Tonight I took a taxi home from Southbank, after meeting some friends after work for dinner. I decided to take a taxi home.
London taxi drivers are interesting characters. My favorites are the ones who can tell me some history of the area we are driving through. Tonight the cab driver told me that he had grown up in the area I now live in, the Borough area, in WWII. .
He was just 6 when the bombs started dropping over this part of London. He remembers hiding in the Underground stations during the bomb raids. His father was in the service, an infantry man, and his mother worked in the neighborhood armament factory, making tents. He was only in school for 3 months when a bomb destroyed his school, and because there was no money to repair it, he didn't go back to school until after the war ended.
He told me that if I walked down Great Dover Street, right next to a pub called the Robuck, which still stands, you could see a building that still had old brick work. There is an archway, built in now, which is where he & his siblings used to go wait for their mother to get off work. Sometimes, he said, she was too tired to cook and as a treat, she'd take them for a pub meal at the Robuck.
I felt privileged to have this man share his story with me. I cannot imagine what it must have been like to experience living through that war as a little boy. I wonder sometimes if other passengers even bother to listen to what he has to say.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Monday, June 2, 2008
First post from London
(Originally posted 19 March 2007)
Hello all. Greetings from London. I am slowly acclimatizing to the UK. The spring flowers were out in full force in Hyde Park on the weekend - and then we got hit by a freezing rain storm today. Probably the same one that hit the East coast of N. America on the weekend. I was just confirmed last week that I will be here until the end of the year. My new schedule will be 3 weeks here, one week at home and then back for another 3 weeks. I currently "live" in a hotel and although I have the option to find rental accommodation when I return in April, I probably will elect to stay in hotels again - I have become used to someone cleaning up after me on a daily basis - and when you work 10 - 12 hour days, this is needed.
The first weekend here, I went to the British Museum and walked along the Kensington High Street (anything called a "High Street" in the UK is a shopping area). This may not sound like much, but if you have never been to London, the Museum alone is a few days effort to see all there is to see! Last weekend, I was recovering from a head cold, so I took it easy on Sunday and got caught up on reading the newspapers. Saturday, I went to Oxford Street, host of any and all types of stores one could desire. I found the one I needed. The one really sad thing about being in London is being a shopaholic in London when the exchange rate is so cruddy. If the Sterling pound symbol was just replaced by a $ symbol, Amy would be a much happier gal. Oh well.
Hello all. Greetings from London. I am slowly acclimatizing to the UK. The spring flowers were out in full force in Hyde Park on the weekend - and then we got hit by a freezing rain storm today. Probably the same one that hit the East coast of N. America on the weekend. I was just confirmed last week that I will be here until the end of the year. My new schedule will be 3 weeks here, one week at home and then back for another 3 weeks. I currently "live" in a hotel and although I have the option to find rental accommodation when I return in April, I probably will elect to stay in hotels again - I have become used to someone cleaning up after me on a daily basis - and when you work 10 - 12 hour days, this is needed.
The first weekend here, I went to the British Museum and walked along the Kensington High Street (anything called a "High Street" in the UK is a shopping area). This may not sound like much, but if you have never been to London, the Museum alone is a few days effort to see all there is to see! Last weekend, I was recovering from a head cold, so I took it easy on Sunday and got caught up on reading the newspapers. Saturday, I went to Oxford Street, host of any and all types of stores one could desire. I found the one I needed. The one really sad thing about being in London is being a shopaholic in London when the exchange rate is so cruddy. If the Sterling pound symbol was just replaced by a $ symbol, Amy would be a much happier gal. Oh well.
London, First weekend (1 of 2)
(Originally posted 24 March 2007)
Today, 24 March, I went on a walk on the Southbank, which is so called, because, well, it is the south bank of the Thames. This area has become quite built up since my last visit to London, on my honeymoon in 1998. This part of town is where you will find the best views of the House of Parliament, and is where the "London Eye" - that giant Ferris wheel that dominates most cityscape's of London now, is located. I haven't been up the Eye yet - saving that for visitors.
I actually work on Southbank - both the IBM offices and the client offices are right in the heart of Southbank - so it felt strange to be there on a Saturday. But I'm glad I did, because now I know what's around. For example: the Tate Modern.The Tate Modern is the offshoot of the Tate, and houses their massive collection of all art since 1900. It is housed in an old Turbine factory, and is really geared towards families, with lots of activities for kids, which I think is just great. I saw Claude Monet's "waterlilies" (one of them anyway), Alexander Calder's mobiles, Giacometti, Miro, Arp, Dali, Rothko, etc....all the artists I grew to love and appreciate when I studied art history (I confess I still don't really "love" Dali - but I've grown to appreciate him). It was packed. I must go back one evening after work to look more in depth with fewer crowds...
The next thing I did today was go on a tour of the Shakespeare Globe Theatre. That was very interesting! This Globe theatre was a work of love for Sam Wannamaker. It was researched and built as close to what they believe the original looked liked. It has the first thatched roof in London since the 1660's - properly fireproofed, of course - and has an open roof (the thatched roof covers the balcony seats only). Even the costumes are created as originally as possible, using as much nature materials and construction as possible. The tour was very interesting, as it explained what the atmosphere was like in the 1590's England entertainment scene. Certainly not "Theatre" as we know it now. The stage sets all use the same backdrop, as it would have been done in Shakespeare time. The guide explained that this was part of the reason that William always set his plays' location in the first line or two - so that the audience could imagine in their own mind and not be distracted by details from the actual play. The season starts in May, with "Othello". You can get buy a ticket for as little as 5 GBP (about $10.00) to stand in the pit right in front of the stage - but if it rains, you get wet - no umbrellas allowed! And no sitting down either.
Today, 24 March, I went on a walk on the Southbank, which is so called, because, well, it is the south bank of the Thames. This area has become quite built up since my last visit to London, on my honeymoon in 1998. This part of town is where you will find the best views of the House of Parliament, and is where the "London Eye" - that giant Ferris wheel that dominates most cityscape's of London now, is located. I haven't been up the Eye yet - saving that for visitors.
