. Napoleon lost because he was going up against an island nation. A nation of sailors in their own territory, protecting their country, families, homes. They certainly are masters of the sea and have been for thousands of years. Napoleon’s fleet, although good, did not match the training and skill s that has been bread into the British.
Well, Napoleon would be rolling over in his grave to know that the Victory survived the battle and still sits afloat in portsmouth. I spent the day walking through the museaums of the British Navy, walked through the massive Victory, and took a boat tour of the port to see all of the new and old Royal Navy battleships.
I would’ve looked to go south and see the D-day Museum in respect for the “Great Generation“ and their soldiers lost. Unfortunately that’ll have to wait another day. Time calls to go to Penzance, the Pirate City on Lands End! ( Little did I know that the entire time that I’ve spent in London, my watch has been an hour ahead. So I waited and probably could’ve seen the museum after all... oh well.
This was my first time on a train solo. Although simple to some, it was a challange for me. I had 3 exchanges in 2 different towns. It was hard for me to decipher the thick accents of the overspeakers, so everytown I arrived at, I had all my stuff ready to jummp out if it was the right place. Well, I jumped out too earlly at Exeter Central, not Exeter St. David station. So I had 20 minutes to run through the town to get to the next station before my Penzance train left. I was relying on some crazy sequence of directions that this janitor guy gave me and had to remember. I guess all those nights working as a server paid off by enhancing my memorization skills. I ran through this unkown city but found the station about 10 minutes before my train took off. Exeter seemed like a nice small British village and seemed pretty cool during my little panicked jog. You know when you are in a very open geographical space and the further out you look the more pale blue everything looks? Well thta’s what the countryside around Exeter looked like. A paleish blue fog, brightened by the suddle setting sun over old potted chimneys and rolling hills. Oh ya, I forgot about this part. Right before I got on the train I went to a vending machine with a craving for Skittles. Well with my luck the freakin Skittle bag got stuck dangling in the machine. I’m already pissed from my own stupidity of jumping off the train to soon, so I shook the machine to knock it loose. A Kit Kat Chunky Peanut Butter Bar fell instead. Damn it! I want my Skittles! So I kept shaking, despite the awkward stares of bystanders and it eventually fell along with another candy, Maltesers. Boo ya! Luck paid off and I got away with 3 candies. A sign that Penzance holds a fun time for me and I think I’ll blend in quite well now that I smell like a bloddy Pirate after my run.
The train arrived and I walked along in the dark with all my stuff through a town known for Pirates...ironic isn’t it. I found my place, a bed and breakfast pension called Camilles Bed and Breakfast. The wonderful lady, Kathy, waited up late for me to let me in. I immediately passed out.
7.26.06, Penzanca (Penzaance)
I walked down the street after a lovely English breakfast made by Kathy, which consisted of a fried egg, a lemony flavored fried piece of toast, thick bacon, a fried tomato and coffee. I had an entire day and night in front of me, so I was all about sitting back and relaxing. The smell salty sea breeze air and the harbor instanly set off a barrage of memories. I hopped over the sea walk edge and down onto the rocks where the tide had left tiny snails and sea creatures in the nooks and cranny’s. I used to do this as a kid walking along the Marginal Way off the coast of Ogunquit, Maine. I felt like a kid again, getting my hands and clothes dirty looking for slimy sea creatures. I found a really cool place behind the sea wall of this swimming pool. The rocks led out and behind the pool wall from the street, completely hidden. Around the corner the rocks came to an end with a cluster of rocks. Some hand rails extended off the rock and into the water. There were 3 booey’s, each about 100 meters out from each other. Stretching straigh out into the bay. A lady with a swim cap was calmly swimming back from the booey. I’d have to come back later and try that.
