Lessons from Edinburgh
“I feel like I don’t even look the kids directly in the eyes anymore,” I told Trent nearly a year ago when I was buried in spreadsheets at work. “I don’t have time to read bedtime stories or talk about their days. I’m too tired to DO anything but decompress every single night. I want to read stories, I really do. but I’m so exhausted every single day.”
….
I’m on a plane bound for Minneapolis, having spent the past 10 days in Edinburgh, Scotland (six of them with my bro and sister-in-law, Cody and Jenny.). With a hotel room all to myself, I indulged in daily lattes (or two or three!), long hot showers, and the concert of a lifetime featuring the Queen Mother herself, Taylor Swift. Besides the obvious T. Swift…. wanna know the best part?
Exploring the city with no agenda whatsoever.
You read that right- I took a flight to Scotland and “winged it” for the majority of my 10 days…
Initially, I tried to plan the trip meticulously, as I usually do. I researched, pinned on Pinterest, read blog posts, and scoured reviews on Google, TripAdvisor, Facebook, TikTok, and OpenTable. I tracked flight prices for six months to get the best deal. However, coordinating schedules with Jenny to create a plan proved impossible due to life’s circumstances. Despite my best efforts, she told me to book my flight whenever I wanted, promising she’d “figure it out” later and wouldn’t ditch me. Fun fact- She booked her flight just two and a half weeks before departure—the horror! I could never!
Although I've known Jenny for nearly 13 years, we've never even day-tripped together, let alone spent a week in a foreign country. I didn't want her to feel like I was micro-managing the trip, forcing her to endure my interests yet, every attempt to discuss a "plan" was thwarted by life's demands. She assured me she was "up for whatever,” and we’d figure it out when we got there.
Uncertain about my ability to embrace spontaneity, I pre-booked a boat tour to the Isle of Mull to see Puffins in their natural habitat, but my plans were later foiled when it was canceled due to ocean swells. Ultimately, we met at the Minneapolis airport for a brief hello before taking our separate departing flights and somehow landed in Edinburgh within 10 minutes of each other.
I think I clocked about three hours of sleep on the red-eye flight, and decided to just keep moving on day one. It was a short tram ride to our hotel where we dropped our luggage until our rooms were ready, then took off walking. Before we knew it we were giggling from sleep deprivation or the endless walking- or both. After a quick stop for supper- well, technically breakfast - or maybe it was lunch, we returned to the hotel for a good night’s rest.
Sleep was blissful after nearly 36 hours of being awake. I awoke feeling refreshed and ready to start my day at about 7:30 am. Jenny & Cody slept in, so I took off on a solo mission for coffee and exploration but quickly realized that despite my best attempts, my “do it all” mindset wasn’t going to work in Scotland. I discovered most businesses and attractions aren’t open until 10 am and they close by 6 pm. Weird, right?!
The more I explored and absorbed the city’s pace, the more time felt like a right, not a luxury. If we missed a tram, guess what? Another one came in 7 minutes. Just wait. It was ok to walk even if it took a little longer. It was ok to wait for food to be prepared fresh rather than instantly appear before you.
It hit me hard one morning; I found myself passing people as I raced to my next destination- my body having been conditioned to our rushed American lifestyle. Yet here, people didn’t hurry by me. Not the mom with her kids in the stroller, nor the college-aged student who gave up his seat for a young girl and her mom on his way to class. I habitually placed my coffee order for “takeaway”, yet noticed few others walking with hot (or cold) drinks in their hands, and far more were SITTING and consuming their drinks or food. They didn’t come rushing in or out with their orders as if the world was on fire. They paused. Greeted. Waited. Sat. Chatted. Ate. Finished…. then looked up. They looked out windows and at the scenery. They looked at each other- embraced a friend, said goodbye to their neighbor, and thanked a barista, as they went on their way. I knew that Americans had stopped looking up, but honestly had forgotten how bad it had gotten. It soon became a little game I played with myself- “Spot the American”. If you couldn’t tell by their shoes or style alone, you could easily tell by their hands- one was holding a phone while the other held a hot beverage or snack. And they rarely looked up.
[Side note- the Starbucks nearest me opens at 5 am. In Edinburgh, the earliest it opened was 7 am! When I spoke with a resident and mentioned that our Starbucks is open at 5 and many retailers are open until 11 pm she asked me what on earth Americans were doing up at 5 am or shopping for at 11 pm?! Admittedly, I couldn’t come up with a single great answer on the spot.]
