Thursday, December 15 - Sunday, December 18 2011
Our Christmas season
continued in a great city that we really enjoyed in the fall of 2010 (you might recall our NFL weekend trip)– London! It is perhaps one of our favorite cities in
Europe, so it was pretty obvious that we needed to go back for at least another
visit before our time in Geneva is up.
Most importantly though, when traveling in December, a city’s
Christmas atmosphere needs to be considered.
We had heard good things about London at Christmas, and were quite
pleased right from the start when we stepped off of the tube (London’s subway
system) Thursday night. The lights at
the Oxford Street Circus tube stop brought an immediate smile to our faces and
the mood was set for our 3-day weekend in London.
On Friday morning we were up
early to start our site seeing. Dave
drew back the hotel curtains and to our surprise, we were greeted with snow
falling! You can barely see it in the
video, but it was still a thrill to see our first snow of the year. :) Unfortunately, it only snowed for about 20
minutes and it didn’t stick…
Our first stop was Westminster Abbey – a site that we’ve
been outside on previous trips but hadn’t had a chance yet to enter. This quickly became one of our favorite
historic churches so far in Europe as we were actually greeted by someone with
a smile once we stepped inside! The kind
old man welcomed us into the Abbey, asked where we were from, and offered to
help us with any questions we might have (funny how something so simple can
have such a great impact on a visitor).
The audio guide that took
us through the abbey was fantastic—enough information to be very intriguing,
but not too much to be overwhelming. Although originally founded in 960 AD, construction
on the present-day structure was started in 1245 and continued through the
early 1500s. The two towers at the west
end were then added in the 1700s. While
we couldn’t take any photos inside, there are a couple of interesting tidbits
about the abbey to note.
Since 1066, Westminster
Abbey has been the Coronation site (crowing of kings and queens) for almost all
of British royalty. Since 1308 all of
those Coronations were done on King Edward’s Chair, which those that have seen
“The King’s Speech” will recognize.
While the church is a burial
site for many British royalties, it is also the burial and commemoration site
of many national figures such as Thomas Newton and Charles Darwin, of all
people. In a section of the church
called Poet’s Corner, many famous
writers and musicians were buried, like Charles Dickens and George Frideric
Handel (Handel was an ironic sighting… more on him later).
Since we were unable to take
photos inside, we bought a few postcards of the interior. You might recognize Westminster, as it was
the site of the famous Royal Wedding last year and also where Princess Diana’s
funeral was held in 1997.
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| Crazy ceiling |
After Westminster Abbey, we
crossed the Thames River over Westminster Bridge to check out London’s
version of Christmas Markets located under the London Eye (technically this market was called the Cologne Market, so it’s more accurate to
say it’s London’s impression of German Christmas Markets). :) On
our walk over it was impossible to ignore Big
Ben and the Houses of Parliament
dominating the riverside skyline. 
While not nearly as
impressive as the real Cologne Markets, it was still fun to walk through
different stands, listening to Christmas music and finding some treats along
the way—like German goulash and a cinnamon-doughy treat that we fell in love with
in Prague a few years ago. Its official
name is “trdelnik”, but as you can see Czech words are nearly impossible to
pronounce, so our closest attempt was “turtle neck”. :) Therefore these treats
gained a nickname from us—and honestly, it’s a bit fitting when you see the
structure of it.
And of course it’s always fun to see the
massive London Eye from this dramatic angle.
Our next stop was at one of London’s many free
museums – The Imperial War Museum –
which features in-depth history on British-involved wars from this past century
(including as recent as Afghanistan). This
was a fascinating museum – here are a few highlights:
Look at the massive size of this rocket – this
is what Germany used to air raid London for a period of time during WWII.
Here’s one of the early WWII German one-man
submarines. The information card said
that these models were not particularly effective and this specific submarine
was found floating half-submerged after the German soldier manning it, died
from exhaust poisoning… oops.
A replica of the first atom bomb that was
dropped on Japan in 1945.
