London... a recap.

In no particular order I will recap some of the sights and experiences I have had in London over the past two weeks (including those mentioned at the end of the last post). PICTURES POSTED WHEN INTERNET IS NOT SLOW... :)

Imperial War Museum

Without classes last Friday, Bart and I took the opportunity to travel to the Imperial War Museum. We made our way from Victoria Station (closest to Wigram House where I am living) to Waterloo Station. The Imperial War Museum can be accessed from a variety of tube stops and we saw this as the perfect opportunity to explore Waterloo (another one of London's large transportation depot's) and the area around the station en route to the museum. With a map in hand we wandered in the direction of the museum. We were drawn astray by a small street market and ended up at the war museum an hour or so later. The opportunity to follow the crowd and explore whatever interests you is one of my favorite things about traveling in Europe. With a map and a seemingly endless transportation system, getting to a location does not necessarily occur by the quickest route but the route that looks the most interesting.

The Imperial War Museum (as we later learned) is one of the first buildings of the Imperial age in London and represented a shift in the city's style of architecture. Upon entering the museum, which was free (as are all National museums in London), we were standing in a large expansive room with various planes, tanks, bombers, and heavy machinery used throughout the past 50 - 100 years. As a side note, most of the exhibits we saw were 'modern' in sense containing artifacts and replica's of situations occurring within the past 100 or so years. It was interesting to see the comparison of heavy machinery and aircraft from WWI and WWII. On display was not only the craft of the English forces but also that of other countries that was on loan or given to the IWM. I was amazed to read that during the highest production periods, Britain commissioned 30,000 or more tanks a year!

Making our way from the main entrance we continued to explore exhibits on WWI, WWII, the holocaust, human genocide, and participated in interactive displays of the blitzkrieg and trench warfare. The most powerful display in the museum was the video presentation on current acts of genocide and racial cleansing occurring throughout the world. While I am aware of the atrocities of certain races on humankind, the video presented many real life examples and raw footage of genocide that occurs daily throughout the world. Moving from the video on genocide to the Holocaust portion of the museum, I was shocked at, what I perceive to be, the world's lack of response to current racial cleansing regimes. Having recently (within 50 years) seen the terrible effect of such measures with the highly publicized Holocaust in WWII, I can not fathom the justification for such murder.

My first experience with the Imperial War Museum left me intrigued. Having only explored three of the five floors of the museum, I hope to make it back before I leave London.

Stonehenge


Ah yes, Stonehenge. Located about an hour and a half west of London most near the town of Salisbury lies Stonehenge. Having explored various ways to get to Stonehenge, we decided that it would be best, both financially and for greater guidance and information, to join the tour offered through the National Student Union. Our trip to Stonehenge and Salisbury was a mere 28 pounds including transportation, entrance to Stonehenge, and a guided tour of Salisbury. We met the group at the International Students House at 8:30 a.m. and boarded a bus with other foreign (mostly American) students.

An hour and a half later, after meandering through the English countryside, we arrived at Stonehenge. The actual rock formation is in the middle of nowhere - literally no streams, trees, major roads, cities, etc. are nearby. Not having seen any other (that I can recall) man made wonders like Stonehenge, I am still amazed how the rocks were transported from the Welsh mountains and formed in the shape and method as they were. The stone site is very much protected from further research and visitor access, however, we were able to snap some cool pictures of the site. Overall, seeing Stonehenge was very intriguing and one of those things "you have to do" in London if you have the time. However, I was glad we were only at Stonehenge for an hour and a half before proceeding to Salisbury.

Salisbury, about twenty minutes further West of Stonehenge, and the primary access point for visitors to Stonehenge via train, is the proud home to Salisbury Cathedral with the tallest spire in Britain. As part of our guided tour, we walked throughout the market areas, along the river, and towards the Cathedral. We learned that the Cathedral is home to one of three original copies of the Magna Carta, however, we opted not to pay to go inside the Cathedral and spent the rest of the afternoon wandering through a park near the Cathedral and passing by the street markets back to the bus. Overall, I greatly enjoyed leaving the fast city life of London to experience the small town lifestyle of Salisbury and see Stonehenge. (Thanks Mario for the processing on the Stonehenge picture)


Banqueting House

As a break from the accounting rigor that I endured at DU last year, I am enrolled in two 'getting to know London' classes, as I call them, and two business classes. As a component of my Art and Society class we will be taking weekly visits to various locations throughout the city to explore the contemporary art and its impact on society in London. The first weeks class (which I almost missed... nothing like waking up 20 minutes before class starts when the tube ride alone takes 25 minutes to get to class) included a visit to the Banqueting House constructed by Inigo Jones in 1619. The Banqueting House previously held great Masques and ceremonies of the royal family and was particularly adored by King Charles the I of England. Without boring you with the details, I surprised myself and recalled some of the royal history we covered during our visit. If you find yourself in London and near Buckingham Palace, it is worth a stroll near the Banqueting House to at least see the plaque above the visitor entrance commemorating the death of King Charles I who was hung from scaffolding outside the hall in protest to the amount of money and adornment he gave to the great Banqueting House.

Devising London... and Yoga

So... I signed up for this great class, another one of the 'getting to know London' classes, called Devising London. The class is described in the course handbook as exploring various parts of London through the recommendations of the group and synthesizing the experience through in class assignments. Simple enough, right? Not.

First day of class there are about ten of us sitting in the lecture hall at 2:10. Class was supposed to begin at 2:00. Anyways, to make a long story short; teacher strolls in talking very soft, we move the desks out of the way, take off our shoes and socks and start doing yoga, start moving around in the classroom in a form of interperative theater. She keeps talking about the "performance." As everyone in the class looks a little stunned, I finally question the performance she keeps mentioning. Essentially, the class is about interperative theater where we improvise, yet it's still scripted, a two hour performance for our peers at the end of the term based on our "experiences' (from assignments like going to a cemetery) in London.

As I left the class three hours later... I needed time to process what I just experienced. I mean, I am studying abroad in a new country, experiencing new things, taking risks... was this supposed to be another risk. After contemplating for hours what didn't "balance" (pun intended) with the class, I decided my time would better be spent in the other London experience class for theater. I went to the study abroad office the next day and dropped Devising London for London and Theater and could not have been happier.

More to come in the next London post (hopefully tomorrow): St. Paul's Cathedral, Harrods (times two), Merchant of Venice at the Globe Theater, and more.