I actually work on Southbank - both the IBM offices and the client offices are right in the heart of Southbank - so it felt strange to be there on a Saturday. But I'm glad I did, because now I know what's around. For example: the Tate Modern.The Tate Modern is the offshoot of the Tate, and houses their massive collection of all art since 1900. It is housed in an old Turbine factory, and is really geared towards families, with lots of activities for kids, which I think is just great. I saw Claude Monet's "waterlilies" (one of them anyway), Alexander Calder's mobiles, Giacometti, Miro, Arp, Dali, Rothko, etc....all the artists I grew to love and appreciate when I studied art history (I confess I still don't really "love" Dali - but I've grown to appreciate him). It was packed. I must go back one evening after work to look more in depth with fewer crowds...
The next thing I did today was go on a tour of the Shakespeare Globe Theatre. That was very interesting! This Globe theatre was a work of love for Sam Wannamaker. It was researched and built as close to what they believe the original looked liked. It has the first thatched roof in London since the 1660's - properly fireproofed, of course - and has an open roof (the thatched roof covers the balcony seats only). Even the costumes are created as originally as possible, using as much nature materials and construction as possible. The tour was very interesting, as it explained what the atmosphere was like in the 1590's England entertainment scene. Certainly not "Theatre" as we know it now. The stage sets all use the same backdrop, as it would have been done in Shakespeare time. The guide explained that this was part of the reason that William always set his plays' location in the first line or two - so that the audience could imagine in their own mind and not be distracted by details from the actual play. The season starts in May, with "Othello". You can get buy a ticket for as little as 5 GBP (about $10.00) to stand in the pit right in front of the stage - but if it rains, you get wet - no umbrellas allowed! And no sitting down either.
London, First Weekend (2 of 2)
(Originally posted 25 March 2007)
Today, 25 March, I went to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square (right next to Canada House, incidentally!). It has been cleaned up considerably since I was last in London - for the better - as no traffic runs right in front of the building any longer. There are still some pigeons, but not as many as I remember. I got a great photo on my camera-phone of people amongst the pigeons. I have a soft spot for those birds.
I have always loved the National Gallery. It is filled with art from the 1200's to the impressionists and just after. I didn't even try to do it all today - I focused on Italian art from the 1500 - 1600's, mainly so I could see Caravaggio, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, etc. My absolute favorite painting in this collection is by Sassoferrato, titled "The Virgin in Prayer" (http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/cgi-bin/WebObjects.dll/CollectionPublisher.woa/wa/work?workNumber=NG200) . It is luminous and clear; the colors jump out on this dark background so all your eye focus' on is the Virgin Mary. It made an impact on me on my first ever visit in '94 and it still does. Photographs/web sites do not accurately represent the intensity of the color and its impact.
I also went to a special collection titled "Manet to Picasso" of Impressionist art up to early Picasso, with all the greats, Cezanne, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, Degas, plus Seurat & Pissaro. Impressionist art was what first captured my heart and ultimately led to my college major, so it was like visiting old friends again. And you know what is best about it? IT'S FREE!!!!!! Can you believe it????
Today, 25 March, I went to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square (right next to Canada House, incidentally!). It has been cleaned up considerably since I was last in London - for the better - as no traffic runs right in front of the building any longer. There are still some pigeons, but not as many as I remember. I got a great photo on my camera-phone of people amongst the pigeons. I have a soft spot for those birds.
I have always loved the National Gallery. It is filled with art from the 1200's to the impressionists and just after. I didn't even try to do it all today - I focused on Italian art from the 1500 - 1600's, mainly so I could see Caravaggio, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, etc. My absolute favorite painting in this collection is by Sassoferrato, titled "The Virgin in Prayer" (http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/cgi-bin/WebObjects.dll/CollectionPublisher.woa/wa/work?workNumber=NG200) . It is luminous and clear; the colors jump out on this dark background so all your eye focus' on is the Virgin Mary. It made an impact on me on my first ever visit in '94 and it still does. Photographs/web sites do not accurately represent the intensity of the color and its impact.
I also went to a special collection titled "Manet to Picasso" of Impressionist art up to early Picasso, with all the greats, Cezanne, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, Degas, plus Seurat & Pissaro. Impressionist art was what first captured my heart and ultimately led to my college major, so it was like visiting old friends again. And you know what is best about it? IT'S FREE!!!!!! Can you believe it????
London Bomb Scares, summer 2007
(My mom, after the summer 2007 bombing in London at the night club, posted a thread on the family website asking if I was OK. This was originally published 7 July 2007)
It's been mostly uneventful, actually. The first bomb was north of me, in "the City" and was aimed at a nightclub, which opened two days later. The Glasgow car bombing was the worse of the events. The Brits pride themselves with "getting on with it", and the papers have been rife with "we won't let them stop us from going about our business." The most I've been inconvenienced is that the pedestrian bridge between my office & Waterloo station is closed, so I actually have to cross the street to get to the shops in Waterloo. Most distressing. Apart from an definite increase in police presence, armed with bullet proof vests and big, mean looking guns, life is pretty much the same as always in the old town. Today is the last day of Wimbledon, and the start of the Tour de France, which this year, starts in London, not far from my flat. My flat, mum, is between Victoria station and Houses of Parliament/Westminster Abbey - south of Piccadilly Circus, where the first car bomb was found.
It's been mostly uneventful, actually. The first bomb was north of me, in "the City" and was aimed at a nightclub, which opened two days later. The Glasgow car bombing was the worse of the events. The Brits pride themselves with "getting on with it", and the papers have been rife with "we won't let them stop us from going about our business." The most I've been inconvenienced is that the pedestrian bridge between my office & Waterloo station is closed, so I actually have to cross the street to get to the shops in Waterloo. Most distressing. Apart from an definite increase in police presence, armed with bullet proof vests and big, mean looking guns, life is pretty much the same as always in the old town. Today is the last day of Wimbledon, and the start of the Tour de France, which this year, starts in London, not far from my flat. My flat, mum, is between Victoria station and Houses of Parliament/Westminster Abbey - south of Piccadilly Circus, where the first car bomb was found.
