Sharing some of the experiences encountered moving to and living in London … and then moving to Amsterdam! And then, moving to Austin, Texas where Adventure Cow has taken over this blog!
My technical competence must be called into question.
Several days ago, I wrote quite the interesting blog entry on Marc and Isambard
Brunel – and apparently did not save it. Rats! Now, when it is certainly time
for an update for this blog to be posted, I don’t have anything ready. Rats,
again! So, I am moving on to the next topic and will update you on the work of
the Brunel family at a later time.
In blog 18 I shared that one of the items Andy lost with his
wallet in Prague was his BRP, his Biometric Resident Permit. The cards we both
have that we are to carry any time we travel outside the country. While the website
said that it may take up to eight weeks for the replacement to arrive, it only
took three. We could leave the UK again, so we did.
In taking full advantage of our time and location here in
London, we went to Budapest, Hungary for no better reason than we could. It is
a couple hours by plane and EasyJet flies there. We were able to get a lovely
hotel room for a weekend and off we went. We studied up by watching a twenty-minute
Rick Steves video and thought we were ready to go. Rick told us that Budapest
is divided by the Danube River. That at one time it was two cities, Buda and
Pest, which have been joined together, and that the city was a co-capital under
Hapsburg rule in the 19th century. We also learned about the ‘ruin
bars’ which are squeezed between and next to buildings in the central (old) city.
Holy cow! Were we unprepared and need at least another five
days to see and do what we wanted to see and do. Most of the ruin bars are in
the old Jewish Quarter – we know nothing about the old Jewish Quarter. The
streets and buildings are beautiful, we know nothing about the architectural
history of the city. The arts and crafts are amazing, we know nothing about the
cultural heritage of this area.
We were able to do a lot of walking. After a great breakfast
at a bar/restaurant called Mazel Tov, https://www.mazeltov.hu/
we followed Andrassy Avenue https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A1ssy_%C3%BAt
toward the river. We climbed to the top
of St. Stephen’s Basilica https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Stephen%27s_Basilica which offers terrific views of the church’s
construction on the inside and once to the top, views of the whole city on the
outside. We used the Chain Bridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sz%C3%A9chenyi_Chain_Bridge to cross the river where we followed the
sloping trail up to Buda Castle. http://budacastlebudapest.com/
We did not see the actual Castle or the other museums and buildings surrounding
it. We did see a Folk Festival on the trail which not only had music and goods
for sale but also demonstrations of blacksmithing, weaving, pottery throwing,
wood working, embroidery, and painting. For reasons we don’t know, a whole
section of the festival was devoted to Japanese arts which was great fun too. After
the festival we took a dinner and entertainment cruise down the Danube. The
entertainment was a little corny, the food was good, and the views of the city
were outstanding.
Our goal for Sunday was to visit the City Park. (Rick Steves
suggested this also) https://www.budapestbylocals.com/budapest-city-park.html
This is a huge city park with multiple museums, gardens, and restaurants. We
got as far as the first museum, the Museum of Architecture, and used all our
‘park time’ there, having never set foot in the actual park itself. It was
already time to head back to the hotel, head back to the airport, head back to
London.
We feel that Budapest is a ‘find’. Beautiful with friendly
and helpful people. It is not crowded over with lots of little shops (that we
saw, anyway), but it is also not crowded over with people. We can imagine
easily spending a whole day at Buda Castle if not longer. We could easily spend
a whole weekend at the City Park; and these are just two big things. There is
lots more to see and do here. I had also wanted to go the Memento Park where
the artifacts of their communist heritage have been saved including the statues
previously positioned on streets and parks. http://www.mementopark.hu/
Meanwhile, we put the short trip to Budapest in our own
memories and look forward to a fall full of new adventures – including seeing
the NFL in London. Finally a football game we can understand.
Once we returned to London from Prague, Andy jumped right into the process of requesting a replacement BRP card. This includes paying a fee, completing on online questionnaire, and going to the Home Office for duplicate biometric processing. This part, his part, was completed within a few workdays of our return. Their part can take up to eight weeks. What shall we do?
We could go to London’s Camden Market. London has lots of
‘markets’ with food, souvenirs, crafts and vintage clothing. (Think: Lexington
Market, Reading Market, Quincy Market) These are usually some combination of
permanent covered or built space with room for expansion with pop-up tents and
tables. Most have existed for hundreds of years. Boroughs Market goes back to
1014 in the London Bridge Area. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_markets_in_London Camden Market is the combination of a few
markets, both open and closed. All together there are over 1,000 shops and
restaurants. This is a whole day’s activity by the time you include some snacks
and a meal. Great, I mean great, people watching here.
Looking almost literally in our own backyard; we could go to
the Chiswick House and Gardens which is a summer stopping place for several events.
We went to the circus! Gifford’s Circus. https://www.giffordscircus.com/ At
the gardens. One ring, no elephants. Dare I say it reminded me of Bozzo’s Big
Top. A few hundred attendees filled the entire semi-circle of seats. We have
seen more polished acts before – but never this close, or to such cheers and
squeals of laughter from the kids and grownups in the audience. We saw
jugglers, and acrobats, and the silliest clown routine just about ever. I can
personally vouch, that when they brought out buckets pretending, they were
going to throw water on the crowd, they were not pretending. I was unfortunate
enough to sit behind a person who had heckled the clown routine. I got soaked.
So much silly fun.
Not long after the circus, the Gardens hosted The Great
British Food Festival. https://greatbritishfoodfestival.com/
There was music, a market tent, food, demonstrations and contests. We ate a
food truck lunch while we waited for the Master Class on gin to begin. In a
surprise to us, the class included not just presentation but also samples of
six different gins. We both picked a favorite – but not the same one. In a
great marketing move – all the gins we tasted could be bought at the festival.
We resisted buying gin (especially since we had been drinking gin) and went on
to the market tent where several wineries were also giving out tastes. At this
point, this qualified as ‘day drinking’. To take a break, I went to a Chef Demo
being given by a previous contestant on The Great British Bake-off. He was
making a gluten free cake roll. (Yum) Andy went to listen to the current singer
at the music stage. We met back up at my tent when it became the location of
the Chili eating contest. They were looking for five contestants. Initially
Andy did consider it, he can eat very spicy food, he turned down participating
– but, then, one of the five contestants was a no-show, so Andy volunteered to
take the fifth spot. In the end there
were the two of them – but his mouth and sinuses were on fire, while the other
contestant was ready for the next round; game over, she won, Andy was second.
