A walk under the River Thames – you just have to experience it !

In London, the company  London Walks organizes excellent walks based on different themes and interests of tourists – different each day with knowledgeable guides. I have been on a few walks in the past. See their website www.walks.com This time, I chose the River Thames sightseeing walk including Brunel’s Bridges. These walks are well worth the Stg Pds 15/- they charge for the absolutely focused itinerary and excellent guide.

There is a separate blog on the Thames Walk which ended with this section – when we walked under the River Thames. I had no idea that this was even feasible; despite having lived in London for a few years a few decades ago !!

We boarded a cruise boat at Westminster Pier and saw an incredible number of fascinating sights. We disembarked at Masthouse Terrace where Brunel built his last ship, SS Great Eastern, the first iron ship in the world and the first luxury cruise liner. 

Due to a train strike, we could not take the Docklands Light Railway, so we walked past a row of three storey houses, all frightfully expensive with external staircases  and fancily built. None having lifts in them – which to my mind is a painful exercise if bringing groceries home or if someone is ill. We walked into a large park and suddenly saw a tall dome like structure!

We were on the Isle of Dogs side, so we needed to cross through the tunnel. We wanted to go to Greenwich to see the Gardens there. But if you are in Greenwich, you’ll find the entrance to the tunnel in front of the famous clipper Cutty Sark. The nearest tube station is Cutty Sark for Maritime Greenwich on the DLR. 

As you enter, you see two large black gates – these are the lifts which go up and down. Our group decided to walk down the many stairs until we came to the tunnel entrance where many people were waiting for the lifts.

As you start the walk, there is long slope downwards and you realise that you are now going right into the belly of the river for some distance where its flat. then the upward slope begins. It ends again with large black gates for two lifts with the circular spiral stairs surrounding the lifts – I was really grateful as I was not at all in favour of climbing so many stairs up to the surface.

Walking under a major river gives out a very strange feeling. One normally drives a vehicle through any form of tunnel. Here we were walking quite a distance. A bit of doubt; a bit of trepidation….certainly a feeling of anxiety as we began the long walk.

Hardly had we begun, we came across this notice (shown above) of the damage to the tunnel in WW 2 and how they repaired it. Apparently part of the tunnel collapsed and so that part was reinforced with stainless steel making it look a bit like a being inside a submarine. This immediately brought to mind the visual horror from films of damaged submarines and their leaks and waterproof doors. What would happen if a leak occurred whilst we were in the tunnel ?

 

There are definite guidelines laid out for cyclists and walkers to keep to their own directions. There were many walkers and quIte a few cyclists who would heft their bikes on the shoulders whilst going up and down the stairs.  The guide told us that around  4,000 – 5,000 people use the tunnel each day.

Construction for the Greenwich Foot Tunnel started in 1899 and was designed by Civil Engineer Sir Alexander Binnie. It officially opened to the public in 1902. It was built to replace an expensive, crowded and unreliable ferry service that used to allow a crossing for dock and shipyard workers over the River Thames. 

Considering that it was undertaken in Victorian times, it is no doubt an impressive feat of engineering which involved digging out this tunnel by hand!

“Builders worked tirelessly and often overnight to finish it. 20,000 white tiles were imported to line the walkway. The creation of the tunnel was promoted by Labour politician Will Crooks, who had worked for the dockyards previously and knew the struggles of commuting there all too well. A new tunnel would mean a safer commute, whatever the weather. Crossing over the Thames in heavy fog or storms was potentially a huge risk. It transformed thousands of workers’ lives for the better”.The tunnel has been renovated with modern conveniences like CCTV for security and upgraded elevators. However, in essence, the workmanship was so good that  much remains the same as it was when it first opened.

We came out into the sunlight with much relief right next to the famous Cutty Sark Clipper ship. It is a piece of great workmanship and well maintained. Beside it a carousel merry go round was in full steam with lots of kids enjoying the ride.

Further down as I walked towards the Greenwich park, I found an opens air food stall fiesta of food from all over – Lebanese, Thai, Indian, Korean, Arab etc. around 15 – 20 stalls. Brisk business was being done but on closer examination, I felt that the prices were on the higher side for what was being offered.  It had been a good long tiring walk and I decided that I was ready for a good lunch at a pub nearby. 

Text and photographs copyright of the author. No part of this article or photographs maybe transmitted or reproduced by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without written permission. Do contact the author on email -- helpthesun@gmail.com

The Vienna Musikverein - an awesome musical experience going back in time

Preparing for a trip abroad means detailed homework to ensure you don’t miss out on an interesting event or performance or day tour. As I love western classical music and Mozart in particular, it was a given that we would visit all the important places – the home where he was born, the places where he performed and even, if possible, attend a concert. See the separate blogs on Mozart’s home and where he performed. We were lucky that we were in Vienna on a day that the Vienna Mozart Orchestra was performing in Vienna at the famous Golden Hall of the Musikverein. An opportunity not to be missed.

