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Published: August 6th 2013
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If you have been paying attention ... it should come as no surprise that I would end my trip, where it began ... in London.
It is, for me, something of a homecoming, before my actual homecoming. A chance to visit what has been, and what remains, my favorite city on the planet (it also gives me the opportunity to quote Richard II, and who doesn't love that).
From Amsterdam, I took the Fast Train to Brussels (about 40 minutes) and connected on the Eurostar to St. Pancras Station, London (about 2 hours).
A word about St. Pancras Station.
St. Pancras is located adjacent to Kings Cross Station (the 2 stations share a Tube Stop). It was one of the original 19th century mainline stations in London, but by the 1860's it had been abandoned in favor of the larger Kings Cross.
The building was not used (and ultimately fell into ruins) for close to 140 years.
When the Channel Tunnel was built, none of the existing mainline stations was equipped to handle the increased cross-channel traffic (until St. Pancras was completed the Eurostar was rather unsuccessfully serviced out of London Waterloo, already the largest
and busiest train station in Europe).
To resolve the situation, British National Rail restored St. Pancras (which re-opened in 2007) at a cost in excess of a billion dollars. In the process they created an architectural masterpiece. The station is widely viewed as one of the world's greatest examples of "steampunk" architecture (i.e. combining the original 19th century Victorian architecture with super-modern 21st century elements). I have attached some photos, which do not really do it justice. If you are ever in London, check it out. St. Pancras is a site to behold.
In all honesty, I also came back to London to resolve something in my own head.
I have always been surprised, and frankly a little disappointed, by the amount of litter and graffiti allowed to exist in European cities. The litter and graffiti are far in excess of anything that would be tolerated in America in the "Post Lady Bird Johnson ... Keep American Beautiful Years."
You all read my little rant about the litter in Amsterdam, but the problem is not localized to that city. The general untidiness is a problem most Americans observe in most European cities (Switzerland seems to have
avoided the problem).
In my mind London has also avoided the problem. But in my travels this summer I began to wonder ... is London as dirty as these other places? Am I not noticing it because I love London so much? I decided, upon my return, I was going to challenge my own assumptions and look hard for the litter and graffiti that are so pervasive in other European cities.
My conclusion?
This city of 13 million people is by and large free from litter and graffiti. I am not suggesting there is none, but litter and graffiti are certainly not a problem. Compared to the facilities in other European cities, the Underground is cleaner, the parks are cleaner and the streets are cleaner. Not a little cleaner ... substantially cleaner. Even Lisa Stone (a particular person on her best day) noted how clean London was.
All of which makes me feel good about London, but it also makes me wonder why these other cities tolerate the untidiness. I don't think the French, the Dutch or the Germans are genetically pre-disposed to be dirtier than the Brits, but they are certainly willing to put up
with more dirt.
On a final note, today's London newspaper had an article entitled "Why We Brits Think (And Know) We Are Better Than The Yanks." I thought I would share their 15 points (anything in parenthesis is my attempt to provide context from the short article included with each "point"):
15. We get bacon right (British bacon is cut and served right from the pig and slices are not uniform. American bacon is highly processed and sliced into uniform "bacon strips")
14. We take care of sick people (self explanatory and true)
13. We can laugh at ourselves (American's belief in "American Exceptionalism" makes Americans take themselves too seriously and prevents us from laughing at ourselves)
12. We don't have all those guns (In 2011, 28,583 murders in USA with guns. In 2011, 550 murders in UK (with and without guns)
11. We have the metric system
10. We are not quite as fat
9. We don't expect tips (there is generally no tipping in Britain)
8. We are not afraid of swearing
7. Our music is better
6. Our comedy is better
5. We are better
at queuing (Brits think they are more polite when lined-up)
4. We have a richer history (Based on the fact that our non-European history begins in 1776)
3. We don't worry about jay-walking (really?)
2. We know how to drink (They point to British pub culture, lagers and whiskey)
1. We know how to drink tea.
More maƱana.
JJF
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Sue
non-member comment
#12
The difference in the murder rate is astonishing. Glad you are back in London and thanks for sharing the list. I wish we had #9 here - I find tipping stressful since it forces me to "judge" after my meai. Enjoy the last few days of your trip Jeff!