Edinburgh - Study Abroad

On Monday December 11, we traveled to Edinburgh for 2 days in the city, 1 day in Glasgow, and 1 final day in Edinburgh to explore.

The afternoon we arrived in Edinburgh, dropped our luggage at the hotel, and departed for our climb of Arthur's Seat, an ancient volcano that is now lush with greenery and tourists climbing to get a view of the city. We started this journey to avoid the rain in the morning, but instead got hit by some rain and drizzle on the way up and darkness on the decent. Regardless of the circumstances, this was one of the most fun things that we did on our trip. The view was worth the climb!

The next morning we had some free time, so I headed to do some laundry at a nearby place. I was once again greeted by the Scottish cold and rain, but it was nice to have a sense of normalcy on the trip while having some clean clothes and getting to do some shopping at the nearby mall. We also saw some Scottish terriers, which brightened the mood!

After our morning, we visited the Edinburgh Climate Change Institute (ECCI) to hear from a speaker who had a discussion-based talk and was very interactive and complete with answering our classes' questions. We talked with the speaker about the policies that are put in place for sustainability, as well as Scotland's goals for their energy production and usage.

Departing from ECCI, we then headed to the Scottish Government Net Zero Office. This was a great experience to learn even more about policy, as well as how the Scottish government approaches their goals and how to set realistic ones for the future. The most interesting part of this presentation was the segment on transportation, which included an emphasis on public transportation like buses and creating safer environment for bikers.

Our class then headed to Edinburgh Woolen Mills for some shopping. Afterwards, my boyfriend Aidan and I had booked some dinner reservations at The Witchery by the Castle, and we were able to see the city lit up by Christmas lights and get a sneak peak of Edinburgh Castle, which we would visit later on. This was a wonderful way to round out the night!

At 9 the next morning, we were back on the bus to travel to Alexander Dennis, a double decker bus manufacturer. This presentation was cool to see, as we not only learned about the busses and how they are trying to make carbon-forward models their main product, but we were able to tour the factory floor and see how the busses are made. The production floor was laid out in an organized fashion and had a giant conveyor belt to move the busses along each stage of their build. Thanking the staff that led us through the presentations, our class then headed to the Falkirk Wheel and had a quick lunch while viewing the half art installation half feat of engineering.

In the afternoon, our class toured Edinburgh Castle. The expansive castle is located in the center of the city up on a hill for all to see, and touring the facilities was fun and we got to learn along the way.

After the castle, some of our group headed down to the Princes Street Christmas Market in Edinburgh. This was a festive way to round out the evening and feel some of the holiday cheer in the city.

On Thursday December 14, our class went to Glasgow for some more exploration.

Read About It Here!

Friday December 15 was our last day in Scotland, so we knew we had to hit the ground running to make the most of it! We started the day off at the University of Edinburgh to learn about off-shore renewables, which included an in-depth presentation on wind turbines and their off-shore capacities. This was a perfect set up for the next part of the trip, which was the Flowave Demonstration. This demonstration entails a giant pool with panels to make waves and wave patterns to simulate the ocean, which makes for optimal testing for off-shore wind turbines. While we weren't able to see the typical demonstration, we were able to watch a masters student working on their project and view how the tank worked.

After grabbing some lunch, a small group of us headed to Greyfriar's Kirkyard for a scavenger hunt of sorts. Rumor has it, J.K. Rowling gathered names from this graveyard for her popular series Harry Potter. Our group searched the graveyard and found names such as Potter, McGonagall, Black, Moody, Crookshanks, and of course, Tom Riddle.

After some last minute souvenir shopping, our group headed to Tollbooth Tavern to meet up with everyone for a final group dinner. This was an awesome way to end the trip and say our goodbyes to folks who were headed off on deviated trips the next morning. The trip to Scotland had come to an end - and it was incredible!!