Time to Reflect: March 31, 2013

We flew back to Chicago on Easter Sunday. It was also Daylight Savings Time in the U.K. I didn't realize that Daylight Savings Time was different from the U.S. in the U.K., and it was unfortunate that we had to lose an hour on the day we left. We had to get up at 4:30 AM, which felt like 3:30 AM because we had an early flight. The flight from Edinburgh to London was relatively painless. They served a traditional English breakfast on the flight, our last chance for traditional British food. We spent several hours in Heathrow waiting for our flight to Chicago. It was an extremely big airport with signs saying that certain gates were a 10 minute or even a 20 minute walk away from the main shopping and eating centers in the terminal. One thing that Stefinie and I noticed was that the cartons of cigarettes that they sold had not just a surgeon general's warning, but also SMOKING KILLS and SMOKING HARMS YOURSELF AND OTHERS. This was in big contrast to the U.S., where the risks of smoking while definitely acknowledged, are minimized, especially on the packaging.

Heading home gave me time to reflect on what I missed most and what the contrasts were between home and London and Scotland, aside from what I have mentioned before. When you are traveling such as on a train or a plane, they don't announce the platform or the gate until several minutes before boarding. We didn't find out the gate of our plane until about an hour before we took off and less than half an hour before we boarded. This is in extreme contrast to the U.S. where you may be able to know your gate at least a day in advance if not before. This suggests that although London is a fast paced city, they are possibly more relaxed than Americans. They don't need to have such rigid plans. This is just an assumption, but it is also supported by the lack of clocks in public places and homes. We didn't have a clock in the palace, and it was difficult to find one in the airport except on TV. It made me conscious of how much I keep track of time throughout the day when I had to struggle to find a clock.

I also missed home cooking, as I often do when I go on vacation. Scottish food is somewhat different from what I'm used to, although I enjoyed it for the amount of time we were there. I'm sure I would have eventually missed American food if I had been there for longer. Related to that, apparently American only serves Dr. Pepper on domestic flights, so I could not get one of my favorite drinks from home, although it really wasn't a big deal.

It was nice to be back home in a familiar place. The temperature here was definitely warmer, and the snow is gone--at least for the time being. But to be honest these environmental factors are just minor inconveniences compared to the excitement of being in Scotland. I learned a lot and had a valuable life experience. I saw truly what my capabilities are in regards to being independent. It was a true opportunity for growth for me, and I will appreciate that forever. Although we may speak the same language, there is a completely different culture in the U.K. from many aspects. There is no doubt that I am grateful for what I have at home, but I also am thankful to have been able to travel and learn about another part of the world. I hope I get to go back someday, and if I don't, at least I can say I've been there and gained a lot from it.

Note: Thank you to the Dellers for an amazing trip! Wisconsin misses you! :)

Final Days in Scotland: March 29-30, 2013

View from the bus

Rock Garden

Queen Mother's Garden

Pinecone ceiling

On our second to last day in Scotland, we took an on-off bus tour of Edinburgh. This particular bus tour was all about the contrasts of Edinburgh, which was very fitting because the contrasts are quite visible. Edinburgh is divided into Old Town and New Town, which makes sense because Edinburgh is very much about the old and new. The tour allowed us to see parts of Edinburgh which we hadn't seen before, particularly in the New Town--which isn't very new. We saw where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born--there is a pub and a Sherlock Holmes statue commemorating him. The bus stopped at the Royal Botanical Gardens, and we spent a couple of hours there. Given that it was still March and very cold, not much was growing, but there were some very pretty flowers blooming in some areas. One of the most interesting things was the Rock Garden, which was basically a big rock formation with water flowing and a few plants growing. We saw some interesting trees that we called Charlie Brown Christmas trees. The garden would have been more spectacular at a time when things were growing, but my favorite part was the Queen Mother's garden, which was a garden made as a memorial for the queen's mother when she died. You could just tell it would be beautiful when things were blooming, but I really enjoyed the little house that was built inside the garden. The inside of the house had walls covered in seashells and a ceiling covered in pine cones. It looked like very intricate and time consuming work. There were places to sit by the windows, and I could just imagine it to be the perfect place to sit and read a good book on a nice day. Although nothing much was in bloom, it was nice just to get out and walk around in the fresh air. It reminded me of one of my favorite places around home, Olbrich Gardens, although the gardens in Scotland are much, much larger. We saw some interesting plants in the greenhouse, and it made me think of my grandma. I think she would have enjoyed the gardens very much. It was nice to be somewhere that reminded me at least a little bit of home for a while, and for once I was thinking more about similarities than differences.

