My alarm went off at 4:45 in the morning so I could catch a flight from Dublin to Edinburgh. It was one of those days that starts a bit brutally, but once you are moving, you are committed. The flight itself was short, then a bus into the city centre, and suddenly Edinburgh was there in front of me.

The first thing that really caught me was the castle from Princes Street Gardens. Morning light helped, of course, but Edinburgh does have that kind of presence anyway. It looks like a city that takes its own history seriously. After breakfast, I walked through the Old Town, wandered the streets a bit, and had one of those slightly ridiculous but memorable tourist moments taking a photo with a man dressed as a Scottish warrior. There was a bit of drizzle at one point, but not enough to spoil anything.

Later, I spent some time around the Royal Mile, looking through the shops and watching the city do its thing. I always like places where history still feels physically present in the streets rather than tucked away behind glass. Edinburgh is very good at that. From there I made my way to Calton Hill, which gave me one of my favourite views of the day. The city opened up properly from there, especially with the sun still holding.

After that I visited the Palace of Holyroodhouse and walked on toward Arthur’s Seat. By then the day had slowed into that good kind of travel tiredness where you have already seen enough, but you are still glad you kept going. I finished with dinner near Calton, then headed back to the airport. My flight was delayed and I was exhausted by the end of it, but it was still worth doing. Edinburgh has enough character to carry even a very short trip.