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argurotoxosI took the 11:50 AM boat down to Greenwich from St. Katharine's Pier near the Tower of London this morning; it was much more crowded than I was expecting. The shore scenery was mostly expensive flat complexes and wharfs that resembled each other -- nothing very exciting. I found that I greatly missed the scent of brine that I usually associate with ships.
My first impression of Greenwich was that it was a nice, quiet place away from the city, but still close enough to get to easily. Since the National Maritime Museum was the main attraction in Greenwich that I wanted to see and I only had limited time in order to catch the last ship back to St. Katharine's at 5 PM, I went there first after briefly taking some exterior photos of Old Royal Navy College on the way.
The National Maritime Museum was decently sized -- three floors filled with a variety of exhibits, including a gallery of artists' paintings of ships at sea, a room on the history of ocean exploration, an exhibit on British naval uniforms from the early 1700s up to the present, and a very popular interactive bridge simulation of a large modern naval vessel.
My favourite, however, was an exhibit called Nelson's Navy, which focused on the life and death of 1st Viscount Horatio Nelson, a famous 18th century British naval officer who later inspired C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower novels. Even though I don't think the exhibit did a sufficient job explaining exactly what Nelson did that was so important and why he became such a popular figure, it was still interesting to look at the period clothings and memorabilia. There was also a five-minute computer recreation of the Battle of Trafalgar that helped me understand the connection to Trafalgar Square in central London; not only was it one of Britain's most successful naval victories - planned and led by Nelson - but it was also the battle in which Nelson was killed.
I was half hoping that there would be authentic naval hats for sale in the museum shop, which I would actually be willing to pay £20 for; unlike a deerstalker cap, a high-quality late-18th century British midshipman's hat is harder to find. Unfortunately, the only hats they had were cheaply-made pirate hats. I did, however, buy two postcards that caught my eye -- one a WWI recruitment poster for the US Navy with a drawing of a young girl in naval clothes and the text: "Gee!! I wish I were a man; I'd join the navy. Be a man and do it -- United States Navy Recruiting Station, 34 East 23rd Street, New York," the other an artist's drawing of Horaito Nelson as a midshipman.
After the National Maritime Museum, I decided I still had time to walk up to the Royal Observatory, which wasn't as far as I thought it was. The Royal Observatory is where the Prime Meridian line is located and it was incredibly crowded, with narrow hallways in the buildings leading to and from the line. I went in just long enough to get a photo of the Prime Meridian and then left as quickly as possible; I was starting to feel claustrophobic.
Since I barely spent any time at the Royal Observatory, I went inside both the chapel and the Painted Hall of Old Royal Naval College on the way back to Greenwich Pier. The architecture and detail is quite impressive, though I was actually less awed than I thought I would be. I suppose most of the tourists must arrive in the mid-afternoon; it was certainly not the quiet, peaceful place I had first disembarked at.
The boat ride back was uneventful, noisy, and crowded, though it wasn't as bad in the enclosed back area. Before heading back to the flat, I decided to pursue the Nelson connection and visit Trafalgar Square, which I had wanted to do anyway. However, when I got there, they had most of the square closed off for a concert, so I just took a few photos of Nelson's statue and one of George Washington's statue near the National Gallery entrance.
Overall, it was a borderline disappointing day. The ship ride wasn't as relaxing as I thought it would be and the Royal Observatory was too small and crowded, but the National Maritime Museum was worth it, though it was disappointing in its own way -- no photography was allowed inside the museum. However, the extremely good tomato and mozzarella sandwich with Italian oil and herbs that I had in the museum's café for lunch and the nearby statue of Admiral Sir Edward Pellew helped brighten my mood.
I don't have any plans for next weekend yet, though I still want to visit All Hallows-By-The-Tower, an old church and crypt near the Tower of London with no admission charge. A visit to Westminster Abbey to hear their boys' choir sing is also something I'd like to do, though it seems that it might actually be better to go for Evensong this Tuesday or Friday at 5 PM than to attend Sunday service.
