I assumed since I had lived in cold North Dakota my entire life, heading to the city of Edinburgh in the beginnings of winter would not pose many problems for being cold. Oh, how wrong I was.

There was absolutely no snow during my entire weekend there, but it wasn’t necessary. I got off the train and was promptly greeted by a blast of almost-icy wind, along with a splattering of rain.

It was at this point I dug around in my backpack and realized that I had forgotten my umbrella back at my flat in Preston, England. Faint hints of unease settled on my mind, but I shoved them aside, zipped up my waterproof jacket and headed out into the elements.

After walking into a rainy headwind for about ten minutes, I found one of the small flaws of having a waterproof jacket. My torso was dry, true enough. The jacket did its job admirably. However, every ounce of water that hit the jacket drained down the front and proceeded to soak my pants, which weren’t even slightly waterproof. Decidedly less admirable.

I didn’t have to spend long in this wet, windblown and bedraggled (not to mention cold) condition before I started wishing for some good old North Dakota snow. At least snow doesn’t soak your pants and remove all of its warming properties.

I then stumbled upon a great idea for travelling the rest of the way to my destination: I zigzagged from coffee shop to coffee shop. There were several reasons for this. For one, I got some piping hot coffee at the first one. In addition, they were consistently warm. And lastly, I could use the hand dryers in their restrooms to warm up my soaked, cold pants.

And that is how Edinburgh stole the last vestiges of my dignity.

Lesson learned. Always bring an umbrella to Scotland.

I make it sound bad, but in truth I absolutely adored my time in Edinburgh. The city is beyond beautiful, with the buildings of “Old Town” dating back five hundred years, and the crags of Arthur’s Seat, an extinct Volcano, looming over the city.

If you’re feeling adventurous, you can hike to the top of Arthur’s Seat to get a beautiful view of the city. But be warned: at the top you can lean at a thirty degree angle and still have the wind hold you up. Your hat however might be in grave danger if you do not hang onto it.

If you’re feeling slightly less adventurous, you can head to the Elephant House, the coffee shop where J.K. Rowling wrote significant portions of the first Harry Potter book. Your hat will be perfectly safe while you try to channel your inner Rowling over a small pot of tea.

In spite of the patchy weather, Edinburgh has much to offer, from Edinburgh Castle, to a proliferation of tiny little alleys, to buildings from the 1500s, to the oodles of shops on the Royal Mile. You might notice something about many of the shops in Edinburgh. Woolen wear abounds. There’s a reason for that.

Rio Bergh is an NDSU student studying abroad in Europe. In his “A Bison Abroad” column, Rio gives his first-hand account of what it is like living in Europe as a student from Fargo. His column is published every Thursday.