St. Giles Cathedral

Inside of the cathedral

Heart of Midlothian

After the gardens we took the bus tour back to the Old Town and went to St. Giles Cathedral. It is a very famous cathedral in Edinburgh, and it is an extremely beautiful building, like so many of the cathedrals we've seen. My experience is that there are many grand cathedrals in Europe, and even the prettiest churches at home can come nowhere close. The inside of the cathedral was just as beautiful as the outside, with a lot of detail in the architecture. One of the most notable aspects was the gigantic organ. It was a gorgeous building, but what struck me the most was how much they have embraced the fact that the cathedral is a tourist attraction. To walk around the cathedral is free, but you have to pay two pounds for a photography permit to take pictures and another extra fee if you want an audio guide. They also have a gift shop and a restaurant inside the cathedral. While this is much cheaper than admission into Westminster Abbey or St. Paul's Cathedral in London, it still struck me as odd that a cathedral which still held services would turn so literally into a tourist attraction, complete with gift shop and restaurant. Next to the cathedral, on the ground, is the Heart of Midlothian, which commemorates the site of a prison. Locals walk by and spit on the heart. After St. Giles we made another round on the bus tour and saw the sights of Edinburgh for one last time before heading back to the palace.

By the water

Gorgeous view

On our last day in Scotland, we went down to the water in Edinburgh. One of the amazing things about the city is that it has just about everything--old buildings, modern architecture, city streets, residential areas, hills, and ocean. We took the bus to the ocean terminal stop and got out and walked around next to the water. We made a circuit around a walking path near to the shore, and it was nice just to be out in the fresh air with a little change of scenery. Coming from Wisconsin I don't get to see the ocean, so it was nice just to be able to walk down by the water and take pictures. From the shore we could see one of the islands, and we could also see the Highlands and just horizon. On the ocean was a shopping center and a carnival, very similar to what you might see in a city on the ocean in the U.S. But we also saw the Royal Yacht Britannica, which is the queen's yacht. We didn't tour it, but there are many things related to the royals pretty much anywhere you go in Scotland. It's a big part of the culture in the U.K. that is quite different from home.

The Orangerie

Bridge on Dalkeith Estate

After spending some time at the water, we headed back to Dalkeith and explored the grounds of the estate. It is basically a large park that many people come to walk their dogs or exercise in. There used to be a playground as well, but they tore it down. On the grounds is an amphitheater, stables, a bridge that was apparently a wedding gift, and most importantly, the Orangerie. The Orangerie is an architectural structure that is very detailed and beautiful, just like much of the architecture we saw, but it has been allowed to fall into disrepair because its upkeep is far too expensive apparently. It's a shame that an amazing structure such as this is being allowed to fall apart. Hopefully one day they will be able to find the resources to fix it up. Seeing the grounds of the Dalkeith Estate was a great way to end our last day in Scotland. I was extremely fortunate to be able to stay in such a great place. I enjoyed the entire trip. I didn't want to leave, and I would definitely go back if I had the chance. That doesn't mean that I didn't miss some things from home though.

