Chicago to Edinburgh

With the hustle and bustle of busy shoppers and business owners about Dundee, it was nice to know that a weekend of local music and drinks was soon to happen. Scotland’s Almost Blue festival presented the nightlife and entertainment much needed for a few college students to bond socially with those of Dundee. I was ready for a few days of being able to meet the people of the city in which I have lived for close to a month now. I was given the opportunity to meet a countless number of folks from all over the city and even other regions as well as hearing their stories while having lived in an entirely different country than my own. I and a few others from the group befriended a member of a band who spoke nothing but great things about The States and how his major goal included moving to California. We continued to other pubs around the city through the late hours of Saturday before a new week about Scotland.

After winding down the nightlife and entertainment, it was time to travel to a city so beautiful it may have made its way to some of my favorite cities.  Like Chicago, Edinburgh is fast paced and addicting in its sense of beautiful color, infrastructure and people. Prince Street presents itself as most similar to the Magnificent Mile in Chicago’s downtown area. Having left the research to the side, I was amazed at the scenery I could capture in practicing my theme of the unplanned adventures I did plan to encounter. I felt a sense of home in the culture of Edinburgh when so many things were comparable to a city I had visited so much back home so it was important for me to take in as much as I could while there the first time. I walked the city streets of Edinburgh every moment that I could as well as taking in the nightlife along with a countless number of travelers like myself.

The array of entertainment in Edinburgh was an experience unlike I have had yet. The people of Scotland are as friendly as you could imagine with generosity and passion for fun like nothing I have witnessed either.

In the midst of socially absorbing the city of Edinburgh, the group met for the presentation and walk along the Forth Road Bridge with a breathtaking view of the other Forth Bridge across the water. I found fascinating the history of the workers and their views on safety connected to the reputation of manhood during the time of building these bridges. Having refused the helmets and other safety gear presented to them by the authority of those running the plans, many men died giving labor and even their living capacity away to build this bridge. We saw photos of men hanging their clothes alongside the ends of the bridges in order to complete the project that would take 7 years.