Week Zero

I’ve now been in Scotland for nearly a day—arrived safe and sound by train from London, saw my first kilt before leaving the train station, heard my first bagpipes just outside.  Those were likely due to the Edinburgh Festival, which is in full swing with hundreds of performers and events through August.  More about that once I’ve participated.  For now I have some pix and tales from the pre-trip:

Reykjavik, Iceland

While its name sounds stark, the land and the people are not.  This fascinating place features an incredible variety of natural beauty, a wide array of forward-thinking technology, and a bounty of beautiful art/design—oftentimes all at once, as here in a corner of Harpa, the concert hall that sits on the harbor and has great views of the mountains beyond:

but also affords views of the city:

And Hallgrimskirka in the distance,

Which sits on top of a hill in a city getting ready for its Pride Festival, and which gives its own view of the city, the harbor, and Harpa.

In the countryside, the natural beauty includes waterfalls, geothermal pools, geysers, and more.  Of particular interest was Þingvellir where I could see the edges of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates, near where the parliament, the Alþingi, first met in 930.

London, England

History is everywhere in London, and I took an opportunity to focus on the history of British law.  This being the 800^th anniversary of Magna Carta, I spent a couple of hours at the British Library’s related special exhibit.  Seeing 2 of the 4 existing original copies of it was pretty darn cool.  Having them surrounded by images and explanations the larger context was even better.  That included artifacts like Thomas Jefferson’s personal hand-written copy the Declaration of Independence and a Monty Python musical tribute to the tune of “I’m Gonna Be,” the Scottish song with the “I would walk 500 miles” refrain (a wee bit of irony there).  And as if that wasn’t enough history, I checked out the “Treasures of the Library” room which houses lots of sacred texts, scientific papers, and literary firsts—from the earliest written version of Beowulf to handwritten lyrics of Beatles’ songs.  Yes, I geeked out in a big way : )

This year’s season at the Globe Theatre also includes plays related to law.  For 5 pounds, I got to be a “groundling” at a delightful production of As You Like It with its delightful banter about laws of court versus laws of nature.  Seeing a play in that reproduction of Shakespeare’s Globe under the London sky—one from the bucket list.

Finally, since the weather has been mostly sunny and warm as I travelled, I opted to spend a day outside at Kew Gardens.  In addition to admiring the ancient trees and pleasant spaces, I also marveled at the botanical paintings of Marianne North and learned much from the displays about spice plants at the garden. 

Stay well and stay tuned for the next installment . . .