Fischberg Flashback 7: Vertigo

 Original date of post: September 18, 2013

Given that on Wednesdays I have three classes over the course of the day, you’d think that those would be work-dominated days with few blog-worthy events.

You’re probably right, but this day was an exception!

At noon today, in between my drama and politics courses, we had a visit from a nearby police constable!  He was there to inform us about safety and security procedures, along with warning us about some of the scams that modern-day London thieves tend to pull (spoiler alert: there are a lot).  At the end, he offered out pamphlets, personal alarms, and jingly little bells to attach to our belongings:

I’ll give them a try, but I have a feeling that they might get annoying.  We’ll see!

Anyway, during history class, we went on a walking tour in the heart of the City of London (for those who don’t know, the City of London, also known as the Square Mile or the City, is the very center of the city, dating back to the Roman Empire and containing many financial buildings).  Along with plenty of some old churches, which dated back to the Middle Ages, there were plenty of examples of cutting-edge architecture:

Royal Exchange of London

Bank of England

We also passed by the Royal Exchange of London and the Bank of England.  However, our main destination was the Monument, a monument to the Great Fire of London, which decimated the city in 1666.  The Monument consists of one giant column that is actually a tower:

The tower can be climbed via a single spiral staircase within the tower.  It is tall.  Very tall:

That is a photo of the staircase taken from the top.  At the top of the tower, one can see a lovely view of the London skyline.

When I finally made it down the tower, I was presented with a certificate to mark my accomplishment (to be honest, 311 steps up and down was pretty exhausting, especially for someone of my physical caliber).

Now that I’ve seen a good deal of London from up high, I look forward to seeing even more at ground level soon!

Modern insight:

Ah, good old London scenery porn!  This is the kind of thing travel blogs were meant for.

Though I didn't immediately realize it, climbing the Monument awoke something in me.  For the remainder of the semester, I was mildly obsessed with finding higher and higher places to climb and photograph (especially places with ludicrously long staircases).  To this day, I can't pass up a good photo op from the top of a church, mountain, or government building.

The security bells weren't as long-lasting.  As brought up in a later post, I removed them in early October.  I still appreciate the courteous thought, though!

Looking back on this post, I missed an opportunity to use British spelling: I wrote "caliber" when I should have written "calibre!"  SHAME, 20-year-old me!

Random Fact 1: the blue pill-shaped skyscraper is officially called 30 St. Mary Axe, something I didn't learn for another year.  Every Londoner I talked to about it (which was admittedly only a few people at the University Center) called it "the Viagra Building," which it will always be to me. :P

Random Fact 2: I titled this post "Vertigo" back in the day because it's one of my father's favorite movies.  At the time I wrote this post, I had not seen it.  In the years since, I have seen it.  This has nothing to do with my travels abroad, but I'd recommend giving Vertigo a watch; it's got some lovely San Francisco scenery porn. :)

Fischberg Flashback 6: The Game is Afoot

 Original date of post: September 17, 2013

Two cultural landmarks in two days!  Looks like this week is going well indeed!

Last night, I ventured across the River Thames to find Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, a replica of the famous Elizabethan theatre, to watch a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  I did this in part because of my love of the arts, in part because of my love of history, in part to help me with my Shakespeare class, and in part because it was mandatory for all AHA students.

 

 

The production was not completely historically accurate (the roles of women were played by women, not young boys), but the layout of the theatre was impressive.  It was an open-air arena with seats surrounding the stage and courtyard.  The AHA tickets were for standing in the yard, so like a low-born groundling during the European Renaissance, I was forced to stand for three hours under the contemptuous gazes of the lucky ones with seats…although I’m sure most groundlings didn’t bring notebooks with them to take notes on the play as I did.

Yeah, as I said, this was work-related, as I had to examine the delivery of the play and be ready to discuss it in class.  All in all, the production was well-executed (albeit a tad slapstick in a few scenes) and the acting was top-notch, particularly the actor playing Oberon.  For those that don’t remember A Midsummer Night’s Dream, it’s the comedy involving Theseus, a troupe of bad actors, four foolish lovers, and an affair between Titania, Queen of the Fairies, and a half-man, half-donkey abomination.

