Edinburgh Fringe: Goodbye & Good Riddance
The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is the world's largest performing arts festival, running almost the entire month of August and featuring more than 3,000 scheduled acts.
I hate it.
Yes, I'm being a buzzkill, but I warned you about that on the homepage. Every August, the population of this city nearly doubles. Public transport becomes unusable and the city centre turns into a sweaty hellscape of clueless tourists, try-hard artists, and annoying day drinkers.
If you hate the crowds and you aren't entertained by pseudo-edgy comedy, lame acrobatics, or goofy interpretative dance, your options are to hunker down in your flat like it's quarantine again, or leave the country.
But it's finally over! The cobbled alleys and verdant parks are ours again! My favourite time of year is rapidly approaching. The temperatures are dropping, the days are getting shorter, and soon the leaves will start to change. Autumn and Winter in Edinburgh is a vibe. I like the moon being high at 5pm, cold winds rattling the windows. The posh English transplants will head south with the birds and there will be a sense of quiet and calm over the city.
And if this all sounds wonderful to you, forget I mentioned it. Don't come. You really wouldn't like it. (It's mine.)