London

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Last Days in London

London is an amazing city. There are so many things to do and places to see. Some people say that if you get bored in London, that means you’re bored with life, just because there’s so much to explore. I could never get tired of London. Even now, after living her for almost nine months, there is still a list of things that I haven’t seen yet that I want to see.

Greenwich, London

On a sunny Saturday, I attempted to cross some of these things off my list. Brendan and I headed to London for the afternoon. Our first stop was Greenwich to see the Queen’s Palace and the astronomy tower where the Prime Meridian is. It was a gorgeous day outside, so the walk up to the astronomy tower didn’t seem so bad. We sat up on top of the hill for awhile, talked, and looked out over London.

The Monument at Trafalgar Square

Our next stop was Trafalgar Square. I have been to London dozens of times, but believe it or not, I had never stopped and walked around Trafalgar Square before. We took some time and walked around the lion statues before stepping inside the National Gallery. Our art professor had recommended going into an art museum and staring at a piece of art for ten minutes, and then leave. The purpose is to try and find a piece of art that speaks to us, and see what we observe. We decided to try it, and only spent a few minutes in the National Gallery, looking for art that spoke to us. For me, any painting that has the ocean or water of some kind is something I gravitate to.

MI6

London from MI6

From Trafalgar Square, we walked down to Westminster Palace and Westminster Abbey. Then we walked along the river to see MI6. Brendan and I are both fans of James Bond, and seeing MI6 was pretty cool. Obviously, we couldn’t go in, because it’s so heavily guarded and has lots of barbed wire around it. We just enjoyed seeing the building.

Regent’s Park

We finished our day with a trip to see 221B Baker Street and a walk through Regent’s Park. 221B Baker street was just a door with a sign referencing Sherlock Holmes, but it was still cool to see where he was written to have lived. We walked through Regent’s Park near sunset, so it was glowing in the light, and it was so pretty.

There are still more things that I want to do in London, but this was a start at completing my list. I had a lot of fun walking around with Brendan, and I can’t wait to go back to London for one final time before I leave in May!

Mom and Me: My Mother’s Visit to England

April 23, 2015 / stephanieblack / 0 Comments

During the second part of second break, my mom flew overseas to stay with me for a week. I have currently been abroad for eight months, and have not seen any member of my family until she came, so it was nice to see someone after only using FaceTime for eight months. I got the chance to show her where I live and the things that I do for fun, which was really exciting.

St. Paul’s Cathedral over Millennium Bridge

On one day she was here, we travelled to London for the day. We lucked out and had absolutely beautiful weather when we were there. It was sunny, with just a few clouds in the sky, albeit a little windy. Our first stop of the day was to take the Tube to Black Friars, and walk over Millennium Bridge. The last time my mother was in London, Millennium Bridge didn’t even exist, so this was a first for her. I love it when you cross the bridge to the other side and see St. Paul’s Cathedral on the other side.

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre

We called it our day of theatre, because everything we did related to theatre in some way or another. We went and visited Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. I have never been there, and, again, the last time my mother was in London, the reconstruction of the Globe did not exist either, so this was a first for both of us. It was a lot smaller on the inside than I had expected, but I really liked how it looked very much like it belonged during the Tudor period, and how exact they were with those details. If I had more time (and money), I would love to go see a play performed there.

Our other theatre-related event of the day was to see Wicked. I have already seen it once, but I loved it so much that I knew that I had to take my mom to see it. She had wanted to see it a long time ago, and never got the chance, so this was the perfect opportunity. We enjoyed an afternoon matinee of witches and munchkins and the Land of Oz, which was even better than the first time that I saw it.

Burghley House

On the last full day of my mother’s time in England, we travelled up to Stamford and visited Burghley House. It is one of the largest Elizabethan houses in England, and it was used as the setting for Rosings Park in the 2005 version of “Pride and Prejudice.” It was a two mile walk from the train station, which, after not being used to walking everywhere, made my mother very tired, but it was totally worth it. The outside of the house is beautiful, and the inside holds a lot of really interesting art, and a room dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I.

