Day 10 (September 23, 2025): Edinburgh

Hello Edinburgh!      

(By Reva, Abigail and Charlotte)

We’ve reached the final destination for our trip to Scotland: welcome to Edinburgh!! The feeling of being clean we had after a lengthy rain shower in our new apartments was incomparable. Refreshed and full of energy our day began with a walk to Calton Hill where we were astonished by the magnificent view of the city and of the visible separation between the old and new town.

 Ms Hänggi and Ms Ruf told us some great facts about the location and on we went to Edinburgh castle. The tourists were quite easy to spot here, and, amidst a swarm of them, the first presentation of the day took place. Following that, the second group introduced us to Victoria Street, also known as the street that inspired the famous “Diagon Alley” from Harry Potter. After about one and a half hours that we got to spend on our own - exploring the city centre, finding adorable places to grab some lunch - we met again.

The day continued with an afternoon visit to Greyfriars Kirkyard and another splendid presentation, after which all of us obviously wanted to lay eyes on Thomas Riddell’s famous tombstone. It was insane and such a strange feeling to stand in the same graveyard where J.K. Rowling was inspired to create Godric’s Hollow (but also a tiny bit creepy…). In some way we even felt like we were in our own movie because of the picture-perfect weather. Who would have thought that we would still be walking around in T-shirts at the end of September and be at risk of getting sunburned? And in Scotland, of all places, a country known for its rainy weather.

While enjoying the warming sun and the rest of the afternoon, we scoured the breathtaking streets of Edinburgh in search of the best and finest souvenirs, falling for every tourist trap and even going on a small shopping spree with our teachers. (Comment Ms Ruf: even teachers like a little shopping every now and then…;-) Slowly everyone trundled back to the apartments to cook and eat dinner before the last activity of today’s program: traditional Scottish dancing - Ceilidh!

Our tummies were filled with either a delicious self-made curry and smashed potatoes or the excitement for the vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie that was in the fridge waiting for us to return with appetite.

The class met about a twenty-minutes’ walk away from the “Summerhall”, where the ceilidh would then take place. We got there on foot and when we arrived, the lobby was already packed with other people - surprisingly our age. There was a „ball-room-like“ venue and a live band waiting for us. Luckily we had prepared and put on light clothes because even before we started dancing, the room got hotter and hotter as more and more people entered.

Without many explanations the event began: the instructor shouted the basic steps across the room, and even though she was wearing a microphone we had a hard time understanding what she was saying. She explained everything only once and as soon as the (very fast!!) music filled the room, we were on our own. But after a few rounds everyone eventually got the hang of it, and you could see the joy on everybody‘s faces. We danced A LOT; sometimes in groups within our class, sometimes with strangers or even the experts / teachers themselves. It was a fun mixture between dances where you had one or more consistent partners and some where you would switch partners every few beats. In the end we were asked to form one big circle; to hold each other’s sweaty palms and we sang the Scottish folk song „Auld Lang Syn“ to end the evening. What started as a rather calm, and quite emotional goodbye then somehow turned into something wilder and „mosh pit-like“.

Sweaty, but happy, we went back to our apartments, where we let the evening sink in by finally eating the long-awaited meal, talking and simply enjoying each other‘s presence.

Another more than eventful day has passed way too quickly.

Here‘s to three more days of our Scotland trip!!