Monday, June 21, 2004 (Summer Solstice)

The week is just starting...

At breakfast, the three of us (Wendy, Elsa and I) ate together. Elsa just drank some coffee. After that, Elsa and I went to school. On the bus I attempted to explain what she could see on the left and right of the street and how she could get home. Then we tried to exchange our mobile numbers.

This morning we also had a new student called Therese. She lives in Schaffhausen in Switzerland. She had just changed classes. After the morning break, a big surprise, Elsa was also joining our class. James went on and we had a lot to laugh about. The article and the questions about the summer solstice were very interesting and we learned a lot about the differences in the celebrations today.

At lunchtime I went with a group of French people to the bus office. They bought bus passes and after that we went to a coffee shop to buy a sandwich to take away. There we met a man from Philadelphia (USA), who was studying architecture here for a year.

After this fast lunch, we went back to school and had our lesson with Kirsty. I had just a few minutes to check my emails, and after that, the lessons with James started. Siv and Christa then did their presentation about their country. So I learned a lot about Sweden.



From Calton Hill, direction Arthur's Seat

Now I was a little bit tired, but the weather was good, so I walked to Calton Hill (100 m). But I didn't take the shortest way up; I surrounded Calton Hill and had a nice view of the architecture on the Regent and Royal Terrace. I saw the Royal High School, dating from 1829 and modelled on the Temple of Theseus in Athens. Former pupils include Robert Adam, Alexander Graham Bell and Sir Walter Scott. On the other side of the street you can see the Burns Monument (1830), a Greek-style memorial to Robert Burns.

The view from Calton Hill was very beautiful and I was just sitting there and having a look. The panorama took in the Castle, Holyroodhouse, Arthur’s Seat, the Firth of Forth, New Town and the full length of Princess Street.

Calton Hill is scattered with memorials, mostly dating from the first half of the 19th century. The design of the City Observatory, built in 1818, was based on the ancient Greek Temple of the Winds in Athens. Its original function was to provide a precise, astronomical time-keeping service for marine navigators. The Nelson Monument was built to commemorate Admiral Lord Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar in 1805. www.cac.org.uk

The National Monument looks like an over-ambitious attempt to replicate the Parthenon and intends to honour Scotland’s dead from the Napoleonic Wars. A little bit downhill is the circular Monument to Dugald Stewart (1753 – 1828), who was a Professor of Mathematics and of Moral Philosophy at Edinburgh University.



From Calton Hill, direction Leith Docks

St. Andrew’s House (built between 1936 and 1939) housed the civil servants of the Westminster government’s Scottish Office until they were moved. “It was built on the site of Calton Gaol, the successor to the much-despised Tolbooth on High Street, and was once the biggest prison in Scotland.” All that remains is the distinctive turreted building just west of St. Andrew’s House, and well seen from North Bridge – this was the Governor’s House.
Old Calton Burying Ground, is one of Edinburgh’s many old cemeteries. It is dominated by the tall black obelisk of the Political Martyrs’ Monument, which commemorates those who suffered in the fight for electoral reform in the 1790s. The massive, cylindrical grey stone tomb of David Hume (1711-76) also stands there.

some web cams in Edinburgh
www.camvista.com/scotland/edinburgh/index.php3

www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/webplay/webcams/webcam.shtml?image=arthurseat

After this walk, I went back home and a little bit later, we ate dinner. Then we asked our host parents about their wishes because it was our homework for James. We had some answers like “She wishes she had another dog, she would like a puppy to see it growing. She wishes they had a B&B close to a sea. He wishes just that he can support his wife in her wishes”.
And I also learned “If I could write better in English, I would like it even more”. ;-)