Pictured in the black and white photo is the
largest gun ever built and Dave
standing next to one of the shells. The
gun was originally designed to destroy France’s main defense wall in WWII (the Maginot Line) but it wasn’t completed
until two years after the fall of France.
The gun needed to be transported by rail and received on four tracks. The crew to run this operation (including
defenses) was a staggering 1,420 men and took up to six weeks to assemble the
gun itself. After all that it was only
used once against Russia and was fired a mere 48 times. Crazy!
There was an interesting exhibit at the museum
titled “The Children of War” which outlined the fact that most of London’s
children were basically deported to the English countryside or other countries
for safety during the war (some for so many years that they were unrecognizable
to their parents upon their reunification).
One heartbreaking displayed showed a copy of an official letter receive
by parents telling them that their children had been on a boat to Canada that
was sunk by a torpedo and their kids didn’t survive.
It was also strange to see the various war
posters of the time outlining different messages to the British citizens, such
as warning to always keep their gas masks with them, or to help take care of
evacuated children. It’s so interesting
to think about how people managed through those times.
Not knowing a lot of details about WWI, it was satisfying
to get a little more of the backstory and understand the political
climate. One amazing story involved the
first Christmas of the war, in 1914 – it’s too incredible not to copy it word
for word: “During the first Christmas of the war a spontaneous unofficial truce
occurred on the Western Front. British
and German soldiers sang Carols to each other and fraternized openly in No
Man’s Land. Officers and men mingled
together, taking photographs, exchanging souvenirs and arranging joint burials
of the dead. In some areas the
unofficial truce was maintained for days and even weeks. News of the Christmas truce reached Britain
through letters written home by those who had taken part in it. Newspapers subsequently reported this
extraordinary event in great detail. It
was to be the only widespread unofficial truce of the war. By the following Christmas strict orders had
been issues by both sides prohibiting any further fraternization.”
The Imperial War Museum was massive and had so
much interesting information that we knew we couldn’t do it all that evening. But since it was free entry, we decided we
would definitely come a second time later that weekend. Tired from a long day of being on our feet we
decided to have a break at the pub around the corner from the museum, called The Three Stags. While pubs are a dime a dozen in London, this
one became one of our favorites because it was relaxing, not overly-loud and
the service was very friendly—not to mention the quaint old atmosphere. Dave especially loved the pub’s music choice
as they played the entire latest Fleet Foxes album as we sipped back a couple
of pints. So relaxing!
Soon enough we were on the move again – we had
places to go! On our way back toward the
center of town we stopped once more by the Cologne Market to see everything at
night (and for another cinnamon ‘turtle neck’… let’s be honest).
We caught the tube over to Hyde Park for the largest Christmas Market in London – the Winter
Wonderland! Even though it was extremely
commercialized, it still ended up being a fun time. The two quirkiest parts of the market, and
the most enjoyable for us, was a singing moose head and an old-timey automated
circus organ (we don’t know what else to call it – haha) that seemed to be
playing something out of a typical Jerry Bruckheimer movie (regardless, we were
both fascinated with this thing and sat and listened to it for quite a while). There’s a peek of both below… 
Just south of Hyde Park is Royal Albert Hall, the site of our entertainment for the evening –
Handel’s “Messiah” (yes, the same Handel buried at Westminster Abbey). Dave has seen the Messiah performed a few times
in the past and, while he didn’t remember it as the most invigorating
performance, has incorporated the Messiah Chorus songs into the Visser
Christmas music mix over the past few years.
Ang became a fan and wanted to experience it live. It turns out Dave’s memories were a little
more accurate than his newfound love of the choruses. :) We didn’t realize
there would be so many soloist breaks from the choir, which (although the
soloists were very talented vocally) are pretty dull after a while. However, when the 400+ person had their
chance to sing it was impressive. Here
is the most famous of the Messiah songs, the Hallelujah Chorus.
