Edinburgh is putting its spell

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  We've only had four days in Edinburg.

Four days are not nearly enough to get a grip of  a city, but  easy enough to make you fall in love with it

Walking the Scottish capital, it  feels like wandering into an amazing  Harry Potter wizarding world with turreted buildings and secret, cobblestoned alleys (or 'closes', as they are called in Edinburgh)

There is a reason for this


When J.K. Rowling began writing the first Potter book, she moved to Edinburg and, being a single mom and quite poor, she wrote the first three novels sitting in coffee houses with her infant daughter sleeping in a pram at her side.

Some of the first chapters were written at a corner table inside a cafe in  Nicolson Street, which at the time was co-owned by her brother-in-law. Now the cafe is closed - and you see no Potter paraphernalia inside. As far as I could see, not even dementors were hanging around.


 

Quite close to the romantic Grassmarket area of Old  Edinburgh, the curved Victoria street leads up towards Royal Mile.. The street with its many colorful houses is said to have been the inspiration for the wizardly shopping street Diagon alley, where Harry Potter bought his wand.


As a wizard, you can elevate to the  upper level of the street, where you have a nice view of mugglers  walking by below.



A little bit further  up Grassmarket a  slightly hidden set of stairs called The Vennel leads up to a wonderful view of Edinburg castle, where Rowling easily could have found inspiration for the towers, turrets and deep dungeons of Hogwarts.

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