Imperial War Museum and Looking Ahead
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A Churchill Mark VII Infantry Tank, the last true infantry tank to serve with the British Army. Over 5,500 were produced between 1941 and 1945. It was especially valued for its thick armor (better than previous marks), a redesigned heavy turret, heavier suspension, an improved gearbox and a 75mm gun rather than the earlier two and six-pounders.
An M4 Sherman V Tank. American-built but known by its British name of Sherman, it was one of the most important Allied tanks of WWII. Though inferior to German and Soviet tanks at the time, it was simple to operate and maintain, it was reliable, fast, durable and had an uncomplicated design. This was all very important for a tank that was being mass produced (over 40,000 were built between 1942 and 1946).Today I traveled from Edgware to the Elephant and Castle station all on the Bakerloo line to get to the Imperial War Museum. I was most excited about all the various war vehicles and weaponry kept in the ground and first and second floors, and I was really excited about them having a Churchill Mark VII tank and a Sherman V tank on the ground floor. Maybe it's from playing too much Company of Heroes but World War II is of particular interest to me and seeing these two tanks there was amazing. Also displayed in the museum with other WWI and II aircraft was a German V1 rocket attached to an autopiloted pulse-jet engine. These were key to Germany's terror campaign in Britain. As the rocket approached it had a unique buzzing sound that got louder and louder until the engine suddenly cut out after reaching a set distance from the target. After a few moments of eerie silence the bomb would detonate. (Audio of V1 Rocket)
Anyway, I had to rush because I got at the museum at 2:30 and it closed at 6:00, so I didn't get to spend as much time as I'd have liked to, so I'll most likely be back sometime.
Other than that, I've been working on my fall break plans. I booked a flight to Dinard, France on the friday before break and will be heading up to Cherbourg to stay for the night. That's about all I've managed to do so far though. I wanted to plan everything, but now I'm starting to think I should just go to France and wing it. I did buy three Eyewitness Travel books, for France, Switzerland and Germany and they're all pretty helpful in figuring out what to do and how to go about doing it.
Two weekends before fall break I'm going with Andrew and Juliette to Grenoble, France, where we intend to go southward through the French, or Swiss, Alps down along the coast of Provence, or the Côte d'Azur, making a few stops along the way and ending at Marseille, where we'll fly back to London.
So, I'm cutting southern France out of my fall break plans for now. I'll most likely stay in Normandy for a couple of days, then to Paris for another two or so days. Then I'll head to Switzerland again and into Bavaria where I really want to visit Schloss Neuschwanstein. But I still need to really look into what I want to do in Switzerland and Germany.
Speaking of Germany, I booked a train through a German line today, and the site and all the interfaces I had to use to sign up were all in German, so hopefully I didn't mess anything up.
Anyway, I had to rush because I got at the museum at 2:30 and it closed at 6:00, so I didn't get to spend as much time as I'd have liked to, so I'll most likely be back sometime.
Other than that, I've been working on my fall break plans. I booked a flight to Dinard, France on the friday before break and will be heading up to Cherbourg to stay for the night. That's about all I've managed to do so far though. I wanted to plan everything, but now I'm starting to think I should just go to France and wing it. I did buy three Eyewitness Travel books, for France, Switzerland and Germany and they're all pretty helpful in figuring out what to do and how to go about doing it.
Two weekends before fall break I'm going with Andrew and Juliette to Grenoble, France, where we intend to go southward through the French, or Swiss, Alps down along the coast of Provence, or the Côte d'Azur, making a few stops along the way and ending at Marseille, where we'll fly back to London.
So, I'm cutting southern France out of my fall break plans for now. I'll most likely stay in Normandy for a couple of days, then to Paris for another two or so days. Then I'll head to Switzerland again and into Bavaria where I really want to visit Schloss Neuschwanstein. But I still need to really look into what I want to do in Switzerland and Germany.
Speaking of Germany, I booked a train through a German line today, and the site and all the interfaces I had to use to sign up were all in German, so hopefully I didn't mess anything up.
A red double-decker coach drives over Westminster Bridge in front of the Houses of Parliament.I decided to walk a bit instead of taking the tube directly from the Imperial War Museum to the flat. I walked over Westminster Bridge, past Parliament and the Abbey, and took the tube back from St. James's Park to Paddington Station. I'm only writing this so these two pictures appear to have a purpose.
Paddington Station at dusk.On a separate note, lien du jour.