I had a good time last night and I look forward to more exposure to the theatre in England.

Today, I had only one class, so I had the entire afternoon free to do as I pleased.  Because I was on top of my homework, I naturally decided to do some sightseeing, preferably for my Criminal Justice Pilgrimage.  This time, I sought out arguably the most famous address in London…

That’s right!  I went to 221B Baker Street, home to everyone’s favourite autistic cocaine-addicted detective, Sherlock Holmes (I’m half-joking about the autism and not joking about the cocaine)!

Today, this address marks the site of the Sherlock Holmes Museum, which honours the (fictional) detective by preserving his (fictional) household and commemorating his (fictional) accomplishments.  The first two floors consist of Sherlock’s (fictional) study, his bedroom, and personal rooms for Dr. Watson and Mrs. Hudson (the latter containing plaques that explained some of the details of Victorian life and how they played into Sherlock Holmes stories).  Where this museum truly gets interesting is the third floor, where, among many “artifacts” from the stories, there are about two dozen wax figures of characters, ranging from Irene Adler with the King of Bohemia from “A Scandal in Bohemia”:

…to Jabez Wilson from “The Adventure of the Red-Headed League”:

…to Professor Moriarty:

…to Sherlock and Watson themselves:

There were also many characters I was unfamiliar with, clearly indicating that I need to read more Sherlock Holmes stories!  Maybe I’ll read them along with the scripts of Shakespeare.

An excellent idea!

Reflections:

The steady stream of blog entries continue, as does the Criminal Justice Pilgrimage (albeit with a fictional location) and the British spellings that would honour any dedicated theatre fan.  

A Midsummer Night's Dream would not be my last Shakespeare play enjoyed in London, nor would it be my most memorable trip to the Globe.

As much as it screams "tourist trap," the Sherlock Holmes Museum was a surprisingly educational and enjoyable experience.  I'd definitely recommend giving it a look to anyone planning to travel to London.  Also, the constable out front was a ridiculously good sport about me taking pictures.

As I write this, I actually have a collection of Sherlock Holmes stories on my bedside table that I've just cracked open.  It's taken ten years, but I'm following up on the excellent idea that I ran by Mr. Holmes!

Fischberg Flashback 5: Ben Meets Ben

 Original date of post: September 15, 2023

Whew!  Today was quite the adventure in London!  There were plenty of famous landmarks all fairly close to each other, so I got quite a bit of sightseeing in.

I’ve been on top of my homework so far, so I decided to go to another destination on my Criminal Justice Pilgrimage: Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service!

…Yeah, it’s a building.  As cool and significant a building as it is, it wasn’t exactly enough to justify a trip all the way to London.  Fortunately, there were plenty of nearby destinations, some of which I had noted earlier on a map.  One destination I hadn’t marked was Buckingham Palace, which, to my surprise and pleasure, was fairly near by.  Following a series of signs helpfully left for tourists, I finally found the fabled British royal residence.  The surrounding area was REALLY packed.

Unfortunately, while I may be excellent at following instructions to a destination, I am less than stellar at retracing my footsteps.  To translate that into simpler terms, I got lost and wandered aimlessly around London until I found the Tube station back to the Scotland Yard area.  Once again where I started, I went the other way towards the River Thames.  Why did I go there?  Well…

Yep, that’s Big Ben, the famous bell/clock tower alongside the British Houses of Parliament.  Speaking of which…

That’s right!  Even though I’m scheduled to visit Parliament again later in the semester as part of my classes, I couldn’t help but check out the exterior, as it’s such a beautiful building.  Also, as the originator of statutory laws, Parliament is a legitimate stop on the Criminal Justice Pilgrimage.

I also saw Westminster Abbey, which was nearby.