I walked on the beach looking for sea shells to the large St. Micheals Mount out in the next bay. A few fishermen claimed to see the Archangel Micheal appear on top of the rock island just off the coast inside the bay. So, they built a castle on the top in dedication to the sighting. The cool thing about it was that there was a causeway that lead from the beach out to the island and you could only get to the mount at low tide. The walkway swallowed by the sea at high tide. The castle was so-so. the view on top was awesome. I especially liked leaning over the edge of the wall to feel the constant sea breeze blowing up the rock walls and through my hair. It smelled of the sea and perfumed by the flower garden at the very base of the wall. I took my time walking back and read my book on the beach. It was nice to just take a time out and not have to be somewhere at a certain time.
I made it to the bus station and tried to catch a bus to the Minnack Theater and Lands End. The bus system was a total mess. I couldn’t figure out which one to get on and didn’t want to pay, so I just walked back to the spot behind the pool sea wall, read and looked into the sun. A teenage girl apprached me and started talking. She said something kind of weird. I told her I was from the US and described my hometown, then she asked me if it was the same plase as America. Then she asked me if there was a lot of “Dark skinned people“ down there. I said “Black people?“ She said ya. I told her “Yes, I guess it depends where you go...“ Then she said “isn’t it dangerous in America?“ I kind of laughed and said it depends where you go. I said probably no different than walking around Penzance late at night.
I decided to go get some Fish and Chips and try some English beer, so I walked up the steep slope into town. Penzance is definately a tourist town because everything was laugh out loud expensive and modern, but if you walk foar and deep enough, you’ll find the real deal. I found this fish stand right next t oa pub...perfect. I walked into the pub andasked her how Scrumpy Jacks is. She filled up a small glass and gave it to me. It turned out to be a ccider and said no thanks, I want some English beer. I went to get some cod n chips with lots of salt, vinegar, and ketchup and then bouth a pint of Eden. Good, strong English beer. I sat outside on a pub bench and took in the rays of the late afternoon sun. I was watching this guy playing with these two youngsters. He was pretending to fight them and looked like a fighter himself. A real English tough guy, maybe a boxer, not bulging with muscles but you just know he could kick some ass. Everyone was just so laid back and ready to start a fun night of drinking. It seemed like thy all knew each other. A really nice small town bond that maybe I will experience some day. I was getting extremely tired and had walked many miles onver the last two days, so I went back and crashed.
7.27.06
I woke up around 7am and decided to grab my towel and head to my spot on the harbor coast behind the swimming pool. I had determined myself to swim out into the bay to the third booey, 300 meters. The water was frigid cold, but as I noticed an old lady splash in right next to me and slowly doggy paddle out, I mentally punched myself in the face and said stop being such a bab y. Even grandma over there doesn’t mind the cold. So I dove in off the rocks and started to head out from the coast. The cold immediately took my breath away but I told myself to keep swimming. I know that I’m a string swimmer and could handle this, but I had to keep reminding myself to breath. When I looked down into the water and only saw dark, almost black blue, I started to get a little freaked...especially because the last chapter in the book I was reading ended with this guy getting attacked by a shark. I knew there were no nets installed in the bay because seals were swimming around earlier. The cold, the dark, the deep, and the distance all started to freak me out. I was passing grandma by this time and couldn’t tell if she noticed that I was loosing my cool. I just wanted to touch the 100m booey turn around and haul ass back. I knew it was very deep here and seeing how far away from the rocks I was just made me swim faster when I turned around. I knew it was highly unlikely, but I just kept having images pop up in my head of a shark rising out of the deep to take my legs off. I made it back in one piece though. Well, I was a little dissapionted with myself. The guy who was captain of his High School Swim Team, the guy who ran with the bulls, couldn’t handle a little swim in the bay. Well I’m sorry I can’t handle deep dark and cold ocean water, but I was born and raised in Colorado for crying out loud...whatever.
When I got back to the pension, Kathy had made breakfast for me already. She was so nice and I told her about my swim. I think she could tell because I was shivering. Good thing she gave me coffee to warm up. She even put my suit in the dryer for me. I said thatnks and took off for the bus to New Quay (New Key.)
