Traitors Gate

Today, Dennis and I finished our weekend of excursions at the Tower of London.  We went to Westminster Abby and the Imperial War Museum yesterday too, tried to hit the Tower, but just couldn’t do it. 

Westminster Abby was in my opinion everything it was cracked up to be.  I mean no disrespect to the dead, but it was impossible not to walk on them throughout this place.  There wasn’t any photography allowed in doors, so we got some in the courtyard outside.  I saw Isaac Newton’s mausoleum, the floor markers for Charles Darwin, Jane Ayer, Shakespeare (who’s actually buried at Stratford-upon-Avon I think), Rudyard Kippling, and a bunch of kings.  The two that stuck with me the most were the tomb of The Unknown Soldier and the crypt of Queen Elizabeth I.  Elizabeth’s crypt was lavish and awe-inspiring as you would expect, but the Unknown Soldier was a simple stone placed into the floor with a single soldier from WWI buried inside.  The slate is surrounded by poppies from Belgium too.  I read this inscription of the slate:

BENEATH THIS STONE RESTS THE BODY
OF A BRITISH WARRIOR
UNKNOWN BY NAME OR RANK

FROM FRANCE TO LIE AMONG
THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS OF THE LAND
AND BURIED HERE ON ARMISTICE DAY
11 NOV: 1920, IN THE PRESENCE OF
HIS MAJESTY KING GEORGE V
HIS MINISTERS OF STATE
THE CHIEFS OF HIS FORCES
AND A VAST CONCOURSE OF THE NATION

THUS ARE COMMEMORATED THE MANY
MULTITUDES WHO DURING THE GREAT
WAR PF 1914-1918 GAVE THE MOST THAT
MAN CAN GIVE LIFE ITSELF
FOR GOD
FOR KING AND COUNTRY
FOR LOVED ONES HOME AND EMPIRE
FOR THE SACRED CAUSE OF JUSTICE AND
THE FREEDOM OF THE WORLD

THEY BURIED HIM AMONG THE KINGS
BECAUSE HE
HAD DONE GOOD TOWARD GOD AND TOWARD
HIS HOUSE

I know it’s long, but for some reason after reading that, I felt a deep sense of patriotism.  The part “They buried him among the kings because he had done good toward God and toward his house” is probably the most moving part of the whole thing, I feel like the United States and every country for that matter, should treat it’s soldiers (both dead or alive) with the upmost care, reverence and respect in accordance to what they have sacrificed for their nation.  Okay, enough “preaching” for one post.  Here are some of the pictures that we took:

"Here take a picture of me lookin all academic with that bell tower in the background..."

I wonder why you'd go from coining England's currency at the Tower of London to Westminster Abby...humm

The ivy on those flying buttresses made me think I was at Harvard

to the immediate left (and down) of the person wearing a black coat is one of the many graves under the floor...and this one's outside (must be where they buried the architect)

memorial to fallen soldiers of WWII (also outside)

Now the Imperial War Museum on the other hand was like open season for me.  I love military history, and I guess I’ll let the pictures talk for themselves:

This is the awesome site you are greeted with; two massive 15 in. naval guns from WWI

This is me standing directly below said guns...

...and this is Dennis (who is over 6 ft. tall) giving me a size comparison of the shell these guns fire.

Dennis looking casual....."okay, who fired the massive cannon?...I dunno man, not me..."

This is what you see upon entering the museum

This car was blown up in Baghdad in 2007, just a dose of realism there

look, a Communist tank..lets stand next to it before it disappears just like the ideology it represents!!

"Mr. Smith, I have two bandits off the starboard bow, please get me a bubblehead to launch the bow array for a positive confirmation..."
"umm, what are you talking about?"
"Okay, you guys, flip those switches and turn those knobs, everyone else, look busy.."

Go America!!

Son, can you actually use this?  Psshh, yeah I'm going to college..and I'll graduate...eventaully

This is actually how the German's fired V2 rockets, half disassembled...which is why they developed a newer one, that came with assembly directions...

