Two months later…

The summer of HPC has come to an end and I have the best impressions. Let’s have a summary of these couple months.

The summer started with a kick off meeting in Barcelona. Sunny weather and interesting lectures for 5 days and an awesome group of 20 people met!

Next stop was Edinburgh. The weather was a lot different! However, we had a great apartment, pretty close to the city centre (15 minutes walk to Royale mile),and next to a road with many coffee shops and restaurants, which were expensive! But pretty much everything was expensive, so that shouldn’t come as a surprise!

Cycling to Queensferry.

Although, we didn’t have the chance to see the supercomputer, since it is located far from the university, working at the EPCC was a great experience. And I am quoting the reasons that make it so great. People are super friendly and kind and always willing to help when they can. I asked where to rent a bike and my mentor, Amy, gladly offered me her old bike, whereas our cite coordinator Catherine, kept sending us long emails with all kinds of information about Edinburgh and she was very helpful every time we needed something. Also, every Friday noon we had the so called “Friday buns” where we all gathered at the coffee room to eat sweets and chat. A couple of times during the lunch break we went for a walk at the Blackford Hill, which offers another beautiful view to the city and we even watched a “Fringe at work” show . So yes, all these small details make EPCC a pretty awesome working environment!

Hicking to Arthur’s seat.

During this time of the year, the city is pretty crazy. There are a thousand performances going on. But even if someone wouldn’t like to attend any, a walk at the Royale mile is like an open theatre. Street artists are everywhere. Painters, jogglers, acrobats, comedians, musicians. Besides the cultural stuff, there are many outdoors activities, and the view is always breathtaking. For example, a walk at the Arthur’s seat, is a must see. Or if you find yourself at the Rosslyn Chapel, where a famous scene of Da Vinci Code movie took place, take some time to explore the forest around. There are hicking paths next to the river and the landscape  rewards you for the effort. Also, there are many cycling paths and you can easily go for a ride from Edinburgh to Cramond, to Queensferry or to Ratho.

Exploring my golf capabilities.

Also, one of the most fancy things I tried, and I believe everyone that comes to Edinburgh should try, was golf! And surprisingly the equipment costed only 3.5 pounds, from a pub across the Bruntsfield Link meadow. If you ever find yourself around, just give it a try and pretend that you know what you’re doing even if you are holding the stick in a wrong way (the pros can recognise it in the picture)!

To wrap up, this summer was awesome!

Cheers!