What?!

So this is an ad for a beer from Berlin. When I used to see it before I was like 'what kind of a message are they trying to portray here?!'

What think ye?

I see 'hey Spot, now that I have you and my beer I don't need anything or ANYONE else!'

Or maybe the woman is like 'wow! What a man! With a dog like that and a beer...I can't stay away!' haha!

The message (in English would say something like): such is the taste of Berlin!

Umm....yeh....ok....

I just think it's funny....and makes no sense from my perspective.

Smoking is...

I have commented in the past about warning labels in Ireland and the UK (sometimes they are also like this in Germany), but I'd just like to say how much I LOVE THEIR smoking warning labels!!

SMOKING KILLS! Is there anymore that needs to be said?

Methinks not...hmmm...maybe,

SMOKING IS DUMB! Yeah, that is a good one....

SMOKING STINKS (literally ;) !

SMOKING IS EXPENSIVE!

SMOKING IS A WASTE OF TAXPAYER-FUNDED HEALTH CARE COSTS!

SMOKING MAKES NO SENSE! (I'll just sit here and huff and puff so I can hack and cough in a few minutes all over you some more... ?)

SMOKING is a WASTE OF FARMLAND that could be used to FEED the WORLD'S HUNGRY!

CIGARETTES HAD (PROVEN)/HAVE (?) FIBERGLASS IN THEM TO MAKE SMALL CUTS IN A PERSON'S LUNGS/ETC. in order to provide a better 'DELIVERY' system for the nicotine to get into the blood stream = CREATION of ADDICTION!

SMOKING IS....the possibilities are endless....but do you really want those possibilities?

Hopefully not....

Parliament Hill aka Kite Hill...

So I had heard of Parliament Hill forever and never got around to going up there - sad! Sad because oh what a beautiful view!

Apparently this hill had something to do with where Parliament met after being kicked out by the king right before the English civil war - or this is where their troops were or or or...

But who knows, right?! It's other name is 'Kite Hill' and I did see a kite or two....







This is 'the Stone of Free Speech'. It was around at least 200 years ago and was a center for political discussions...

Jolly ol' London below...

People enjoying the lovely day that it t'was...

I honestly believed I was 'content' and 'smiling' in this photo...

Once I took a look I decided for my Mom's sake I needed to look happy!! So...

This felt like I was 'over-doing' it, but in the end, I look 'happy' ;)

Haha!

Highgate Cemetery - East

So here we are 'East Side', to see Karl Marx's grave....

The beginning of the graveyard included rich 'railroad' people's tombs, but apparently they did help the poor a lot...










I thought this one was pretty....





I thought this was a beautifully-decorated cross (workmanship-wise)...

And the man of the hour! It's so interesting...I was in Trier where he was born and lived and now I've seen his grave...I wonder if he realized how many millions of lives he'd affect?

Apparently his grave was 'bombed' during the 1970's...see...sometimes it's better to just leave well enough alone. They bombed his grave and then it became MEGA-GRAVE instead! :)

This is what I think most LDS Americans think about Europe - they'll just come over here and trapse around a graveyard and find their ancestors....well....as we've seen in previous posts, that's not the case. In Germany, if you're family doesn't continue to pay for your grave, you're spot is 'cleared' and then made ready for someone else and your 'remains' are 'pushed down further', as a German explained to me. In London we've seen from earlier posts that graveyards are today parks! Oh and then...I forget when, I guess 1980's, massive amount of graves/skeletons/etc. were removed from London and buried in mass graves in Kent to the east. (Kind of what Paris did back in the day...)

I'm assuming these are the names of London Firefighters who lost their lives doing their duty - HATS OFF TO THEM, and I am serious! Nothing but respect!

It's interesting to see how 'death' changes....Victorian times: we must make it as big and 'beautiful' and ornate as possible. Today...DEAD, get it?! :) Funny stuff....

More the 'East Side'...

And there you go. Thanks Highgate cemeteries! I enjoyed my time with you!

