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In
the second week of February, Marty was on a business trip
in England. Since it's so fast and cheap to fly from Germany
to England, I joined him on the weekend in London for Valentine's
day. On Friday night we went to see the new play "When
Harry Met Sally," starring Alyson Hannigan and Luke
Perry. We spent the rest of the weekend seeing some sights
we missed when we were in London two years ago in March
2002.
Somehow
nearly all of my pictures this time turned out to be about
transportation in London. And we didn't even go to the transportation
museum! Maybe next time.
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I
arrived on the airport shuttle at Paddington Station, and
took a few pictures of its classic train station architecture
before I went down to the tube.
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Some
of my earliest memories of London are of entering through
its grand train stations (like Paddington) as a child.
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The
columns and high arched ceilings still express the Victorians'
excitement about industry.
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A
detail of one of the columns and the wrought iron architecture.
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A
bus terminal in London.
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In
the Picadilly Circus tube station. I love the old tilework
and enameled signs.
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The
Notting Hill Gate tube station -- one of the outdoor/above
ground stations within London.
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Marty
at "our" tube station, Marble Arch. The bed
and breakfast where we like to stay is just around the
corner.
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Tilework
in a tunnel in the Lambeth tube station (south of the
Thames).
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Constructed
for London's millennium celebrations, this is the largest
wheel in the world (or, it was at the time it was built
in 2000, anyway).
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Located
just across the River Thames from Parliament, the London
Eye can carry 15,000 passengers a day!
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The
view as you go up.
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Because
the capsules are on the outside of the wheel, and they
rotate as you go around, at the top you get a great, unobstructed
view of the city. Or in this case, the people in the next
car!
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Marty
with the Houses of Parliament (and Big Ben).
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And
Susie with the same view!
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A
view of Parliament from the Eye. What a rainy day!
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Buckingham
Palace is back there in that green part. If you click
on the bigger picture you can see it better.
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That's
the Waterloo train station down there on the right.
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Looking
down the Thames toward the Tower of London and Tower Bridge.
There were buildings in the way, though.
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On
Saturday morning we went to the Portobello
Road market, in Notting Hill, where you can buy all
kinds of antiques, clothes, and food. Even German food!
(Although
I have to admit, even after living in Bavaria for two
years, I really have no idea what they might mean by "Bavarian
Spicy Sausage.")
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Finally,
we checked out the Imperial
War Museum in London. It's located in the former Bethlehem
mental hospital in Lambeth, which is the source of the
word "Bedlam."
They
have really huge guns outside!
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It's
a museum of conflict in the 20th century. As you might
expect, they have a bunch of old aircraft and vehicles.
But the most interesting parts of the museum are the comprehensive
historical exhibits on WWI, WWII, and conflicts since
WWII.
They
have a walk-through replica of a blitzed London street
from the 1940s and another one of a WWI trench. It is
fascinating!
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We
liked this museum so much that we went twice (Saturday
and Sunday) on our short visit to London. We still didn't
see everything! I would definitely recommend this museum
for people who enjoy 20th century history!
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