Sleeping past 6 am, or 7, or 8 (if I’m being honest, one day I slept til 11), was more than fine because where were you going to go before 10 am anyway if everything is closed (besides coffee shops and grocers)? Walking around the city at 7:30 am was like a ghost town! It was so refreshing.
I soon found myself slowing down to match their pace and energy. Instead of packing in every attraction, Jenny and I simply explored and stopped whenever something interested us. We ate when hungry, rested when tired, and surprisingly accomplished nearly everything on our wish list in an unplanned, magical way. We laughed until our stomachs hurt, a bonus I needed more than I knew.
[Ask me about the seagull attack, or when I nearly snorted gelato out of my nose and onto an innocent passerby.]
When Jenny & Cody returned to the States leaving me with four days to myself, I wondered if I’d be bored. However, despite having no agenda, I managed to average 10-12 miles of walking per day running into places I’m positive I wouldn’t have made an effort to see but was so grateful I did. (Like the Royal Botanical Gardens!) I walked so much that I wore holes through all three pairs of socks I packed [@Bombas, I’m so disappointed!!]. I used an entire package of blister bandaids and still had to make a stop to purchase a gel toe cover for one particularly stubborn blister. Another side note- I switched to a pair of Merino wool blend socks made by SmartWool and whoa what a difference. Goodbye, blisters!
My visit was everything I needed it to be: slower, peaceful, soul-filling, and full of experiences that sparked new interests. I bought an embroidery kit from a local vendor because I always wanted to learn, and a book on Scottish history because you can’t go to Scotland and NOT fall in love with their history. I sampled whiskey (still hate it, but at least I can say I drank whiskey just outside Edinburgh Castle in Scotland). I toured through the prettier-than-words-or-pictures Glencoe Valley and Scotland’s two National Parks: Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, and Cairngorms National Park. I’ll say it again, louder for the people in the back- I’ve traveled a lot of the world, but Glencoe left me stunned by its breathtaking beauty. It was dizzying, mesmerizing, time-stopping, jaw-dropping, and enchanting to say the least.
In 6th grade, I spent a few evenings with my Grandma in the local public library while she volunteered and I devoured every book on the Loch Ness Monster. Well, let me tell you, my ten-year-old self was so satisfied when just a few days ago, I stood in the village of Loch Ness, enjoying a traditional Scottish meal along its banks peeping out the restaurant’s windows in search of Nessie.
My worn-out feet wandered through the Royal Gardens and stood in the rooms of Holyrood Palace and Edinburgh Castle—the same gardens and rooms that kings and queens from my history books roamed (And still do!). I traced my fingers along stone walls built decades centuries before our country was founded, and stood in awe at the Scottish Crown Jewels (the oldest Crown Jewels in Britain dating back to the 16th century!). It’s still mind-boggling to comprehend how people lived in this ancient city long before Europeans discovered the continent of North America! (Also- they must have had calves of freaking steel- cuz those hills. Oofda!)
Ohhhhhhh- I haven’t even gotten to the swifties yet. CALL IT WHAT YOU WANT, but Swifties are my people. (See what I did there?). We sang, chanted, and danced. We exchanged bracelets, took each other’s photos, held each other’s belongings, and took turns retrieving drinks for one another so to avoid missing any moment of the show. I witnessed more core memories being made in those three hours than I have in this lifetime so far, saw people healing, celebrating, and taking care of one another. I know, I know…. “Never say never”…. But I have serious doubts that anyone could ever top that concert experience. Ever.
Sigh.
As we start the descent into Minneapolis, I’m still re-living this last week and a half. I can’t believe I did it. I can’t believe I - Katie, mom of 4, 37 years old - decided to go to Europe, bought a plane ticket, and went.
Who does that? Who do I think I am?
As these Boeing 777 tires quite literally touch the ground here in the U.S. my final thoughts are this: I remember now, why I love travel so much. In a time when this world feels suffocating, overstimulating, and overwhelming, travel gives me a different perspective. Our world can feel so dark and at times I’m left feeling trapped in cycles of fatigue and stress. But…. travel provides me with some renewed hope that there’s always another way to live. To cook. To eat. To learn. To commute. To love. To govern. To serve. To raise a family. To work. To BE.
…
“You’re such a more…. like…. less stressed, not busy all the time— I don’t know. I can’t describe it. You’re just so…..” Trent tapers off.
”Relaxed?” I offer.
” Yeah.”
” Yeah.”
”You…..” he pauses. “You…..”
”Look up?”
”YES! That’s it. You look up.”
”I know. It’s something new I’m trying.”
