We had a warm welcome at the harbour of Leith, first of all the sun as usual and second a Lady piper. Arriving just ahead of schedule we had enough time to enjoy the part of Leith where is placed the Royal Britannia, former yacht of the Royal family. Most of use drove to Edinburgh either on their own or on the excursion.
This was a panoramic sightseeing through Edinburgh, passing Arthur’s seat, the beautiful shaped mountain in the town, from where you have an excellent view over the city. Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland since 1437, today live around 500 000 people in the town. It has several universities and is also an important trading place. The so-called New Town, designed and built in the 18th century is perfect example of town-planning. We stopped at the Palace of Holyrood, which is the Queen's official residence in Scotland. The Royal Mile is the famous road from Holyrood to the Castle with a lot of small shops.
Edinburgh Castle was the home of Scottish kings and queens for centuries. Today, the Old Royal Palace from the 15th century houses the crown jewels of Scotland and the main building from the 18th century the Scottish National War Museum. It is an important place of Scottish history and you still get the feeling of the past.
From the castle there is a great view and you can walk right into the Old Town with its lovely narrow streets. Here are shops and most important: the pubs. Some of us find in the shops the final gifts for their beloveds at home.
At four o’clock in the afternoon we left Leith through the lock. Two hours later we passed Bass Rock a famous bird reserve with thousands of gannets.
It is a pity that we have to leave the British Isles and in the end even the sky wept.
In the evening we all enjoyed the funny and fancy Cruise-Show performed by many of our crew-members.