I had a good time with my mom, but her visiting me reminded me that I’m going to be going home soon, which I am not quite ready for. I’ve been here a long time, so long that it’s my home now, and so going back to the US is going to be very strange. But before then, I’m going to make the most of my days here!

London Round Two

January 21, 2015 / stephanieblack / 0 Comments

One of the greatest things about studying abroad for a year is that I have so much time to do the things that I want to do. I can pick and choose the things that I want to do, and take my time seeing them. This past weekend, I had the opportunity to do that when the group took their first trip to London. I went along on Friday, and I have to say that it was nice to already have a sense of the city before I got there. I didn’t have to struggle with the Tube and using an oyster card, and I got to watch other people experience London for the first time, which was pretty cool.

Tower of London

One of the reasons I was so excited to go along on Friday was because the group went to see the Tower of London. I had never seen the Tower before, and had always really wanted to go. I love exploring old castles, and it especially cool to see the Tower because of how many important events occurred there. We saw the Crown Jewels, the green where Anne Boleyn was executed, and the tower where the two princes were supposedly murdered by their uncle, Richard III. Being inside and walking around the Tower made me feel that much more connected to history, and like I was a part of it.

The Imperial War Museum, London

I was also really excited for our day in London because we visited the Imperial War Museum. This museum had all kinds of exhibits from different wars that Great Britain has participated in. I am both horrified and fascinated with the events of the Holocaust, and I appreciated the work that was put into the Holocaust exhibit. Since we are celebrating the hundred years since World War I, the museum had an excellent exhibit about things from World War I. Overall, I was quite impressed with the work put into this museum, and would love to spend more time there.

“Wicked” at the Apollo Victoria Theatre

But the best part of the day came at the end of the night when we all went to see “Wicked” at the Apollo Victoria Theatre. For those who don’t know, “Wicked” is the story of the Glinda the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West from “The Wizard of Oz.” I had never seen “Wicked” before, but I have been dying to see it ever since it started running. I’m a huge fan of Idina Menzel, who played Elphaba in the original cast, and I was thrilled that I got to see this musical that she was once in.

My anticipation and the expectations I had for the play were blown out of the water. I am not ashamed to say that there were times that I cried during the play. It was wonderfully put on and right after it ended, I wanted to see it again. My favorite part was at the end of the first act when Elphaba sings “Defying Gravity.” I literally felt weightless during that song. I love the way that music can move you so much, and because of that, I would absolutely recommend seeing “Wicked” to everyone.

Overall, it was a wonderful weekend, and I’m really glad I went along to London with everyone on Friday. I’m really excited about this new group in Cambridge, and for all of the trips we’re going to take together and all the memories we’ll make!

Back to London

October 9, 2014 / stephanieblack / 0 Comments

During a week when just about everyone is traveling the Continent, yesterday, the few of us left in Cambridge decided to venture to London for the day. We got up early and made our way down to the train station, and in less than an hour, we were pulling into King’s Cross. It still amazes me how easy it is to get places around here. There’s always a bus, train, or taxi going the places you want to go.

My favorite part of the day came first, when we stopped in at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Admission was free, which is always an added bonus for a college student. This museum, first of all, is absolutely huge. It has lots of big columns and marble floors and high ceilings with interesting looking chandeliers. I saw a bunch of marble statues, some from ancient times, a lot that tried to mimic Renaissance style statues. I also really enjoyed a section of paintings, where there were a lot of landscapes that reminded me of the plains and the mountains in Colorado.

The jewelry section was by far the most fascinating section. There were so many pretty pieces of jewelry in that room. As I am fascinated with royalty, it was especially cool to be able to see several different tiaras and crowns. It makes me wonder what it would have been like to wear a crown. I know that there’s a responsibility that comes with wearing a crown, but I also think that it would be really fun to get dressed up and wear a crown for an event every once in awhile. I wish we had spent more time at the museum, because there were so many more things besides what I saw.