Highgate Cemetery - West

So on my 'to do' list in London was visit Karl Marx. He is buried in Highgate Cemetery, however there is the 'west' side and the 'east' side. Marx is buried on the 'east' side (should've known! ;) haaha!

Anyway, from earlier posts you know about my 'enjoyment' of graveyards and this was no exception. In fact, I would say that this is what I always expected of a European graveyard! Old, stone crosses and monuments everywhere...and and and...

This is a grave marker for the family that made the 'Big Ben' bell as well as the Liberty Bell (yeah, good work there! ;)

This guy was a general that had actual 'shells' and actual cannons used as 'decoration'.

This is Alexander Litvinenko's grave. Wikipedia says, "In November 1998, Litvinenko publicly accused his superiors of ordering the assassination of Russian tycoon and oligarch, Boris Berezovsky. Litvinenko was arrested the following March on charges of exceeding his authority at work. He was acquitted in November 1999 but re-arrested before the charges were again dismissed in 2000. A third criminal case began but he fled the country to the United Kingdom with his wife, where he was granted political asylum.
During his time in London Litvinenko authored two books, "Blowing up Russia: Terror from within" and "Lubyanka Criminal Group," where he accused Russian secret services of staging Russian apartment bombings and other terrorism acts to bring Vladimir Putin to power. He also accused Vladimir Putin of ordering the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

And I guess that is what you get when you try to 'stand up' in Russia....

Our tour guide pointed out that when Highgate was built in the mid 1800's, the cemetery had a requirement to allow for 'public funerals', i.e. people who couldn't afford a burial. So guess where they buried the people who couldn't pay?! IN THE WALKWAYS!! ....So yes, we walked on the 'graves' (he said up to 20 at a time) of poor people! Amazing how even in death, money plays a big roll....

Highgate cemetery was one of 7(?) newly built, public cemeteries in London back in the mid 1800's. Each had a 'theme' in order to attract business (weird, eh?). Highgate's theme was 'Ancient Egypt' ;) So this is 'Egyptian Avenue'.

And the family tombs on Egyptian Avenue. The guy said that during the 1960's and 70's the cemetery was just left to rot, so there was a lot of vandalism, break-ins and people doing 'black magic', in his words.

He also pointed out that this 'Egyptian Avenue' was rented out to movie production groups so they could film there - our tour guide was not amused by that.

This apparenlty is a cedar tree from a seed/part from Lebanon. Highgate was an estate earlier, but the mansion had burned down. This was the ONLY tree in Highgate Cemetery-West as it was built, everything else our tour guide pointed out was brought in by the wind, etc.

The cedar tree is surrounded by 'The Circle of Lebanon', other tombs, etc.

This Tom Sayers' grave. He was a 'pugilist' and died in 1865. I put this here because our tour guide said that his funeral was the most-attended in Highgate ever, with a reported 400,000 people seeing his grave (our tour guide pointed out that papers back then lied in order to sell copies - hmm...not much has changed, eh? :(

This is his dog, Lion. BIG DOG!

I thought this pic was just cool with the tree and and and...

These are the graves of Charles Dickens's wife and 3 of their 5 children!

The graveyard was built up around a piece of private property - this property has been lately developed so...hmm... (just a weird contrast from old, falling down ruins to 'hello, I'm ugly modern!')

So our tour guide let us know that this was probably one of the most famous British men to be buried in Highgate-West. I said 'Sorry, but I'm the ignorant American - who is/was Michael Farraday?' The tour guide let out an 'oh' or astonishment and then proceeded to explain that he invented the 'Dynamo' and pretty much discovered how to 'harvest' electricity.

(Wikipedia says: Michael Faraday, FRS ( 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English chemist and physicist (or natural philosopher, in the terminology of the time) who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry.
Faraday studied the magnetic field around a conductorcarrying a DC electric current, and established the basis for the magnetic field concept in physics. He discovered electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism, and laws of electrolysis. He established that magnetism could affect rays of light and that there was an underlying relationship between the two phenomena. His inventions of electromagnetic rotary devices formed the foundation of electric motor technology, and it was largely due to his efforts that electricity became viable for use in technology.)

