Och, a brief detour

The night before last I took the kids to a pool in Mikkeli that's dug into the side of a hill. It's a bunker, and that is very obvious as you descend the ramp in what looks like a cave. That was the coolest part of the pool, which was quite modest inside and did not have much space for the kids to swim. Just like the other pool we visited earlier in the week, it had a TV screen facing one side of the pool that was playing an aquasize video on a loop. Smart, really, and very well-used by the locals. 

I've had the chance to go out for lunch twice with my hosts at the Ruralia Institute, and they also had a coffee/reception for a research team meeting happening there, and all of these were occasions to try some delicious, traditional Finnish food. The lunch places we've gone have been buffets, and this seems to be common; they have a bunch of cold salads (vegetable, pasta, grain etc.) and some hot options (like fish or pasta), and always dessert, such as an oven pancake with jam or a whipped lingonberry porridge. Thursday is pea soup day--like it's a tradition to have pea soup on Thursdays--so I tried that the traditional way, with mustard and chopped white onions on top. I also bravely drank a non-alcoholic "home brew" that was not really recommended, and I now understand why. At the coffee/reception at Ruralia, there were munkki -- giant sugar-coated fried donuts -- and they were amazing. I also learned that a couple days earlier, when I thought they told me to anticipate donuts and meat (I didn't question it), they were actually saying mead, the drink. The kind they have is made of lemons and sugar--no honey involved. It reminded me a little of kombucha and iced tea, but it was totally unique. 

This morning we flew out of Helsinki very early and landed in Edinburgh. Our hotel was nowhere near ready for check in, but unlike in Iceland, we'd had a good night's sleep and were happy to drop our bags and head out to sightsee. It's not even 4pm and we've done the tour of Mary King's Close, walked the Royal Mile, and toured Edinburgh Castle. 

It will surprise no one familiar with both our family and the attraction that one of our children found Mary King's Close too scary. There are, admittedly, some gory stories about Mary Queen of Scots' beheading and the black plague in the tour, and it's dark down there. Somehow (read: eating sour candy, covering eyes) she made it through and has recovered. 

After some Pret sandwiches on the Castle Wynd Steps...

...we did the tour of the castle, stopping at the little piece of Nova Scotia where Brian and I stood in 2008. I have the evidence to prove it.

2008 Brian and Karen were grad students, too frugal to buy admission to the castle. We were also too frugal to buy tickets to Mary King's Close. We stayed in a hostel just down the Castle Wynd Steps, and instead of paying for admission to anything in Edinburgh (except a guided ghost tour), we just looked at things from outside and convinced ourselves that was good enough. Today I said that this trip is the one past Brian and Karen deserved. I dunno if that's true, but we have a credit card now so even if we don't deserve it per se, we are getting it. 

By paying for admission, you do get an even better view, and you get to see the crown jewels. There's a room with a mural on it that depicts my ancestor, Kenneth McAlpin, the first King of Scotland, who didn't actually get to live in the castle but is part of the story. 

In defence of 2008 Karen and Brian, looking at the castle from outside is also very cool. Now we're resting our aching feet, watching British Jeopardy, before we head back out for dinner and, ideally, a very good beer. Tomorrow we head to the countryside to visit old friends.