Le Grande Depart
(Originally posted 8 July 2007)
This weekend is the start of the Tour de France - and for the first time in its history, it started outside of France, in London.I missed it.Not because I wanted to. No, I had great ambitions to go down to Westminster Bridge and see them scream by...and I did make it to Westminster Bridge - but missed them by 10 minutes.But sometimes things work out. Because I discovered I missed it by another tourist asking a policeman...she & I got to talking, and discovered we were both here on extended business, and decided to spend the afternoon together. A very nice young woman named Amanda, living in New Jersey, but originally from Haiti (I told her about your time in Haiti, Aunt Joanne).We decided to take the ferry down to Greenwich, which takes about an hour, then wandered the village of Greenwich, straddled the Meridian - so for that brief moment, I was one foot on both the Eastern & Western hemisphere (I'll try to post a photo) - ate at a nice pub and chatted... .So, I missed Le Grand Depart, but made a new friend, which is probably a more lasting memory anyway.
This weekend is the start of the Tour de France - and for the first time in its history, it started outside of France, in London.I missed it.Not because I wanted to. No, I had great ambitions to go down to Westminster Bridge and see them scream by...and I did make it to Westminster Bridge - but missed them by 10 minutes.But sometimes things work out. Because I discovered I missed it by another tourist asking a policeman...she & I got to talking, and discovered we were both here on extended business, and decided to spend the afternoon together. A very nice young woman named Amanda, living in New Jersey, but originally from Haiti (I told her about your time in Haiti, Aunt Joanne).We decided to take the ferry down to Greenwich, which takes about an hour, then wandered the village of Greenwich, straddled the Meridian - so for that brief moment, I was one foot on both the Eastern & Western hemisphere (I'll try to post a photo) - ate at a nice pub and chatted... .So, I missed Le Grand Depart, but made a new friend, which is probably a more lasting memory anyway.
My Hubby Visits!
(Originally posted 17 August 2007)
Just to say that Colin came to visit me for two weeks in London. He just left today, so I'm a little sad, but have posted some photos of our 4 day weekend (I took the Friday & Monday off work to spend more time with him).On the Friday, we went to Bath, which I first visited 15 years ago. The city has changed a bit, and not for the better, I'm afraid, but the Roman Baths still entice, as does the Abbey with some lovely sculptures, such as angels climbing up & down ladders.Saturday we stayed in London and did some touring. I managed to awe Colin by navigating the tube system like a pro and we did a walking tour about the "lost" Fleet river now 18 feet under Fleet Street.Sunday we went to Hampton Court Palace. Again, I had visited 15 years ago, but the lovely gardens were being reconstructed, so I had never seen them.Monday we made an last minute change of plans and went to Canterbury instead of Brighton. We didn't regret it. We were both fascinated by Canterbury and the Cathedral there is truly spiritual. The town itself is full of history and old, 17th century buildings that one tends to think of when you think of an old English town.
Just to say that Colin came to visit me for two weeks in London. He just left today, so I'm a little sad, but have posted some photos of our 4 day weekend (I took the Friday & Monday off work to spend more time with him).On the Friday, we went to Bath, which I first visited 15 years ago. The city has changed a bit, and not for the better, I'm afraid, but the Roman Baths still entice, as does the Abbey with some lovely sculptures, such as angels climbing up & down ladders.Saturday we stayed in London and did some touring. I managed to awe Colin by navigating the tube system like a pro and we did a walking tour about the "lost" Fleet river now 18 feet under Fleet Street.Sunday we went to Hampton Court Palace. Again, I had visited 15 years ago, but the lovely gardens were being reconstructed, so I had never seen them.Monday we made an last minute change of plans and went to Canterbury instead of Brighton. We didn't regret it. We were both fascinated by Canterbury and the Cathedral there is truly spiritual. The town itself is full of history and old, 17th century buildings that one tends to think of when you think of an old English town.
Hamburg, DE, Post 2
(Originally posted 8 September 2007)
Day one, after I was finished at the client's, I changed hotels and then walked down to the Art Museum (the Hamburger Kunsthalle). The building was started in 1869, and has been added on to and rebuilt after damage during WWII. I didn't go in, because it was closing in an hour and I hadn't exchanged my British pound notes for Euro's. I regret this, because I never did get in - and it is suppose to have the best collection of art in Germany.
The walk to the art Museum took me along Leine Ringhe, though a district called St. Georg. This is a trendy little area filled with cafes and small independent shops. I stopped in a few, including one called "Everest", which I went in to purely because my pet rabbit's name is Everest. It was filled with Amy type trinkets (read: silver semi-precious stone jewelry), so I was doubly happy with my decision. I walked around the Kunsthalle and back to the hotel via the Aun der Alster, a footpath along the Aubenalster (pronounced Aussenalster, or "Outer" lake Alaster). The path is 7 km around the lake and goes along some of the most expensive real estate in Germany. It is said that there are more German millionaires in Hamburg then anywhere else in Germany, and they sure do have some lovely houses! I stopped on a park bench to watch all the water activities: rowers, scullers, sailors and commuters of all sorts on the path going places after work.
