Cambridge

This past weekend I decided to head to the college town of Cambridge. As is often the case, the tube line that I live near was down for the entire weekend for repairs. Luckily I was able to hop on an overground train to get to St Pancras station. The train ride didn't take long, perhaps an hour total. It was about a mile or so into the center of the town from the train station. I had gone out the night before so I stopped by a cafe to get some coffee and a sandwich. Emerging refreshed from the cafe I was ready to explore Cambridge. I wandered around for a bit, checking out the market square and eventually decided to get a tour from the town's tourist office. This turned out to be a really good idea as there were graduations going on at a couple of the different colleges and some areas were closed, making sightseeing a little difficult.

We started the tour at the old Saxon church. Interestingly, he pointed out that the church was built similar to the Roman style of building because architects in those days thought large buildings needed to be very solid, with very few windows. The contrast couldn't be more different between the Saxon church and King's College Chapel, which we later visited, as the chapel is full of windows. The second photo below is of the Saxon church's graveyard.

We then made our way past Queen's College and King's College as the guide told us more about the university. Cambridge University is made up of 30 colleges which are run somewhat independently; so much so that occasionally a college will shut down if they don't manage their individual endowments well (hasn't happened for some time). Below is the entrance to King's College.

Just as it started to rain we made our way into the King's College chapel. To call it a chapel seems kind of strange. The "chapel" is huge, more like a cathedral. It was difficult to take photos in the chapel but I gave it a shot (no pun intended). There are amazing stained glass windows (all of which were removed and hidden during WWII) and the Adoration of the Magi by Ruben. To me, one of the most amazing things was the incredible fan vaulted ceilings.

After the tour I made my way to King's College square and Trinity College square (below). There are both really pretty and look like something out of Harry Potter.

Before leaving I walked to the other side of the River Cam known as "the Backs" because it is the area behind the university. The river is very pretty and there were a lot of people on punts making their way up and down the river. I snapped a couple more pictures of the university, as well as one of a couple professors leaving the graduation, then made my way back to the train station.

Battle, 1066 Trail, Rye

This will be a fairly long post as it was a really, really long day. I started in London, taking the train to the small town of Battle in East Sussex. Battle is the site of the famous Battle of Hastings (Hastings is a town on the English Channel, not too far away) where the Normans under William the Conqueror defeated the English, commanded by Harold Godwinson. It took a good 90 minutes to get there by train, followed by a brief walk to the town center. After the battle, William had the below Abbey built on Senlac Hill, the actual spot where the battle took place and Harold, the last Saxon king, was killed.

Having read so much about the battle, it was interesting to finally see the landscape on which it was fought. Harold certainly picked his location well. Senlac Hill is much steeper than I would have imagined. Prior to the Abbey being built it was even steeper as the top had to be levelled for construction. By placing his army on such a steep hill, Harold was able to negate some of the advantage the Normans held in their use of cavalry. Below is a photo of a pond at the bottom of the hill, the area at the bottom is quite marshy. The second photo is of the Abbey atop Senlac Hill, taken from the Norman position.

After walking the loop around the battlefield and checking out the museum, I set off on the 1066 Country Walk. This trail runs from the town of Pevensey on the English Channel (where William the Conqueror is thought to have landed) to Battle, continuing on to the small medieval town of Rye. I was picking up the trail roughly half way through, as it is approximately 31 miles long and the stretch I planned on hiking was 15 miles. It started out well enough and it wasn't long until I was in the East Sussex countryside.

It is very pretty country with sheep absolutely everywhere. In fact, there was quite a bit of wildlife; everything from rabbits to sheep, pigs, horses, chickens and even more sheep. I had a couple maps but not the suggested surveyors map. After all, it's England not Alaska, how hard could it be to find your way?!? Well, these country walks are very different from anything in the States. You literally are walking through people's fields and backyards, jumping fences and climbing walls. Apparently in the UK you are allowed to walk anywhere, as long as you leave to place in the same condition in which you found it. It's a neat concept but made it particularly hard to follow any sort of designated path. Below are a couple pictures of the trail.

I wish all parts of the trail were as clear as these two pictures. As you can probably tell, I eventually got lost. I wasn't the only one as I met, and hiked with, a guy from Essex who was attempting the do whole trail in one day. He eventually gave up and walked into a town. I pushed on for awhile until I realized that I was hopelessly lost. I came across a older guy taking photographs and asked for directions. He pointed out a distant church steeple and told me which town it was in. It was at that point that I realized I had somehow hiked almost in a complete circle. At that point I made my way to the nearest town, determined to figure out a better means of getting to Rye. Below is a picture of one of the many flocks of sheep and one of the (far too few) signposts.

Determined to expedite my journey to Rye I caught a bus on the edge of a town. Once in Rye I grabbed some fish & chips and settled on a bench by the waterless River Tillingham to take a break. Even though the fish still had the scales on them (which I hadn't seen before) it tasted pretty good.