New Quay, a surfer hot spot in Europe. I only had an hour here, so I checked my email. I took a taxi to the airport. It took me 40 minutes to get from New Quay to Cardiff. I had an entire night to burn but I planned on crashing on an airport bench so I had to stay near to the airport. My flight took off early that morning. The security guard told me there was a free bus to Roose, a town 3 km from here. I went to the bus and asked the driver if there was any food in Roose. He looked at me like I was crazy and said why do you want to go to Roose? There is nothing there! Well I decided to go anyway because it beats sitting at the airport. I had an awesome conversation with the guy. Never got his name, but he told me the has a wife, two kids, and has never lived in more thtan two towns in his whole life. He found out what I was doing and pretty much cursed himself for not doing it himself before he got married because his wife doesn’t like to travel anywhere. I told him not to worry because he has 2 beautiful children. I noticed his face brighten when I said that. I knokw he didn’t like his job. He was regretting not traveling, but when I mentioned his kids he lit up. He asked me some things about America and Colorado. He said that all he hears about America is violence and guns. I said well the movies don’t really help that. He found it interesting when I told him that the states all thgouh they look like small countries are very unifies as America. He told me that in Britai, the Welch hate the Cornwalls, or the Scotts hate the English, yadda yadda. He said they’ll even treat you differentely depending on where you’re from. He asked me about racism in America. This was interesting because he was a black man himself. I told him that it does still exist, but it is slowly dwindling out with each generation. He asked about crime and I mentioned Detroit and New Orleanes as being pretty bad. Then he brought up the topic of the Hurrican Katrina and how the government didn’t help anyone. I explained to him the way our country works and the difference between the state and federal governments. The federal will help when the state declares a state of emergency and that is where the mess up was. I said that people try and spin it one way or another for their plitical gain, but thats what it really comes down to. He said the papers reported that George W was a Racist!!! A racist!! I laughed and said that is so rediculous to think that soething like a natural disaster rescue operation failure could be blamed on race. I told him our president is not a racist. He seemed to be enlightened more than anything. He was absorbing my info instead of debating it which felt really nice for a change to know that somebody wanted to learn about my country instead of condem it. We talked about currencies and unions and the French...haha... We both agreed that they complain way too much and that their country revols around people protesting, striking, and rioting...in a joking, stereotypical mannar of course. Anyway before I said goodbye to him I told him he should take the train to France someday. Traveling is really not as difficult as you might imagine it to be. I wonder if I had any effect on him when I shook his hand and said goodbye. Maybe he will try and travel out of Britain for once and expand his borders.
Roose was such a small Welsh town. It had one restaraunt and it was closed for the next week. So I bought a Lunchables from the gas station. I felt like I was packing a lunch from kindergarten, but it did the trick. I wasn’t going to just sit there for 5 hours, so I decided to explore. I kept thinking about this quote I wrote in the front of my journal...Experience is not what happens to a man, it’s what a man does with what happens to him – Aldous Huskey. So I found a path leading down into a field. I followed it about a half a mile and it opened up to this beautiful rocky cliff coast of a large sea inlet. The other side was miles and miles away. I went down to the rocks below and explored the caves and cliffs. The tide was coming in and I didn’t want to be caught down there when it did, so I had to hurry back to a spot where I hid my backpack. A little kitten had appeared next to me when I was sitting there. It had a tag on it, so I knew it was just one of the locals. Anyway, he tugged along with me for a while. After enjoying the view, smells, and sounds of the Ocean, I walked up into a field above the cliffs, followed by the cat, and watched Wedding Crashers on my Ipod. The sun was setting and it was getting cold, so I said goodbye to my friend and took the bus back to the airport.
By the way, my clothes have now gone from smelly pirate to craggy mountain yetti.