And, then we both ran to the ice cream truck for something to put his fire
out. A little more music and we had just
about done it all.
Walpole Park in Ealing, 3 District Line tube stops from
Chiswick, also presents several festivals. For two weeks they host a comedy
festival inside a huge, blue, circus tent. Of course, outside the tent is a
huge bar area and several pop-up food stalls. We went for the first night
because it had a comedian I wanted to see, Alan Davies. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Davies He is the one regular on the BBC program, QI
(Quite Interesting). It is a panel show with four comedians who discuss and
make jokes about trivia based on a letter of the alphabet. The older shows were
presented by Stephen Fry, this job has now been taken over by Sandy Toksvig
(also of Bake Off) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QI
It’s silly, but I like it. We had quite a bit of fun at the comedy festival,
and it was a good evening on the whole. Alan Davies, though, was a bit of a disappointment.
He had the least time on stage, and while mostly funny, was not the best of the
evening. The best was Boothby
Graffoe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boothby_Graffoe_(comedian),
who you would just have to see to understand how funny his routines, with and
without a guitar, could be.
We could do something touristy; we could go to Buckingham
Palace. Queen Elizabeth does not summer in the city, she goes to Windsor Castle
for ten weeks a year. During these ten weeks the state rooms of the Palace are
open for touring. With Andy’s brother, Alan, and his wife Linda, visiting for a
weekend, this was a great fit; none of us had been inside the building before. https://www.rct.uk/visit/the-state-rooms-buckingham-palace This is something to see, and if you happen
to be in London during the ten weeks, all four of us would recommend taking
this tour. Buckingham Palace has evolved over the hundreds of years since Henry
VIII acquired the Manor of Ebury bringing the site which would hold the palace
into royal hands. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckingham_Palace
The current configuration of a quadrangle of buildings goes back to the
addition that Queen Victoria requested for her growing family. The finished
building has been revised and restored since that time, including recovery from
bombing damage sustained in WWII. The state rooms are impossible to describe in
their scope, beauty, and history. Click the link for more information and
pictures. Note that taking pictures inside the Palace are not allowed. The
visit ended with a quick run through of the Royal Mews where the Royal
carriages, horses, and cars are kept and maintained. The Mews are mostly open year-round,
and we would recommend that this too is worth a look for the history and beauty
of the royal modes of transportation. https://www.rct.uk/visit/the-royal-mews-buckingham-palace
Unfortunately, I cannot give a personal update on the Gardens of Buckingham
Palace. The combination tickets that would have included the Gardens were sold
out for our weekend trip. We were allowed to exit the Palace via the Garden path
and believe that this aspect too is worth a deeper look – another time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_at_Buckingham_Palace
During our travel break we have also attended a few concerts
at the Hammersmith Apollo. Hammersmith is three stops the other direction
(east) on the District line and the theater is right across the street from the
underground’s station. But, if the weather is nice, and it generally has been,
then the best way to get to, or from, the Apollo is to walk along the River
Thames. Our first event was ‘An Evening with Jerry Seinfeld’. For the record, I was not/am not a fan of the
Seinfeld tv show. But as a live act, he is just one of the best. We have seen
him before and continue to be impressed and deeply amused by his hard work as a
stand-up comedian. He is clever, funny, and has the best timing. Definitely
worth a walk on the river. The Apollo also hosted kd lang. I would not call
myself, or Andy, a fan of kd lang. But, I love, love her rendition of Leonard
Cohen’s Halleluiah. This show did not disappoint. kd’s voice is as clear and
controlled as you might remember from ‘Constant Craving’ or ‘Miss Chatelaine’.
The performance of ‘Halleluiah’ was simply awesome in every aspect of that
word.
And, it turns out we won’t be hosting our Baltimore friends
Barry and Leslie Thomas in early August either – they have needed to cancel
their trip because of a small, but painful, knee issue. Hmmm, what shall we do?
I know – but I’m not going to write it here, not yet. I need to make sure I
have something for the next posting.
Before Andy’s wallet was stolen, we were having a lovely
four days in Prague. We had toured the Jewish Quarter and Prague Castle. We had
crossed Charles Bridge many times. We had taken the Jazz Boat cruise and walked
along the river and winding side streets. We saw the Old Town Hall with its
Astronomical Clock. https://www.prague.eu/cs/objekt/mista/188/staromestska-radnice-s-orlojem
We had had fun at the Beer Festival. Our plans for Sunday were open so we would
have time to walk more shops and maybe take in a concert.
The ‘after’ started on Saturday night. First, we had a
restaurant bill that we needed to pay, in cash, and we had no cash. I could
insert a long, boring story here about how hard it is to have American credit
cards in a foreign country, and how HSBC is the worst international bank – but,
instead I will say that after a few phone calls and trips to a nearby ATM we
did have the cash for the restaurant. Good; making progress.
Then, we knew we would need a police report. Andy has had
his identity hacked a few times – this is always step number one, get a police
report. Relying on iPhone maps as we do, we looked up the closest station and
started walking. At this point it is important to remember that we were having
a lovely time just a few hours before. Eating and drinking beer at the side of
the river. As we approached the station, Andy was in dire need of the restroom,
or water closet as they say here. We rang the bell and several minutes later the
door was finally opened. A young man of no known affiliation with the police sat
in a chair by the entry, the door and window to the officer’s room were closed.
Andy made a bee-line for the restroom, which left me standing alone in the
middle of the waiting room. At this moment the police officer opened his door
and started speaking to me in Czech. Of course, I am an American, I don’t
understand Czech at all. This made the officer angry and he said more things to
me in Czech. I know this because the young man with no purpose told me this much
but was unwilling to translate what I was saying back to the officer. Finally, I
tried to say, “Thank you, we will try another station”, but this was lost in
the air. The angry officer turned and went back behind his closed door just as
Andy came out of the restroom. They never even saw each other. Clearly, this
station was not going to help, but I was relieved that I did not end up in a
cell for the crime of being a typical American tourist who can only speak one
language.
