Only Time Will Tell

Maybe I’m just thinking it because it’s the first exploration I’ve done “outside” London since I’ve been here, but I don’t think so. Greenwich really is a gem. Being SE of London, just south of Canary Wharf, it isn’t on the whirlwind tourist’s agenda, but it should be. As the Blue Guide, City Guide London says, “If it is less ‘royal’ than Hampton Court or Windsor, it has finer architecture; if it is less central than Westminster, it is nobler; and the view of the assembly of buildings from across the river…stays with you for life.”

I got a somewhat late start due to the fact that I wanted to sleep in because of my cold. I got off the DLR at Island Gardens and walked toward the Thames and there I got my first, breathtaking, view across the river of Greenwich. The view is of the Royal Naval Hospital grounds with the Queen’s House in the distant middle, and up on the hill is the Old Royal Observatory. It truly does look majestic and well laid out on the banks of the Thames.

I took the foot tunnel – only one of two that go under the Thames – and walked and ended up on the other side, right next to the ship the Cutty Sark, which is closed for repairs. I walked through the old Royal Naval Hospital, taking pictures of the views, which were enhanced by the ominous sky. I went in to see the ‘Painted Room’ and the ‘Chapel’, both of which were elegant yet a bit overdone. I then proceeded to what is a ‘must see’ if you are in London – the National Maritime Museum and the Queen’s House.

The NMM is sort of well laid out, but what I liked is that it wasn’t crammed with artifacts and such. There is space inside, and a lot of natural light. Very welcoming. And, good gift shop.

The Queen’s House was nice because it had a Flemish & Dutch Masters exhibit “Turmoil and Tranquility” – all drawings of the ocean. Unfortunately, I breezed through this as it wasn’t air conditioned (or if it was, I didn’t notice) and my internal thermometer was all screwed up because of my cold. (You know how it is, when you have a cold and you get the sweats one minute and chills the next?)

The Royal Observatory complex wasn’t nearly as well laid out as the NMM – and here, I think they were trying to cram as much as they could into the very limited space they had. The walkways to get from exhibit to exhibit weren’t well marked – you could easily miss half of what is on display. And, what is on display is truly unique. If you’re read the (excellent) book Longitude by Dava Sobel, you know what I mean. All four of John Harrison’s clocks are on display. There are many different types of time pieces for perusal as well.

The Prime Meridian is a bit weird – while you are in Greenwich, you cross it multiple times (I cross it every day), but it is just at the Observatory that you can get in the queue and have your picture taken with one foot in each hemisphere. It is quite nice that there is a queue instead of everyone elbowing each other for their photo op. However, walking through the grounds to get to that point, you pass two of the historical GMT lines and on your way out, you pass the actual GMT line on the inside of the building, instead of outside. None’s taking pictures there. And, weirdly, when I took a picture (several) of the GMT digital clock, the digital images really don’t show up – must be some sort of crazy timekeeping technology thing.

The best part of the Observatory is the view of London. Yes, it seems far away and you cannot really see any tourist sites, but I think that’s the charm. You haven’t left the Greater London area, yet you fell as if you did. And, the Café is quite nice with really good views of the park. And, it is nicer, I think, than the Café on the grounds of the park.

Lastly, I wandered through the park and saw the Rose Garden – which, in pictures, looks similar to the flower garden thing in Niagara, Ontario (which is a drive from the falls, and bit of a tourist trap, although the flowers are beautiful and it is a large amount of them). As you can see from the photos I posted, roses really are different. I (stupidly I know) thought a ‘rose is a rose’, but from the photos, they are different.

Greenwich is a great place – young and old alike – great parks, views of London, easy to get to, National Maritime Museum, Royal Observatory (for GMT and astronomy), and the Naval Hospital.

One last point - the Royal Observatory - as you can see from my pictures, there is a red ball on top of the main building. This is raised every day at 12:55 and dropped at 13:00 so ships in the Thames can set their clocks (lots of interesting history with this, why GMT is in London, etc.). But, I must point out that I think this red ball looks surprisingly like the Rambaldi creastion from Alias that caused so much havoc.