Chapels, Castles, and Palaces, Oh My: March 28, 2013

Rosslyn Chapel under construction

Thursday was our second full day in Scotland. We got out and explored the Royal Mile a bit more. But first we went to see Rosslyn Chapel. It's a beautiful little chapel outside of Edinburgh with a lot of history behind it. I've posted a link to the website because we weren't allowed to take pictures on the inside. The most interesting story about the chapel had to do with two columns inside the chapel. You can see pictures of these on the website. One column was designed and carved by a master carver. To carve the second column, he decided to travel to get inspiration. While he was gone, his apprentice had a vision in a dream of a carved column, and he carved the second column in this way. The apprentice's column was so much more intricate and beautiful, that although the master carver's column was beautiful, when he saw his apprentice's column, he went into a jealous rage and killed him on the spot. The master carver was then sentenced to death, and they carved a sculpture of his face into the chapel; it is positioned so he must look at his apprentice's work for all eternity. The chapel is made of sandstone, and many of the carvings have worn away with time, such that there is much speculation on what some of the carvings are. Virtually every surface in the chapel is carved, so although it is small, it is amazing to see all the detail. The chapel was featured in the book and movie The DaVinci Code. There are also rumors that The Holy Grail is located somewhere in the chapel. There is a lot of upkeep involved with the chapel because it is made of sandstone, and, as we all know, it rains a lot in Scotland. Hopefully they can continue to maintain it. It was one of my favorite sights in Scotland. There was so much history in that one little chapel, and the story of the carver and his apprentice has such a classic theme. The tourism of the chapel grew immensely after the book The DaVinci Code was published, which is when they created the museum aspect of it so it just goes to show how globalized anything can become, even tiny chapels.

Inside the chapel

The Castle

In the afternoon we went to Edinburgh Castle. The castle is at the top of the large hill that Edinburgh is built into. There are a few different exhibits to see inside the castle. We saw the Scottish crown jewels, which were very few compared to England. It was funny that after seeing the crown jewels in London, the Scottish crown jewels really did not seem like a big deal, even though they were extravagant in themselves. We also saw the Great Hall, which was basically a big room with tapestries and armor on the walls. We saw a chapel that the king had built for his mother. There was also a cave of sorts in which one of the oldest kings had lived. In addition we  saw where prisoners were kept. On a side note, there was also a cemetery where soldiers' dogs were buried. They really loved their dogs in Scotland. Grey Friar's Bobby is a legendary dog who supposedly laid on his master's grave for 12 years until he died. There is now a restaurant dedicated to him as well as a statue. The castle was yet another example of history in the midst of modernity. That even showed within the castle itself. The rooms had been renovated to at least some extent to make them more accessible to tourists. We were able to take a car--literally--closer to some of the exhibits and up to the very top. It was kind of strange to see an actual car driving on the castle grounds when it is so ancient. We


Edinburgh Castle

noticed that there were people living right next to the castle. That in itself seemed strange to me. It would be very surreal to be able to say that my apartment is right next to a castle. That's not something you see at home. Castles are these grand, ancient structures that I imagine to be far from any sort of living space or even city. But in Scotland, and much of Europe I suppose, the cities are built around them, and they become a mundane part of the scenery. You can see the castle from all over the city of Edinburgh; it usually can at least be seen in the distance. I don't think I would ever get used to or get tired of seeing something like that every day.

We ended the day with a tour of Dalkeith Palace led by the Dellers. We saw most of the palace, including student living spaces, the supposedly haunted laundry room and weight room, and the library and classrooms. As one may expect of any old house, there are a lot of ghost stories surrounding the palace, and certainly some of the rooms were a bit creepy. It's basically a big, creaky, old house. It was interesting and fun to hear all the stories. The palace is owned by the Duke of Buccleuch, who is the largest landowner in Scotland and second largest in the United Kingdom, next to the queen. Apparently when he moved to his house in London, he took all of the best furnishings out of Dalkeith Palace. It's still quite a grand place--who would have expected to live in a palace when traveling in Scotland? As is much of Scotland, it very much represented the mix of old and new, being a very old house (or used-to-be castle) outfitted with modern conveniences including Wi-Fi. It may be pretty much a dorm, but it looks a whole lot nicer than my dorm building. However, it was extremely cold inside. I wore a lot of layers while in the palace. But overall I wouldn't mind staying there again. I found the grounds of the Dalkeith Estate to be even more interesting than the actual house though. More on that in the next post.

Goodbye London, Hello Scotland: March 26-27, 2013

On Tuesday we left London to head to Scotland. We took the underground to King's Cross station, the location where Platform 9 3/4 was filmed in the Harry Potter movies. King's Cross has taken full advantage of this connection. There is a long line to stand and get your picture taken trying to push a cart, which is mounted on the wall, through the platform. There are two employees who entertain the people in line and help set up pictures with scarves for every house, which are taken by a photographer and which you can buy if you like for 8 pounds or so. However, there is no rule against having other people take pictures for you with your own camera for free, which is what we chose to do. Still, King's Cross now has a Harry Potter shop that sells all kinds of Harry Potter paraphernalia, and they definitely capitalize on this global phenomenon that attracts all kinds of people. It is true that movies or books that are filmed in certain places, such as James Bond or The DaVinci Code, attract tourists from all over the place and contribute to the global culture that I have been talking about.

