Give me a kilt

EDINBURGH, Scotland – Kilts. They’re funny-looking plaid skirts that are always an interesting thing to talk about but hard to understand.

Kilts and their equally interesting accessory, the sporran, are symbols of pride for the Scottish, as not all of them wear one regularly, save for some celebrations and events (like weddings).

They’re actually quite costly, running at about $100 for a legitimate kilt, but the Scots that do wear them have no shame in baring their legs.

The Scottish also love their history. As one of the oldest nations in the world, Scotland has a story for nearly every road, castle, loch, highland and town.

Although Scotland was a highly contested country that England wanted to control, a lot of conflicts it had were civil – many bands of Mc-clans and other families would kill each other over land and other valuables like sheep and “hairy cows” (which they pronounce coo-hs).

The Highlands of Scotland are absolutely gorgeous. With rolling hills and gorgeous greens, the sun shines through them as epic landscapes from centuries ago. There are beautiful lochs between mountains, and the clouds seem to stretch for miles and miles.

The day that my program drove through the Highlands was sunny, clear and just about perfect. It’s an incredibly beautiful scene, and I highly encourage people to see it for themselves if given the chance.

Haggis is a Scottish dish known for its unique use of sheep. It contains the heart, liver and lungs. Haggis is traditionally boiled in the stomach for about three hours. Nearly everyone I went to Scotland with tried it and said it’s a mix between meat-loaf and chicken, but that was before they knew what was in it.

Edinburgh, one of the busiest places in Scotland and the one that houses its parliament, is actually haunted.

The ghost of George Mackenzie is one of the most well-documented poltergeists and is said to actually cause harm to those who come into contact with it.

Edinburgh was featured as one of the scariest places on Earth, and some people who went on the tour actually did come out with some bruising.

Otherwise, Edinburgh has an incredible amount of late 18th-century Georgian architecture that can be seen from the black spires around it. The nightlife in Edinburgh also complements the history of the city – I can attest that the underground club called The Caves is indeed an underground club in caves underneath the city, the underground city that killed many Irish immigrants in the 1500s.

Most people know Scotland just based on “Braveheart,” and while the country itself never wanted to join England in the United Kingdom, it is an extremely prideful place that loves its vast amount of history, clans and political figures.

Scotland is by far the most beautiful place I’ve visited to date, and I, for one, would be proud to paint myself blue and run naked into battle.