London, United Kingdom
February 10-11


Heather and I spent the weekend in London (we left the girls in Budapest with a babysitter from our branch). We took the Wizzair flight to London Luton, caught a train to Kings Cross station in central London, and from there we took the underground to Westminster, where we met up with some friends of ours from Budapest, Dan and Rebekah Thorstenson.
It started out a little drizzly, but soon it was just a little cloudy and 50 degrees, so very comfortable, particularly for February. After visiting Westminster Abbey (real name The Collegiate Church of St. Peter, Westminster), where Sir Isaac Newton and Laurence Olivier are buried (to name a few), we walked through the park to Buckingham Palace (I guess they only have tours of the palace in August and September when the Queen is on holiday).
From there we walked to our Hotel at Picaddilly Circus, dropped off our bag, and then found tickets to Lion King at the Lyceum Theater. We walked through London's Westend Theater district past the Palace Theater where I saw Les Miserables almost 20 years ago (this makes me feel really old) and then arrived just in time for the Lion King matinee. It was pretty good, although I think my expectations were a little higher so I was slightly disappointed. But certainly I would go back with Katie, who would have really enjoyed it.
After the show we walked to the British Museum. Once we got in we found out that it would be closing in just a few minutes, so we saw what we could and then decided we would return in the morning. Dan guided us to the nearest underground station and an hour later we were still walking around London (it was a very comfortable walk, though, I must admit).
We stumbled upon St. Paul's Cathedral, designed by Christopher Wren (who is buried there) in 1675 and where Charles and Diana were married. I found out that the idiom "Rob Peter to pay Paul" comes from the 16th century when funds from the treasury of Westminster Abbey (St. Peter's Church) were diverted to the treasury of St. Paul's.
We finally found a tube station to get us to Tower Hill where the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London are situated. It really is amazing to view this area at night, immaculately lit up. We took an enjoyable walk across the bridge and witnessed a spectatular view of the Thames and the Tower complex in the background. We found a place to eat fish and chips on the river and after dinner called it a night.
The next morning we walked directly back to the British Museum and spent a couple of hours visiting the exhibits, particularly the ancient Greek and Asian rooms. After visiting the museum and viewing the "Elgin Marbles", we are really looking forward to our trip to Athens in March. The Elgin Marbles are a collection of marble sculptures taken from the Parthenon (and other buildings on the Acropolis) in Athens in the early 19th century, taken by Lord Elgin with permission from the Ottoman leaders that ruled Athens at the time. Then and now there is controversy surrounding whether or not they should have been taken. Considering the damage done by pollution and war in Greece, some argue that removing the items actually preserved them.
Also at the museum is the Rosetta Stone (found in Rosetta, a Mediterranean harbor of Egypt), which has inscribed on it the same passage in two Egyptian languages (hieroglyphic and demotic) and also in classical greek. Created 200 BC and found and translated by the French in the early 19th century, it has allowed for the understanding of previously undecipherable examples of hieroglyphic writings.
From the museum we made our way back to the Tower Hill to view the area in the daylight and to tour the Tower of London. This is a wonderfully interesting complex of towers built near the bank of the Thames, with the main White Tower built by William the Conquerer in 1078. The other towers in the complex were built over the next few hundred years. Although it was originally the royal residence, it also housed some famous prisoners, including Sir Walter Raleigh, who actually was imprisoned in the Tower for 13 years, in relative comfort with his wife and family (He wrote The History of the World Part 1 while imprisoned in the tower).
But most interesting for me is the whodunit story of the mysterious disappearance of the two young Princes in 1483, supposed heirs of the crown after the death of their father, Edward IV. Richard III, the princes' Uncle, locked the two princes in the complex, soon after which they were never seen again. The boys were never seen again and the Richard III named himself King, the rightful ruler of Britain. Soon after rumours began that the Uncle had the boys murdered to take over the throne. He also claimed that the boys were illegitamate, and therefore, disqualified from taking over as rulers. The tower on the palace grounds where the boys were locked up and from which they subsequently disappeared became known as the Bloody Tower. Another theory is that the boys were killed by The Duke of Buckingham, Richard III's right hand man, to gain favor from Richard III. And finally, perhaps the boys were murdered by Henry Tudor (King Henry VII) to reenforce his hold on the throne (he was married to the Princes' sister, therefore, to maintain the crown, the brothers would need to be dead). To this day nobody is 100% certain what happened to the princes (foul play or not), but in 1674, while renovating an area of the White Tower, bones of two young males were found under the staircase leading to the chapel, supposedly the Princes'. The remains were removed and buried at Westminster Abbey. Although today's DNA testing could validate/disprove some of the theories, the bones remain where they were buried 300 years ago, since Queen Elizabeth II has forbidden any further disturbance of the grave.
Also on the Tower complex are the Crown Jewels, a fascinating display of the different exotic crowns of the different British Monarchs (including a 530 Carat diamond!).
After visiting the Tower of London we hopped on to a double decker bus and rode past St. Paul's again and got off at Trafalgar Square where we spent a little time in the National Gallery. Monet and other impressionist artists are currently on display there. We also saw Van Gogh's "Vase with 15 Sunflowers" there, although not overly impressive in my opinion (But I am in the minority, considering that another painting similar and also called "Vase with 15 Sunflowers" by Van Gogh was sold to a Japanese company for $40 million in 1987, now housed in a museum in Tokyo).
After this we jumped back on the Underground, back to Kings Cross Station and onto the train back to Luton Airport. We made it back to Budapest around midnight. I have to admit we really loved London (even better than I remembered it from the last time I was there, 10 years ago) and would love to go back there (although I was surprised how expensive it really is there - 1 GBP= $2, but everything that should be $1 is 1 GBP instead, effectively doubling the cost of everything). But we'll be back, I am sure.