The Train to Edinburgh — Edinburgh Treni

Deniz is studying English at a language school in London. She has lived there for six months. This weekend she is going to visit Edinburgh for the first time. She bought her train ticket two weeks ago. It was cheaper than a plane ticket.

The train left King's Cross station at nine o'clock. Deniz had a window seat, a cup of tea and a guidebook. An old man with a grey beard sat opposite her. He was reading a newspaper and eating an apple.

After an hour, he looked at her guidebook. "Is this your first trip to Scotland?" he asked. "Yes, it is. I'm really excited," Deniz answered. "And where are you from, if I may ask?" "I'm from Trabzon, a city by the Black Sea." The man smiled and folded his newspaper.

"Then you are going to like Edinburgh," he said. "It has hills, old stone streets and a lot of wind." For the next three hours, they talked about the city. He told her about a small café behind the castle. "The best hot chocolate in Scotland is there," he said. He also told her about a quiet hill with a beautiful view. "Most tourists never find it," he said with a smile. Deniz wrote everything down in her notebook.

Outside, the fields were greener than in England. Then she saw the sea through the window. "It's almost as beautiful as the Black Sea," she said. The man laughed. "Almost, but not quite."

When the train arrived in Edinburgh, they stood up. "Thank you for all your help," Deniz said. "But I didn't ask your name. What is it?" The man pointed at her guidebook and smiled. Deniz turned the book over and looked at the back. There was a small photo of the writer there. It was the man with the grey beard!

"So you wrote this book!" Deniz said. "Yes, but the quiet hill isn't in the book," he said. "That one is only for people I meet on trains."