A Scottish Spring Break

On Wednesday morning I took the train from London to Leuchars station in Scotland. It was about a six hour journey, which was pretty long, but very scenic (I saw so many sheep and rainbows) and no one sat beside me, so I had an entire row to myself. 

After arriving at St. Andrews my friend greeted me, but had to run to choir rehearsal. I explored a bit myself and got acquainted with the medieval city. I've never been in such a visually ancient place before. There are stone building everywhere that have existed for centuries, and around town there are all kinds of medieval ruins. 

Toward the beach in St. Andrews are the ruins of both a cathedral and castle. A long time ago--like in the 13th century--St. Andrews was the most significant religious place in Scotland. There was an enormous cathedral, which held the relics of an important guy, Mr. St. Andrew. Pilgrims from all over Scotland came to see the relics and worship in a fancy gothic church. When the reformation happened in the late 16th century, Protestants basically destroyed the major religious site, and today there remains only ruins. 

Interestingly, in those days, church and state were one in the same. The bishop of the cathedral had his own castle, which after poking around in it yesterday, was pretty stereotypical of castles we see in movies. It had a drawbridge, dungeon, and tunnels running underneath to escape invaders. It seems high church officials enjoyed a rather lavish lifestyle, until invaders attacked or the townspeople decided to behead or burn their religious leaders.  

Sam sings in choir at St. Andrews, and I have enjoyed lots of great music. The choir is about to tour in America, so they've been preparing a lot for the trip. His roommate is also an organist, and showed me their university organ yesterday, which really puts UNC's university organ to shame. I even sang in compline last night with student at St. Andrews, which was fun. It was in another ancient church, complete with candle-holding chandeliers suspended from the ceiling. 

I've been pubbing several times. There are many pubs in St. Andrews. I'm going to miss their fun atmosphere and cheap drinks when I'm back in Chapel Hill. Tomorrow, I'm headed to Edinburgh bright and early. 

-ES

Cathedral ruins 

View of St. Andrews