雖然第一次逛城堡是一件很好玩又值得慶祝的經驗，不過原本Edinburgh Castle不是愛丁堡最吸引我的地方。但相信各位應該可以輕易感受到，我一點都不後悔來愛丁堡。城堡之旅，簡直就是『撿到』的好運。因為每件美好的事情都會有連環效應。因為這座城堡，讓我對蘇格蘭歷史開始感興趣。好巧不巧，這一陣子BBC也開始轉撥一系列的蘇格蘭歷史紀錄片。[可用BBC iPlayer觀看。UK限定]
不過我的中文程度，大家也知道，不是挺好。如果要我來陳述這座城堡的複雜歷史，恐怕有損城堡的尊嚴又會被冠上誤人子弟的罪狀。或許我上篇承諾的太爽快。一想到要用我的破中文來解釋這段複雜的歷史，簡直比寫essay的壓力還要大。大家還是輕鬆看看圖，隨便看看文字，想要多了解什麼，我再去試著幫你找出答案來好囉！？
上篇分享的幾乎都是戶外的圖片。下篇分享的大多都是室內的展覽。在St. Margaret禮拜堂裡，有位工作人員正在對旅客解說歷史。不過我沒注意聽。原因是，我剛好開始聽的那段，他正在解說電影『英雄本色』中所描素的William Wallace跟實際歷史有多麼不符合。因為我沒看過那部電影，也知道這是好萊塢喜歡亂改寫歷史的壞習慣，我就沒多注意聽了。
不過剩下來看到的，可是樣樣都充滿了長久的歷史背景。一間這麼大的城堡，鎖住了多少歷史？豈是光晃一圈就能全部吸收的了的？
The reward of having Edinburgh Castle as the first castle I had ever visited in my entire life was obviously as priceless as it can ever get. Nonetheless, I must remind you that it was not Edinburgh Castle that lured me into wanting to visit this amazing city. You can tell from the amount of pictures I took, that I was not at all disappointed at having visited it. I think it comes down to the fact that when you wish for something good, you almost always get more than what you had originally asked for. Because of this chain reaction of positivity, I have been inspired into learning more about the history of Scotland. And as everything is always related to everything else, I happened to have found a series of documentary on the founding of this amazing country on BBC!
However, I still feel that I am not qualified to give you a detailed description of the history of this castle. I do not know enough about it, and there is so much to tell. On top of that, the pressure of having to translate what I have learned from English sources into Chinese amounts to even greater stress than having to write academic papers. Therefore, I am asking you to read this with delight. If you happen to have any questions, let me know, and I will try my best to find the answer for you.
The pictures I posted for the last article composed mainly of the outsides of the castle. In this article, you will see the insides of the castle. Speaking of which, there was a bloke in St. Margaret's Chapel who was explaining the history of that part of the castle to some tourists. I did not listen too intently, but one thing did catch my attention, and that was the part about the movie 'Braveheart'. It is worth mentioning here because as we all know, Hollywood has the inclination of changing history to suit their own dramatic effects. The bloke complained about how the William Wallace was nothing like the dude in the movie. I could not devote too much attention to what else he was saying, simply because I had not seen the movie.
Well, the rest of what I saw in the castle was replete with historical significance. Just how much history can this castle hold? How much information could I possibly take away with me?
Stone of Destiny 又稱 Stone of Scone, 中文叫做『斯昆石』是蘇格蘭所有歷代的國王加冕的時候使用的砂岩。這塊砂岩，牽扯到的歷史人物有原本將他安置於西敏寺[Westminster Abbey]的愛德華一世[Edward I]以及號稱號稱護守著真正的斯昆石的聖殿騎士[Knights Templar]。其實真正的斯昆石，是到了1996年才開始歸這座城堡保管的呢。
The 'Stone of Destiny', also known as the 'Stone of Scone', was used during the coronation of kings in Scotland. The history of this rock involves many important historical sites and figures, namely Westminster Abbey, Edward I, and surprise, surprise, the Knights Templar! The stone did not arrive at this castle until 1996.
各式各樣的旗幟。
其實來到這裡是禁止拍照的。不過我大老遠的跑來這，又背負著『駐利物浦記者』的使命，再怎麼說也是要冒著生命以及名譽損毀的危險拿出相機，關掉閃光的偷偷拍回來給大家看。各位不用怕會不會看完我的遊記自己就不用親自來愛丁堡看了，因為這座城堡真的是超出你想像中的大。光是一台小小的相機，是不可能將他所有的精華都拍到的！
Photography was not permitted in most of the indoor displays. However, I have a mission to show you what it is like here. It was well worth putting my reputation and life at risk just so I could share these pictures with you. And you need not worry about me spoiling everything, because there is so much to see here, that these pictures are only the tip of the iceberg!
不知道是哪位國王。
為了不辜負自己身為『英國文藝復興與十八世紀時期文學』的學生，當然要拍下莎大人筆下四大悲劇之一主角『馬克白』囉！沒錯！確實真有此號人物的存在。莎大人當時所參考的歷史『參考書』是一位叫做霍林斯赫德[Holinshed]所撰寫的『編年史』[Chronicles]。不只是『馬克白』，許多莎大筆下的歷史以及悲劇劇作都是參考他的編年史寫出來的喔。
I simply could not walk away from this without taking a picture of it. Otherwise, I would be unworthy of my MA. Yes, Macbeth was a real person. Shakespeare based most of his tragedies and especially historical plays, on Holinshed's Chronicles of England/Scotland. 'Macbeth' was just one of them.