After the museum, we went to Hyde Park. Earlier in the morning, it was rainy and cloudy in true London fashion. When we got to Hyde Park, the sun suddenly burst through the clouds, and we got to see a little blue sky and sunshine before it began to rain again. I love nature, and I think it is wonderful that there is a big park like that inside such a large city like London. It gave me a little taste of the country inside the city, and I loved that. I loved the big trees and the little hills, and that we could walk by the water for a little while. I didn’t even mind the geese :).

In the afternoon, we went shopping at Harrod’s and on Oxford Street. For me, window browsing was enough of an experience without busting my bank account. I wonder how much Harrod’s and everything in it is worth, because literally every big name is housed there. Gucci, Prada, Coach, Dior, Louis Vuitton. You name it; they were there. It is interesting to see just what people will spend hundreds of dollars on because it’s designer.

Traveling while abroad is important, because you get the chance to see different historical things and visit places you’ve always heard about, but never seen. But it is also important to explore and get to know the place you are living. I would encourage anyone who comes to Cambridge to take the time to get to know the city of Cambridge, and take whatever opportunities you have to go into London for the day. It is so nice to have that kind of big city so close and accessible, and you should absolutely take advantage of it if you can.

Helen of Troy

One of those interesting chandeliers in the Victoria and Albert Museum

Hyde Park

The extravagant Christmas section in Harrod’s

A Lovely Day in Londontown

September 8, 2014 / stephanieblack / 0 Comments

This past weekend, the entire Cambridge group packed up our backpacks (with a few suitcases) and travelled to London. I loved London the last time I was in the UK, so I was really excited to go back and see what I remembered, and enjoy what was new.

While there were many things that I enjoyed seeing in London, I would have to say that my favorite thing was Westminster Palace and Parliament. When I walked into Westminster Hall, I was overwhelmed by the amount of history that was in that one room. I could imagine King Henry VIII holding a masque and everyone dancing in that room. I could imagine Guy Fawkes and the other conspirators in the Gunpowder plot being tried there. It was absolutely amazing to stand in a place where so much history had occurred.

Touring Parliament is a lot like touring places in Washington D.C. In D.C., you get to see where all of our government’s action takes place. I got a similar feeling when I was touring the House of Commons and the House of Lords. It was there that I began to realize and appreciate the similarities the American government shares with the English government. In both cases, we have two separate houses with a figurehead. No one group has too much power, and everyone keeps each other in check. It’s very cool to be in a place where you know that the greatest issues of the country are discussed and resolved.

Going to the theatre in England is one of the most exciting things to do. London especially is exciting because it was the home of William Shakespeare and other thriving playwrights of the Renaissance and later. I was thrilled that as a group, we had the opportunity to see two plays this weekend. My favorite would have to be Matilda, based on the children’s book by Roald Dahl. The sets were intricate, the music was fantastic, and the emphasis on Matilda’s brilliance and ability to read and tell stories was refreshing. I would absolutely recommend going to a play while in London.

Overall, it was a fantastic weekend, but I am definitely glad to be back in Cambridge, where it is not so busy and everything is smaller. I am looking forward to class this week as we start to get into the swing of things!

Going off to Hogwarts!

Big Ben

Cambridge Theatre where we saw Matilda

View of London

Tired of London, Tired of Life

January 27, 2014 / Danielle Steinwart / 8 Comments

I don’t think I’m what any one would call “well-prepared.” Any suggestion to do anything early (getting up, packing, finishing homework, etc.) is usually met by my suppressed laughter. The night before we left for London last weekend, I was half-packed. But Julia had set her alarm for 5:45, which would give us a little over an hour the next morning to finish packing and get ready. Ample time. Looking back, it was stupid of me to think that, after 19 years of waiting until the last semi-possible second to finish anything, I would actually have enough time, perhaps even time left over, that morning. Personally, my theory is not that Julia accidentally set her alarm to 6:45, but, more plausibly, that there was some kind of intervention that I can only describe as supernatural sabotage (so ghosts. Or, like, gnomes. Maybe.).

