Mayflower Steps, Plymouth

On our way home from Cornwall we stopped in Plymouth and saw the Mayflower Steps, (near) where the Pilgrims set off for America in 1620. The memorial has both an American and Union Jack flag.

The William Bradford quote on the memorial, which I tried and failed to capture in one photograph (despite having climbed--dangerously--onto the wall), says:
"As one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindled hath shone to many, yea in some sorte to our whole nation."

How much do you love my (NOT) stellar photography here?

Enigmas and codes--Bletchley Park

Yesterday we visited Bletchley Park, the home of Allied code-breaking during WWII. At the peak of its activity, Bletchley Park code-breakers were intercepting 4,000 messages per day, and Churchill later said it was thanks to the operations here that we won the war.

workers fixing the enigma-breaking "bombe" machine

We saw some enigma machines and code-breaking machines and period stuff. Most of the mansion is now offices, but we got to see the still-authentic parts. Overall we thought it was interesting but could have been presented a little better. Maybe they were trying to be enigmatic...

There's a cute little post office at Bletchley Park.

Stained glass ceiling in one of the rooms.

Gavin definitely enjoyed playing on the grounds of Bletchley, including monster chess. 

I thought this wartime poster was clever.

Churchill War Rooms

 While we were in London for our Olympic basketball games, we visited the Churchill War Rooms, the underground bunker where UK government officials worked during WWII because of the constant threat of air raids. The above room is the Cabinet room where Churchill declared "This is the room from which I will direct the war."

You can imagine how scared everyone must have been with air raids being a reality of the war.

I thought the kitchen, which served the Prime Minister's family's dining room, was adorable.

I also really loved the wartime posters in the gift shop. This one especially.

Oświęcim (Auschwitz-Birkenau)

While visiting Kraków we took a day trip to Oświęcim to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. After we visited Dachau in 2009 we said we didn't need to visit another concentration camp because it is just wrenching. But we were so close in Kraków, and it was actually Armistice Day (Veterans Day in the US), plus it's the best-known concentration camp. It was even harder for me this time, now that I'm a parent, to think about how many children suffered and died. The parts of the exhibit that talked about kids were just too much.Auschwitz was an actual labor camp, and the nearby Birkenau was the extermination camp. Over 1 million people are estimated to have died at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Below is a photo that only begins to capture the eerie sea of chimneys at Birkenau, where the Nazis rushed to destroy everything just before the camp was liberated. They deconstructed most of the barracks, except the chimneys, which still stand. And they go on as far as the eye can see.In the next photo is the shooting wall next to Block 11, the so-called "death block." Here prisoners were shot by firing squads in great numbers. The windows in the adjacent Block 10 are boarded up so there were no onlookers.The memorial in the next photo (which is also translated into all of the languages of Auschwitz victims) pretty much sums up the entire place. It's definitely "a cry of despair."

Hampton Court Palace

Saturday we visited Hampton Court Palace in the greater London area (on the Thames River), and it was beautiful. It was the main residence of Henry VIII, so lots of craziness with his spousal situations happened there. It also features additions by William and Mary and other monarchs but hasn't been occupied since George II. It was first opened to the public under Queen Victoria. The above photo shows the fountain that flowed with wine during Henry VIII's time.

The palace features the last medieval great hall built for the monarchy (below). I don't think I got a great photo of the incredible ceiling. The stained glass is beautiful too.

Hampton Court is also famous as the site where the King James translation of the Bible was commissioned in 1604. We saw a first edition of the King James Version in the chapel there.

Also pictured: the fountain courtyard (x2); the throne; Jacob and Gavin in the maze; the astronomical clock; and the impressive staircase mural by Antonio Verrio.

And one last photo of us being silly. :)

Washington DC

In addition to seeing family here, we've done lots of fun DC-specific things. One highlight was getting to see the new Martin Luther King, Jr monument, which will be dedicated this weekend. It's surrounded by controversy, but the experience was very meaningful. There's the statue, but there's also a long wall of his quotes. Here are a couple of favorites. "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."

We also saw a Nationals baseball game, which was fun. It was supposed to rain, but we actually had a gorgeous evening with a beautiful sky. The next photo is the Presidents' race, which was funny.

The Beatles

In 2008 I took a Liverpool Beatles tour with my brother Nick. Monday morning we took a different one. The above mural was actually in the lobby of our (fantastic) Liverpool hotel, and it got us in the spirit.Above, the grouting on this building is immediately across the street from Ringo's birthplace, which is actually about to be torn down. :(
In the below photo we're holding a picture of the Quarry Men's performance on the day John and Paul first met. The performance took place on a stage in the exact place we were standing. (You can see photos of us on the tour company's facebook page.)

We saw basically the same things I saw in 2008, but it was fun to see it all again and listen to the songs as we arrived at the important Beatles places.