Pottering around Edinburgh

Yesterday and today we pottered around Edinburgh, peering into its castle, shops, museums, alleys and festival preparations. Most of our time was spent in the castle. There's a lot of Scottish history crammed in there.

Just near the castle was a shop with a working tartan loom--clanking, whirring, rattling, but nevertheless working.

Edinburgh is built on different layers. Walking to the end of one alley, you find yourself on top of the shops of another layer. From a distance, all you see is the upper terraced texture.

The castle itself broods over the city. This afternoon it stopped brooding and started moping and wailing over the city. Or was that the weather?


Once inside the castle walls you discover a source of embarrassment: the Scots didn't know how to make good billy-carts. These are hopelessly heavy, have high friction wheels, and absolutely no steering. (That's what comes from using a gift from the Duke of Burgundy as a model.)
With Edinburgh's sloping streets and a better billy-cart design, the Scots could have ruled the world.