May 18, 19, 20

If you’ve been reading some of the students’ blogs, you already know that our hotel in London has limited and inconvenient internet access. It’s a nice hotel – huge with 1635 rooms on seven floors so the relatively small lobby is always bustling, loud, and chaotic – and it’s in a nice area of London, but all our blogs will be sporadic with few or no pictures until we reach Reykjavik on Tuesday the 24^th.

May 18th

The first half of Wednesday the 18^th was free time until we left for the Bergen Airport at 3:00. Some students went shopping, some went sight-seeing, and Karla and I went to the Museum of Decorative Art.   I know it sounds esoteric and boring, but it has an extensive collection from ancient China & Japan, the Bergen City gold and silver treasures, surprisingly interesting old things, and assorted attempts at decorative art.  This is one of the several museums and activities we require the students to attend even though we know they wouldn’t choose to on their own.

At the Museum of Decorative Art

An Ancient Chinese Scholar's Desk

On the two hour flight to London, Karla and I sat next to an elderly gentleman who didn't talk to us until we were almost on the ground.  Then he said a lot. He works for the World Bank and is heading an $860 million project in Norway.  He agreed with us that prices are high in Norway, but he said the Norwegians aren’t worried about it because they have so much North Sea oil money.  Norway has the highest per capita income in the world.  It turned out to be his 76^th birthday, but not a good one he said because he had to fire someone earlier in the day.

Gatwick Airport is about 30 miles from London, so we had a coach waiting to take us to our hotel in the Bloomsbury region of London.  Bloomsbury used to be known as the intellectual center of London.  Virginia Wolfe (author), John Maynard Keynes (economist), and others used to live here.  Many buildings have round blue and white enamel medallions reporting who used to live there.  One of our favorites is across the street from the Laundromat we use that says Mary Shelley (author of Frankenstein) once lived there.  Today the area is a slightly upscale urban with attractions like the British National Museum. It’s very lively with people everywhere – always rushing to be somewhere. We finally checked in at the Royal National Hotel around 11:00 pm, and then went to a nearby convenience store to get snacks, soda, and have a short tour of the immediate vicinity

May 19^th

As in all our hotels, we purchased breakfasts so everyone will have at least one good meal a day.  With the thousands of people staying here, it seems a bit like a cattle call, but the food is good.  After breakfast we introduced students to the “Tube,” London’s subway system. We showed them where to buy half-price musical tickets and then went to Westminster Abby (where, the women tell me, the prince and his wife were married a few weeks ago), Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament. The students broke into groups and went off exploring until we met for dinner at an old English pub.  The food was great, fish and chips or chicken and chips, and then it was a short walk to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre for “As You Like It.”  This is a light play, a bit of a romp – not deep and brooding like Macbeth or Hamlet.  All 18 to 20 roles were played by just 8 actors, which contributed to the light and humorous nature of the play.  It was OK, but not great.

Mounted Palace Guards

Karissa, Alli, Megan, Amy, Britta, Hope, Donna, and Karla at the Pub for Supper

May 20^th

A free day for sightseeing and exploring.  Students figured out what they wanted to do and took off.  Karla and I found a Laundromat. It was a nice break from hand-washing everything in the hotel sink for nearly three weeks.  At about $10.00 per load for washing and drying, we’ll be back at the sink for the rest of the trip.

Later in the day Karla and I went to the Victoria and Albert Museum.  We had not been there before and were surprised by the extensive displays of ancient Greek sculptures and the wide variety of other artifacts.  They even had a hallway dedicated to iron work from a region of Russia.  It was identical to the old wrought iron fences and gates common in small towns (especially around cemeteries) in Minnesota and North Dakota.

At the Victoria & Albert Museum

In the evening, Hope, Donna, Allie, Megan, and Karissa went to Wicked, and Karla and I went to The Phantom of the Opera.  I think Britta and Amy plan to see The Lion King on Saturday afternoon.