Saturday was another early morning, as we
wanted to beat the notorious crowds at the popular Portobello Market. This old market
is world-famous (those that know the movie ‘Bed Knobs and Broomsticks’ can go
ahead and sing the song now) and has many of the usual antique trinkets and
treats that most other flea markets have – although in a more picturesque London
suburb setting and with the fun history of knowing the market has been in
operation for over 100 years. The market
is also famous for its fresh produce and baked goods—it originally started as a
farmer’s market in the late 1800s. Ang
was able to snag up some cool stuff and Dave got a dessert at the pastry stand
that could have been featured in a cooking magazine. Our early timing worked well because as we
were leaving, we passed literally hundreds of people shuffling into the market
for their turn.
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| Who knew brussel sprouts grew on a stalk? |
We decided next to visit the Houses of
Parliament (shown earlier next to Big Ben).
This was a fascinating guided tour as we learned more about British
governmental rule. The biggest
differences between the U.K. and U.S., for example, are 1) there is no
separation from church and state, 2) there is a King / Queen (although with
limited power) and 3) while there are elected representatives (known as
Commons), there are also appointed Lords and Ladies (appointed for life whether
or not they serve their whole lives) who are popular or influential figureheads
in British society. While Lords/Ladies
don’t have the power to pass laws (only the Commons do) you wouldn’t think this
by the way their different sections of the Houses are decorated – the Lords are
overtly grand while the Commons are noticeably more plain.
Unfortunately we were not allowed to take
photos inside except for in the grand Westminster
Hall. The hall, built in 1099 AD,
has been the site of many historic events from banquets to legal trials,
including the sentencing of Sir William Wallace (Braveheart) in 1305. Obama was even a guest of the hall during a
recent event. While it’s impressive to
see, it’s also really cold and expensive to heat up so it’s not used as often
as it used to be (but continues to hold its historical significance in British
culture). In the black and white photo
below you can see what the hall looked like when decked out for an event.
After the Parliament we walked toward Trafalgar Square and on the way, got a
dose of some classic London via the form of a statuesque guard protecting the
Army Headquarters. It’s amazing how many
crowds they attract. Once in the square
we saw the popular Nelson’s Column
and Grand National Portrait Gallery,
and were delighted to stumble across the countdown monument for the 2012 London
Summer Olympics.
While in London, one must eat fish n’
chips! It’s what the British are famous
for, after all. :) So we decided to hit
up the fish n’ chips joint that many of our London co-workers suggested as one
of the best. Rock and Sole Plaice has been around since at least WW2 (the back
of the menu talked about during WWII the Fish Fryers Association would meet in
the basement of the restaurant to determine which area of the city would most
benefit from a delivery of morale-boosting fresh fish, which was limited in
supply at that time). This place did not
disappoint – we had the traditional cod as well as halibut and a side of “mushy
peas” to enjoy the meal as a Brit would.
As delicious as tarter sauce is with fish n’ chips, the British method
of vinegar and salt was surprisingly tasty too.
Our main activity of the afternoon was to see
the matinee performance of the musical Les
Miserables at the Queen Elizabeth
Theater. If you haven’t heard of Les
Miserables you probably live under a rock somewhere, but like us you may have
never seen it live on stage. Although a
small theater, it was slightly disorienting because it was incredibly
steep. In the photo below where you can
see the chandelier – that was the view from our seats, and yes, we were
eye-level with the main ceiling (probably 60-70 feet tall). They turned out to be great seats (and
interesting to be looking down on the stage and catching some of the set and
costume tricks that those on the ground level couldn’t see). It was an entertaining performance with
talented vocalists and a great story of grace and redemption. We were glad to finally check this classic
off the list.
And now for a bit of the quirky… London has
many organized events during the year.
The previous weekend there was an event known as ‘Santa Con’ (‘con’
being short for either conference or convention, we believe?), which is a
gathering of hundreds of people who dress up as Santa and do a big pub crawl
while Christmas caroling and passing out treats to random strangers. This weekend was another Santa-related event
– the ‘Santa Skate’. It’s pretty much
like it sounds – hundreds of people dressed in Santa suits, roller blading /
skating across town for a couple of hours.