Day 2, I decided to take a city bus tour, the kind that allows you to hop on and off at key places of interest. I find these are generally a good way to get to know the lay out of a city and soak up some history of the place, too. The tour first went north along the Aubenalster, through the wealthy neighborhoods along the lake. Even the mansions seemed dwarfed by the sheer number of trees everywhere and the parks that are all through the city. Then the bus took us through other neighborhoods, like Eppendorf, which is the artistic area of the city, before turning back to go into the city proper, past the Hamburg Alster-Arkaden, a lovely colonnaded area overlooking a...pond? lake? filled with swans and other water fowl. Swans are the symbol of Hamburg, because in the 1400's, the "Free Hanseatic State of Hamburg" allowed private citizens to own swans, usually only allowed by royalty to own, as a symbol of their freedom. Consequently, there are alot of swans and they are well cared for and protected. The tour then turned into the Rathaus area, which is the traditional market and the town hall center. Next, we took a turn for the worse, as we entered in to the infamous Reeperbahn, which looked pretty tame at 2:00 in the afternoon, but only because it was still asleep. The Reeperbahn is the pleasure district and filled with shops of a dubious nature and a red light district with ladies of easy virtues. It is also famous because the Beatles first received international attention by playing in one of the clubs in the Reeperbahn, which today is one of the "theatres" featuring, at it's most tame, table dancing. I will say no more on a family website. From the seedy part of town, we went to Altona, which was once a Danish state! As such, it has and always has had, a tolerance for freedom of religion and culture that still exists today. We went past the oldest Jewish cemetery in Germany, dating back to the 1600's. Today Altona is still ethnically and culturally diverse. The town hall (it is still officially a separate city, although now German) was once the train station which linked Altona to Copenhagen. Next, we went south to the port area, still a busy place. Of special interest is the Speicherstadt, or shipping warehouses, which are all built with their lower levels right against the water of the canals to store all sorts of goods, usually spices, oriental carpets, etc. It is still in use today. I got off the bus here and wandered around the area. I walked up to the Deichstrasse, which has the oldest houses in Hamburg left remaining, then back up to the Rathaus, where I did some shopping before catching the tour bus again to finish the tour. The tour took us past St. Michaelis, considered to be one of the most important Protestant baroque buildings. The steeple is over 132 meters high, and is also on one of the highest points in the city. You can walk up 432 stairs to the tower to have fabulous views of the city (but I decided not to).
The last day was this morning (Saturday). I only had a few hours, so I decided to take a boat tour of the lakes Alster (Binnenalster, or inner lake, and Aubenalster). It was a lovely cruise and the waterfront properties and numerous sailing and rowing clubs dotted the shore lines. When the tour was done, I tried to find some souvenir shops, but there didn't seem to be any. I would ordinarily think this a good thing - but it sure isn't so good when you want to buy souvenirs! I walked back to the hotel and caught a taxi to the airport.
Overall, I think Hamburg is a lovely city and well worth a visit. There is alot of business in Hamburg, so if you ever go for business, spend an extra day or two if you can to tour. You won't be disappointed.
Day one, after I was finished at the client's, I changed hotels and then walked down to the Art Museum (the Hamburger Kunsthalle). The building was started in 1869, and has been added on to and rebuilt after damage during WWII. I didn't go in, because it was closing in an hour and I hadn't exchanged my British pound notes for Euro's. I regret this, because I never did get in - and it is suppose to have the best collection of art in Germany.
The walk to the art Museum took me along Leine Ringhe, though a district called St. Georg. This is a trendy little area filled with cafes and small independent shops. I stopped in a few, including one called "Everest", which I went in to purely because my pet rabbit's name is Everest. It was filled with Amy type trinkets (read: silver semi-precious stone jewelry), so I was doubly happy with my decision. I walked around the Kunsthalle and back to the hotel via the Aun der Alster, a footpath along the Aubenalster (pronounced Aussenalster, or "Outer" lake Alaster). The path is 7 km around the lake and goes along some of the most expensive real estate in Germany. It is said that there are more German millionaires in Hamburg then anywhere else in Germany, and they sure do have some lovely houses! I stopped on a park bench to watch all the water activities: rowers, scullers, sailors and commuters of all sorts on the path going places after work.
Day 2, I decided to take a city bus tour, the kind that allows you to hop on and off at key places of interest. I find these are generally a good way to get to know the lay out of a city and soak up some history of the place, too. The tour first went north along the Aubenalster, through the wealthy neighborhoods along the lake. Even the mansions seemed dwarfed by the sheer number of trees everywhere and the parks that are all through the city. Then the bus took us through other neighborhoods, like Eppendorf, which is the artistic area of the city, before turning back to go into the city proper, past the Hamburg Alster-Arkaden, a lovely colonnaded area overlooking a...pond? lake? filled with swans and other water fowl. Swans are the symbol of Hamburg, because in the 1400's, the "Free Hanseatic State of Hamburg" allowed private citizens to own swans, usually only allowed by royalty to own, as a symbol of their freedom. Consequently, there are alot of swans and they are well cared for and protected. The tour then turned into the Rathaus area, which is the traditional market and the town hall center. Next, we took a turn for the worse, as we entered in to the infamous Reeperbahn, which looked pretty tame at 2:00 in the afternoon, but only because it was still asleep. The Reeperbahn is the pleasure district and filled with shops of a dubious nature and a red light district with ladies of easy virtues. It is also famous because the Beatles first received international attention by playing in one of the clubs in the Reeperbahn, which today is one of the "theatres" featuring, at it's most tame, table dancing. I will say no more on a family website. From the seedy part of town, we went to Altona, which was once a Danish state! As such, it has and always has had, a tolerance for freedom of religion and culture that still exists today. We went past the oldest Jewish cemetery in Germany, dating back to the 1600's. Today Altona is still ethnically and culturally diverse. The town hall (it is still officially a separate city, although now German) was once the train station which linked Altona to Copenhagen. Next, we went south to the port area, still a busy place. Of special interest is the Speicherstadt, or shipping warehouses, which are all built with their lower levels right against the water of the canals to store all sorts of goods, usually spices, oriental carpets, etc. It is still in use today. I got off the bus here and wandered around the area. I walked up to the Deichstrasse, which has the oldest houses in Hamburg left remaining, then back up to the Rathaus, where I did some shopping before catching the tour bus again to finish the tour. The tour took us past St. Michaelis, considered to be one of the most important Protestant baroque buildings. The steeple is over 132 meters high, and is also on one of the highest points in the city. You can walk up 432 stairs to the tower to have fabulous views of the city (but I decided not to).
