Parthemores in Poland

I realized today that I better knock out some blogging before the travel season really hits us.  Our latest adventure was to jolly old London so Eric could do some research for his dissertation. 

After the Nazis invaded in 1939, Poland set up a government-in-exile in London.  This shadow government remained there until the fall of Communism in 1989.  One of the major players in this organization was Władysław Sikorski, who became the Prime Minister and Commander in Chief during WWII, though he was killed in a plane crash in 1943.  The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London now houses all the records from the Polish forces fighting on the western front during the war.  So Eric spent two full days staring at old documents from their impressive collection.

While he was there, I focused on some high quality sight-seeing.  I have mentioned before that we usually employ our “viking raider” tactics, and try to see as much as possible in the shortest amount of time.  In London, I discovered a way to do this even faster – and it didn’t involve an open-top sightseeing bus.

I went for a sightseeing run!

I actually spent a lot of time on Google Maps planning this out.  I picked out a bunch of (relatively) closely packed sights and came up with a straightforward route.  As you can see by the map, “straightforward” is a relative term. 

I didn’t bring the camera, so I’m stealing some of these from Wikipedia.  The next day, Eric and I spent the evening visiting some of the sights via the Tube.

Hyde Park with the awesomely ornate Albert Memorial

On to Piccadilly Circus, which kind of reminded me of Times Square.  There were lots of tourists here, also with the associated tourist stores.  (Wikipedia photo)

Trafalgar Square was cool and I was impressed with how tall the Nelson Column actually was. 

Crossing over the Thames, the giant London Eye marks the Guaranteed Tourist Area. 

But once you get to the Eye, you can see Parliament and Big Ben back across the river.

Westminster Abbey featured an encampment of protesters, whose grungy appearance detracted from the otherwise beautiful architecture.  (Wikipedia photo)

On the way to Buckingham Palace, I stopped to watch the going-on at the Horse Guards building.  Their uniforms looked very fancy, but probably really hot. (Wikipedia)

The Mall down to Buckingham Palace looked very stately.  The flags weren’t out when I ran through, but I thought this picture was cool.  (Wikipedia)

I think the Queen was visiting the US when we were there.  A bunch of tourists were waiting in front of the palace, but I’m not sure for what.  The changing of the guard, maybe?  (Wikipedia)

So that sums up my little tour.  In total, it was almost 9 miles.  I was smart enough to bring water with me, since it was pretty hot that day.

I also enjoyed London for the simple fact that I understood everything that was going on and I could communicate with confidence.  For me, that was really a luxury.

We ate fish and chips and watched World Cup Soccer in a pub called the Red Lion…seems very British.  Also very British:  speaking Polish with the waitress.  No kidding. 

So, now that I am up to date on the blog, I feel justified in leaving again.  We are off on our northern adventure in the Baltic.