Sunday should have been our ‘do our last things’ day and
‘get on the plane home’ day. It was not. Among the credit and bank cards, that
we were able to cancel within hours, was also Andy’s Biometric Residency Permit
(BRP). This is essentially a credit card sized visa that indicates we are
allowed to live in the UK. We both have one, we both must carry it when we
travel. We both must show it to the Border Control agent at the airport gate
when we arrive in the UK. Andy could not go back, he had lost his BRP with the
wallet. So instead of final sightseeing trips, we began working on our ‘to do’
list of getting the police report submitted and getting paperwork in order so
Andy could return to the UK. Our adventure in Prague would have to be extended
until we could figure all this out.
Generally, we assume that the two of us together can figure
most things out – we still think this is true. But we have also benefited by the
serendipitous kindness of strangers in our travels. While we ate lunch on
Sunday, Andy and I discussed the next steps in the Police Report; finding an
English-speaking police officer who can take the report in English and then
create the Czech report for the files, and then having the document translated
into English. Our waitress overheard us say ‘translate’. She offered to
translate something for us thinking it was a map or guidebook, but we said no,
and we explained what we were trying to do. She knew which police station to go
to. She called the police station to make sure an English-speaking officer was
on duty. She explained the situation to the English-speaking officer, so we
would not have to start at the beginning in the station. She explained to us
how to get there. This was so helpful. The English-speaking police station is
not indicated on the iPhone map. FYI, it is right next door to the American
Embassy.
First half of the police report task was completed Sunday
afternoon; the report was written and filed. We had a copy. Translating would
have to wait until Monday. What could not wait was the fact that we needed to
find a new hotel. Andy did some great searching online, and we began our
relocation to the K+K Central Hotel in the Old Town. https://www.kkhotels.com/prague/hotel-central
A beautiful, Art Deco style hotel that has been recently refurbished in a great
location. As we learned a few days later, when a tour bus arrived, it is a Rick
Steves approved hotel; location, service, and value.
We ended up adding five days to our Prague trip. During this time Andy was able to work with his company’s legal department to determine the best approach for returning to London, and he was able to work with his team in London over his phone and tablet. It is not possible for me to write a paragraph for every place we went, or even for every day’s activities. We had a great time. The weather was perfect too, allowing us to be out and about at any time of day or night – and eat almost every meal at an outdoor café. Below is a summary of where we went and what we thought of the experience. We loved Prague and would not think twice about going back – but after nine days of seeing the sites, we don’t feel like we really need too.
Where
did we go?
What did we
think?
Walking tour
of Jewish qtr/Syn
Difficult content,
but worth it
Walking tour
Prague Castle
Huge place,
interesting. The history of Prague
Charles Bridge
Easy, ‘must do’,
crowded. You can climb towers, but we did not
Jazz Boat
Comfortable, food +
music = ok+ Funny to us how much jazz
there is in Prague
John Lennon’s
Wall
Phenomenon. All can
add, changes by the minute
Kafka Moving
Sculpture
Amazing and shiny.
What would Kafka think?
Municipal
House – Concert
Excellent skills,
lovely presentation
Municipal
House – Tour
Very interesting,
plenty time for pictures. Housed 1st meetings after Velvet Revolution
Fred and
Ginger building
Frank Gehry
colloborated in the design of this building. Love/hate with locals.
Museum of
Communism
Explains so much of
their history
New Jersulem
Synagogue
Beautiful and
inspiring. Exhibit re: Jewish Czech history
The Technical
Museum
Huge! Planes, trains,
automobiles; + building with 5 floors of so many areas of science/industry
Reduta Jazz
Club
They compare
themselves to Ronnie Scotts in London, its fun, but it’s not Scotts.
Kafka Museum
Very interesting,
disorienting, informative
Museum of
Karla Zemana
Original special
effects filmmaker. Fun
Museum of
Musical Intruments
Would have liked more
music played, but interesting. Old artifacts
In 2011, Aj went to Prague while he was on his college study
abroad trip. He made it sound so special, we have wanted to visit since that
time. For the most part Prague was saved from the bombing of World War II, as
it was Hitler’s intention to use the city as a museum to the extinct Jewish race
after the war – that part of his evil plan did not work out. But it did leave a
beautiful city. The city is split by the Vltava River with Prague Castle and
Lesser Town on one side and The Old Town and Jewish Quarter on the other, with
the Charles Bridge linking the two sides in-between. https://www.pragueexperience.com/maps/map.asp
We began our trip in the Lesser Town. Arriving by plane and
then picking up the airport express and tram, it was a short walk to our hotel.
We were not in Kansas anymore. The open areas are green, forested green. The
buildings are beautiful, exemplifying hundreds of years of architectural
styles. https://www.prague-stay.com/lifestyle/category/36-prague-architecture
And, it pretty much smells like food. There are millions of hungry tourists
each year who need a place to eat. We stopped for our first meal at an open-air
beer garden. The beer was made on premises and the food typical Czech; Andy had
ribs and drank the beer, I ate the goulash. We spent that first day simply
getting there and getting settled. We crossed the Charles bridge (a must do)
and wandered a small part of Old Town. By dinner we had found an outdoor
restaurant right on the river with a guitar player providing entertainment.
I thought I had done my homework in anticipation of our four
days in Prague, but I was surprised by just how much music there is. We heard
truly excellent buskers playing classical music on the Charles bridge. Duos and
trios in corners of the walkways drew large audiences all along the winding
streets. We located the Reduta Jazz Club and added it to our ‘let’s come here
before we leave’ list. http://www.redutajazzclub.cz/ We did our river dinner cruise on the Jazz
Boat. https://www.jazzboat.cz/en/
which offers a surprising mix of Dixieland Jazz with a few standards from Louis
Armstrong in the thirty’s. We remain amazed at the prevalence of American music
and culture in Europe in the UK.