The last day was this morning (Saturday). I only had a few hours, so I decided to take a boat tour of the lakes Alster (Binnenalster, or inner lake, and Aubenalster). It was a lovely cruise and the waterfront properties and numerous sailing and rowing clubs dotted the shore lines. When the tour was done, I tried to find some souvenir shops, but there didn't seem to be any. I would ordinarily think this a good thing - but it sure isn't so good when you want to buy souvenirs! I walked back to the hotel and caught a taxi to the airport.
Overall, I think Hamburg is a lovely city and well worth a visit. There is alot of business in Hamburg, so if you ever go for business, spend an extra day or two if you can to tour. You won't be disappointed.
Hamburg, DE, Post 1
(Originally posted 8 September 2007)
Last Wednesday, I had to fly to Hamburg, Germany to facilitate a session for the client's next release, which is to the Germany business units. The session was only 1/2 a day, but as I have never been to Germany before, I decided to take the rest of the week off so I could explore Hamburg.
Hamburg is the 2nd largest German city, after Berlin, and Europe's second busiest port, after Rotterdam. My top 10 observations on Hamburg are:
1. It's CLEAN!
2. It's GREEN! Hamburg is reported to have 43.8 trees for every person - as there are over 1 million inhabitant's, this means there are alot of trees and parks.
3. I was amazed at the number of cyclists - and not on fancy new bicycles, but obviously well used and loved bikes from times past.
4. Second to cycling is walking - lots of pedestrians - and not the frantic kind we get in London, but a leisurely pace, even though I am certain they all had places to be.
5. Politeness - people were friendly and helpful, even if they couldn't speak English very well.
6. There is a great mix of old and new design and architecture. Hamburg was nearly destroyed by fire in 1842, and again in WWII, so there isn't alot of really old left - but what is there is treated sympathetically with the new.
7. WATER! There are canals, lakes and rivers never more then 100 ft away (or so it seems). Consequently, there are alot of bridges. The locals are proud to state that there are over 2,000 bridges in Hamburg, more then Amsterdam & Venice combined.
8. People are obviously proud of their town - not in boastful way, but it shows (see pts 1 - 7).
9. There is a lot of history in Hamburg. Veerrrryyy interesting place!10. Church spires are everywhere, and I have this image of spires poking up amongst trees and buildings. In fact, alot of these are just spires - because not all the churches were rebuilt after WWII. Somehow, it just adds to the overall charm of the place.
BTW, Hamburg is NOT were we get "hamburger" from, although people from Hamburg are referred to as Hamburgers. I suspect they'd get cranky if you tried to put ketchup and pickles on them and take a bite (although it's probably been done in the Red Light District and "theatres" that make up the Reeperbahn). I'll post my 2 1/2 day visit on a separate post, so as not to make this one too long, and try to post some photos, too, when I download them from my camera.
Last Wednesday, I had to fly to Hamburg, Germany to facilitate a session for the client's next release, which is to the Germany business units. The session was only 1/2 a day, but as I have never been to Germany before, I decided to take the rest of the week off so I could explore Hamburg.
Hamburg is the 2nd largest German city, after Berlin, and Europe's second busiest port, after Rotterdam. My top 10 observations on Hamburg are:
1. It's CLEAN!
2. It's GREEN! Hamburg is reported to have 43.8 trees for every person - as there are over 1 million inhabitant's, this means there are alot of trees and parks.
3. I was amazed at the number of cyclists - and not on fancy new bicycles, but obviously well used and loved bikes from times past.
4. Second to cycling is walking - lots of pedestrians - and not the frantic kind we get in London, but a leisurely pace, even though I am certain they all had places to be.
5. Politeness - people were friendly and helpful, even if they couldn't speak English very well.
6. There is a great mix of old and new design and architecture. Hamburg was nearly destroyed by fire in 1842, and again in WWII, so there isn't alot of really old left - but what is there is treated sympathetically with the new.
7. WATER! There are canals, lakes and rivers never more then 100 ft away (or so it seems). Consequently, there are alot of bridges. The locals are proud to state that there are over 2,000 bridges in Hamburg, more then Amsterdam & Venice combined.
8. People are obviously proud of their town - not in boastful way, but it shows (see pts 1 - 7).
9. There is a lot of history in Hamburg. Veerrrryyy interesting place!10. Church spires are everywhere, and I have this image of spires poking up amongst trees and buildings. In fact, alot of these are just spires - because not all the churches were rebuilt after WWII. Somehow, it just adds to the overall charm of the place.
BTW, Hamburg is NOT were we get "hamburger" from, although people from Hamburg are referred to as Hamburgers. I suspect they'd get cranky if you tried to put ketchup and pickles on them and take a bite (although it's probably been done in the Red Light District and "theatres" that make up the Reeperbahn). I'll post my 2 1/2 day visit on a separate post, so as not to make this one too long, and try to post some photos, too, when I download them from my camera.
New flat in London
(Originally posted 10 April 2008)
Last December I left my old flat in Westminster/Victoria, as there were some issues with the building maintenance that left me feeling unsafe. So the rental company gave me the choice of two flats, both with 24 hour concierge service. I chose the one in an area I didn't know very well, and it is "real London", not touristy at all. The area is in SE London, near the famous Borough Market, which is full of food stalls: honey's from France, exotic meats, etc...
Sometimes I take a taxi back from the City, and usually, the cabbies take me down a street called Marshelsea. They often tell me that this area of London is one of the oldest. Marshelsea, they tell me, used to have a debtors prison on it, Marshelsea prison, which is referenced in a Dicken's novel. A street near me is called Little Dorrit's Court, a Dicken's character (I have no idea if the lane was named after the character or the character after the lane...but I bet someone knows). The Borough/Bermondsey area that I live in is part of the Southwark Diocese, which is the oldest in London. Southwark Cathedral was built on the site of religious practices going back over 1,000 years. The Cathedral itself was built in the 1500 - 1600's.
