Tourist day
Today I finally got a chance to put on my tourist hat and make a go of London. I asked some of the people sitting around my desk where I should go and the consensus was walking along the south edge of the Thames river. So I planned a day out with Mike Walker (fellow American, long-time co-worker, super parent and all around good guy) and we set out. The plan was to visit the London Eye and then walk east and end at the HMS Belfast.
Of course, today was the coldest, rainiest and wettest day of my entire London stay. Undeterred, we jumped on a tube to Waterloo station and made out way to the ferris wheel. The London Eye is the “the world’s tallest cantilevered observation wheel”. If that doesn’t reek of qualified superlatives, I don’t know what does. In any event, it was great to get a top down view of London. The city is amazing and the ride just confirmed what we already knew in spectacular form.
We then headed to the Tate Modern. Entering the museum, one is struck by the size of the entry hall - many stories high with huge, 3 story sculptures. I took this picture of a giant spider like creature grasping it’s eggs over the people below. I cannot verify the artist who made the large red sculpture behind the spider, my guess is that it was made by Mark di Suvero, who has works in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and Chicago’s Millenium Park, among others.
Behind the spider and large red sculpture is a whimsical, dinosaur sized sculpture of a cat skeleton. I loved the scale and thought my kids would love it as well.
Here is a scene I have witnessed several times in London. The people preserve portions of ancient buildings and sites, with modern buildings often touching the old arrchitecture. This is a bishop’s “administration building” that stood from around 1300 to 1600. To put that in perspective, the building was used stood intact for a period that exceeds the age of the United States, and then started falling into disrepair 175 years before the actual formation of the US. One side of the site is incorporated/grafted onto the building next to it. It isn’t clear to me what the end goal of this project is.
Stefan, my brother-in-law, advised me to go looking for Fish & Chips. “[You] want to go to the specialist” he said after I told him of an early meal at a pub, which didn’t quite fit his definition. Several people told Mike and me (independently) that one of the great - if not the greatest - Fish & Chips places in the city is called Fish! in Borough Market.
Fish! is located in Borough Market, a bustling and very interesting food market with specialty vegetables, teas, coffees, and seafood from everywhere. This is the perfect place for an adult to hang out on a Saturday afternoon.
Mike and I had tried to go to Fish! earlier in the week, but got lost and ended up aborting. This time we were determined to find it. I had the Cod special, with vinegar and salt and a side of pickled onions. I have to say that eating that meal in the middle of Borough Market with Mike is a highlight of all my trips to England. The food was excellent.
(Special thanks to Stefan for the advising me on this mission.)
The HMS Belfast was the end goal of our journey today. The Belfast is a ship that is moored on the Thames directly across from the offices where Mike and I work. It is a part of our skyline. We see it every day and both of us were curious about taking a tour.
The Belfast was ordered in 1933, launched in 1938, was damaged by a german mine in English waters in 1939, and saw action on D-Day in 1944. The ship was modernized several times and finally taken out of service in 1971.
The tour of the ship was long and more interesting than any other military display than I have ever witnessed. You don’t just walk the decks, you climb down narrow (and dangerous) stairs, duck under boilers and pipes, go up and down ladders, across narrow causeways - all unguided. The audio and video presentations were outstanding and gave a sense of what it was like to live on the ship - and even how conditions changed for sailors between 1933 and 1945.
Finally, we ended the day by walking across Tower bridge and back downtown to home. By then, Mike and I were thouroughly exhausted and ready for a break.