Either way, we only had 15 (14 by the time Julia figured out what time it actually was) minutes to finish everything and get to the cabs. We channeled the villains in those old silent films, where they seem to carry out their plans in a constant state of fast forward. Somehow, we ran out of our house at 7:02, remembering nearly everything (I forgot an umbrella, Julia forgot pajama pants, and we both forgot towels).

Me Posing Like a Tourist!

The train ride to King’s Cross Station was gorgeous. I had Vampire Weekend singing in my ear, and a vast green landscape laid out before me. The sun finally began to peek its head out from under its dewy covers. Stamped across the sunrise were trees like veins, stretching toward the rosy sky. All the pictures I tried to take of this came out blurry—a speeding train can have that effect on photos apparently. When we got to the station, we found a wall that said Platform 9 ¾ with a trolley sticking out of it. We took advantage of the touristy moment while British commuters looked at us with a pleasant mixture of amusement and pity.

The weekend’s schedule was bursting with destinations. We first visited the Museum of London. It was very interesting except we had to stay on a set path through the museum, which I wasn’t a huge fan of (you know, free spirit and everything). After grabbing lunch at a cozy Italian place, we went to St. Paul’s Cathedral. Words really can’t describe how magnificent that place was. Trying to process the incredible detail, the sheer

Cathedral Layout

size, and the religious significance of the cathedral was overwhelming. If I had had a touch more femininity in me, I definitely would have cried. Another moment that almost brought me to tears in the cathedral is when we all decided to climb to the top of it. The picture on the left is a simple layout marking points you could climb to in St. Paul’s. We aimed for the top, the tippiest top of it. About half way up (translation: 1/1000 of the way up), my body started to rebel against me. I mean, I understand. When your favorite pastime is being under a blanket in bed and your favorite food is anything deep fried, climbing stairs can be

View of London

considered somewhat foreign (No, I’m not ashamed [Fine, I am]). But I conquered those dizzying spiral stairs. And the view from the top of the dome was beyond worth it. You could walk in a circle and see everything: Big Ben, the London Eye, Globe Theatre, that bridge that the Death Eaters destroyed in Harry Potter. Unfortunately, both of the adults on our trip were afraid of heights, so the poor guys weren’t as excited about the hike up.

After St. Paul’s, we found our hostel and divided into groups for our rooms. The hostel was really nice, with a comfy lobby/bar and very cozy rooms. Saturday night, we were unable to stay in rooms with people from our group only. Julia and I ended up staying in a room with four women, one who was already asleep when we got there and who I thought was a child but turned out to be a very short Asian lady. It all turned out fine, despite the snorers and 5 am risers.

Big Ben

During the day on Saturday, we went took a tour of Parliament, went inside Westminster Abbey (beautiful and ornate, but for some reason did not have the same effect on me as St. Paul’s), and took a boat tour along the river Thames. Well, we thought we were on a boat tour, but it ended up being a boat shuttle that we

Julia and I in front of The Mousetrap sign

stayed on for 2 hours until it looped back to our original location. I loved it, though; it was relaxing and fun to get to know the people in our group better. Afterward, we had some free time. A group of us decided to find the theatre we had to be at by 7 and then go to a pub (We ended up at a Mexican restaurant). The night before, we went to see Billy Elliot, which was phenomenal, hilarious, and very moving. That night we saw The Mousetrap, the longest running play in history. It was a murder mystery by one of my favorite authors, Agatha Christie, and it was brilliant.

On Sunday, we went to see the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace and then to a place called Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park. Honestly, it was a bit too cold out to thoroughly enjoy the changing of the guard, although I did like watching a video of our director Matt wading through the fountain to retrieve his wallet (confession: can’t remember if it was his wallet, but it was definitely something valuable). Speaker’s Corner has a really cool history. It was one of the first places where people could go in England to speak freely about any subject without fearing punishment from the government.