Rye is one of the medieval port cities which made up the Cinque Ports Confederation. The Confederation was tasked with the defense of the coast and, in return for their service, did not have to pay taxes. The town sits atop a steep hill and has a very maritime feel about it. Unfortunately for Rye, in the 15th century the port began silting up and Rye now sits 2 miles from the English Channel. This all but stopped the growth of the town, allowing it to retain its small town, medieval charm to this day.

There are a lot of neat little shops, restaurants and inns in Rye. I made my way to the 900 year-old St. Mary's Church in the center of the town. The below picture is from the church's graveyard looking in towards the town. The second picture is of the church's clock, the oldest in the country, which supposedly inspired the nursery rhyme "Hickory Dickory Dock". The third picture was taken as I approached the church.



I then walked a block over to the Ypres Tower (below) which is on the edge of the town facing the Channel. It was originally built in the 12th century as part of the town defenses. The second picture below is taken from the front of the tower, looking out towards a wind farm in the distance (note all the sheep in the foreground).


Just as it started to rain I made my way to the train station in Rye to head back to London. I was definitely worn out and exhausted but had a day I won't soon forget!

Buckingham Palace & Queen's B-day

I went to Buckingham Palace on June 14th for the Queen's official birthday. Apparently this is not her actual birthday, but rather, the state's celebration of her birthday. In other words, no matter who is on the throne, this date will always be celebrated as the monarch's birthday.

I spent a good amount of time waiting around for the Queen's arrival (as did a lot of other people). Apparently, the Household Cavalry and Horse Guards parade with the Queen through Westminster, ending at Buckingham Palace. While we waited we were entertained by the military band and took plenty of pictures of the Palace Guards as they paraded and prepared for the arrival of the Queen.

Finally the Queen arrived in her carriage (notice the blue speck towards the back of the carriage). She was greeted with lots of cheering, waving of flags and music. She then ascended to the balcony accompanied by her family and stood there waving for a few minutes. Somewhat anticlimactic, but then again I don't know what I expected.

After awhile the Horse Guards and Household Cavalry paraded past (below left), followed by the Royal Artillery who prepared the 63 gun salute (below right, Royal Artillery and Band).

After the gun salute there were a series of fly overs by the RAF. The coolest one being the famous Spitfires which saved Britain during World War II, as everyone cheered and applauded. The final fly over was also cool as the jets trailed red, white and blue smoke behind them. Once the fly overs were done the Queen went back inside and everyone dispersed. Again, somewhat anticlimactic, but interesting nonetheless. Notice the royal flag on Buckingham Palace signifying that the royals are in residence (below right).

After the Queen's birthday celebration I went to Appley House (sorry, no pictures). It was nearby and was pretty interesting and had a good (and inexpensive!) audio guide. Appley House was the home of the Duke of Wellington. It was interesting to see a 19th century aristocrat's home as it had been in his lifetime. The historical foundation which administers the house has done a lot of painstaking restoration work to make sure it appears as it did in the Duke of Wellington's day. It was full of his paintings and gifts he received after the Battle of Waterloo. Oddly enough, the current Duke of Wellington and his family still live in a closed off portion of the house. In all, it was a pretty interesting and exciting day which I finished off by going on a pub crawl through London!

Greenwich

The next weekend I chose to go to Greenwich on Saturday and explore the National Gallery on Sunday.

Greenwich is a beautiful town not far from London. Historically, Greenwich was the retreat of the monarchs but London has grown so large that it is nearly part of the city now. I bought a ticket at the Westminster Pier (right near Big Ben/Parliament, see London 1 posting for map) for a boat ride to Greenwich. It was probably one of the more inexpensive ways to get to Greenwich, certainly the prettiest, and included a narrative by one of the crew (he only asked for a tip at the end). Below are some of the photos from the boat trip including Parliament, the HMS Belfast with the Tower Bridge in the background, St Paul's Cathedral, and the Tower of London.

After arriving at Greenwich I explored the Royal Naval College, the Painted Hall, the Chapel of St. Peter and St. Paul, the National Maritime Museum, the Queen's House and the Royal Observatory (the location of the Prime Meridian). All these things can be done pretty quickly and are within easy walking distance. As you can see from the pictures, it was a beautiful day. So I also enjoyed a couple pints in the outdoor section of a nearby pub. None of the sights in Greenwich are exactly mind blowing, but combined with the boat trip it all made for a very enjoyable day.

(Left) View from the Royal Observatory with the Queen's House in the foreground and the City (the financial district of London) in the background. (Lower Right) View from the back of the Queen's House towards the Royal Observatory

London 2

I chose to spend my first weekend in London exploring the city a little more. Being a history nut, I made my way directly to the Tower of London.

It was fairly crowded but I don't think there is any way around that. It was pretty easy to find, take the tube to the Tower Hill station and follow the crowds. Luckily I was able to get into one of the Yeoman Warders (Beefeaters) tours which were included with the price of a ticket. They start at the entrance to the Tower every hour.