Our second day, Friday, we started with a three hour walking
tour of the Jewish Quarter and the synagogues that remain in it. The history of
the Jews in Prague go back to the 900’s, if not earlier. Since that time, there
has been a Jewish community in Prague. Not unlike what we have seen in
Amsterdam, Prague was a good place for Jews to be – until it wasn’t. After
several pogroms and reversals, the Jewish community in Prague was approximately
25% of the population. It was the Jewish council that worked to clear out the
slum areas of the Jewish quarter and replace it with new buildings built in the
style of the day in the early 1900’s. From that effort we get the beautiful Old
Town with its Art Nouveau architecture. https://www.praguego.com/attractions/jewish-quarter/
The Pinkus Synagogue (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinkas_Synagogue)
is one of the four visited on the walking tour. It is this synagogue that so
effectively brings the horrors of the holocaust into perspective. The ground
floor has been simply refurbished and the white-painted walls inscribed with
the names and dates of Jewish Czech residents who were killed in the camps. At
the same time a speaker plays a reading of all names quietly by the bimah.
Every wall is covered. There are 80,000 names. Men, women, and children; gone. The
next level contains a display of children’s artwork that was created in
Terezin. Terezin was the “show camp” right outside of town used to convince the
international community that the Jews were not being mistreated. The displays
are pictures of sun, and family, and school; of hope for the future and even
Mickey Mouse. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terez%C3%ADn)
I have yet to find the words that will let me write what I feel when I walk on
a street where 80,000 people walked to a brutal ending. The tour was exhausting
on so many levels. We transitioned our thoughts by finding an outdoor café for
lunch and searching for a keepsake hanukkiah, which we never found. It was
later that evening that we took the Jazz Boat to see the city and relax to the
Dixieland as we went up and down the Vltava river.
Saturday was our tour of Prague Castle. Another three hour
tour. The castle is huge with multiple buildings; a tour was a must have to
make sense of everything within the walls. It is the largest castle complex in
the world. https://www.hrad.cz/en/prague-castle-for-visitors We walked our legs off while we learned the
complex history of the site. At the end of the tour, you have a choice of
staying to wander the grounds, or the Golden Lane; where Kafka once lived, or
exiting back down to lesser town. We did not want to go too far, but we did
need lunch and a chance to sit down for a bit. Going out by the Golden Lane is
the St. Wencelas Vineyard and Vineyard Bistro – Perfect.
Revived by our lunch, it was time to make our way across the
castle grounds to the Prague Craft Beer Festival which was being held in an
area just outside the castle. So tricky to find though. Since we did not have
an address to give Google maps, we walked way out of our way before finding it.
Whew! Andrew paid cash for our entry and in we went with our little beer
tasting glasses. Not being a beer drinker, I would say I did find some that
were ‘not bad’ and figured after three taster glasses, I had had enough. It was
good find a spot in the shade and sit down. While not wrenching, the touring
and walking had been taxing. Back to our hotel to rest a bit and then find
dinner. Not far from the hotel is a café with outside tables on the river. We
could eat, drink, and watch the other tourists go by. And, then a thunderstorm
came up pushing us all inside. The waiter brought our check assuming we wanted
to leave, then explained that the credit card machine was broken, could we
please pay cash. Sure, Andy has the cash in his wallet. It was then that we
were reminded, even a moments inattention at a location known as the
‘pickpocket capital of the world’, could mean your wallet is gone.
It was shortly after that, that I started thinking of our trip to Prague in terms of ‘before’ and ‘after’. Before Andy’s wallet was stolen and everything that came after.
Friends and Family month, May, ended with Aj and Aaron
flying to Dallas and my flying to Baltimore. Andy stayed in London and was able
to meet up with his friend from college, Andrea, after about 35 years.
My main purpose for making this trip was to accept the award
of Professor Emeritus from my college of twenty-three years, Baltimore City
Community College. I remain humbled, honored, and gratified that my years of
work have been recognized in this manner. Not to brag too much, but this is the
highest award a faculty member can earn. A proposal package is generated by an
existing faculty member, in my case Dr. Karen Shallenberger, who must then
locate written support for the nomination. The proposal is then approved by a
vote of all faculty, the Vice President of Academic Affairs, the College
President, and finally the Board of Trustees. Again, in my case, they all said ‘yes’.
And, I could go shopping; with a car. New black jeans from
Macy’s, new tops from Boscovs and new undies from Kohls. Combined with a couple
trips to Target for personal items and a chance to just wander their aisles,
the shopping was great fun. In-between graduation and shopping, I was lucky
enough to visit many dear friends while I essentially went from meal-to-meal.
I’m over the crab cake cravings now! It was great to know my way around and to
see the friendly faces. The trip was a wonderful treat for me, and I thank Dr.
Shallenberger for making it happen.
The Friday after Eric was here, I had a great lunch date and
book discussion with Wendy Schiff. Wendy is a member of my Baltimore-based book
club who had come to London for a long weekend, joining in on a business trip
of her daughters. After meeting at the memorial to Ememeline Pankhurst, https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/pankhurst_emmeline.shtml,
we made our way across the Westminster Bridge and past the London Eye to
Southbank and a noodle lunch at Wagamama’s. It was great seeing a familiar face
and discussing the book, Becoming, in person. (Needed better editing,
could have been two books, Michelle is a rock star)
A few days later, Aj and Aaron arrived from Dallas. We
started our time together in Wimbledon at the New Wimbledon Theater’s showing
of Amelie, the musical. The production was first rate and the theater
beautiful. https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-wimbledon-theatre/history/ Good start. Next day, off to the Warner
Brothers Studio Tour. https://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/ Also known as the Harry Potter movie tour.
These are the actual sets, costumes, props, and notes used in the making of all
eight movies. There are no rides; just the real stuff used. If you love Harry,
and we do, then this is a must-see. This long day ended in true British
fashion, Thai food in the local pub. Yum.
It was in Greenwich the next day that we were able to meet
up with A2’s friend, Richard, who had come for a weekend in London. Took the
Clipper again, this time we walked past the Cutty Sark and went straight for
the Chapel and Painted Hall. (Same parts as with Eric, worth a second look) We
had hoped to tour ‘the Queens House’ but it was closed for a private event. We
stopped by the Maritime Museum on this trip to take in an exhibit of space
photography. https://www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/astronomy-photographer-year/exhibition
Then, back to the Royal Observatory. This time I went straight for the top of
the building to the telescope room. The telescope part was not open for use or
demonstration, but still something to see and the views outside to London city
center are fabulous. I was also able to see the Camera Obscura this trip and
take in more of the grounds. Picking back up on our Harry Potter theme, we
concluded this day with a trip to The Cauldron. https://thecauldron.io/london This is an adults only castle/dungeon
experience where you make your own cocktails using the directions, supplies,
and magic provided.
