edinburgh "ed"venture

After a glitch with Swiss Air - we flew from Zurich to London, missed our flight to Edinburgh, and arrived around dinnertime in Edinburgh. 

Our first full day in Edinburg we grabbed our trusty paper map and headed out on a walking adventure, no plan in mind, just stroll to see things and get a feel for the city. We trekked up the hill to Edinburgh Castle, caught our breath, and found ourselves in the throng of humanity on the Royal Mile. Lots of people, lots of shops, and lots of little nooks and crannies and side streets to escape the crowds. We took a very steep side side street and ended up on a quiet block where there were signs pointing to The Museum on the Mound and on that building was signage for The Bank of Scotland.

Todd saw an official looking elderly gentleman standing at the back door. He came outside and all at once we were chatting about the banks in Scotland. There's The Bank of Scotland, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Clydesdale Bank, all of which are authorized to issue Scottish bank notes. 

This gentleman wasn't affiliated with the bank. He was there to open the door as people exited from the Museum on the Mound. After the "bank talk," he told us about the museum and encouraged us to walk through to see the history of money and banking and econimics in Scotland. Admission is free and we saw coins dating from the 1100s all the way to today's King Charles coins, saw artifacts tracing the history of the Bank of Scotland since its foundation in 1695, and learned about the rise of banks and building societies and the lives of the workers that kept them running. 

Back to the the gentleman with whom we had a 30 minute blether. Gordon is 75 years old and volunteers his time at the museum. He enjoys being around people and giving his time to an organization of his choice. "You have to stay active or you wind up below the dirt."