An exhibit partially dedicated to James Bond being a real spy!!

yeah, this is scary...accept it

great piece of German engineering right here...this is actually new...not a shot-down fuselage or anything like that..right out of the factory (lol)

Now, the pictures stop one level below the top of the museum.  This last level was camera-free, and I’m glad it was.  This was the Holocaust exhibit.  I really wasn’t prepared at all – in any way actually – to see it.  On the other hand though, I firmly believe it is important for people to know what happened, so we can learn from it and know the truth of what happened before and during WWII under the Third Reich.  I can't really use words properly to give it justice, but I was moved by it.  I'm embarrassed to say that I guess I've never seen an exhibit so complete, so raw that I guess I was caught off guard.  I will not / cannot describe what I saw in there, only that I felt a combined sense of great sorrow, confusion and I guess joy or thankfulness (when we got to the part about the Nuremberg Trials and the liberation).  What I'm trying to say is that I think now I appreciate and understand the best I think I ever will what happened during the Holocaust.  The images will never get less disturbing or eye-opening, and nothing can ever legitimize why it happened as far as I see it (which makes it such a touchy subject).  I feel such a sense of epic helplessness as I go picture to picture, testimony to testimony; it’s hard knowing that there is nothing I can do for anyone effected, that words cannot qualify what happened.  A very serious subject yes, but not something I’d like to end this post with at all.

Sunday marked our 2^nd attempt to get to the Tower of London for a tour.  Saturday we got there right as they were closing because the bus line was operating with spaces in the service…which stunk.  The Beefeater (tour guides / keepers of the Tower of London) who lead our tour was funny.  The title of this post comes from the actually “Traitors Gate” that in its day, went right up to the water’s edge.  Prisoners would be off-loaded here.  Three Queens walked through that gate, and only one managed to leave with her life (Elizabeth I).  This place has a bloody history, but our Beefeater couldn’t help but point out that Traitors Gate used to be called “Water Gate.”  He proceeded to say that theirs didn’t leak like America’s did but that they both involved people who has committed treasonous acts.  His jokes were so bad, they were funny.  Dennis and I were laughing pretty hard (being the only people from the U-S-of A, we had to represent).  The tour ended in the Chapel; Queen Victoria had the place refurbished during her reign, where workers discovered over 1,500 bodies.  Only 33 were identifiable (they were all headless, so that probably made it challenging to say the least).  They said that Salt Tower was haunted…so naturally that’s exactly where we went first after the tour was over.  It was scarry, the basement just didn’t feel right at all.  Dennis wouldn’t even go in, and I only stepped right in the doorway for a second.  The best part though honestly, was seeing the crown jewels.  I know the running joke in England is that no one likes the monarchy, but it’s essential to England’s survival, and people definitely still respect it.  A lot of the men removed their hats as they walked past the crown jewels.  I was in awe the entire time.  I’ve never seen a site like that, nor will I see it ever again most likely.  The scepter Queen Elizabeth held was 250 karat gold!!!  The gold was so solid, the gold was made out of gold!!!  I’ve got some pictures here to of this for your viewing pleasure:

Our beefeater had a great sense of humor, it was actually a great tour in all honesty

The beefeater (his name is Allen I think) told me to take this one...that's Salt Tower to the left

One of the last 3 functioning drop gates from the 13 or 1400's in London

Hey look traitors gate...for some reason I can't imagine in the 1600's it saying "Ye Olde Traitors Gate" in place of this sign

I'm sitting in front of a ceremonial cannon....with a snake on it.

FINALLY...I wanted to see a furry hat...I got my furry hat

I'm standing casually (because this picture was totally not posed at all) in front of the White Tower, the central fixture of the complex

I found another furry hat

Sooo, the royal jewels are kept in here...supposedly one of the most secure area open to the public in London

armor and military uniforms for the two current princes...William and Harry

This suit of armor was just plain weird...it's the only one that has it too...I'm not even going to be specific at all here

An old chapel in the White Tower

Dennis:  "So, where the most haunted place at.." Beefeater: "well....try Salt Tower first, a lot of people died there.."  Dennis: "Alright, you sure it's haunted?"  Beefeater: "yes..almost positive..but I could be wrong, it could probably be any of the towers...they killed a lot of people here in case you didn't get that..."

Tower of London.....again

This glass table thing is inscribed with the names of all the people beheaded on the block that used to stand on the exact spot

Because the monarchy isn't superstitious at all, they keep 8 crows / ravens on the grounds at all times (since Charles II) to prevent the White Tower from crumbling which would bring about the end of the monarchy

Hopefully this weekend Dennis, Konstantin, Carolin and I can finally hit the public courts to play some basketball.  It was the plan this week, but we all just got mad tired.  Interestingly enough, spring break is only a couple weeks away, I'll talk about my plans for that next time I post up.

Stay Tuned people...