At the train station I had my first Cornish pasty, which was my first experience of truly British food. A pasty usually consists of meat and potatoes in a pastry shell. The one I ate had chicken, potatoes, and Indian spices, because Britain is actually heavily influenced by Indian cooking. Because India was a British colony, Indian food is quite popular and a major part of the culture. You can find Indian restaurants everywhere.

We boarded the train to Scotland in the afternoon, and it took about 4 1/2 hours to get to Edinburgh. The train was pretty fast moving, but I saw some pretty countryside that contrasted greatly with the urban environment of London. There were rolling green hills that most people associate with Scotland and overall beautiful scenery, including quaint little towns. We also got to see the ocean. This scenery is not only very different from London, but also from home. This combination of green hills and ocean is not very common, and it was refreshing to see something besides city. When we got to Edinburgh, we took the bus to Dalkeith, where we are staying. When I came out on the street in Edinburgh, I was struck by how beautiful everything was. I think the architecture is prettier than London. The buildings along the Royal Mile of Edinburgh are very intricately detailed and amazing to look at. Again, Edinburgh has a mix of the modern and historical, but you can see much of the effort that has gone into preserving the buildings. We also got our first glimpse of Edinburgh Castle, a major focal point of the city.

Dalkeith is a very quaint little town, and the Dalkeith Palace is very pretty, although very cold, and very much a creaky old house, especially with most of the students gone for Spring Break. We got here at about 7:00 p.m. or so, but almost everything was already closed. Even in Edinburgh, most places are closed by 6:30 p.m. This was extremely surprising to me as back home most places in big cities can be open until between 10:00- midnight or later, and in small towns until about 10:00. It's strange to have to plan our schedule around this, and we are back at the palace by about 7:00, or at least headed back because everything is closed by then. Our first night here we tried our first Fish and Chips with brown sauce, which is a kind of vinegary sauce which is very popular here. They were good, and it was exciting to say that I had had authentic British food.

Palace of Holyrood

On Wednesday we went to breakfast at a restaurant in Dalkeith where we tried a full Scottish breakfast, which included pork sausage, beans, ham, hash browns, toast, a half of a roasted tomato, mushrooms, black pudding, an egg, and a potato scone. I tried a little bit of everything, even the black pudding, because I think it is important to try the native cuisine. After breakfast we went to Edinburgh and walked down the Royal Mile to the Palace of Holyrood, which is the Queen's summer home. It was very pretty, and the rooms were very elaborate. We weren't allowed to take pictures on the inside, but the tour took us through the history of the royals that designed the palace and lived there; there was a lot of interesting information. Edinburgh is basically a city built on gigantic hills, so many of the streets are very steep, and the topmost point is the castle. It took a while to get used to the inclines, but all of the buildings were beautiful and interesting to look at. At lunch I tried haggis for the first time, and it actually wasn't bad. I decided since I was here I needed to try it--it's part of the local culture, and I want to experience that as much as possible.

View from museum terrace

I learned some interesting things about Scotland. There are almost no bathrooms in public places--instead there may be one public bathroom that many businesses share. Many Scots also think that all Americans own guns. They are very anti-gun in the U.K., and there are a lot of regulations you have to comply with in order to own one. Also, the National Museum of Scotland is free, which has an amazing view from a terrace on the 7th floor. In fact, they think that all museums should be free for the sake of education. This is not the same viewpoint as the U.S., where they charge you for practically everything. I also noticed that even if they do charge admission in some places, some may let you come back for free for a year, or there are discounts and family rates available that aren't always available in the U.S.

The last thing we did on Wednesday was go to Tesco, basically Scotland's Wal-Mart for how common it is, the grocery store. It had everything a normal grocery store in the U.S. does, but it was interesting to see which brands you could find that were also in the U.S., and what was different. For example, they don't use high fructose corn syrup in their juice here. These are small differences that can set cultures apart in large ways. We also watched Brave last night, which seemed very appropriate even though we didn't make it to Stonehenge. So far I love Scotland, and next up is Edinburgh Castle!