7.28.06 Glasgow, Scotland
What’s the first thing to do when arriving in Glasgow? Go see Superman Returns of course. I hadn’t seen a movie in so long that I treated myself to one. Glasgow is a very industrial city. You can tell just by the look of the cranes that hang over teh river as it travels deep into the city. The reason I came here was to see the design of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Mackintosh 4. They were a milestone in design history and can be seen through art, architecture, etc. It was an Art Nouveau style and can be seen on pretty much every building in Glasgow. I went to the Glasgow School of Art. A place I studied while I was a student at KU. Unfortunately I missed the last tour because it was full. But I did get to go inside for a bit. Walked around town for a bit and went home to take a nap.
I went out to a bar that night that a girl recommended to me called Campus. The Glasgow nightlife is supposed to be the best in Scotland. It was alright. Campus’s theme was a “Frat“ college party. So pretty much everything I’m used to. But I met a guy wearing a Coheed and Cambria shirt and we had a long talk on good bands. He told me some great Scottish bands to look up. I bought some Subway and walked home.
7.29.06 Stirling
I took a bus to Stirling, where William Wallace defeated the English at the Battle of Sirling Bridge in 1298. This is a very cool city, nestled just below the highland mountains. There is a Wallace Monument, a tower placed on a nearby peak dedicated to Wallace, Scotlands national hero. The city is on somewhat of a slope, with Stirling castle resting on the top. Much smaller and less touristy from Glasgow. I stopped at the hostle, Willy Wallace Backpackers, and met Victor from Holland. He was sleepingn in the bunk above me and we both decided to start walking around. We bought some food for dinner at the grocery store, then walked 3 miles to the Wallace Monument. It is a very narrow, very tall column, kind of like a miniature Saurumons Tower in the Lord of the Rings. Outside, a Scottish guy dressed as a soldier fighting for Wallace gave a re-enactment of a soldier about to fight at Stirling Bridge. The English threatened to take away Scotlands independance and they were fighting to keep it. I love the way they talk, amazing. Halfway up the tower is William’s actual sword. It is massive, at least 4.5 feet, probably 5 feet with the handle. In order for a man to carry a sword this big, Wallace must’ve been about 6.5 feet tall and very big. After Wallace was betrayed and tortured to death in London, his body was dismembered and sent to the four corners of Scotland to remind the Scots not to cross the King. But it did not have the Kings desired effect. Robert the Bruce continued Wallaces fight and 16 years later he defeated the English at the bBattle of Bannockburn. 5,000 Scots defeated 20,000 Englishmen! Completely amazing. You can understand why the Scots have so much pride of their county and heritage. The top of the tower had amazing views of the Fifth of Forth Valley and you could see the battlefields of the past where William fought at... Falkirk, Stirling, etc. The thing about Wallace was that he was only a common man. He was not a noble. He had no titles, nor was he rich. He just had followers and they believed in his cause.
It started to rain and Victor and I walked back to Stirling. The remainder of the day we spent talking to travelers in the hostel. Victor traveled the Aussie Outback for 6 months. He told me taht he worked on farms and in return they gave him a room and food. It is a very cheap way to travel. He said the water was so fresh there that they would drink right out of the stream, or grab leaves and tip them to sip the rainwater from them. A group of Jewish girls asked me to open the front door for them because they weren’t allowed to on this Jewish holiday. I tried to ask her to explain it but she laghed and said don’t even bother. They served in the Israel army, which all citizens must do, and have been teaching in Sweden for a year and is now returning home. They tried to convince me to go. Still, even though they are now at war with Lebanon they say it is not as dangerous as you might think. It is sad because they wish to travel around the World, like Egypt, but they are forbidden to because they are Jewish. Muslims will not let them travel in their countries. I met another guy from Hungary and we probably spent two hours looking at a wall size world map and talked about where we’ve been, where we’re going and so on. I talked to some Aussies from Melbourn about surfing and telling shark stories. Met a guy from South Africa who is in a very famous rock band and he let me play his guitar. I told him about myspace.com and showed him how to load his music up for free and he flipped out on how cool it was. Victor and I made some pasta. I ran into the Jewish girls again they let me eat some of their kosher food. One girl grew up in Cleveland, Ohio until she moved when she turned 10 to Israel. Went to bed.