The new area I live in is a 10 minute walk to the Tate Modern, the Globe Theatre and a 15 minute walk to St. Paul's and the Tower Bridge. I have a shorter walk to work and go right past the Old Vic Theater (managed now by Kevin Spacey), and a pub called the Stage Door, named because you can see the lamp that lights the Stage Door at the Old Vic. The interesting thing about this pub is it is believed that this pub was once called the Halfway House and was frequented by Samuel Pepys (I think it was him). Right up the Borough High Street is one of the oldest pubs in London, The George, which was rebuilt in 1637, and is the only remaining galleried Inn in London. The levels are sorta wavey now, given all the years it has been standing.
One thing I find fascinating about London is that in the older streets are named for something meaningful. For example, near the Spitalfields market, which is the old livestock market area, are streets named "Poultry Lane" or Dairy Street", things like that. These streets were literally named because one was where they sold the chickens, and the other where they sold dairy products.
Last December I left my old flat in Westminster/Victoria, as there were some issues with the building maintenance that left me feeling unsafe. So the rental company gave me the choice of two flats, both with 24 hour concierge service. I chose the one in an area I didn't know very well, and it is "real London", not touristy at all. The area is in SE London, near the famous Borough Market, which is full of food stalls: honey's from France, exotic meats, etc...
Sometimes I take a taxi back from the City, and usually, the cabbies take me down a street called Marshelsea. They often tell me that this area of London is one of the oldest. Marshelsea, they tell me, used to have a debtors prison on it, Marshelsea prison, which is referenced in a Dicken's novel. A street near me is called Little Dorrit's Court, a Dicken's character (I have no idea if the lane was named after the character or the character after the lane...but I bet someone knows). The Borough/Bermondsey area that I live in is part of the Southwark Diocese, which is the oldest in London. Southwark Cathedral was built on the site of religious practices going back over 1,000 years. The Cathedral itself was built in the 1500 - 1600's.
The new area I live in is a 10 minute walk to the Tate Modern, the Globe Theatre and a 15 minute walk to St. Paul's and the Tower Bridge. I have a shorter walk to work and go right past the Old Vic Theater (managed now by Kevin Spacey), and a pub called the Stage Door, named because you can see the lamp that lights the Stage Door at the Old Vic. The interesting thing about this pub is it is believed that this pub was once called the Halfway House and was frequented by Samuel Pepys (I think it was him). Right up the Borough High Street is one of the oldest pubs in London, The George, which was rebuilt in 1637, and is the only remaining galleried Inn in London. The levels are sorta wavey now, given all the years it has been standing.
One thing I find fascinating about London is that in the older streets are named for something meaningful. For example, near the Spitalfields market, which is the old livestock market area, are streets named "Poultry Lane" or Dairy Street", things like that. These streets were literally named because one was where they sold the chickens, and the other where they sold dairy products.
Johnson Space Center
(Originally posted 21 April 2008)
My job now has me flying from London to Houston to support a client there. Sometimes I have to stay 2 weeks, and so when I am there over a weekend, I am always looking for things to do that interrupt my shopping excursions (I do looooooovvvvvve my shopping! And Houston has a fab DSW Shoes near the hotel I usually stay at, so I have to plan what I pack carefully so I have room for it all coming back).
First of all, I have to say that I've never been to Texas before, and so, my idea of what Texas looked like was all based on Dallas reruns and old B&W movies. This means I thought it was all either dry & dusty or a concrete jungle. But Houston isn't like that at all: it has lots of water and green spaces. The arts community is thriving and there are interesting things to do. And most often, I *don't* eat red meat, but seafood - being so close to the Gulf of Mexico, they have seafood in abundance. And the men are so nice! They will see me getting out of cab in front of the office tower and stand there holding the door open for me until I get there! Definitely DO NOT get that in Ottawa or London - or anywhere else I've been!
Anyway, the first 2 week stint I did in Houston, I went to the Johnson Space Center for the afternoon. I was amazed at how close it was. I went with a UK colleague of mine, who was very excited, because she always wanted to be an astronaut. In 20 minutes, we were out of the downtown core and driving into the JSC campus.
It never occured to me that the campus would be, well, a campus, because it doesn't actually launch rockets from there anymore. So it isn't this big empty space in the middle of no-where. It is the home of 2 major things: (1) Mission Control, and (2) the astronaut training center.
If you have little kids who dream of space, then JSC will not dissapoint, as it is really geared towards kids ages 10 and under. Why? Because NASA openly admits that it is gearing its future space program to anyone under the age of 21, and specifically at kids 10 and under. They are actively recruiting the first Mars astronauts. Most of the presentations are directed to little ones and address such pressing questions like "how does one pee in space?"
This means that sadly, if you are an adult, there are only a few things that are of real interest, but they are great things.
1. The tour of the campus. It takes you into Mission Control and the Astronaut training center, where you can see the mock ups of the Shuttle, and how they practice using the Canada Arm (they use a balloon to simulate zero gravity).
In Mission Control (yes, the real one!), you can see the tracking of any shuttle or space station activity on the screen. One interesting piece of information: The space station travels around the world 19 times in one day. So the astronauts see 19 sunrises and sunsets. This means that every minute of their time in space is pre-determined before they even leave Earth. They revert to "space time" which dictates when they eat, exercise, go to sleep or get up, because it has no bearing on earth time.
Think about that.....space isn't so free....
If you go on a weekday, you can sign up for the level 9 tour, which takes you on the same tour, but in more detail, and also areas that are not part of the general tour. Sadly, it doesn't run weekends, so my colleague & I had to the general tour. The general tour lasts about 1.5 hours; the level 9 tour lasts about 4 hours, and they don't allow anyone under the age of 14. Plus, you have to sign up at least a week in advance and submit to security screening.
2. The Saturn V rocket building. This building holds the last Saturn V rocket. Now, I get it that rockets are big....but to be standing next to one is truly awe inspiring, and it gives you new appreciation that we ever get anything off the ground at all.