In the general area of Westminster Abbey and Parliament are statues of various British political figures (and some non-British ones, like Abraham Lincoln and Nelson Mandela) and small parks.  Right across the River Thames was the always-watching London Eye:

Oliver Cromwell

Robert Peel (founder of the Metropolitan Police Services)

Abraham Lincoln

Boudicca (Celtic warlord who led an uprising against the Roman Empire)

Emmeline Pankhurst (British suffragette leader)

Winston Churchill

Nelson Mandela

I could hear it calling me with its siren song of an exhilarating ride, but since I didn’t want to be too late getting home, I decided to head out.  Maybe another time…

This has been a fun weekend, and I’ve really been settling in here in England.  I now feel that I’ve got my necessary routines down (although I have no doubt that they will be thrown into the fires of anarchy when the homework becomes more intense/I become more sociable) and I feel almost at home.

That being said, I’ve had two unusual experiences this weekend that remind me that I’ve stepped into something of a new world.

First: last night, as I was returning home from the pub, I passed by a large crowd of young women (with maybe one or two men), many of whom seemed to have had a drink or two beforehand.  As I passed them, they started saying “Good Night!” to me.

Wait, it gets weirder: Just as I passed the last few women, one of them said to me, “Good Night, Harry Potter!”

…I’m sure that the English nightlife will continue to bring interesting experiences.

Second: while exploring London today, I found this neat little bin:

Apparently, knife violence is a serious problem in London and these bins offer a convenient way for honest civilians to rid themselves of potential weaponry.  It’s something that I’ve certainly never seen in the United States.

So yeah, my first week in England has included exploration, light culture shock, socializing, settling in, homework, and (naturally) blogging.

Here’s hoping my second week goes well!

Modern reflections:

This was quite the fruitful outing!  Scotland Yard and Buckingham Palace were impressive enough, but the whole area around Parliament turned out to be a treasure trove for the historically minded.  Like the Tower of London, Parliament was a convenient and comforting landmark due to its proximity to a big and bustling Tube station.  As I predicted here, it also ended up being a field trip destination.

It took quite a while to get all the exterior shots.  Parliament was much bigger than anticipated.

The photo of Buckingham Palace hits a little differently in late 2023 (RIP Queen Elizabeth II), as does the statue of Nelson Mandela.  He was alive when this was first posted, but he passed away later in the semester.  I visited his statue after his passing and saw that many others paid their respects.  The updated photo I took didn't make it in a later blog post (I couldn't find a way to tastefully incorporate it into twentysomething angst or macabre fanboying over executions), so here it is:

RIP, President Mandela

All in all, my first week in England was an adventure that set the tone for the rest of the semester.  Around this time, I started hitting up pubs with my fellow travelers, where I became acquainted with (and fond of) imbibing a proper British gin and tonic.  I originally posted about this in a short blog post before this one, but I've decided to skip reposting that one for now; I think I've summarized it pretty well in this paragraph.  Nightly excursions became the norm as the semester went on.  I didn't write that extensively about pubbing, but I might include my recollections as we continue these flashbacks.

Fischberg Flashback 4: Up the River

Original date of post: September 10, 2013

In my last post, I promised I’d have photos soon.  Here you go:

The first photo is the University Center where I will be studying for the duration of my time abroad.  The second photo is a shot of a busy London street taken from the top storey of a double-decker bus.  The third is the River Thames, which I traveled quit a bit of over the course of the day’s journey.