Note: Non-captioned pictures from Google Images

London Calling: March 25, 2013

Outside the Sherlock Holmes Museum

Given the events of yesterday, there was still a lot to accomplish in our last full day here. We started off the morning by going to Baker St, where there was the Sherlock Holmes museum. This museum is a replica of what Sherlock Holmes's house would have looked like if it was real. It was pretty cool for anyone who was a Sherlock fan, and I enjoyed it, even though there were some really creepy wax figures. Judging by the line to get in, the museum is quite the popular tourist attraction, and it is another example of globalization. Sherlock Holmes is known throughout the world and is a popular figure in pop culture. Baker St., where the museum was located, is a street with many shops to browse through. We went in to the Beatles store, which just sells all kinds of memorabilia from t-shirts to original vinyl records. I'm a huge Beatles fan, so it was fun, but not much of anything that I couldn't find in the U.S. But the Beatles are just another example of globalization as they were and still are a world famous band. Many of the shops and restaurants around here are the same as back home. I've seen a lot of McDonalds, Starbucks, Subway, Forever 21, H&M, and much more. This again shows how our favorite things from home are actually all over the world and part of a common culture that many people share. There are a fair share of U.K. chains and unique stores as well as souvenir shops, but there is plenty of evidence of commonalities between the two cultures.

From Baker St. we headed back to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards, which is a ceremony that usually takes place daily when the palace guards change shifts. There is a big procession of guards and men on horseback, and they play march and play music as well. We were pretty far away, so we couldn't see as well as I would have liked, but it was still interesting to see. Since we don't have a royal family at home, this kind of thing doesn't really exist; although, there is plenty of fanfare, although not quite in this fashion, when the president comes to visit different places. It makes me wonder if I would feel loyalty toward the queen if I was from here, this figurehead that has a lot of historical importance. The U.S. is founded on ideals that reject royalty and kings with authority, so, even though the royal family are more of a representation of the country than anything else nowadays, it really isn't part of the culture I am from.

After changing of the guards, we headed to an art museum located in the Somerset House, which apparently is literally someone's house who basically donated part of it for this museum. It looks like a palace. The museum had some pieces by famous artists such as Degas, Gauguin, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, and Picasso. Many of these were on loan from art collectors. One of the pieces was Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear by Van Gogh. It was awesome to see some paintings by artists I recognized, a benefit to coming to such a historic city.

Somerset House

After the museum we headed to Abbey Road. On the way there it was quite a long bus ride, and we got to see parts of London we hadn't seen yet, including some shopping areas. While I didn't do much shopping while I was here, something that struck me was that many of the modern shops are built into the old buildings with elaborate architecture. Another example of the blending of the old and new that I talked about before, something very different from a lot of the scenery I would find at home.

Abbey Road

When we got to Abbey Road, I was very excited, even though it's just a street. The crosswalk is actually a zebra crosswalk, which means that legally pedestrians have the right of way to cross. That doesn't mean that you should actually spend a lot of time when there is traffic trying to replicate the Abbey Road album cover. There were a lot of people doing that though. I did get a picture crossing the street, but it was pretty busy when we were there, so it was quick. I also got a picture of Abbey Road Studio, and of course the Abbey Road street sign. This was one of the things I was most excited about. Again, The Beatles represent commonalities among U.K., U.S., and global culture. Another item crossed off my bucket list!

St. Paul's Cathedral

Westminster Abbey

Finally, after a short break back at the hotel, Stefinie and I ventured out one last time to see St. Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. We went past visiting hours, so we could only take pictures from the outside, but at least we got up close. St. Paul's Cathedral was used in the Feed the Birds scene in Mary Poppins for those who are unfamiliar, and Westminster Abbey is the famous church where Prince William and Kate Middleton got married. This is how Americans recognize these sites. They are extremely beautiful buildings, and I'm glad I got to see them. London is also beautiful at night; next time I come I may have to go on one of those bus tours by night. As I was taking pictures though, I couldn't help but wonder how I would feel if I was actually a resident of this city. Would I still be awestruck by the beauty of the historic buildings as I am now, or would they simply be commonplace, and would I be annoyed at seeing tourists with cameras everywhere? Since I am not from a large tourist destination, I can never be sure. I think I would love to live in a city of such historical significance. Hopefully those surroundings never become mundane to those who live here, because that would be a shame. That's just another example of the difference between two cultures, not just U.K. and U.S., but also of tourist and non-tourist destinations.