4.30.06, The Trossachs
Victor and I took the bus out to the Highlands, the Trossachs, to do some hiking. There are not many people out there, so we had to ask the bus driver to let us off at a trail along the road. The Highlands are gorgous. They are very wet and gloomy, but the sun was out when we arrived. The foilage is very lush green and the Loch Achray and Loch Katrine are nearby. We got off at a place called Tigh Mur and hiked up to the top of a mountain called Ben A’an. It was about an hour hike to th etop, fairly steep. When I got to the top I could see so far in the distance. I felt like braveheart standing on the cliff overlooking the Trossachs, and I couldn’t get that damn Braveheart theme song out of my head... although it did add a little more sense of Scotland to the scenic view. The air was very clean and little streams trickled down everywhere. The grass seemed to grow right over the trees and mossy rocks, so it looked as if a green river flowed gently over the terrain.
We made it back down to the dirt road and sat on the side of the road waiting for a bus to drive by. She did, thank god, and we returned to Stirling. I decided to introduce my new friend to Quesidillas. Incredibly simple to make, yet nobody over here has heard of them. So we bought some groceries and dropped them off at the hostel. Next, Victor and I walked up to Stirling Castel and tried to sneak in without paying. We failed. The doorman was alert and ready to catch those pesky travellers who had no money. So instead we wandered through the graveyards and explored a bit. We came across the “beheading stone“ ... hmm I wonder what that was used for... It was the which stone used to place peoples heads on before it was separated from the neck by a dull axe blade.
Back at the hostel, these two girls were messing around with a program on the computer called Google Earth. It is basically a visual modle of Earth put together by satelite photos. It zooms in so much that I showed the visitors aroud me Mile High Staduim, the pool I used to work at, and even my own backyard with my trampoline visible! Completely amazing. Sw we took turns zooming into our own homes.
I showed Victor how to make Quesidillas. The rest of the night was spent hanging out and exchanging music. I showed Victor my Ipod video and convinced him to buy one when he returned to Holland.
7.31.06, Edinburgh
I ate cold spaghetti for breakfast, better than nothing and it actually didn’t taste that bad. It was an hour and a half bus ride from Stirling to Edinburgh. I bought some groceries while wating for the free shuttle to my hostel, th Globetrotter Inn. It still baffles me how expensive this country is. I have had to have spent close to a thousand dollars jsut in these two weeks. I am going to have to save some serious cash down the road. Crackers, meat, cheese spread...mmmmm.
The hostel was out on a lake miles out of the city. I had to plan out what I wanted to see because I would only have about three hours to see museums, etc. I took the bus back into the town center. Edinburgh is a really cool looking city and has to be the best in Scotland. It is midievil, has large castles, scary architecture and has an incredibly haunting past. Some say that it is among the most haunted places on the planet. I walked the hills and saw the castle, cathedral and a few art museums. I decided to spend my limited cash on a tour of the undercity. The dark side of Edinbugh.
I went back to the hostel and slept until 8pm. Took the bus back to Edinburgh, walked to the store and bought a Tennents bresky, just to get into the mood for walking into one of the most haunted places on the planet. It started at 10pm, so I had a little while to wait on the steps of this cathedral and watched as the sunny Edinburgh slowly turned into the dark and gloomy Edinburgh. I met this Aussie who was waiting for the tour to start as well. He had been roadtripping around the US for a month and told me all about it. I guess he ran into some guys with a van in Seattle and he just hopped along with them and ended up driving all the way to Boston!