The day got off to a great start, as I found a Krispy Kreme next to the Holborn Tube station, which is usually how I arrive into London.  I get a feeling I’ll be going there a little more often when I have reasons to celebrate…

Today, we were briefed about our classes.  All of them seemed quite interesting and exciting in their own ways, but I was especially excited for my history course, London: Biography of a City.  I’d like to say that I’m excited because it will offer an in-depth historic look into one of the oldest, most famous, and most multicultural cities in the world, along with contributing to my History major and feeding into my specialty of political history, but I’m going to be completely honest: we’ll be taking field trips to Whitechapel, the Clink, and other places in London that will feed into my Criminal Justice Pilgrimage (yes, I’m capitalizing it now)!  This will give me more free time to do other important stuff, like grocery shopping, homework, unpacking (Really?  I still haven’t finished that yet?), and other…important things…like hitting up a pub or two…

Anyhoo, today’s main, main event was going to the Tower of London.  We left AHA Center via double-decker bus (where I took one of the above pictures), took the time to see a pair of old palaces at Somerset and Savoy, and traversed the River Thames on a boat.  As we proceeded east, I managed to spot the London Eye and Big Ben, but was unable to obtain a satisfactory photograph of either.  I will remedy this eventually when I visit both landmarks later (hopefully).

Finally, like so many countless convicts and political prisoners in the past, we arrived at the Tower of London, the dreaded gaol, torture chamber, and place of execution (it’s also been a mint, armoury, treasury, military command center, and royal palace, but let’s not get distracted), by boat.  Just look how terrified I am!:

…OK, I have a weird way of expressing fear.  Actually, I was excited, as I was now finally visiting a destination for my Criminal Justice Pilgrimage (given the Tower’s notoriety for torture, religious persecution, and executions based on trumped-up charges, I use the word “justice” loosely)!  There was so much I wanted to see, so I wasted no time going to the keep of the Tower of London, the White Tower!:

(A quick note about the Tower of London, for those who aren’t familiar with it: despite its name, the Tower is actually more of a giant fortified castle with numerous towers and an enormous courtyard.)

The White Tower is one big museum detailing the basic history of the entire Tower of London.  In particular, it has a massive display of arms and armour dating back from its garrison days.  Along with plenty of medieval European weapons, there were also numerous weapons from various eras and places collected by diplomats and the like.  Of all the spears, swords, arrows, etc. in the White Tower, the weapons that drew my eye the most were these bling-tastic guns:

The White Tower is every bit a medieval castle, complete with spiral staircases, imposing stone walls, and an aura of antiquity.  The various medieval weapons and suits of armour add to this effect quite nicely.  Tourists and guide plaques aside, one could easily imagine that he/she has taken a thousand-year step back in time.  I certainly felt this to an extent.  Then I turned the corner and saw this:

…I may only be a college student, but I’m fairly certain that this animatronic dragon made of armour that roars and seems to be spitting gold isn’t completely historically accurate.  Then again, what do I know?

Given that my next account relates to grisly capital punishment, it’s time to break out the white text!  After leaving the White Tower, I almost immediately sought out Tower Green, a space in the courtyard where private beheadings were carried out on certain nobles such as Queen Anne Boleyn, Queen Catherine Howard, and Lady Jane Grey.  Since the scaffold was rebuilt every time there was an execution, there was no real singular spot where I could pay my respects.  There is, however, a sculpture of a pillow coupled with a circular plaque that lists off those executed at Tower Green with an inscription:

“Gentle visitor pause a while,

Where you stand death cut away the light of many days.

Here, jewelled names were broken from the vivid thread of life.

May they rest in peace while we walk the generations around their strife and courage,

Under these restless skies.”

Upon reading that, I paused for a moment, suspending my academic fascination of the macabre, and reflected on death, capital punishment, and justice.

White text: speaking of beheadings, here's an actual executioner's block and headsman's ax seen in the White Tower

St. Thomas's Tower, coupled with the notorious Tratiors' Gate.  Many accused traitors passed through this gate into the Tower via boat. They usually did not live for very long afterward.

A pair of Yeoman Warders (guardians of the Tower of London, colloquially known as "beefeaters"). They were great sports for posing for this picture!

At this point, I still wanted to see the battlements, the crown jewels, and the Bloody Tower (which was a museum of torture instruments), but a combination of rain, time, and jet lag catching up to me persuaded me to put of explorations until a later date.  Still, I walked away satisfied, as I had seen the White Tower, Traitors’ Gate, and Tower Green!  I’ve decided that I’ll try to revisit the Tower on a weekend.  Thanks to my experience and confidence with the Tube, that should be a snap!