One last note to provide before I sign off for the night: I was identified as American by the server at dinner because I ordered hot tea. She thought that was funny; I guess they don't say hot tea here. One more thing I've learned. London has been amazing, but it's on to Scotland tomorrow (or I guess today actually). I'm looking forward to it!

 It's been great, London! Next time you hear from me, I'll be in Scotland!

Losing Myself in London: March 24, 2013

On the boat

Big Ben and Houses of Parliament



Westminster Abbey from a distance

Yesterday was our second day in London, and quite an eventful one at that. We started off the morning with a boat tour that came with our on/off bus tour passes. We rode the boat down the River Thames and got to see a lot of things from a different angle than on the street. It was rainy and cold again, but I can't complain too much because I'm here. We got off the boat near Parliament Square, which is where the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey are located, as well as a bunch of other beautiful buildings. We took some pictures, and then we were on our way to see Buckingham Palace for the first time.

View of The Shard from the boat

Something interesting happened while we were waiting at the bus stop. We were waiting there with a family from Germany when a police car pulled up. The daughter in the German family, who looked about 13-15 years old, started jumping up and down excitedly and taking pictures of the policeman and his car. Stefinie and I, as well as the bus tour guide, were all extremely shocked by this. We expected the policeman to get mad, or at least drive away. She was what would be considered to be harassing him in the U.S. Not to mention that it seems pretty disrespectful, at least by most social norms, to take pictures of a cop car without permission or at all. The girl's mom was taking pictures of her taking pictures of the car. It was very strange. Then something unexpected happened--the policeman gave her his hat to try on and take a picture with. It was a pretty funny incident. It's a good thing he turned out to be good natured and friendly! That's something I would have never seen in the U.S.


Buckingham Palace Guard

We took the tube (the subway) to Buckingham Palace. This was my first experience with a subway because back home we don't have one where I grew up. Even when I have travelled to bigger cities, I've never used it before. I have to say that I like the system. It's pretty efficient, although we did encounter some parts of lines that were shut down. It makes me wish that this system was available in the Madison area. I feel that it would be a nice way to get around without driving and many people would make use of it. It was also pretty easy to navigate if we knew our destination. The only thing I didn't like was that not all stations had elevators. Because so far my experience had been that the whole city was pretty accessible, I was not expecting that one of their major public transportation systems would not be. The major stations were mostly accessible, but it was some of the smaller ones that may have been closer to our final destination that were not. Overall, however, it was an interesting experience.


Buckingham Palace



Buckingham Palace Gate

We got to Buckingham Palace via Green Park station, which is actually located in Green Park, which is connected to Hyde Park. There were many walkways through the park that led to some tourist destinations, including a path that involved about a five minute walk to Buckingham Palace itself. It was a pretty park to walk through, although it would have been better if the weather was nicer. I got my taste of the park since Hyde Park, which I had initially wanted to see, is all torn up because of the Olympics and the weather. On a side note, there were waffle stands in the park, which is something you don't see in the U.S. but I believe is common in Europe. When we got to Buckingham Palace, we took a lot of pictures. I got to see the palace guards, although I couldn't get a very good picture from the gate. I did not expect them to move as much as they did, although they were mostly marching back and forth, probably because it was cold. I felt like a crazy tourist when I was snapping pictures of those poor guys. The gates of the palace were painted with gold at the tops because of the jubilee. It was very pretty. One item crossed off my bucket list!