The London Underground!

We then took the tube back to King’s Cross. Just a general statement: I really love the London Underground. The trains come every couple minutes, and I loved finding the fastest routes to the places we needed to go. As soon as we got to King’s Cross, we found a train heading to Cambridge, and right as we sat down, the train started moving. Talk about perfect timing.

Although going to London for the weekend was amazing, I really liked being back in the study center. The trip made this place feel more like home. This past weekend, everyone except a few of us went off to Edinburgh. It was pretty fun having the house to ourselves. We watched a ton of movies (good movies too: When Harry Met Sally, Pretty Woman, Clueless, Jerry Maguire), and on Saturday night, four of us went out. We went to this pub called The Bath House and then to a club called Fez. It was a ton of fun spending time with my friends and dancing and pulling each other away from weirdos who tried to dance with us.

Slowly but surely, I am getting used to living in this beautiful place. Julia and Bryn just made these desserts that are basically cookie dough inside a brownie dipped in chocolate, so I am currently in an artery-clogged paradise. Technology update: although I have successfully gotten my computer to connect to the internet, I dropped my phone in the toilet a few days ago. At the moment, it is acting totally fine, so fingers crossed it doesn’t decide to get moody on me. Expect more simple stories that I make unnecessarily elaborate soon!

Danielle

Big Ben and Parliament

London’s Calling

April 19, 2013 / Emily Hardesty / 0 Comments

Big Ben and Parliament

I have always dreamed of visiting London; seeing Big Ben has always been towards the top of my bucket list. Last weekend, I finally got to make that dream a reality. Of course I wanted to see as much as possible in the three days that I was there, so I arrived with a long list of sights to see. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize how big London is, and I didn’t get to cross everything off my list during this trip. As soon as we walked outside of the train station, I instantly knew that I was in London. Everywhere I turned, I could see red double-decker buses and telephone booths, and as I listened in on conversations on the street, I could clearly hear British accents. I can’t describe how nice it was to finally be surrounded by English for a change!

When we arrived, the weather was a bit rainy, so we didn’t get to see many sights at first. Instead, we spent our time mostly indoors on Saturday, first at the world’s largest Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum. I had been to one before in Wisconsin Dells, but this one was undoubtedly the best of its kind. I personally love everything bizarre, so I had to go inside once I heard it was the world’s largest Ripley’s museum. They had all sorts of strange items, including a prehistoric shark’s set of teeth, an iron maiden, and shrunken heads. It may not have been worth the 22 pounds that we paid (even with a student discount), but it was a nice was to pass the time out of the rain.

Bre and I in front of Buckingham Palace

The highlight of my weekend was without a doubt seeing The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre. I am a huge fan of the story; I have read the original book and many other fanfiction novels about the Phantom, and I have seen the both original and most recent film countless times. I adore the soundtrack and can sing you any song you choose by heart and play it for you on the piano (not necessarily at the same time!). During the show, I couldn’t help but mouth the words along with the actors. I was completely blown away by the quality of the singers’ voices and the special effects. When the chandelier went up at the very beginning and the organ started wailing the main tune, I had a mini heart attack and had the widest grin on my face. I believe that the Phantom of the Opera is a very important part of London’s broadway history, and I am so happy that I had the chance to see my favorite musical on stage in the best place in the world to see it performed.

After two days of rain, the sky finally opened up on Sunday and made way for a unbelievably beautiful day. My friend and I spent the entire day walking around London sight seeing. Our first stop was Abbey Road, made famous by the Beatles’ album of the same name. There were many tourists there literally stopping traffic just to snap a photo like the Beatles, and of course I became one of them. We then headed toward the River Thames, where we passed Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminister Abbey, and a lot of other really cool buildings. I was really surprised by how many great tourist spots were all clustered together in the same area. It did make for an easy sight seeing tour, though! After that, we saw the Globe Theatre, Millenium Bridge, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and the London Bridge, just to name a few.