We found out about this event because the boyfriend of our co-worker Manuela
was participating. We had the pleasure
to meet up with Manuela and her baby, Zara, in Trafalgar Square waiting for the
Santa crew to arrive. Let’s just say
after witnessing this amazing site we might have to come back next year with
our Santa outfits and some skating devices!
Our primary reason for the Santa Skate visit
was because after over 3 years of working on the same team, we had never met
Manuela in person—so it was really great to be able to do so that night!
Before the night ended we stopped at the famous
(and massive) 6-story Hamley’s toy store to find a couple English toys for our
niece, Kamryn (all of the learning toys & books in Geneva are in French, of
course!). While our stop was primarily
for Kamryn, it was easy to regain our youthful memories of toys received in
Christmas past and see what kind of new evolutions are out there. And, Dave loved meeting the life-sized Lego
man…
We woke early again on Sunday to a beautiful
sunny, but icy morning. Our first
priority of the day was to see a special place for both of us – Abbey Road! Yes, in the middle of an unsuspecting London
suburb is the famous Abbey Road Studios
where The Beatles, and so many
others, recorded legendary music that has helped shaped our music taste over
the years. Additionally, we’re sure
you’re familiar with the famous cover of their Abbey Road album. 
We tried to replicate the photo, but it’s
pretty lame when you only have one person to walk across the famous crosswalk,
instead of the original four. :) After too many tries of trying to get the
right angle, we finally settled on these two as the best (sadly). It’s surprisingly hard to redo that classic
pose! You need to worry about traffic
(both model and photographer), getting the right body position down, a good
camera angle and zoom, and of course avoid the dozens of other tourists trying
the same exact thing – haha (luckily we were there early and only had to share
the spotlight with a handful). Ang’s
brother Nick sent us this photo below of The Beatles waiting their turn just as
we did on the side of the crosswalk – we thought that was pretty funny. :)
Our last major stop of the trip was to see the
enchanting Tower of London. The name is a little deceiving – it’s
actually more like a traditional castle, it just has a tower in the middle of
it, which gives it its namesake. The
complex was originally built in the 11th century and has been used
as a royal palace, prison and fortress over the centuries and has undergone
multiple expansions. It has a sweet moat that goes all the way around, although it doesn't have water in it these days, unfortunately.
The most famous thing about the Tower of London
is the illustrious Crown Jewels. Of course there were no photos allowed, but if
you’ve never seen them, they were quite exquisite (although fairly gaudy) and
worth a peek. Other than the jewels the
tower has a few other stories associated with it (although mostly
non-recognizable to us non-British citizens) that were well told by the guide
you see on the right. He did a fantastic job of
bringing the castle to life and was really funny in the process. Come to think of it, that was the theme for much
of this weekend – great people giving great tours (but lack of photography to
show for most of it). :)
Some other details… See that green patch of grass below? That was the place of execution for a handful
of queens and a couple of lords and ladies said to be traitors. The infamous beheading of Queen Anne Boleyn occurred
there.
Inside the tower itself there was a great
display of armor and weaponry. You can
see a comparison of the biggest and smallest armor made—the small one for King
Edward VI when he was a young child (although who ended up being crowned at
nine years old); the large one for a 6’8” soldier. It’s a little hard to see but that gun is
studded with diamonds and other precious stones – apparently nicely decorated
armory wasn’t just a fad of the early centuries.
After leaving the castle we grabbed Sunday
brunch at The Three Stags pub (where we grabbed a pint a couple days earlier),
then took another look at the Imperial War Museum. Unfortunately, we still didn’t have enough
time at this great museum! It closed
earlier than normal that day because they needed to set-up for a big event the
following evening in which military heroes would be honored (and in which the
Royal family would be attending—fancy, fancy.)
So alas, we will definitely be making a third trip to the Imperial War Museum
whenever we end up in London next!
Another great weekend in London—we can’t wait for the next!
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