Malcolm Scotland Trip

Today we begin our big adventure by boarding an AA flight to Chicago O'Hare. We’ve made it to Chicago; now waiting to check our luggage on Aer Lingus so we can go through TSA. We’ve been here just over an hour. Our flight leaves for Ireland in about 5 hours. No problem...we are together and have plenty to read and people to watch. 🧔🏻🧒🏼 🛫

     We landed in Dublin about 6:30 am local time and hopped on a little commuter plane to Edinburgh. An hour later we were withdrawing pounds from an ATM in the Edinburgh airport. We took an Uber to the Alexander Guest House, where we are staying tonight and tomorrow night. We are thankful they let us check in just after 9 am, so we were able to drop off our luggage and plan our day. We’d already decided we should try to do something active all day so we can sleep tonight and train ourselves to function on local time.            There are lots of guest houses like the Alexander House in the Georgian style buildings on this street. Our room is on the top (3rd) level of this house, but it is a beautiful house and the room is comfortable. We walked to a small bake shop for a lovely brunch, then walked 2-3 miles to the Royal Mile, stopping at the University of Edinburgh for a brief walk around the main library. We c...

This morning we awoke more rested and ready to go. We walked toward the Royal Mile,stopping for a full Scottish breakfast, including a small serving of haggis.  Thus fortified, we headed to the National Museum of Scotland. We saw lots of historical artifacts, including some of the Lewis chess pieces which Jane likes a lot. Jerry enjoyed seeing the exhibit listing all the kings of Scotland, including several Malcolms. National Museum of Scotland The Lewis chess pieces date to the 12th century. They were found in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis. Part of the list of Scottish Kings After the museum we walked to the tourist information office and got the info and tickets we will need tomorrow to visit the castle and travel to St. Andrews.  Then we hiked back uphill to the Royal Mile and a visit to St. Giles Cathedral. St. Giles' Cathedral dates to the 12th century, but the magnificent current building was begun in the 19th century. It is known as the High ...

This morning we moved out of our room in the Alexander Guest House and left our luggage in ground floor dining room room as arranged with our hostess. We headed out toward the bake shop where we enjoyed brunch our first morning. Today they were just as good as before. Wish we could have been there for afternoon tea (perhaps on our return). After breakfast we Ubered to Edinburgh Castle for our tour. It was very interesting. We feel we have a better grasp of Scotland's royal history from their first king to their last. We learned more about the various King Malcolms, and visited a tiny chapel built in memory of Malcolm III's Queen (later Saint) Margaret by her youngest son. We also saw the Scottish Crown Jewels and the Stone of Scone. The view from the castle was stunning and extended to the coastline of Fife. After leaving the castle, we caught a cab back to the guest house to pick up our luggage and on to the train station.  After buying our tickets, we picked up som...

Today was our first full day in Fife. Our very accommodating hostess offered to drive us into St Andrews, and we began by visiting the tourism information office. They offered all sorts of helpful information. Then we had brunch in a lovely cafe next door to the public library.  St Andrews Public Library We explored St. Andrews on foot and admired the university buildings en route to the ruins of St. Andrews Castle. Ruins of Blackfriars chapel in St Andrews St. Andrews city gate St Salvador's chapel at University of St Andrews

St. Andrews Castle is a ruin, evidence of the turbulence of the Reformation. It was built by powerful officers of the Roman Catholic Church, and was the scene of many violent conflicts. Walking and climbing around the remaining structures, right on the very coast was an amazing experience. We found it beautiful and evocative. After a trip down to the water to touch the North Sea, we walked down to one of the cemeteries near the cathedral to look for Malcolms, but found none, unless they were some of the unreadable stones. Afterwards we attended a cèilidh (kay-leed),a traditional Scotish dance party at a spot recommended by our hostess. The dances looked a lot like line and square dances. We were very glad we went; it was lots of fun to watch. When we can get to a PC we will try to upload a video. Sadly we were just as inept at learning these dances as we were when we tried to learn the Texas 2-step a few decades ago.

Today was full of delightful surprises. Since we had such a late night last night, and the buses run reduced routes on Sundays we thought we might not make it to church. As we were about to walk to the bus stop Stewart, our host offered us a ride into St. Andrews. As we rode, we realized we might be there in time for church after all. Stewart said, oh yes, I'll take you to St Salvador. This is the beautiful chapel of the University of St. Andrews. The service was wonderful, traditional, warm and inspirational.  We participated in a communion service afterwards in an intimate setting, followed by a time of fellowship with the chaplain, one of the student ushers and a few others. St Salvator's Chapel    Afterwards we walked down to the cathedral ruins to go to the cathedral museum and continue our search for Malcolm ancestors. We hadn’t been looking long before Jerry found the memorial stone for his 3rd Great Grandfather, John Kilgour Malcolm (1812-1896), along w...

After concluding our cemetery search, we took a rest and had a bite to eat. Then we headed back to St Salvador's Chapel for a concert of the University Madrigal Group. It was the perfect way to end this lovely day. Stained Glass in St Salvador's Chapel Stained Glass in St Salvador's Chapel

Today Jane had appointment with the director of the University of St Andrews libraries. The university has between 9,000 and 10,000 students. Given the age of the university and the apparent age of most of the other buildings, it was surprising to learn that the main library was only built in 1976, so the style is quite modern.  Even so, the size and needs of the student body have changed a lot in 4 decades, so they face many of the same challenges that exist in other academic libraries. This library has much to be proud of, and it was a great experience to have this opportunity. Besides the modern building, another library building was created in a former church building nearby, the Church of Scotland Kirk of the Martyrs. A third even older library building several blocks away is the King James Library founded in 1612 by a gift from the King. This and the other buildings in this area are the oldest part of the university. Jerry took this opportunity to walk down to the se...