<<< I warn you, this is not for the faint hearted>>>
I’ll try and describe to you what our tour guide said. Edinburgh had a very nasty past. Over history, the Scots have put about 9 million of its own people to death. There used to be a small lake or pond at the base of the old city which is now a park. The streets were so crowded that many people were homeless, and the King decided that being homeless was illegal. Thus anyone who was homeless must be tortured and killed. So the bodies of these people were eventually dumped into this pond because they couldn’t bury them anywhere. Now here comes the gross part... The lake would eventually become full of bodies. On a hot Edinburgh day, it was said that a “crust“ would form over the lake so thick that it could support the weight of a grown man. Oddly enough, this was Edinburghs main source of drinking water as well. Then came the Witch Burnings. Accusing someone of being a witch was as simple as pointing out a mole or birthmark, which was thought to have controling powers over evil animals, or simply by wearing too much make-up. Also if one girl wanted revenge on another... call her a witch! It turned into a form of entertainment for the city to kill these young women. In order to see if she is truely a witch, they would perform the “float test.“ Back then, people considered water to be a holy liquid, after all, it did fall from the heavens. They would nail the victim’s hands into her kneecaps and cut a hole in the rotting crust of the lake and throw her in. If she sank, she died, but she was a true christian after all and is now in heaven, so everything is ok. If she floated, then the devil must’ve been using his force to hold her up and therefor she must have the devil burned out of her. By the way, they would always float because the fluffy dresses they wore took a while to fill with water to sink. So, they would hang the poor girl just to know her unconciouse to tie her to a stake and light a fire at her feet. It was common curtesy to knock her out so she didn’t feel the pain. If murder and burning witches isn’t enough to give this place a bad wrap, next is torture. I’ll skip describing the items used because it’s simply way to horribying. Just ask me some time and I will tell you.
Now, the city couldn’t really expand outwards because there had been a wall built to keep the English out. So they built downward, literally creating a sub city. The tour guide brought us down into the streets below edinburgh. This was a very, very creepy place. You wouldn’t want to be left alone in this place, no joke. They have reported over 170 people coming out of the sub city with burns, cuts, or bitemarks that are inexplainable. Even in the tour this has happened. There were many evil people who used to live in these walls. One was a famous murderer and rapist. Women seem to be more often hurt down here than men... interesting. The sub city was not a pleasant place. The rock cieling swould leak constantly from rain and human waste dripping down from the streets above. There were no bathrooms or trash bins. The floors would be coated in waste and straw. The next vault is known to have one of the highest levels of paranormal activity and has been featured on may ghost film documentaries. A fire occured a few hundred years ago and the city fled to the undergrounds for protection. The vaults were pitch black and over crowded. The fire burned for three days with no escape. Every singel person down there was cooked to death in that dark hell hole. When the bodies were discovered they were not buried. They were simply boarded up and blocked off in the vaults, hoping that they would be forgotten about. This is the vault that I was now standing in, lightless, and honestly scared. I can now understand why people think this place is haunted... hell, I can feel why it’s haunted. Well I survived the haunted sub city of Edinburgh with out getting any bite marks, but there isn’t a doubt in my mind that if I were down there alone by myself I would have a heart attack.
8.1.06, Newcastle, England
Nothing really exciting today. I took a bus from Edinburgh to Newcastle and walked around for a while. I walked into the city Library to mooch off their free internet, then walked back to the train station in the rain. I had to burn off the remaining British Pounds I had so I went to buy a 6 inch Meatball Sub from Subway. Then I bought my metro ticket and rode to the airport. I found a nice secluded area to take up the next 12 hours in the airport. I sewed on my remaining badges and tried to get some sleep. I tried to get comfortable by sleeping on the airport chairs, but those fixed arm rests alwayse get in your way. I slept on the floor, but at least it was carpet this time and not tile like it usually is. I have had enough of Britian for now. I think I will head now to.... Eastern Europe?!
posted by Brandle at 9:01 AM
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