Auld Lang Syne

I leave Scotland tomorrow.

A few words to describe how I feel at the end of this four-month sojourn:

Sad, excited to see family, friends and Nicholai, heartbroken to leave my family and friends here, proud of what I accomplished, curious about what will happen next, GRATEFUL I had the opportunity to come to Scotland in the first place, crushed that I could not stay longer, and content that I made the most of my time here.

There’s only one thing left to do, in true Scottish fashion:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne ?

For auld lang syne, my dear,

for auld lang syne,

we’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,

for auld lang syne.

And surely you’ll buy your pint cup !
And surely I’ll buy mine !
And we’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And there’s a hand my trusty friend !
And give us a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.

- Robert Burns

Mom I’m Alive

I didn’t feel right about leaving for yet another holiday without first updating quickly about my past few weeks.  I will of course be updating with more details and pictures about my last few adventures, but if you want to know why I’ve been too busy to update lately, it’s because I’ve been making the most of my last few weeks here in Scotland!

Last weekend I went on a three day cycling trip around the Isle of Lewis to see the Callanish Stones and to return to the Highlands one last time.  Since I returned, I have been enjoying the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and finishing up my remaining internship projects (to read about my internship experience in sum, please go here).  I have been steadily crossing off things on my list of things to do and see before I leave Scotland.  I only have a handful of things left, most prominently to visit the National Museum of Scotland and to have a final ‘wee dram’ of whisky.

My departure date is looming closer and closer each day (erm, I guess that’s how time works!) and I get tearful just thinking about leaving.  I love so many things about this place and I will miss living in a palace and spending time with Patty and Nat.  But I do miss my family and partner and I feel ready to return and tackle my last year of graduate school.

Also, Nicholai wisely pointed out to me “The sooner you leave, the sooner you can come back.”  Touche, love.

Tomorrow morning I leave for a week in The Netherlands!  I will be visiting my Aunt Patty and Uncle Press, who were so kind to invite me to their home.  I am beyond excited to see family, cycle and see some windmills!  And as always, to collect another passport stamp!

The Dalkeith Palace

It is my get pleasure to introduce you to my summer home, The Dalkeith Palace.

But first, as always, a little history.  The Dalkeith Palace was built upon the remains of the 12th Century Dalkeith Castle.  The Dalkeith Castle has a very rich history in Scotland.  The castle was at an important military stronghold, sitting above the bend of the North Esk River outside of Edinburgh.  The castle imprisoned Cardinal Beaton during the tumultuous Reformation period (which I told you all about after my trip to St. Andrews, remember?) .

The castle was owned at different times in history King James VI of Scotland (later known as James I, King of England), the son of Mary Queen of Scots, King Charles I, who used the estate as a personal hunting grounds, and General Monk and Cromwell, who planned the Restoration of the Monarchy and King Charles II to the throne in the castle between 1650 – 1654.

The castle was brought to ruin sometime in the late 17th Century.  The Duke of Buccleuch’s wife Anne then ordered the palace to be built, in the same fashion of William of Orange’s palace in the Netherlands.  The Buccleuchs, the largest landowners in the UK, used the palace as their seat until the mid-1910s.  During their occupation, the palace was visited by Bonnie Prince Charlie, on his fateful march south to London during the Jacobite Rebellion,  George IV during his visit to Edinburgh in 1822, and Queen Victoria in 1842.

During World War II, the palace housed the Polish Free Army.  Several decades later, it was converted into a modern facility and in the 1980s, leased to the Wisconsin consortium, which has operated the Wisconsin in Scotland program, where I am interning this summer, ever since in the palace.

The Dalkeith Palace has remained relatively true to its original look and feel since it was built in 1702.  The palace sits on a beautiful, landscaped estate of 850 acres full of farmland, bike trails, stables, and river bends.

The house is currently undergoing rennovations to its roof for the first time since it was constructed in 1702.  Even with the scaffolding covering its exterior, I think it’s the most beautiful house in the world.

A statue of the Duke of Wellington, stands proudly in the Marble Hall.  The staircase in the Marble Hall took a team of 10 marble-cutters 64 weeks to complete! The duchess had quite the affinity for marble, as evidenced by the number of marble fireplaces and bas-reliefs around the house.

On the first floor is the ballroom and gallery, home to a number of Buccleuch owned artworks.  Traditionally, a ballroom would be found on the ground floor of a country manor or palace such as this and the living quarters of the family on the first floor.  This is because, presumably, a palace would sometimes serve as a public place for ceilidhs, balls and so forth, and why would a lord or lady want the public near their private living quarters?  Therefore, the flats would be upstairs where the public were not invited.  However, Anne, the wife of the duke, instructed her quarters to be on the ground floor and the ballroom upstairs.

Original wallpaper from the 1700s.

Above is The Cavern, one of the recreational rooms in the basement of the house for students.  There is also a ping-pong room, pool room, exercise room and movie room in the palace.

Above are two graffiti stetches left by the Polish Army soldiers, who were housed on the third floor of the Dalkeith Palace during WWII.  The third is a photo of presumably a soldier’s loved one taped to the wall.  The third floor is in complete shambles (see below), but I am pretty sure a restoration is on the horizon.

As you can see, it is a very beautiful home, and I feel very privileged that I got to live, work and learn here for nearly four months.  It’s been good to me and there has not been a day I did not wake up and feel in awe to be waking up in a palace.

I also feel really lucky because when I was here, the Duke of Buccleuch and his family came by to tour of the house!  I got to meet the family and accompany them on their tour of the palace.  It was very foreign, indeed, to call someone “Your Grace” but they were very affable and friendly.