UK Adventure: Separated by a common language

A view of the city, atop Edinburgh Castle - Edinburgh, Scotland.

On a Saturday night in Edinburgh, it is abundantly clear what the phrase "two peoples separated by a common language" means. I'm speaking with a young Scottish gentleman wearing a T-shirt that reads "If found, please return to the nearest pub."

It turns out we're standing just outside a pub, so he doesn't far to travel. Judging by his demeanor, I'm guessing he's already been inside one or two…or twenty. He's trying to tell me something. I have no idea what it is. When you can only understand about one word in 10, it's hard to get details.

Edinburgh is a popular place on this evening. I count at at least 8 groups participating on what they call "hen" or "stag" parties (what we would call bachelor or bachelorette parties). Judging by their coordinated outfits and occasional costumes, they take these events seriously.

All day and night long, we spot these groups along crowded sidewalks or inside the pubs. Scotland's capital city has a population of close to a half-million. And every one of its residents seems to be outside on this day. The sidewalks are as crowded as Times Square in New York or the strip in Las Vegas.

The weatherman must have a difficult time here. Cloudy? Rainy? Windy? Sunny and clear? Yes, to all of the above. And that's in a time span of a few hours.

On Sunday, we took a train down to Stirling, home of the William Wallace Monument. The hero of Scotland has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in recent years thanks to the movie "Braveheart." But as the locals and the tour guides are quick to point out, the movie is only loosely based Wallace's life.

Back in Edinburgh on Sunday night, we discover the city has a thriving Polish population. Our waitress is from Poland -- been in Edinburgh all of two weeks. She tells us there are so many ex-pats here from her country, that all the banks have printed instructions in Polish on how to open an account.

Monday is a day with more pubs, another castle and a night-time visit to a haunted graveyard. During the trip, our guide points out the room where J.K. Rowling wrote much of the first "Harry Potter." It's a building just outside the graveyard walls. There's quite a literary tradition here. Charles Dickens got his inspiration for Ebeneezer Scrooge from an Edinburgh grave. Robert Louis Stevenson was from here.

Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, was born here. There are many other writers, inventors and famous people here with ties to Edinburgh and Scotland. Here's a book that captures a lot of that history.

A few other observations: