London Day 1
On Valentine’s Day, the members of Dalkeith House left at
6:30 in the morning for a long journey before we would meet at an appropriate
destination later in the evening, a statue of Eros, a.k.a. Cupid. Fifty plus of
us left the house at around 6:30 in the morning on a chartered bus in order to
get to Waverley Train Station in Edinburgh for our train to London. I have to
say, traveling by train is a very civilized form of transportation. The seats
are pretty comfortable. You can get up and walk around. You can buy snacks or
bring your own. The program’s chef, Henry, had packed us all breakfasts and lunches
for the 4 ½ hour ride. We rode east and south, part of the way along the North
Sea. In some areas, evidence of heavy rains could be seen in the partially
submerged fields, but this part of Scotland and England seemed relatively
unharmed from the recent flooding.
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| Dutch Shultz (WITC), me, and Anna Lehman (WITC) at Waverley Station, waiting for the train |
When we arrived in London, the students and the faculty
split because the students were all staying in the Generator Hostel while the
faculty members and their families were staying in a hotel near the train
station.
Many folks went to the Tower of London, but my family and I
opted to take the tube to the Museum of Natural History. I’ll admit; I was a
bit nostalgic as I made my way through the tube stations. I loved traveling on
the subway system when I had attended a semester abroad program in London over
2 decades ago. Ahhh…the tube, the subway, the London Underground, some
terrifyingly steep escalators, huge advertisements along the walls of the
stations, buskers (musicians or performers playing for some change), and
people—lots and lots of people. What a way to move over a billion passengers a
year at an average of 20 miles per hour through the city (“London Underground”,
2013)! The subway trains snake both underneath the city and above ground for a
total of 249 miles.
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| Tube Map from http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/travel/downloads/tube_map.gif |
Check out “London Underground: 150 fascinating Tube facts” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/uk/london/9789966/London-Underground-150-fascinating-Tube-facts.html
Thanks to the London Underground, Ahmyn, Seryahna, Djanko,
and I made it to the Museum of Natural History. One of the great things about
it is that entry is free. In fact, most of the museums that I have visited
since arriving in the U.K. have been free. Some special exhibits require an
entry fee, but I could spend days marveling at wonders from around, under, and
above the world without paying a penny.
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| Seryahna, Djanko, and me by Dippy, the Diplodocus |
The Museum of Natural History’s building itself was stunning,
built over 130 years ago. The architecture and stonework are awe-inspiring, as
are the carvings and terracotta ornaments that are incorporated into the
banisters, the columns, the walls, the arches, the balconies…The ceiling panels
are all painted as tributes to different plants. The Central Hall is called the
Cathedral of Nature, a fitting name. Ahmyn, Djanko, Seryahna, and I walked in
and were greeted by a huge diplodocus skeleton. As we walked around, we were
amazed. Exhibits included giant stuffed moas (the gigantic – up to 12 feet-- extinct
bird from New Zealand) and dinosaur skeletons as well as robotic dinosaur
models. A model of a blue whale really put size into perspective much more than
simply thinking about a 98 foot long sea mammal. There were exhibits on the
body, sea creatures, volcanoes, rocks and minerals, and many more. We only saw
a fraction of what the museum offered; it could take days to see the whole
museum. You can check out more about the museum at its website: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/.
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| The Cathedral of Nature |
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| Charles Darwin |
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| Even the skeleton's shadows are imposing |
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| Seryahna and the robotic T-rex |
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| I am awed and overwhelmed as I walk in. |
After the museum, we decided to walk to the area where we
were going to meet most of the rest of the house for a play that evening. It
was a longer walk than we expected, made even longer by the torrential downpours.
I know, most of you in Wisconsin do not feel sorry for us a bit. We had to stop
in for some hot chocolate to revive the spirits. At least the rest of our walk was
so windy that it blew dry my soaking wet pants.
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| Eros Statue & Picadilly Circus via missvongoetz.blogspot.com |
Our destination was soon in sight when we saw the Eros
statue in Picadilly Circus. The Criterion Theatre was across the way. That
night we went with many other students and faculty went to enjoy a play called The 39 Steps. Although the play is based
on an Alfred Hitchcock film, the play was written by a Scottish playwright, and
it is hysterical. It is a fast-paced play with 4 actors play all of the 100+
parts. The main character is brought into an espionage plot when a woman is
murdered in his flat in London. He must travel to Scotland to try to clear his
name. One of the fun aspects of seeing the play was that we all had been in
Scotland long enough to get some of the jokes about the Scottish dialect, such
as a farmer having to take care of his “coos.” Laughs were had by all,
especially Seryahna and Djanko who later stated that the play was their
favorite part of the whole trip to London.
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| Me, Dutch Shultz, and Anna Lehman after a night at the theatre |
That first day was quite full…More on the rest of the
weekend to come…
