Edinburgh

It's hard to know where to start writing, even though it's only been 3 days... which has felt like 3 weeks, actually. We made the flight from Minneapolis to Amsterdam in about 8 hours with no trouble, and then from Amsterdam to Edinburgh in a plane much smaller than I would generally feel safe with flying over a large body of water... still uneventful though. We finally got settled in our University of Edinburgh apartments, which give us each a separate bedroom, and two bathrooms and a kitchen to split between 5 or 6 of us. We'll stay here for a few more days, then travel to the Highlands to attempt to feel like "real Scots" as we climb, hike, bike, raft, and generally embarrass ourselves because of our great physical shape. A few of us climbed up Arthur's Seat, which overlooks Edinburgh and is the highest point for miles around. This is presumably (one of many places around the UK) where King Arthur's Camelot originated... although we'll go to several other "original" sites later. Right. For those who know what I'm talking about, my North Shore rock climbing escapade was a mere stroll compared with what we encountered while climbing up Arthur's Seat. I thought I was an athlete, up until about a 1/4 the way up the peak. Absolutely unbelievable how many "steps" (rocks jutting out the side of the peak) there were up to the top... but I tell you what, the view was absolutely worth it. On one side, we saw the entirety of Edinburgh. On another side we had rolling, luscious Scottish hills, and still another view gave us the coast, sea and various islands. Of course, I had my iPod with me so I could play wonderful Scottish music. I was re-living Braveheart. I am not kidding when I say that for once, the movies do not lie. The thing that excites me most, though, is that I know this is only the mere beginning of sights and experiences like this. We're still in a city... the largest one in Scotland, actually. Think of what we'll see in the actual countryside! If that doesn't give you goosebumps, I don't know what will. We walked through St. Giles Cathedral, where there has been foundations for over 900 years. When Jessie West and I strolled in, there was also piano music and a cello playing together. I honestly don't know how I keep running into such awesomely beautiful experiences. They say that a Christian faith doesn't play a huge part in many Europeans' lives (as I also confirmed from Gareth, an English schoolteacher who was my airplane buddy... another great story that I don't have time for) and that church attendance on any given Sunday is at 4%. But I can't help but wonder what people must think when they walk into these awe-inspiring cathedrals, where the bricks and mortar were constructed with nothing but pure grit, sweat, pain, and faith. These are monuments to our God, and they overwhelm one with such reverence and awe that no words can accurately describe what is felt. There's many, many more stories, details, odds and ends to recount, but that would a) get rather long, b) fill up too much space, c) bore you to death, d) run out my minutes on this expensive internet cafe, and e) make Jessie West very impatient with me. Take a look at the pictures. Cheers.
P.S. You'll have to go to Facebook to take a look at my pictures.. I'm still pretty blog-illiterate. Sorry. http://bethel.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2030948&id=63804086&saved#