The next day started with a short ride on the Underground to
Ealing, and a short tour of the newly re-furbished Pitzhanger Manor. https://www.pitzhanger.org.uk/ This is one of the advantages of traveling
with Aj, the architect knows all the buildings and what exhibits are in them.
The exhibit was Anish Kapoor, who you may know as the artist behind the Cloud
Gate (shiny bean) in Chicago. From Ealing, it was onto Kew Gardens.
We have been to Kew Gardens before. In winter, it is the
location of Christmas at Kew, a large, multi-media presentation of lights and
music for the holidays. This was our first trip during the day. https://www.kew.org/kew-gardens The
gardens, houses, and conservatories are something to see in themselves; but
this trip also added a temporary installation by Dale Chihuly. https://www.kew.org/kew-gardens/whats-on/chihuly-at-kew-reflections-on-nature We had last seen his work at the New York
Botanical Gardens in the Bronx when we were there last spring. https://www.nybg.org/ There were some thoughts
that this would be essentially the same; but it wasn’t. Kew is a larger garden
and some of the glasswork appeared to have been made specifically for this
location. We tried to do it all; all the Chihuly’s, the Pagoda climb, the Hive,
and Kew Palace. https://www.kew.org/kew-gardens/whats-in-the-gardens/kew-palace-and-queen-charlottes-cottage
Exhausting, and there is still much to see and do.
Bank Holiday on Monday. Aj and Aaron had previously signed
up for the Vitality London, 10k. We were happy to cheer them on and then find
them at the end of the race among twenty-three thousand other runners at St.
James Park. https://www.vitalitylondon10000.co.uk/
A quick trip home for showers and sandwiches and we were back in the city at
the Barbican. https://www.barbican.org.uk/ We thought we were going to see a multi-media
presentation of Wallace and Grommit, which we did; but we also covered a lot of
territory in this, the largest performing arts center in Europe adjacent to the
estate apartments which house over 4,000 people. Aj covered even more territory
as the three of us located one of the many cafes and had prosecco and beer
while Aj walked the whole complex to take pictures. The history of this
development is compelling and worth your clicking the link to learn more. As
the day was ending, we found few places open for dinner on the bank holiday,
but as we looked behind St. Pauls Cathedral, a restaurant with a story was
open: The Paternoster Chop House. https://www.paternosterchophouse.co.uk/
Not only did we find a nice dinner, we also learned that this is the restaurant
location for the First Dates program on BBC, Channel 4. We had never
heard of the program but have since watched for a few minutes just to say to
each other: “That’s where we ate that night.”
Another favorite spot was on schedule for the following day;
the Victoria and Albert Museum. A design museum with something for everyone in
our group. In particular, two fashion exhibits were the top of all our lists:
Christian Dior, Designer of Dreams and Mary Quant. https://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson The Dior was beautiful and beautifully
presented. It may also be the most popular exhibit ever produced. Even with
timed tickets, it was wall-to-wall people. A stunning display of actual dresses
and accessories from the New Look of 1947 to the 2018 samples. Mary Quant was
not quite as crowded, so we could spread out to read and look as we wanted. We
pretty much agreed, the Dior was beautiful, but the Mary Quant offered much
more in the way of context and the impacts and interplay of design with women’s
lives and economics. Another good visit – time to go on to the next thing.
We shopped and ate our way through the city to the West End.
Another musical for us to see, this time it was Come from Away. The
story of the small town of Gander, Newfoundland and how the folks in it opened
their hearts and homes to stranded passengers from September 11th. A difficult topic, which right off does not
sound much like a musical, but it is almost perfect. Beautiful music, great
staging, and a story which takes turns making you laugh and then cry. https://officiallondontheatre.com/news/the-true-stories-of-come-from-away/
We followed a day at my favorite museum (The Victoria and
Albert) with my least favorite, the Tate Modern. Sometimes you have to take one
for the team. At least they have a 9th floor observation deck with
coffee. 😊And, as it turns out, an interesting exhibit
by Yinka Shonibare, CBE, who created a library of 6,000 books. They are covered
in Dutch wax print, a fabric with an interesting and complicated history. 2,700
of the books have the name of a first- or second-generation contributor
imprinted on them; urging us to think of the impact of immigration on culture
and history. The blank books are to call out that the story of immigration is
still being written. https://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern/display/artist-and-society/yinka-shonibare-cbe
As the Tate is on the river Thames, we ended our day out by walking along the
river, crossing Tower Bridge, and finding Indian food for Aaron’s specially
requested birthday dinner meal choice.
Our last day together was spent in true tourist mode; a trip
to The Tower of London. https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/#gs.hykm5x
It’s got history, art, armor, and the crown jewels of England. A great way to
end Aj’s second visit to our new home in London and Aaron’s first.
On Friday, the 31st, Aj and Aaron returned to
Dallas, I returned to Baltimore and Andy met his friend from college (UCLA)
Andrea Bjornlie, for dinner in Kensington.
The end of the Friends and Family Month of May leads right
into June, a month of recognition, friends, and more new experiences of being
in, and traveling from, our base in London.
The month of May started with a visit from our friends Tom
and Liz Comstock. Through the magic of Facebook, especially given our almost
total lack of accessing it, we were able to connect with Tom and Liz who were
on their way from Los Angeles to a Croatian cruise. And, while it had been
about 11 years since we had last seen them, we were able to pick right back up
where we left off.
The following week we were able to spend some time with Eric
Engel. Eric is Andy’s brother’s wife’s brother – Andy has known him for a very
long time. Another resident of Los Angeles, Eric included a few days in London
tagged onto his larger trip to Ireland. Because Andy was at work, and because he
did not care; Eric and I spent a great afternoon at the Churchill War Rooms. https://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/churchill-war-rooms If you like history, this is a can’t miss
location. In addition to seeing the actual rooms used during the war, a
complete museum of Churchill is located tangentially to the actual bunkers. It
should be noted that folks who go through museums at different speeds may want
to identify meeting points or times; Eric and I did not do this – and completely
lost track of each other. There is no cell service once you are
underground.
