Edinburg and Edinburg Castle with lunch

      In the early morning hours we made our approach into the Firth of Forth estuary.  Since my body was still on Port Angeles time, I just happened to be awake as we embarked the pilot.  I was down in our stateroom in the process of waking up Barbara when I say the pilot approaching at high speed on our port side.  By the time I made it to the lower Promenade deck, the pilot had already board and the skipper of the boat was headed back to his warm bed.

     We easily passed under two bridges on our approach to the Port of Rosyth. I was on the Sports deck to witness  the event, and even though I had confidence in our captain, the eye and mind do make it difficult to accept the situation. 

We were not the only cruise ship in town today, but we were the only one with enough mast clearance to sail under both bridges. The first of the two being the famous “Forth Railroad Bridge”. The bridge is a cantilever railroad bridge and acts as a major artery connecting the north-east and south-east of the country.

     Since the Port of Rosyth is located on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth, it would be necessary to cross the suspension bridge, which parallels the railroad bridge, to enter the City of Edinburg.  Being a cargo part, it was not designed to be facilitate easy access for passengers of cruise ships.  This meant that we had quite a long walk to the terminal and the waiting  tour busses.  As we crossed the suspension bridge, we felt a little less put upon when we looked down and saw the passengers of “the other” cruise ship being tendered into port.

     Our guide, Davie, was dressed to the “nines” in his kilt and dress jacket. His descriptions of the countryside and city were perfectly understandable, but I for one would have preferred a little more “Scottish Brogue”.

     The crowds that we encountered at Buckingham palace  had somehow managed to arrive at Edinburg Castle on the same morning, and continued to pour though the “gates” in droves.  Needless to say, it was difficult to get a  pictures without one of those pesky tourists in it.  As we “joined up” for our departure the line for visitors waiting to buy entry tickets was lengthy.

     Our next stop was a modern day museum, but by that time my feet were saying “rest”.  So I settled down with my book and a cup of tea and re-charged.  I was amazed at the cost of this tea in a paper cup; 1 lb 50, or around $2.

     We all assumed that we were going to have the “provided lunch” in a pub, however, Alan’s contractor for this event failed to confirm our reservations  As always, the resourceful Alan managed a very nice alternative venue;  a  dining room in the prestigious Thistle Hotel. We were presented with our pint of beer as we entered and sat down to a very nice meal of carrot soup, bread, chicken and veggies, and fruit cocktail.  Thanks Alan.

      I really liked the city of Edinburgh and would definitely like to visit for a longer time.  On our 30 minute ride back to the ship, I found it very hard to keep my eyes open, as it had been a long satisfying day.  Time and tide wait for no one, especially the e ms Prinsendam and we sail out of the Firth of Forth and into the North sea, as scheduled.

Nest: Welcome to Scrabster, Scotland