I was completely amazed at how much there is to see in London, and I’m sad I couldn’t see it all in three days. Now that I know how great London really is, I am itching to go back and take a closer look at all this city has to offer.

Millenium Bridge and St. Paul's Cathedral

London Bridge

El Cierzo and London

April 24, 2012 / Jordan Harner / 0 Comments

The North Wind (El Cierzo)

Before I arrived, for some reason I had this idea that Spain was going to be so much warmer than Indiana but today I mentally put that notion to bed and completely gave up on it. The sun is shining today and there’s not a cloud in the sky. You would think with it being mid April it would be a fairly nice day but don’t be fooled: the wind here ruins everything. In reality it’s only in the upper 40s today but without the wind, it’d probably be at least 10 degrees warmer. I was warned about its strength before I arrived in Spain but I severely underestimated it.

There’s not a hint of a storm brewing but the wind is so strong there are multiple uprooted trees in the parks near my house. I was actually a bit afraid one was going to fall on my way back from school. The only way I can describe it is it feels like you’re on the top of a mountain and the wind is an invisible wall. So be warned, if there’s one thing someone should know about the weather here before arriving it’s that you never know what days the desert wind will come but you should always prepare for the worst and use lots of hairspray!

A while ago EB, another study abroad student from Valpo, and I visited London for a few days. We were able to fly out of the airport in Zaragoza which made traveling much easier. Ryanair, the only major carrier operating out of Zaragoza’s airport, threatened to cease operations if the Aragonese government didn’t give them more tax breaks/incentives so I’m glad Aragon did otherwise we would have had to take a 3 1/2 bus ride to Barcelona or Madrid. Anyway, London was fantastic but not quite what I’d exactly imagined.

Of course, we did the “touristy things” like go to Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and The London Eye among others but I also really enjoyed taking time out to just walk around and check out the area. It was lightly raining one day when we were walking along the River Thames and we happened to walk under a large bridge that had an outdoor antiques market. I bought a small tin print made in the 1700s of a destroyed abbey somewhere in England for a few pounds which I gave to my dad as a birthday present when he visited. That’s something you could only do in a place like London! Photos are forthcoming as soon as I get some sleep. We arrived back in Zaragoza from the Canary Islands this morning at 3 and I’ve barely slept the last two days so that takes priority (for now)!

If you’d like to follow more of my daily musings, I have a Twitter account and if you’d like to check up on my photos I also have a Picasa account.

I’m thinking about doing a typical Spanish food blog later in the week so check back for that!

Arriving and London

January 17, 2012 / John McCutchan / 1 Comment

Hello, and welcome to my blog!

All 17 of us in front of Big Ben

My adventure started last year when I switched majors from engineering to nursing. With the change came the opportunity to study abroad. I’ve always loved English culture, and because a nursing professor had recently filled the position of director, I selected the Cambridge program.

So, I am officially in Cambridge, England! Technically, I’m on my 5th day here, but at this point I’ve spent nearly as long in London as in Cambridge, so I have a little catching up to do. Packing was an adventure in itself. However, I was able to stuff everything in my suitcase and not only stay under the weight limit, but also leave myself a little room for souvenirs on the return trip. All 17 Valpo students studying at Cambridge this semester flew out on the same flight. The flight itself was very smooth with no major turbulence or delays, and we weren’t even out of the London airport before being bombarded by the change of culture: the crosswalks are painted with “LOOK RIGHT →”!

After somehow fitting 17 students (each packed for 4 months!) into an extremely small coach, we arrived at the Valparaiso University Student Centre in Cambridge. One of our first meals on English soil was at The Eagle – the famous pub where Watson & Crick discussed the structure of DNA. We were barely unpacked and acquainted with our new home before all 17 of us left to spend the weekend in London!

