Monday, March 6, 2017

The British Museum

I didn't get the best sleep last night, that stupid jet-lag isn't giving up without a fight, but I didn't let that get in the way of preparing a wonderful breakfast of scrambled eggs, back bacon (super lean British bacon that are more akin to super thinly sliced pork chops), orange slices and orange juice. We felt we needed a protein boost for the day ahead as we got a little shaky the day before.
We had decided to go see the British Museum, home to one of the greatest collections of statuary, Egyptian mummies, European treasures and objects d' art in the world. The British Museum is located in the Bloomsbury area of London, which would expand our grasp of the Tube, requiring a transfer at the Earl's Court station and head into a new part of the city, how fun!
We got together our day pack and headed towards the Fulham Broadway station where we had little difficulty figuring out the transfer and taking the Piccadilly Line towards the Museum. 
This would be our first time in one of the tremendously deep underground lines and the escalators which transport you from the bowels of the earth are remarkably steep. It's only after taking the third of these escalators that it dawns on you just how far underground you were.
Once we reached the surface we made our way over to the Museum which had a line of people out in front, but not nothing major, especially given that all of London's major museums are free to the public. Yes, FREE! It's mind boggling really, here you have some of the most valuable collections in the world, and they're free to view. Ah Britain, what a wonderful country!
Once inside you enter an immense open space with the museums collection branching out like spokes on a wheel. Although there were hundreds of people inside the museum, the vast size of the building allows you to have a chance to be able to view the pieces in a very intimate way. We decided to start in the early Egyptian wing of the museum, as the British Museum is renown for it's vast collection.
I don't know if photos really do justice to some of the statuary on display. Some of the Pharaohs heads are huge, as are the sarcophagus's. The carving is just Brilliant and they look as if they could have been chiseled yesterday even though they are from the second and third century B.C.
We especially enjoyed trying to decipher the hieroglyphics. Of course this is the home to the "Rosetta Stone" the original carved text which helped break hieroglyph code, but I'm pretty sure we made pretty good inroads in solving the mystery ourselves. And you know what, it really wasn't that hard.
 Our favorite piece of work in the Egyptian Wing was the feline effigy of the god Bastet, known worldwide as the ‘Gayer Anderson Cat’
 
 So cool!

The next wing we visited was one of our favorites, the Assyrian, Persian and Babylonian collections.
Once again the photos don't begin to relay the immensity of some of the sculptures and pieces such as the Balawat gates and the human headed winged lion and bull that flanked the doorway of the Ashurnasirpal II throne-room from around 865-860 BC.
We especially enjoyed the Assyrian palace reliefs, as they were beautifully carved and told very easily understood stories, usually having to do with military conquests and the taking of slaves. The Assyrian's seemed to be very serious and violent dudes and not to be trifled with.
One of the best reliefs was a huge carving of King Ashurnasirpal II
I think the cuneiform inscription says it all, this guy was pretty darn impressed with himself!
Hey, one little known fact that could turn the science of archeology on its ear...the Assyrians all wore Swatches, who knew?!
Entering the Greek and Roman wing were greeted by an amazing array of statuary, topped off with the facade of the Nereid sculptured tomb from the early fourth century B.C.
 We also really loved an ancient Roman sculpted bronze patera with fantastic reliefs of Medusa and Bacchus.
 
After a quick snack and a sit-down we headed upstairs and visited the early European exhibits. We really were mesmerized by the different hoards found in Britain and the Saxon and Viking era armor and weapons.
 Golden Shroud found in Britain
One of the oldest Saxon bronze helmets ever found
Early bronze Helmet
Amazing Bronze shield
Two different hoards, one gold and one silver

There was still so much to see as we had only covered about a third of the museums collections, but we know when it starts becoming diminishing returns and it's much better to come back, either on this trip or during a trip in the future than to just skip over stuff because you're too tired to concentrate.

So we left the British Museum and took a short stroll down to The Bloomsbury pub for a couple of pints. London is truly amazing in the sense that no matter where you go there are fantastic buildings surrounding you on all sides. If you like architecture, you can't help but LOVE London.
Heading back towards the Tube station we happened on The Chicken Shop, a little restaurant down a flight of stairs underground. We were helped by some really friendly Italian's who were running the place and ordered a couple of beers while they put together our order of a half a smoked chicken, krinkly fries and deep dish apple pies. The staff was really warm and welcoming and brought over a basket of freshly cooked fries on the house for us to eat while we waited on our order. Did we mention, we LOVE London!
The Chicken Shop

After we got our to-go order packed away in the backpack we returned to the tube for our trip back to our apartment bushed as only a day in a museum can make you.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I think you should watch the movie, American Werewolf in London while you are there. Just saw it and it's appropriate.