Reflections from 2023 Ben:

Ah, the first stop in my Criminal Justice Pilgrimage!  This is also the first time I had photos added to my blog, which livens it up and reminds me that I looked vaguely younger ten years ago.  I don't think the last three photos were originally part of this blog post, but I found them looking through my files and they seemed perfect to add.  Getting these photo files organized as they originally were may be a little tricky since I don't have the original blog webpage, but I have these files on my phone and Facebook (where I'll also be cribbing some of the photo captions), so I should be able to be mostly accurate.

This was not my only trip to the Tower of London, as I spent a few days exploring the area around it.  The Tower of London is also a convenient meeting/transit place due to its proximity to an active Tube station, so I was in proximity to the Tower of London almost any time I got lost during my excursions.  For all its reputation of a place of fear, it was a weirdly comforting presence throughout my time in London.

Looking back at this post, it looks like I started using British spellings for common words (namely, "armour" and "storey").  This escalated during the semester, as some of our professors penalized us for using American spellings in papers.  British spellings stayed with me for the months following my time abroad, but I've mostly gone back to American spellings in the years since.  To this day, I still sometimes accidentally use British spellings in day-to-day writings (and intentionally use British spellings in creative writing when trying to convey that someone has a British accent).  I hope no one reading this takes offence at the spellings. ;)

Fischberg Flashback 3: London, At Last

Note: this was originally posted in Fisch and Chips on September 9, 2013.  Names have been mostly redacted to protect privacy (though everyone I mention by name originally gave permission to use their names in the original blog post).  I haven't checked in with these folks in a while, so my inner lawyer wants to play it safe for now.  I'll continue redacting for the time being by means of first name initials.

Ah, London-capital of England, the United Kingdom, and (historically) the British Empire.

I finally set foot in this fabled city today to receive student orientation.  Starting in Eastcote, I rode the London Underground public transit system (which I will be referring to as the Tube from now on) into the heart of London, where the AHA Center was only a short walk away.  The weather was grey and cloudy, so I felt like I was back in Portland.  I also felt somewhat reminded of Philadelphia and New York, based on the quaint aura of the buildings and the multicultural-ness, respectively.  I arrived at the AHA center an hour ahead of schedule, so I was quickly introduced to M, the AHA housing coordinator, and helped her set up the classroom for the orientation.

In the minutes leading up to orientation, M told me a little about the building’s history; namely, that it dated back to the eighteenth century and contained a decent amount of the original woodwork.  My appreciation for this location increased even more when I was reminded that there are numerous law firms in the area!  The orientation itself was nice: we were brought up to speed on what would be expected in this upcoming semester and given a host of tips regarding safety and transportation.  We also received oyster cards, which will make traveling on the Tube much more convenient.

When the orientation was over, I met up with the other two Bearcats in the group, L and T, and we rode the Tube west together to return to our respective homesteads.  Overall, my experiences today made me really excited about the coming months, as I was reminded that we have a lot of awesome field trips lined up, including a trip to the Tower of London tomorrow!  Add in the fact that I can now travel around the London area with relative ease, it means I’ll be able to go through my criminal justice pilgrimage in no time!  Executions ahoy!

One final thing to note: I was planning to include a photo or two of the AHA Center and London in general, but a combination of rain, obligations to friends, and not wanting to look too much like a tourist kept me from doing so.  Don’t worry, I’ll have plenty of pictures soon enough!

Reflections from the present:

My predictions of a successful criminal justice pilgrimage due to plentiful field trips and ease of travel turned out to be very accurate.  To this day, I still feel that London has some of the best public transportation I've ever seen.  Paris, Portland, New York City, and Hawaii have been serviceable, but nothing I've seen compares to the Tube in terms of running on time, ease of use, and navigability.