Buckingham Palace

After catching an early train through the fog into the city, we checked into our hostel and set out. During the following two days we attempted to hit as many major landmarks as we could. We started out at the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. Although the sun was in my eyes making it difficult to see the actual ceremony, I was able to get some good pictures of the palace itself. Afterwards, we continued towards the Horse Guards Parade, which will soon host volleyball during the upcoming Olympics. We stopped for photos at the ever-popular Big Ben, saw the beautiful Westminster Abbey, and had lunch in Trafalgar Square.

Going to Hogwarts from Kings Cross

That afternoon we took a bus tour around the city and saw The Mousetrap in London’s theatre district. We soon discovered getting restaurant or pub seats for all of us on a busy night in London would be impossible, so we split into smaller groups to eat and wander around the city. The next day we started with a cruise down the Thames River. The cruise stopped at the Tower of London, where the rest of the day was spent. Then, we were on our own to find our way back through the Underground to Kings Cross and catch a train back to Cambridge.

The journey back was really one of the most memorable sections of my London trip. Instead of being told what to do, or at least given step-by-step directions, it was up to me to take responsibility for finding routes back through London and to Cambridge in time for a speaker at 19:00 that night. It was kind of intimidating having not even been in the country long enough to get over my jet lag. However, it was more than a little exhilarating too! I am really excited to continue this feeling during the next 4 months. I hope you’ll continue to follow me for more of my upcoming adventures!

Follow me on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/#!/CambridgeUKJohn

See more photos on Picasa at: https://picasaweb.google.com/112463823006344854498/London?authuser=0&feat=directlink

A Deeper Look into History

November 18, 2010 / Jeff Harbert / 0 Comments

When touring London and visiting all of its magnificent sites, it’s hard to believe the city was once the victim of six straight weeks of bombing during World War II. Referred to as the “Blitz”, Londoners suffered intense bombing by German forces which killed over 43,000 civilians and left more than a million households destroyed or damaged. And that was all in London. Granted a huge part of Europe suffered similar if not worse devastation, it’s incredible to think about what people had to endure around 70 years ago.

A common sight in London during the ‘Blitz’ in World War II

On Tuesday I had the chance to visit the Duxford Aircraft Museum, which lies nine miles south of Cambridge and is considered to be one of the most important air bases during in Britain during the World War. The museum, which contains the largest collection of historic aircraft in Europe, is one of the best ways to really get a grasp of the atrocities and devastation caused by both World War I and World War II. The aircraft on display was astounding. The Spitfire, Concorde, Messerschmitt, Hurricane, you name it, and there’s a really good chance they have it.

Messerschmitt BF 109E – most famous German figher in WWII

One of seven hangers at Duxford Aircraft Museum

After learning about World War I and World War II in our British History course here in Cambridge, it felt appropriate to view the planes and a lot of the weapons and vehicles used by many of the countries involved in the war. I was able to learn a lot about the hardships the soldiers and pilots fighting faced, as well as the women and children on the home front. It’s crazy to think that around 7.5 million women were recruited for war work between 1939 and 1945. It’s even more shocking to think that around 100 million people died from both wars. Visiting Duxford Aircraft Meseum was a very enlightening experience and it emphasized how much the world has changed and how fortunate I am not to have had to endure living in such a difficult era.

The U.S. Air Force’s F-15 Eagle

And for Americans like me and the rest of our group, the American Air Museum provided the perfect opportunity to admire the largest collection of U.S. aircraft outside of America. They had an impressive collection, housing famous aircraft such as the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird (once the fastest jet in the world), P-51 Mustang… to name just a few. It was especially significant for me as my Uncle is a retired Major General from the U.S. Air Force and flew some of the aircraft on display, such as the F-15 Eagle. It was a special experience to be able to see up close and touch the same type of fighter jet he once flew. As a kid I was always fascinated by jets and to finally be up close to some was extremely memorable, to say the least.

Throughout the entire visit I learned a lot about European and American history. I considered myself to have a decent knowledge of past and current events, but I soon realized there was a lot of information I didn’t know. The museum taught me a lot, but it also helped open my eyes up and take a deeper look into history. It’s amazing what you can discover if you’re actually looking.

Valpo Voyager

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