Jointly, we made a Saturday day of visiting Greenwich. To
start, we met at Westminster Pier and took the Clipper to Greenwich, https://www.thamesclippers.com/route-time-table/find-your-pier
Clippers are faster than ferries but do not include lectures or sight
information like the sightseeing boats do. They do have restrooms, and, of
course, a bar on board. You get a great view of the city from the river and get
to your destination too. We began our tour of Greenwich at the Cutty Sark. https://www.rmg.co.uk/cutty-sark Our timing was perfect as we were able to
join the 12 o’clock ship captain’s tour. The Cutty Sark was the fastest tea
cargo ship of its time. It is beautifully maintained and hovers over the café
and event space below. Later we joined in a tour of the Old Royal Naval
College, https://www.ornc.org/#YIqOoprrWq4Q21RQ.97
and in particular a tour of the newly refurbished “Painted Hall”. https://www.ornc.org/history-of-the-painted-hall#JqIcMYW1Rf70SPww.97
Pretty soon we were running out of time and had to literally run up the hill to
the Royal Observatory, https://www.rmg.co.uk/royal-observatory
home to the Prime Meridian. I’ll admit, this was a lot of science and math for
me; but so interesting to learn how commerce demanded continually improved
navigation systems which could only be created by the study of time, time
keeping devices, and distance. I have learned this is a core difference with
the Vikings; they couldn’t do the math. They did go to North America, but most
likely they couldn’t find it again.
Sunday, we went to the British Library. This is the UK’s
public library which houses a “collection of over 170 million items [which] includes
artefacts from every age of written civilization.” We were especially
interested in the “Making our Mark” exhibit on the evolution of writing. https://www.bl.uk/events/writing-making-your-mark It was interesting, but not quite as much as
we had all hoped. The ongoing exhibit of rare books is worth a look as it includes
original works such as the Magna Carta, Shakespeare, the Beatles, etc. https://www.bl.uk/events/treasures-of-the-british-library
For Sunday afternoon, we used TKTS to see The Play That Goes Wrong. It’s true,
Andy and I have both seen it before; but it is so funny and so well done and
well, Eric hadn’t seen it before. It was still good and a great way to spend
the afternoon. Then it was time to say goodbye to Eric. Wishing him what we now
know was a safe trip home and on to his next adventure with his son Alex.
We had planned adventures coming up with our son too.
To be continued in Friends and Family month, Part 2
You might think you’ve got Brighton sussed A town built on weekends of lust With hipsters and greens Mods, rockers and queens The odd bit of new agey crust
Yet bold ideas are key to this place: Its royal palace once deemed a disgrace But a prince with a vision Ignored all derision The result? An iconic ace
This city gets under your nails Its freedom puts wind in your sails Be creative, be a freak Brighton loves what’s unique By contrast elsewhere simply pales.
We have been introduced to several British comedians through various local television shows. The BBC likes to put teams of two comedians each on air to discuss trivia and current events. We are particularly fans of 8 out of 10 Cats does Countdown, which is a hybridization of this format with an existing game show. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8_Out_of_10_Cats_Does_Countdown It is through this program that we were introduced to comedian, storyteller, musician, and animal lover; Bill Bailey. https://billbailey.co.uk/ After seeing him on the show, we said: “… wonder if we could see him in person, he seems pretty interesting”. The answer was ‘yes’. Bill Bailey’s tour would be stopping in Brighton, a UK city that we had not been to before. Off we went.
Brighton is 46 miles from London, about two hours of walking
and taking the over-ground train from our house. Easy enough. Brighton has a
pebble beach bordering the English Channel. So different from our place and
routines in London. Walking down the street from the train station you can see
the water of the ocean, such a treat. The beach area and pier could almost
remind you of Atlantic City, but the beach is longer and not all the shops sell
t-shirts – and most are still in business. It could remind you of Santa Monica,
but there is plenty of room for parking and wide walking and biking lanes.
Could it remind you of Brighton Beach New York? I do not know, I have not been
there – so, maybe. But it is here in the UK. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brighton
We have said before that we are not ‘beach people’. Sitting
in the sand, with a cold drink, and a good book is attractive to me for about
15 minutes – then it is time to do something – not being a strong swimmer, it
needs to be something on land. But we are fans of water and waves, fresh air
and a little sunshine. There was plenty to do in Brighton. We never even made
it to the end of the beach area. We walked as far as the little huts in Hove
and then back over to the Pier. After that we went to the ‘Lanes’ area of old
streets, old shops, old pubs and an amazing number of jewelry stores. https://www.ringjewellery.co.uk/blog/the-lanes-brighton We don’t need any jewelry, but the displays
of both new and antique rings and necklaces brought out the magpie in me.
Before we knew it, it was time to get ready for Bill Bailey.
The last day we started by having breakfast and taking a short
walk at the beach. Then we were off to see the Royal Pavilion which was built
by King George IV before he became king. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Pavilion
While much of the interior of the building is in disrepair, the restored rooms
are spectacular. The outside is something of an Indian design, although the
tour says that people from India would not recognize it as such, and the inside
is mostly Chinese. The last royal to live there was Queen Victoria who found it
too small for her family and thought it too far from the beach. She removed
most decorations from the pavilion in anticipation of its destruction – but it
was not leveled for new development and the city of Brighton bought it. While
some items have gone on to Buckingham and Windsor palaces, some were returned
to Brighton for the building’s restoration. We, of course, spent a lot of time
there; they have a tea room on the second floor, so no need to leave for drinks
or snacks.
A walk through the palace gardens, a quick look at the art
museum’s gift shop and it was time to go back through the Lanes to our hotel and
pick up the suitcases to head back to the train. As the poem I started this
entry with suggests, Brighton is many things; the bachelor party and bridal
shower groups all found the fun and drink they were looking for, the Fringe
Festival was in full swing so other folks found what they were looking for; we
were looking for some British humor, some water, some walking, some sea air –
we found what we were looking for too.
We will never finish touring the places we want to see
We have a list, well kind of a list, of the places we would
like to go and the things we want to see while we are living in London. The
list includes places in the United Kingdom and places in Europe. Generally
speaking, we are interested in history and art, science, technology, and
industry. We like cityscapes and landscapes, waterways and forests. We think
climbing Norman and Gothic towers to be great fun; enjoying the history, the
climb and the view from the top.
Previously, I wrote about our trip to Bath, UK; blog 10.