The Crown Jewel of Scotland
這當然不是真的。寶劍、皇冠、以及權杖保管在一個隱密的小房間內。所有的地方我都能冒著生命危險猛拍照回來給大家看，唯獨這裡不行。因為...光這一個小小幾坪不到的房間內，就有兩三位警衛守護著這具有歷史性質的昂貴寶物。來到愛丁堡城堡，可千萬不能錯過這個小房間。他可以說是這座城堡的精髓。而守護著這些寶物的警衛們也不是省油的燈。我與我朋友在某展覽櫃前呆滯了幾十秒，就有一位跑來跟我們解說每一個小細節背後的意義。有趣的是，這位大叔剛好用了我喜歡的方式解說：互動方式。每當提到一個新主題，他都會先問我們有沒有人知道答案。例如：Who is the patron saint of England? Who is the patron saint of Scotland? 【誰是英格蘭的主堡聖人？誰是蘇格蘭的主堡聖人？】解答請反白：St. George 聖喬治; St. Andrew 聖安德烈。
Again, photography was not allowed in the room where the Crown Jewel of Scotland was kept. This time, I simply could not risk my life. For I could not imagine the penalty that awaited me. You must realise how much the jewelry was, and still is, worth to understand why I was unwilling to risk the danger. It was a marvelous sight. Every single design meant something significant. If you ever come and visit, you must not miss out on this room, for it is the single most important room in the whole of this castle. Something else worth mentioning, is the guards that keep watch over the jewelry. They all know the history and details of the pieces, and could tell you everything you woudl like to know. I enjoyed the explanation because it was very interactive. Every time before he explained something, he would grasp our attention by asking us a question. For instance: Who is the patron saint of England? Scotland? [If you are reading the English section of this article, I trust that you should know.]
城堡不只是外觀看起來壯觀，從室內都可以『俯瞰』個個不同的角落。難怪皇室總是有一種『高高在上』的感覺。
The spectacular view was not just from the outside of the castle, but viewing from the inside outwards was also quite breathtaking.
很壯觀的景色吧？
Great Hall
不知是哪個時期的盔甲。
Great Hall 全景。
Great Hall 另一角。
原來不是每座城堡都有地牢[dungeon]的！？真是打破了我們對城堡的迷思。會不會是因為愛丁堡整座城市本身就有太多地牢了，所以城堡才會只有這麼普通的監獄？不過話說，之前貼上篇時有網友指出城堡與淡水紅毛城的相似度。其實我覺得外觀怎麼看都不像。不過寫到這裡時，我才熊熊想到走到這我還真想起了不知道是紅毛城還是台南的某個古蹟裡他們所安置的『聲音特效』。當然這裡的做的複雜也細膩多了。
This was the first time that I had realised not every castle had a dungeon!? Perhaps I was just misinformed or mislead into believing that every castle should have one. Nevertheless, the castle prison was just as 'enjoyable' I suppose.
犯人的娛樂＋食物也都展示出來。
這是士兵的堅牢。
這位老兄犯的是：站崗時喝酒！人像做的其實有點.....不過看看他們所犯下的罪狀其實還蠻有趣的。跟我來的因為是住同一棟樓的好友，我們一走進去就說：簡直就是我們的寢室嘛！[有看過我房間照片的人可能會不同意。不過我必須說我的房間真的是整層樓裡面坪數最大的...有空間做瑜珈＋偶爾招待朋友是好處，不過暖氣沒開時就知道有多慘囉！]
This picture has a moral lesson: Please Drink Responsibly. The bloke was caught drunk on guard. Come on! How stupid can you be. One thing that caught my attention was how much it actually resembled my own room back in the halls. You may not agree if you had seen the pictures I had posted of my room, but you have to realise that my room is actually exceptionally large. Most of the rooms in the halls are actually quite small.
兩三個小時就這樣過去了。雖然有點捨不得，但我們才短短一天半的時間，還有好多東西想要擠進來這段時間。再加上天氣又溼又冷，真的覺得不能在這裡耗下去了。不過離開之前，還不忘了先添飽肚子才上路。
It was hard to believe that time just flew by. It was hard to say goodbye to the castle, but we were racing against time. There was so much more we wanted to see, but so little time. To compound, the weather was making it difficult for us to remain outdoors. However, I felt that I could not leave until I had satisfied my empty, grumbling belly.
有點不是很好吃的麵包。Bread that I didn't really like.
讓我非常訝異的『蘇』菜湯。Delicious Scottish Stew!
滿足了食慾之後，爬上了城堡的最頂端再次看到雨中的朦朧愛丁堡美景。雖然嘴上一直抱怨著天氣又溼又冷的，但心裡卻是非常滿足的離開。
After my belly was happy, we climbed up to the tallest point of the castle, and took a short one last look. However much I had complained about the weather, did not really affect the wonderful impression I have had on this amazing castle.
隔天在Princes Street 看到的愛丁堡城堡。
我將永遠記得你。因為你是我這一生中第一次『邂逅』的城堡。
I will always remember you, as the first castle I have ever encountered.
下篇預告：Ghost Tour
英國留學全記錄 Studying in the UK (5)