This was a bit 'freaky' looking - that was with a flash...the angel to me looks like it's been 'painted' onto the photo...




And that was the 'West' side...very interesting, very enjoyable and a beautiful day for it as well!

Now, shall we? We wouldn't want to keep Karly-baby (Marx) waiting now, would we? ;)

Aaron's November London Trip

This is Royal Albert Hall. I read online that you could take tours and that you could listen to free music in their cafe on Fridays, so I gave it a go.

Wikipedia says: "Since its opening by Queen Victoria on 29 March 1871 the Royal Albert Hall (named after her dead husband, Prince Albert) has played host to a multitude of different events and legendary figures and has been affectionately titled 'The Nation's Village Hall'.... the Hall has been used for classical and rock concerts, conferences, ballroom dancing, poetry recitals, education, ballet, opera and even circus shows. It has hosted many sporting events, including boxing, wrestling (including the first Sumo wrestling tournament ever to be held outside Japan) and tennis. "

Here was the music - that day it was a girl from the States and her band. Live music definitely sounds better! Don't know why....

There he is, Prince Albert (he was from today's Germany). He made the Great Exhibition in 1851 happen; Queen Victoria truly loved him (they had 9 kids!); and he introduced the German custom of 'Christmas trees' to Britain and hence all over the world...

It just kills me how long certain areas have had churches there - 1102?!!

This is Kensington Palace -

Wikipedia says: The original early 17th-century building was constructed in the village of Kensington as Nottingham House for the Earl of Nottingham. It was acquired from his heir, who was Secretary of State to William III in 1689, because the King wanted a residence near London but away from the smoky air of the capital, because he was asthmatic. (I thought that part was interesting...)....Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British royal family since the 17th century. Today it is the official residence of The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester; the Duke and Duchess of Kent; and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. Kensington Palace is also used on an unofficial basis by Prince Harry, as well as his cousin Zara Phillips. Until 1997, it was the official residence of Diana, Princess of Wales and of Princess Margaret until 2002."

There he be, William the Three! It's interesting to think of him outside an 'Irish' context (he is the 'Protestant' that defeated the Catholic James...for Catholic Irish it's the 'beginning' of the Protestant Problems/Ascendancy (VERY roughly speaking) and for the Irish Protestants...he's a hero! Oh interesting, oh interesting you dutchy-Dutchman!

You'd have to be German to understand, but in Germany they have these treats called 'Chocolate Kisses' and these bushes at Kensington Palace are in the shape of the treat! I just thought it was funny...

So before my tour of Albert Hall, I noticed that that night they were going to have a classical concert, so I decided to do it (never know when 'this opportunity' will be the 'last', ya know?) So before the concert and after my Kensington Palace visit, I went to this Moroccan restaurant and I must say 'good food!' Yummy-yum!






One of their little 'roomlets' you could sit and eat in....

I put this up for Mom - so she'd know I am alive and well! Hi Mom! ;)

'To the Opera, Jeeves!'

Albert Hall at night...purdy.

Inside, before the concert....

To left....

During the intermission, a quick snap of down below...

The box with the 'crown' over it, that is 'The Queen's Box' and she gives the tickets to Buckingham Palace employees, etc. The rules are,

1) Dressed nicely (no trousers for women)

2) No dancing!

3) No eating (I think that is one of the rules ;)

The concert was fantab! '1812 Overture' with fireworks, 'cannons' and explosions! Did anyone know that 'Pomp and Circumstance' had words? I just always played it in band at high school graduation. It does have words though. During that song and then others we'd all sing along and people would wave their British flags - it was a very 'RAH-RAH, GO BRITANNIA!' kind of concert at times and I truly enjoyed it!