This blog entry is about York, UK. York has a history going back thousands of
years; pre-Vikings, pre-Romans. It appears though that it is the Romans who
first recorded the spot as a city, the city of Eboracum, in 71 AD. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/York
I like to start our trip planning with the ‘top ten’ things
to do that are provided by TripAdvisor and/or Google. With their help, I had a
list of eleven top things to do for a weekend in York. It was possible that all
items could be accomplished, but not probable. We always sign up for any live
tours available. They take longer than skimming museum cards, but always add
just a bit more information and minor points we would never find on our own.
And, we go in every room, even the ones that are weakly suggested – we might
miss something. This is why of our list of eleven things to do and see in York
recently, what we actually saw and did was six of them.
You cannot miss York Minster, it is a must see on all lists.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/York_Minster
As one of the largest and oldest churches in Northern Europe, it is something
to see. The stained-glass windows are worth seeing, with the church having the
most medieval stained glass in the world. Our tour guide lamented this is a
bittersweet claim to fame as he feels that they have a little over half of the
surviving stained glass, which represents about 3% of all that was made. There
is so much glass, 128 windows, that it is cleaned on a 150-year schedule. It
takes a year to take down, properly clean and repair, and then re-install the
large panes of glass.
TripAdvisor said to plan one to two hours for visiting the
Minster. They didn’t know that our guided tour alone would take almost ninety
minutes. And, they did not include the Undercroft. The Undercroft expands the
story of the minster with access to excavations and artifacts below the church.
https://yorkminster.org/discover/stories/story/creating-the-undercroft/
From here we saw the work done to stabilize the foundation of the church and
some of the actual Roman fortress foundations the church was built on. The
daily living artifacts of the Roman soldiers was interesting and the
still-painted wall from a meeting room astonishing. We were there for hours.
After the minster it was time to hit another ‘must do’ from
the list – Afternoon Tea at Bettys Tea Room. This was our first traditional
Afternoon Tea. Yum. We shared a tea for one, plus an extra cup of tea. This
gave us three of the crustless quarter sandwiches, a scone with jam and clotted
cream, and three small sweets to share – more than enough to hold us over till
dinner. https://www.bettys.co.uk/cafe-tea-rooms/our-locations/bettys-york
This left us with enough time and renewed energy to head
back to the hotel to add a layer of clothes, as the ‘must do’ for the evening
was a ghost tour. There are several companies offering ghost tours of York, as
it is the most haunted city in the UK, we went with http://www.theoriginalghostwalkofyork.co.uk/ They were highly rated and we were not
disappointed. We heard several stories which appeared to be based in facts,
until you get to the ghost that remains part – which it is not up to me to
determine. Holy cow, they did some awful stuff to people over the hundreds of
years that they have been a city. The truth of the stories is enough, I did not
need to believe in ghosts to have the tour be worthwhile. As this tour also ran
long, we were lucky enough to find an Italian restaurant still open for a light
dinner before bed.
Planning to complete at least three of our ‘must do’ items
on Sunday, we started with the largest item, the National Railway Museum. TripAdvisor
said we should plan to spend four hours – ha, ha. We did two ‘talks’ that
themselves used two and half hours. We still had to see all the engines,
compartments, and stores of artifacts. They have over 300 vehicles, 1,000’s of
artifacts, and several cafes – it was so Benjamin Friendly it’s a wonder we are
not still there. https://www.railwaymuseum.org.uk/
We walked quickly over a short section of their city walls, http://www.yorkwalls.org.uk/?page_id=3690,
then across the Shambles, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shambles
to see the street in the daylight of which it is said JK Rowling used as
inspiration for Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter books. Picked up our suitcases
and back on the train.
Of our eleven ‘must do’ items then, we completed six. We did
not go to: The Castle, the Gardens, the Tower, the Abbey or the Art Museum.
And, we removed the Viking Center from the list as being too realistic in the
smell of it. We could easily come back for another weekend and fill it up with
all new things to do, plus another trip to Betty’s.
In common usage in Amsterdam; Mokum, is the nickname for the
city, not unlike calling New York City ‘the Big Apple’. How did this come to
be, that a European City would freely adopt a Yiddish word as its nickname?
During the Netherland’s journey to the constitutional
monarchy under which they are now governed, they created a country open to
different religions and practices. When the Inquisition raged in Spain, the
Netherlands became “Mokum”, a safe place Jews could turn to; and they did. They
felt safe in the Dutch city of Amsterdam and began to make their lives there as
did fellow freedom seekers from around the world.
The Netherlands has grown a culture of individual freedoms
which has resulted in it being Mokum for those looking for marijuana, or
prostitution, or alternative lifestyles. Individual freedoms are allowed and
where necessary, regulated; there is no smoking of marijuana on the streets and
the red-light district workers benefit from physical protection and excellent
healthcare, even as they are displayed in the red-curtained windows on the
streets. Combined with the arts and culture and canals, these attitudes and
regulations have created a city like no other in the world. http://www.goodtosee.com/amsterdam-the-city-of-freedom/
We had to go there. London to Amsterdam is four hours by
train; through the east of England, through the Chunnel, and up the west of
France and Belgium. It is a beautiful trip. While the Eurostar train took us to
Amsterdam Centraal, we immediately started this adventure by taking the
‘sprinter’ to the airport, where we picked up the 858 bus to Keukenhof
Gardens. https://keukenhof.nl/en/ The bus stops in front of the Gardens, from
which we walked to our hotel, past rows and rows of blooming tulips and
hyacinths. We arrived in this small town of Lisse on Friday afternoon so we
would be able to take in the Gardens on Saturday morning and be ready for the
passing of the Flower Parade through town in the afternoon. https://www.holland.com/global/tourism/plan-your-holiday/events/flower-parade.htm
Pictures available online of individual floats covered in
all types of flowers would make you think that the Flower Parade is made mostly
of these types of entries – not so; there are many beautiful floats that are
completely covered with flowers designed in fabulous shapes and sizes, there
are also tractors with flowers attached to the hood, and cars with flowers on
the hoods and busses with flowers on the side, in addition to marching bands
and some (unknown to us) dignitaries waving from the backs of trucks. It was
beautiful and corny all at the same time. And, it was a party. We lucked into a
table at an outdoor restaurant where we ate lunch and listened to the American
music blaring from the pop-up DJ across the street. And, it hailed on us, just
before the parade, which has a 25-mile route which takes 12 hours, made it to
our section. An event to remember.