Other than that, I'll probably go back to Hyde Park and Trafalgar Square at some point, though those are things I can do during the weekday; I'm still not sure whether I want to pay the £10-£17 to get into either Madame Tussauds or the Tower of London.
My first impression of Greenwich was that it was a nice, quiet place away from the city, but still close enough to get to easily. Since the National Maritime Museum was the main attraction in Greenwich that I wanted to see and I only had limited time in order to catch the last ship back to St. Katharine's at 5 PM, I went there first after briefly taking some exterior photos of Old Royal Navy College on the way.
The National Maritime Museum was decently sized -- three floors filled with a variety of exhibits, including a gallery of artists' paintings of ships at sea, a room on the history of ocean exploration, an exhibit on British naval uniforms from the early 1700s up to the present, and a very popular interactive bridge simulation of a large modern naval vessel.
My favourite, however, was an exhibit called Nelson's Navy, which focused on the life and death of 1st Viscount Horatio Nelson, a famous 18th century British naval officer who later inspired C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower novels. Even though I don't think the exhibit did a sufficient job explaining exactly what Nelson did that was so important and why he became such a popular figure, it was still interesting to look at the period clothings and memorabilia. There was also a five-minute computer recreation of the Battle of Trafalgar that helped me understand the connection to Trafalgar Square in central London; not only was it one of Britain's most successful naval victories - planned and led by Nelson - but it was also the battle in which Nelson was killed.
I was half hoping that there would be authentic naval hats for sale in the museum shop, which I would actually be willing to pay £20 for; unlike a deerstalker cap, a high-quality late-18th century British midshipman's hat is harder to find. Unfortunately, the only hats they had were cheaply-made pirate hats. I did, however, buy two postcards that caught my eye -- one a WWI recruitment poster for the US Navy with a drawing of a young girl in naval clothes and the text: "Gee!! I wish I were a man; I'd join the navy. Be a man and do it -- United States Navy Recruiting Station, 34 East 23rd Street, New York," the other an artist's drawing of Horaito Nelson as a midshipman.
After the National Maritime Museum, I decided I still had time to walk up to the Royal Observatory, which wasn't as far as I thought it was. The Royal Observatory is where the Prime Meridian line is located and it was incredibly crowded, with narrow hallways in the buildings leading to and from the line. I went in just long enough to get a photo of the Prime Meridian and then left as quickly as possible; I was starting to feel claustrophobic.
Since I barely spent any time at the Royal Observatory, I went inside both the chapel and the Painted Hall of Old Royal Naval College on the way back to Greenwich Pier. The architecture and detail is quite impressive, though I was actually less awed than I thought I would be. I suppose most of the tourists must arrive in the mid-afternoon; it was certainly not the quiet, peaceful place I had first disembarked at.
The boat ride back was uneventful, noisy, and crowded, though it wasn't as bad in the enclosed back area. Before heading back to the flat, I decided to pursue the Nelson connection and visit Trafalgar Square, which I had wanted to do anyway. However, when I got there, they had most of the square closed off for a concert, so I just took a few photos of Nelson's statue and one of George Washington's statue near the National Gallery entrance.
Overall, it was a borderline disappointing day. The ship ride wasn't as relaxing as I thought it would be and the Royal Observatory was too small and crowded, but the National Maritime Museum was worth it, though it was disappointing in its own way -- no photography was allowed inside the museum. However, the extremely good tomato and mozzarella sandwich with Italian oil and herbs that I had in the museum's café for lunch and the nearby statue of Admiral Sir Edward Pellew helped brighten my mood.
I don't have any plans for next weekend yet, though I still want to visit All Hallows-By-The-Tower, an old church and crypt near the Tower of London with no admission charge. A visit to Westminster Abbey to hear their boys' choir sing is also something I'd like to do, though it seems that it might actually be better to go for Evensong this Tuesday or Friday at 5 PM than to attend Sunday service.
Other than that, I'll probably go back to Hyde Park and Trafalgar Square at some point, though those are things I can do during the weekday; I'm still not sure whether I want to pay the £10-£17 to get into either Madame Tussauds or the Tower of London.