It was a good one-hour tour which provided a lot of info and, most importantly, gave you your bearings in the Tower (which is a fairly big complex). He also gave tips on what to see and in what order to avoid the crowds.

To the right is the White Tower, the oldest and (to me) most interesting part of the Tower. The setup inside had an exhibit on Henry VIII'th armour and weapons. It was fairly interesting to see how he progressively grew fatter, but I was more interested in the earlier history of the place.

After the White Tower I jumped onto the second half of another tour so that I could go into the Chapel (my original tour was cut short for a baptism). It was pretty interesting. In front of the Chapel is the spot where executions of important people took place, most famously Anne Boleyn. People who were less important were executed outside the tower, on Tower Hill, so that they could be viewed and ridiculed by the crowds. The last execution was an 80-year old Scottish nobleman, Lord Lovat, a Jacobite rebel.


To the left is a guard in front of the Queen's House with one of the famous Tower ravens in the foreground. The legend says that when the ravens leave the Tower, the monarchy will collapse. Although I don't foresee this happening as the ravens are chained to their perches.

The final thing I saw inside the Tower was the crown jewels. They were pretty amazing and well worth seeing. The below picture is of the famous Tower Bridge, taken from the ramparts of the Tower of London.

Finally, of interest to any fan of Bedknobs & Broomsticks, I made my way to the antique market on Portobello Road. It was pretty interesting and lively, but I can't say that I found much worth buying.

The next day I took the tube to the Lambeth North station and walked over to the Imperial War Museum. For a history buff such as myself, it was amazing. I could have wandered around for hours. The audio guide is not necessary as everything is labelled very well and in any case, there is so much stuff you are going to have to pick and choose what you look at.

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London 1

After arriving in London on the morning of May 18th, I decided to spend the first couple days exploring as much of the city as possible. Its a huge, very diverse city with lots of museums, restaurants and pubs. More languages are spoken in London than anywhere else in Europe. Below are a few of the most famous/interesting sights from my first foray into the city. I primarily focused on Westminster, popularly known as the area which houses the United Kingdom's government. Everything in and around Westminster is pretty easy to find. Westminster has some of the most famous sights in London: Parliament & Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery, the Banqueting House, etc. The Jubilee Line on the underground (which is the line nearest to where I'm staying) has a stop at Westminster and as you can see on the below map, everything is pretty close and accessible by foot.

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Westminster Abbey (above) is an obvious must-see for London and the first place I went. It can be a little crowded, but the audio guides do a good job of explaining the most famous spots in this amazing and historic place. There is so much history in this building, the audio guides really are a must. Without the guide, it would be very easy to miss something or not fully appreciate what you are seeing. On July 7th I'll be returning for Evensong being held at the Abbey in celebration of Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday. Below is a shot of Big Ben & Parliament (notice the large police presence due to a protest in support of the Tamil Tigers). I haven't yet been inside Parliament, although I have tickets for the 'Prime Minister's Questions' (PMQ's) for July 15th. This is when the Prime Minister is brought before Parliament and made to debate/answer any questions for a half hour.

Trafalgar Square and Westminster Abbey/Parliament are within easy walking distance. I walked up Parliament Street, which turns into Whitehall, passing the Banqueting House on my right. I have not yet been there, but it is the site where William and Mary officially accepted the crown and most famously, Charles I was executed on a scaffold outside the house.

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I was able to snap the above picture of one of the ever present double-decker buses with the London Eye in the background on my way. Also on the way to the square is the Horse Guards Barracks. They offer parades from time-to-time, but generally have a couple guards on horseback posted in front during the day. Makes for a good picture!

Finally I reached the famous Trafalgar Square (below). This photo was taken from a bench at the foot of the National Gallery. Although there isn't much to do in the square, it is a famous London landmark and generally considered one of the main centers of the city. The second picture is a better view of Nelson's Column, the focal point of the square, with the National Gallery in the background. The column was erected to celebrate Lord Admiral Nelson who defeated the French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar, effectively ending the threat of a French-led invasion of Britain during the Napoleonic Wars.

I went into the National Gallery for a little bit. It is free, including audio guides, they only ask for a donation. They had some impressive pieces but perhaps I was a little spoiled from my recent trip to Italy as I didn't find it too impressive. Nevertheless, it's worth a look.

I also spent a full day in the British Museum. It is absolutely amazing. I spent hours looking through all the different exhibits and I was only able to scratch the surface. It got pretty crowded which was a bit annoying after awhile. The number of people was not the problem, but the fact that everyone was taking pictures of everything. I felt like you couldn't look at anything without camera flashes going off every other second, particularly with some of the most famous pieces (Rosetta Stone, mummies, etc). But it is well worth the annoyance and an absolute must-see.

I was only able to scratch the surface on these first couple days. Unfortunately my internship at the Embassy was to start on the 20th, so that I barely had enough time to get my bearings and recover from the jet lag before starting.