Not that our trip to the Keukenhof Gardens earlier in the
morning was not an event to remember too. There is no visual gap in the Gardens
displayed in online photos and the actual Gardens; they are beyond my ability
to describe, if anything, it was more impressive in person. The Keukenhof
Gardens are open three months a year. Every year the flower beds are replanted
with millions of bulbs and flowers. The park itself is surrounded by canals,
has old trees, water features, pavilions for more flowers, a windmill and even
a maze which you must navigate to get to one of the best lookout points of the
Gardens. A million visitors a year enter Keukenhof during those three months;
many of them on the day of the parade like we did, holy cow did it get crowded
as the day went on. But we were done by then. Not that we couldn’t have spent
even more time – but we became ‘museumed up’; like when you have seen so much fabulous
art, read so many captions, walked so many pokey miles, it’s just time to go.
So off we went to wait for the parade.
By the end of the parade, we were done. Most of the town was
done too, with the shops closing and the street fair packing up. Going back to
the hotel, we decided to give our feet a break by having dinner in the hotel
restaurant. A surprisingly good meal and good wine too. Lisse has the best
bread. The next day we started out for the flower fields nearby as Andy hoped
to take a great picture of the gold-tinged red tulips in bloom there. The
resulting picture is more ‘interesting’ than beautiful because while we were at
the parade the tractors had come though and ‘topped’ the field; all the blooms
were laying in the rows, not standing on the stems. As we learned at our
subsequent stop at The Black Tulip Museum in town, (https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/black-tulip-museum
) the growing flowers have the actual petals chopped to force the plant to make
the best bulbs. The bulbs are what will be sold, not the blooming stems. Time
to go to Amsterdam.
We re-traced our steps back to Amsterdam and found our hotel
there. Ah, yes, now I remember reading about the ‘coffeeshops’. Coffeeshops, as
opposed to Coffee Shops, are where it is legal to buy and smoke marijuana; you
can smell them, oh yes you can, and you can recognize them by the groups of
college students hanging around outside trying to decide if they should go in.
In many cases there is also a bakery or store nearby with sweet treats to
satisfy the newly hungry customers cravings. We chose instead an outdoor café
next to the canal; beer for Andy, Aperol spritz for me and nachos, this is the
Amsterdam life for us.
The next day was our thirty-fifth anniversary. In an
unintentional combination of timing, this was the day we had a walking tour of
Jewish Amsterdam followed by a visit to the Anne Frank house. A cosmic reminder
to take the bitter with the sweet, Amen.
The tour was ‘ok’, the guide was not great; but we learned about the February
Strike, where non-Jews rose up against the Germans in protest of their pogroms.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_strike
, we saw the Broken Mirrors monument which is to remind us all that the sky
broke over Auschwitz and will never again be whole https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auschwitzmonument_(Amsterdam),
and ‘stumbling blocks’ (metal cobblestones placed in front of the houses where
Jewish families once lived engraved with their names and dates) that are meant
to catch your foot, and have you look down and recognize the tragedy of the
holocaust which stands before you. https://www.npr.org/2012/05/31/153943491/stumbling-upon-miniature-memorials-to-nazi-victims
The Anne Frank house was just what I expected. It is the best possible
presentation of a 1930’s business, with an annexed hiding place, there might
be. With original wallpaper and photos it is as wrenching as it should be.
Eight people in total hid there for two years, until they were discovered and
put on the last train to the death camps. Seven of them dying within weeks of
the Allies liberation, only Otto Frank living to tell the tale. https://www.annefrank.org/en/ There was no Mokum to be found; not in
Amsterdam, not in the Netherlands, not in the world, during the Nazi era.
On to sweeter events. Next day. We noted all the different
types of canal tours available and decided on a smaller boat restored from the
1930’s. So much of central Amsterdam is on the canals, it is really the only
way to get a sense of the city and harbor. In a true day of sightseeing, we
went to the Flower Market which lines the canal, to the Blue café at the top of
a shopping mall with 360-degree views and to the NEMO science museum whose
whole roof is a slanted viewing area of the city. https://www.nemosciencemuseum.nl/en/
On our last full day, it was back to the museums. We started
at the Van Gogh Museum, and a special exhibit on David Hockney in tribute to
Van Gogh. The Hockney was amazing. Generally, I am not a fan and his earlier
work really made no sense to me; but this work, which is based on Hockney’s
return to England, reflecting on his love of Van Gogh, their joint love of
nature, was very much worth seeing. The rest of the museum is, as the names
suggests, is devoted to Van Gogh. This is my type of art arrangement, where I
can see the early work, the influences, and the master work in chronological
order. Van Gogh painted for eight years and was considered a failure – he is
gone, but the work lives on. (See Hockney above 😊) https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en
We finished our last full day by going to the Ziggo Arena
where Michelle Obama was speaking as part of her book tour. Michelle Obama is a
rock star, entering the arena to rock music and flashing lights. In the book
her mother is quoted as saying: “these kids are not unique, the South Side is
full of kids just like them”; and that may be true, but this ability to work
her hardest, to think problems through thoroughly, to stand up every day and do
her best – is inspiring. In the face of racism that we would all hope is the
product of a bygone time, Michelle has raised her kids to be strong and
independent, supported her husband’s goals to change the world, and maintained
a personal path of work and contribution – all the while being ridiculed in the
press, being targeted with hate speech in person. She is a ‘first’ in so many
ways and wears it so well. In the talk she emphasized that she is who she is,
there is no persona to keep up in public, and she believes that is why her
memoir is becoming (pun intended) the best-selling memoir of all time. The
evening was exciting and motivating. It was fun and funny in ways I don’t
suspect Mrs. Obama intended, such as when she used a reference to “Danger, Will
Robinson” and few members of the audience understood. But, the core message of
becoming, that life is a journey, that growing and doing your best is important
– everyone got that. https://becomingmichelleobama.com/
We wrapped up our week in the Netherlands the next day; a
little more walking, another meal at an outside café, one last whiff of the
Coffeeshops. Back on the train, back through the countryside, back to thinking
about what a great adventure we are on and how Mokum is a value we can take
with us as we continue to become our working, learning, exploring, and growing
best selves.