Saturn V rockets are the Moon rockets - the ones that took astronauts to the moon and back, so they are very important in the hoistory of American space exploration.
You get the Saturn V rocket building as the last stop on the general tour.
http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/GAL114/SpaceRace/sec300/sec384.htm
3. The Space Exploration throughout the ages exhibit has artifacts and models of the history of space exploration. It's pretty interesting to see how far exploration has come....
the NASA shop was fun, too. I particularly liked the t-shirts and ball caps that said: "It's not rocket science. ..................Oh, wait....yes it is!" Makes me laugh each time I think of the expression.
I'll post some photos another time.
My job now has me flying from London to Houston to support a client there. Sometimes I have to stay 2 weeks, and so when I am there over a weekend, I am always looking for things to do that interrupt my shopping excursions (I do looooooovvvvvve my shopping! And Houston has a fab DSW Shoes near the hotel I usually stay at, so I have to plan what I pack carefully so I have room for it all coming back).
First of all, I have to say that I've never been to Texas before, and so, my idea of what Texas looked like was all based on Dallas reruns and old B&W movies. This means I thought it was all either dry & dusty or a concrete jungle. But Houston isn't like that at all: it has lots of water and green spaces. The arts community is thriving and there are interesting things to do. And most often, I *don't* eat red meat, but seafood - being so close to the Gulf of Mexico, they have seafood in abundance. And the men are so nice! They will see me getting out of cab in front of the office tower and stand there holding the door open for me until I get there! Definitely DO NOT get that in Ottawa or London - or anywhere else I've been!
Anyway, the first 2 week stint I did in Houston, I went to the Johnson Space Center for the afternoon. I was amazed at how close it was. I went with a UK colleague of mine, who was very excited, because she always wanted to be an astronaut. In 20 minutes, we were out of the downtown core and driving into the JSC campus.
It never occured to me that the campus would be, well, a campus, because it doesn't actually launch rockets from there anymore. So it isn't this big empty space in the middle of no-where. It is the home of 2 major things: (1) Mission Control, and (2) the astronaut training center.
If you have little kids who dream of space, then JSC will not dissapoint, as it is really geared towards kids ages 10 and under. Why? Because NASA openly admits that it is gearing its future space program to anyone under the age of 21, and specifically at kids 10 and under. They are actively recruiting the first Mars astronauts. Most of the presentations are directed to little ones and address such pressing questions like "how does one pee in space?"
This means that sadly, if you are an adult, there are only a few things that are of real interest, but they are great things.
1. The tour of the campus. It takes you into Mission Control and the Astronaut training center, where you can see the mock ups of the Shuttle, and how they practice using the Canada Arm (they use a balloon to simulate zero gravity).
In Mission Control (yes, the real one!), you can see the tracking of any shuttle or space station activity on the screen. One interesting piece of information: The space station travels around the world 19 times in one day. So the astronauts see 19 sunrises and sunsets. This means that every minute of their time in space is pre-determined before they even leave Earth. They revert to "space time" which dictates when they eat, exercise, go to sleep or get up, because it has no bearing on earth time.
Think about that.....space isn't so free....
If you go on a weekday, you can sign up for the level 9 tour, which takes you on the same tour, but in more detail, and also areas that are not part of the general tour. Sadly, it doesn't run weekends, so my colleague & I had to the general tour. The general tour lasts about 1.5 hours; the level 9 tour lasts about 4 hours, and they don't allow anyone under the age of 14. Plus, you have to sign up at least a week in advance and submit to security screening.
2. The Saturn V rocket building. This building holds the last Saturn V rocket. Now, I get it that rockets are big....but to be standing next to one is truly awe inspiring, and it gives you new appreciation that we ever get anything off the ground at all.
Saturn V rockets are the Moon rockets - the ones that took astronauts to the moon and back, so they are very important in the hoistory of American space exploration.
You get the Saturn V rocket building as the last stop on the general tour.
http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/GAL114/SpaceRace/sec300/sec384.htm
3. The Space Exploration throughout the ages exhibit has artifacts and models of the history of space exploration. It's pretty interesting to see how far exploration has come....
the NASA shop was fun, too. I particularly liked the t-shirts and ball caps that said: "It's not rocket science. ..................Oh, wait....yes it is!" Makes me laugh each time I think of the expression.
I'll post some photos another time.
Oxford University Library
(Originally posted on 9 May 2008 on the family website)
I spent the day in Oxford with a colleague the first Saturday in May. We had an enjoyable day. We took a tour of the city centre and some of the colleges, including Merton College, one of the oldest colleges at Oxford. Some say it is the oldest, as they were the first of the original 3 colleagues at Oxford to get their charters and bylaws in order, which were then used as the template for other colleges not only at Oxford, but their arch nemesis, Cambridge.
Anyway, one of the interesting facts about Oxford University is that it has a copyright charter, which means that it has to, by law, hold a hard copy of every single book published in the UK. This is in addition to its historical documents and books. I forget the exact number, but there is supposedly in excess of 300 millions volumes of documents in the libraries. They counted about 10 years ago.
As a result, the university rapidly has run out of room, and so the solution was to build the libraries underground. There are now over 12 miles of tunnels under the city of Oxford, where the books and documents are stored. You can read any document in Oxford, provided you are either a student at one of the colleges, or a citizen "reader", but you cannot check the books out of the library. Another colleague, who attended Oxford explained the process as such:
"If you want to read a book or document, you first look it up on the electronic database, then you write your selection on a piece of paper, along with the room you are in or will be reading the book in. This is then sent to the librarians in the tunnels, who locate the book for you. Because the tunnels are so vast, they all use rollarskates or Rollerblades to get around. There are trolleys on tracks that carry the baskets with the books in them to the room where they are destined."
My colleague said she went on a tour of the tunnel library once and was fascinated by then system of moving the books. I imagine the trolleys to be a bit like old mine cars.