Sketch by Leonardo DaVinci

After we went to the palace, we stopped at the Queen's Gallery, which had part of the royal family's art collection. The theme, which they change periodically, was the Northern Renaissance. It was nice because I got a student discount, but then something else also came as a surprise. Because I had a disability, Stefinie, my companion, was allowed to get in for free in order to "assist" me. It had never even occurred to me to ask as this would have never been suggested in the U.S. I also noticed that cars on the street stop for me more than they do for other people, which is interesting (and also nice!) because pedestrians only have the right of way in certain crosswalks here. If you jaywalk here, you will probably die! That's definitely different than in the U.S., and especially Whitewater, where many students cross the streets on campus without looking to see if cars are coming. The art exhibit was interesting. I didn't recognize many of the pieces, but I did see work by Albrecht Durer, Hans Holbein the Younger, and Leonardo DaVinci, as well as some rare books written by Erasmus and Thomas More, all names I recognized from AP Euro in high school. It is really nice to be in a place full of so much history, so different from home.

Walk through Green Park

And then we got lost. Stefinie and I were by ourselves for the first time in the city, and we lost our way trying to get back to the hotel by tube. It was an honest mistake--there were two stations by the name we were looking for, one was the street of our hotel, but the other was a neighborhood north of central London. We would have realized that we were going the wrong way if the line we were on had not been shut down. As it was, we had to leave the tube station without knowing where we were, and we got on a bus headed toward the neighborhood instead of our hotel. On the bright side, we got to see a lot of London we hadn't seen yet, especially some residential areas. When we got to the bus station in the neighborhood of the same name as our street, the bus driver very kindly pointed us back in the direction of the correct bus. We caught the right bus from the station, and the next driver was very helpful to us to find which one to transfer to in order to get back. We finally got back to our hotel after quite an adventure. Luckily people were very helpful and friendly, and it was mostly during the day which helped. The downside of course is that we lost a few hours of sightseeing time, but it worked out in the end, and I can chalk it up to life experience. It was a good thing we had day passes for all public transportation though! The whole experience got me thinking about how public transportation represents how well a society can function. When all the lines and routes are up and running things flow very smoothly, but when something goes wrong, whole sections or parts can shut down and affect everything. And, as it turns out, I got to see pretty much everything that was on my list for London.

First Impressions: March 22-23, 2013

We arrived in London yesterday morning. Because it was foggy, I couldn't see anything really remarkable from the plane. We got off the plane and went to get our luggage. I always like to compare airports, especially ones in foreign countries, to U.S. airports. This is because, since I have a disability, airport employees often give me "special treatment," some of which is advantageous, but a lot of which is not. Heathrow is very big, but at the time we were there it wasn't particularly crowded. We got a buggy, which is British English for those carts that take people around the airport, to take us closer to customs and baggage claim. It took us about two minutes to get through customs because they let us go in a short line, something that would have never happened in the U.S. regardless of the length of the line. I have yet to find out what security will be like, but from my experience it will probably be less painful than in the U.S, where I am discriminated against because I walk with crutches, which may have explosives in them or something. I have only been to Europe once before, but in Poland when I was there, while they still wanded me, they didn't take nearly as long or were nearly as invasive as they are at home.

The next step in our adventure was to find our way to the hotel. We went to the Heathrow Express, which was underneath the airport. The first thing I noticed was there weren't as many airport employees around as there are in the U.S. We basically had to figure it out ourselves because of that. It was pretty easy to navigate the airport, and we found our way down to the train where we bought tickets. I was pleased to see that the train was very handicap accessible, so there were no difficulties associated with that. However, with no employees around, Stefinie and I had some issues with the luggage. They don't let you bring the luggage carts on to the platform, so we had to negotiate that with Stef moving one bag while I watched the other and so on. We got on the train, and it was a 15 minute ride from Heathrow to Paddington Station. This was where we got our first glimpse of London. Here, again, I didn't see much that differentiated London from other big cities I have been too. But I knew there were many exciting things to come. We got a taxi and finally arrived at the hotel. As this was my first trip out of the country alone, it was quite an accomplishment for me as well as Stefinie. We were exhausted from our trip and spent most of the rest of the day recuperating from the flight and exploring our hotel.

One thing I noticed about London, and the U.K. in general, was, of course, the accents and the differences in the English language. For example, here they call elevators lifts, the subway the tube, and lines queues. The differences haven't been hard to figure out, but it's interesting to hear these different terms. Even in the same language there are elements to the different dialects that almost create new languages, which one has to learn in order to function well in the society they have entered. Our tour guide even mentioned some obscene gestures that differ from in the U.S.

