Always the thoughts occur away from a computer on which to write them.
I had a wonderful trip a few weeks ago with my sister in Ireland and the UK, though she would have enjoyed less sightseeing than I.
I met up with her here, outside the British Library. I think this was the first time I have seen people lined up to get into a library. Inside we got to see many old works, including two copies of the Magna Carta.
Regents Park was beautiful.
And of course we made it to Trafalgar Square.
With the Olympic countdown clock.
Somewhere down there is Number 10 Downing Street. The Doctor made it seem like you could get much closer; I don't know how he manages to get in so easily.
This is over one of the doors on Westminster Abbey. I am not sure if you can read it, but below each figure is their given profession. The one on the far bottom right is the Engineer. Why so far away from the middle?
I have never noticed so much external plumbing anywhere else I have visited. It seemed perfect to climb on, but my sister held me back. Just little a parkour? Pleeeeasse?
This is a portion of the London Underground. What a messy system. Here in Germany I am used to the U-bahn, where you enter a station and go down a set of stairs, or an escalator for the lazy, and you are at the platform. Not so in London. There you enter a station, pass through a set of gates that you need a ticket to unlock, go down a hallway for 100m, take an escalator down 4 levels, turn right, go 200m bearing left, down a small set of stairs, 100m, turn right or left, and you finally reach the platform. I think you could spend your whole life lost underground. The picture is of the tunnel from the actual station (platform) over to the Science Museum, a good 500m at least.
The Imperial War Museum. Having visited many Aerospace museums, which tend to have a lot of exhibits devoted to different wars, and having a desire to learn history, it was interesting to get a new perspective on wars, especially WWII.
We got to see Singing in the Rain, a wonderful production in Westend.
Well we didn't want to pay out our nose for tickets, so we bought them
in the above the nose-bleed section. I could definitely understand how lower down would be a better view, but it was still wonderful to see. They even had it rain on the stage!
It does not show very well in this picture from the apartment we staid at (I must have taken it too late), but there was a "lovely" London fog every morning.
Our passage over to Ireland was with a fairly foggy see. I never expected the see to have fog. I think I expected once you got far enough out away from land, it was clear.
Benjamin Guinness, member of Parliament for the city of Dublin, gave money for St. Patrick's Cathedral.
Inside St. Patrick's Cathedral. Many plaques and signs and things to read. Did you know there were knights of the Order of St. Patrick?
Not the best picture, but I thought it was inspiring.
A fine cheese shop in Galway.
The Burren. We got a walking tour around an old farm.
I took a bus to get back to Germany, and I got to ride through the Chunnel!
I remember learning about the Chunnel as a great engineering feat of modern technology from when I was little. The history/science books described how the used laser to guide the digging from two ends, but never expounded beyond the building into how it actually functions. From when I was young, I always pictured it as a multi-lane road under the water. This led to thought of "What happens if there is an accident?" and "Would they have any rest-stops or service station?". Being older I stuck with that childhood imagination and did not think too deeply on how it actually functions. But now I know! Blackbox opened!
It is not a road, but a rail-system with the massive trains which cars and buses can drive directly into. There are two tunnels for trains (I assume one for each direction), and an emergency one in-between for people to evacuate to from the trains.
Because I took the bus, I had to change in Brussels. Sadly I did not have enough time to explore (really even less time than I did take), but now I know I want to go back. And it is very close. :-)
A last thing to mention is the people. In a nutshell, Londoners are terrible at giving directions, and the Irish are very friendly and helpful, having a laid-back manner quite different from the Germans.
Nic