I spent the day in Oxford with a colleague the first Saturday in May. We had an enjoyable day. We took a tour of the city centre and some of the colleges, including Merton College, one of the oldest colleges at Oxford. Some say it is the oldest, as they were the first of the original 3 colleagues at Oxford to get their charters and bylaws in order, which were then used as the template for other colleges not only at Oxford, but their arch nemesis, Cambridge.
Anyway, one of the interesting facts about Oxford University is that it has a copyright charter, which means that it has to, by law, hold a hard copy of every single book published in the UK. This is in addition to its historical documents and books. I forget the exact number, but there is supposedly in excess of 300 millions volumes of documents in the libraries. They counted about 10 years ago.
As a result, the university rapidly has run out of room, and so the solution was to build the libraries underground. There are now over 12 miles of tunnels under the city of Oxford, where the books and documents are stored. You can read any document in Oxford, provided you are either a student at one of the colleges, or a citizen "reader", but you cannot check the books out of the library. Another colleague, who attended Oxford explained the process as such:
"If you want to read a book or document, you first look it up on the electronic database, then you write your selection on a piece of paper, along with the room you are in or will be reading the book in. This is then sent to the librarians in the tunnels, who locate the book for you. Because the tunnels are so vast, they all use rollarskates or Rollerblades to get around. There are trolleys on tracks that carry the baskets with the books in them to the room where they are destined."
My colleague said she went on a tour of the tunnel library once and was fascinated by then system of moving the books. I imagine the trolleys to be a bit like old mine cars.
Houston Museum of Fine Arts
(This was originally posted in May 2008 on the family website)
Today I went to Houston's Museum of Fine Arts. They have had an exhibit on Pompeii that I've been waiting to have some time in Houston to go see, and this trip was it.
It was, in a word, overwhelming.
The exhibit had two main themes: gold and remains. If you are squeamish, skip the following paragraph and focus on the next paragraph where I talk about the gold.
The remains were obtained as far back as the 1800's, when a French archaeologist pumped plaster into the cavities where the bodies had been. They use a similar method, but with a resin, now. The casts are very detailed - in some, you can see the details of clothes they wore. When you first walked into the exhibit, you were faced with a large cast of 12 bodies that had died at the beach at Pompeii, thinking that the danger was over and help was on it's way. And I'm sure that many of them thought they would be safe in or near the water, but, of course, that was not the case. The casts were so detailed, it was eerie. Another cast was of a dog that had been chained to the house - dogs were frequently used as guards - and either its owner forgot to unchain him, or died before he could - of course, we will never know. For some reason, that was the most disturbing cast of all. I could not help but be affected by the casts - it really drove home that this is not just an interesting period of history, it was real and people suffered.
Alot of the rest of the exhibit showed the gold jewelry, monuments and frescoes found in Pompeii & Herculaneum. I like jewelry and so am always fascinated by the styles that were common at that time. Many gems on rings were carved with tiny figures, either of animals or gods or goddesses. The detail was incredible. I also liked the tiny statuettes of gods or goddesses - and given my recent travels in the UK, it was interesting to see the same figure of Venus, for example, in this exhibit depicted in a very similar way to statuettes of Venus found in St. Alban's Roman Museum just north of London. I guess it is sort of like the generification of the world today, where you can find Big Box stores carrying the same items and designs throughout the world.
The next exhibit I saw, part of the permanent collections, was the gold of the Pre-Colombian world. I was astounded - it is probably the best collection of Pre-Colombian art and artifacts I have seen at any museum in my world travels. There was alot of gold, of course, but several tapestries and tunics made from feathers of exotic birds, and so still colorful after centuries. I was also fascinated to see the sophisticated level of craftsmanship that rivalled, quite frankly, what the Romans were doing.
If you ever go to Houston, be sure to carve out some time to visit this very excellent museum!
Today I went to Houston's Museum of Fine Arts. They have had an exhibit on Pompeii that I've been waiting to have some time in Houston to go see, and this trip was it.
It was, in a word, overwhelming.
The exhibit had two main themes: gold and remains. If you are squeamish, skip the following paragraph and focus on the next paragraph where I talk about the gold.
The remains were obtained as far back as the 1800's, when a French archaeologist pumped plaster into the cavities where the bodies had been. They use a similar method, but with a resin, now. The casts are very detailed - in some, you can see the details of clothes they wore. When you first walked into the exhibit, you were faced with a large cast of 12 bodies that had died at the beach at Pompeii, thinking that the danger was over and help was on it's way. And I'm sure that many of them thought they would be safe in or near the water, but, of course, that was not the case. The casts were so detailed, it was eerie. Another cast was of a dog that had been chained to the house - dogs were frequently used as guards - and either its owner forgot to unchain him, or died before he could - of course, we will never know. For some reason, that was the most disturbing cast of all. I could not help but be affected by the casts - it really drove home that this is not just an interesting period of history, it was real and people suffered.
Alot of the rest of the exhibit showed the gold jewelry, monuments and frescoes found in Pompeii & Herculaneum. I like jewelry and so am always fascinated by the styles that were common at that time. Many gems on rings were carved with tiny figures, either of animals or gods or goddesses. The detail was incredible. I also liked the tiny statuettes of gods or goddesses - and given my recent travels in the UK, it was interesting to see the same figure of Venus, for example, in this exhibit depicted in a very similar way to statuettes of Venus found in St. Alban's Roman Museum just north of London. I guess it is sort of like the generification of the world today, where you can find Big Box stores carrying the same items and designs throughout the world.
The next exhibit I saw, part of the permanent collections, was the gold of the Pre-Colombian world. I was astounded - it is probably the best collection of Pre-Colombian art and artifacts I have seen at any museum in my world travels. There was alot of gold, of course, but several tapestries and tunics made from feathers of exotic birds, and so still colorful after centuries. I was also fascinated to see the sophisticated level of craftsmanship that rivalled, quite frankly, what the Romans were doing.
If you ever go to Houston, be sure to carve out some time to visit this very excellent museum!
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