Sock Adventures: Trains and Vikings

Did that title catch your attention?  May be a wee bit of let down. I didn't meet any Norse men. One day I hope to be in Shetland for Up Helly Aa and then, I will definitely see Vikings (here are some photos from the Up Helly Aa in Lerwick this January  http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2013/02/up-helly-aa/100453/ ).  Back to my adventure. There is a new exhibit at the National Museum of Scotland about Vikings.  I popped over to Edinburgh to check it out.


The exhibit has quite a collection of artifacts from various grave sites. I learned that women of the aristocracy were thought to be able to change people's destiny, bend the thread of life. Women tended to be buried with keys, seeming to represent their responsibility for and control of the home.  It certainly was not an easy life, especially for the unfree man. But there was also beauty. The detail on the brooches, amulets, etc from times long since past always amaze me.  I did not take any photos of the exhibit but you can check out some at http://www.nms.ac.uk/our_museums/national_museum/vikings/image_gallery.aspx.

For my trip, I picked an extra soft pair of socks.

I ride the train most days.  It is my primary mode of transportation.  I thought I would take you along on my train trip from Glasgow to Edinburgh.  There are many train trips in the UK that have spectacular scenery compared to this trip and I promise to share when I go on those trips also.

And that's us.  We are coming into Edinburgh Waverley now.  Mind the gap when alighting from the train.