We started off with a continental breakfast in the hotel. This was not like a typical continental breakfast in a U.S. hotel, with eggs, bacon, pancakes, and so on. There was a selection of breads and pastries, meats and cheeses, fruit, yogurt, and other items. It was extremely similar to the style of breakfast they served in Krakow, Poland when I went there. In fact, the entire day I was noticing many similarities between the two countries that show a common European culture. The architecture was very similar in both countries; I even saw a church that looked near identical to one in Poland. The main similarity was the blending of the modern with the historical. In London you can look one direction and see beautiful old style architecture on many historic sights and cobblestone streets, and you can look another direction and see completely modern architecture with paved roads. You can see much of this in Krakow as well, and I find it to be one of the most striking differences from the U.S. I have not been anywhere in the U.S. where this blend is as pronounced as the places I have visited in Europe.

Big Ben

View from the bus

Today we went on a on/off bus tour, which took us to several different stops where we could get on or off as we pleased. We saw most of the major sights of London, including Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace (or at least part of it because the buses aren't allowed to drive around the front), Westminster Abbey, and St. Paul's Cathedral--the steps of which are featured in Mary Poppins in the song "Feed The Birds, Tuppence A Bag." We also saw famous streets such as Picadilly and Fleet Street, home to Sweeney Todd. I got a lot of pictures from inside the bus, which was good because it was snowing, raining, and cold outside. London is still a beautiful city, even with bad weather. It was surprising to me, however, to learn that it doesn't snow much in the U.K. On the news they were reporting a large snow storm, when in reality it was maybe one to two inches in some places, and it didn't even accumulate in London. As a Wisconsinite, this was also a big difference from home, where one to two inches doesn't affect anything, but in places where no one knows how to handle snow, it can shut whole cities down.

 One thing I noticed about the people on our flight was that they were from all different countries and going to all different destinations. Heathrow is a major hub, and it seems that London is a cultural hub as well. On the tour we passed by several different areas of the city, many of which contained ethnic restaurants. I especially noticed a lot of Indian restaurants, as well as a China Town on the map. London is a melting pot like the U.S., it seems.

Stefinie and I in Trafalgar Square

On the bus tour we learned about many of the main sights, but I also noted how the guide was appealing to tourists. He mentioned a hotel where Justin Bieber stayed, as well as sights where parts of Harry Potter were filmed (which were very exciting to me of course), as well as where Daniel Radcliffe went to school, and where the nearest Abercrombie & Fitch was. He knew how to appeal to Americans visiting. We stopped in and walked around Trafalgar Square, which looks very similar to Time Square in New York. There were many American restaurants, including McDonald's, KFC, and Starbucks, and we even went into M&M World. The use of old buildings for modern stores was another example of the blending of old and new that I talked about earlier, and it just shows how globalization of American culture has affected other parts of the world.



Tower of London

Tower of London

We spent the rest of the day touring the Tower of London, which was basically the place where King Henry VIII lived, as well as where executions took place and the prison was. There were some very beautiful buildings, the insides of which had mostly been turned into museums of arms and armor, the kings of England, the executions, and the prison. We saw the place where Anne Boleyn was beheaded, the inside of the prison, artifacts owned by the royal family, the crown jewels, and much more. It was a very interesting history lesson and showed how much times have changed. It was also a very eerie place, maybe given the weather, but also with all of the executions and imprisonment. Going back to the accessibility issue, the Tower of London was actually decently accessible; given its historical significance that sometimes can prevent remodeling, it was pretty easy to get around overall. I could get into most of the areas, something that was more difficult when I was in Poland, where they don't put as much emphasis on accessibility.

Tower of London, building where the Crown Jewels were kept

The crown jewels were very interesting to see and very beautiful, but I was struck by how over the top they were. To think that they lived/live in such extravagance is amazing to me, particularly with seeing homeless people on the streets in the same day. As the tour guide even mentioned, London is a great city but still has its struggles with poverty like everywhere else in the world. It was interesting to see that contrast.

Overall, while there were some key differences, London seems to be your typical urban environment, similar to U.S. cities, although more historically significant. I was struck by how much of my knowledge of London comes from pop culture, so I am excited to learn more about the city itself and what it has to offer. More to come as I continue my tour of London, and then on to Scotland in a few days!