The Musikverein was inaugurated by Emperor Franz Joseph 1 in 1870. The famous annual New Year Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra is performed in this hall. It is the permanent home of the Orchestra. 

From street level, the approach is confusing. We got out of a cab at one end and had to walk around the building due to some construction work. The entry process was seamless and fast despite the large crowd. We exchanged our booking voucher for attractive physical tickets , bought an informative well designed programme and walked in. The hall was packed: I think at least 40% of the crowd must have been Chinese all busy taking selfies !!

The programme was a mix of popular well known pieces. Just the right length except for the Violin piece which dragged on a wee bit. 

When the Orchestra arrived wearing wigs and period costume, the crowd broke into a long applause - it was a wonderful sight – close your eyes - transport yourself back in time to Franz Joseph – there you are sitting with fellow bewigged nobles in frock coats and beautiful women in high corseted long gowns listening to such beautiful music and a young teenage Mozart is playing the violin for you.   

The last piece was from the Magic Flute. The Conductor Herr Andreas Deak is the senior conductor and well versed in playing the audience to his tune!! He began by getting us to clap and then suddenly stopped! Again, repeat, this was done a few times to his clapping beat. The audience understood and then the actual music was played with the conductor interspersing his claps to get the audience to do the same. The audience lapped it up. The encore was a repeat of the clapping game but with another piece. 

A wonderfully pleasant evening, not disturbed by any ringing cell phones or Chinese cell phone sticks being stuck up during the performance. We were lucky that we got a cab back at that “late” hour of 10.15 pm. We were unlucky that we could not find any restaurant open at that hour – last orders in Vienna are at the unbelievable hour of 9.30 pm ! But, as its said, if music be the food of love, and having had an excess of music that evening, we were satiated and were happy to end getting a sandwich from a bar near our place. 

Text and photographs copyright of the author. No part of this article or photographs maybe transmitted or reproduced by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without written permission. Do contact the author on email -- helpthesun@gmail.com

Szentendre town in Hungary - a walk around an old Hungarian artists town.

Szentendre is a sleepy town of a few thousand people about 45 minutes away by car from Budapest. We were there as part of the Danube Bend tour to see the beautiful countryside stretching away from Budapest towards the Slovenian border. We crossed across briefly for a photo op - not really worth it on a cloudy day! 

Actually its a town with two main large parallel streets - one on the river bank level and one higher up.  The coach stops at the higher level and then we walk along the upper street which is  devoid of tourists - its hot, its afternoon so every sensible person is at home in the shade. Only the tourists are looking around in this heat. 

The photographs reveal the desolateness of the town. Very few shops along the way until you reach the very centre. The main attraction is the Marzipan Museum - see my separate blog published on it. 

Until the end of the 16th century, Szentendre was just a small village. However, its fortunes changed with the arrival of outsiders: Serbs from the Balkans because of the wars against the Ottomans; Dalmatians, Greeks, and Slovaks followed. Where people go, their own cultures follow. Its not surprising but the beauty of the village is such that it acquired a reputation as an artist’s village - a large number of art galleries, studios, and workshops help Szentendre earn its reputation as an “Artists' Village.”

The shops sell a variety of stuff - lots of red chillies in various packaging - chillies are a real hot favourite amongst Hungarians !! used in their various preparations. I think they are more like the Kasmhiri chilly - more for colour rather than spiciness. I did not try them. 

Along the main street in the central plaza or town square, there are a few people. They have mainly walked down from the small narrow little lanes which take you up the hill for a view and you take a circular route down.  

  

Waiting in vain for customers. Perhaps the evening will bring in relief! 

A wonderful sight of an ancient working hand water pump. 

The town has a beautiful long promenade for walking along the beach. Very well maintained. Near the boat quayside, there is a small square with restaurants. 

In Budapest there was a celebration - Harley Davidson had invited bikers from USA and Europe for a weekend. They say that over 100,000 bikers were in Budapest for the weekend. The celebration was at the Puskas stadium. I dont know the numbers but everywhere you looked, and heard, you saw many bikers roaring by. We even saw some relaxing at Szentendre's beach !!  The bikers had awesome machines, all brilliantly polished and maintained. I found the European bikers cleaner and better looking than their American counterparts ... but that's beside the point. 

This was the cruise ship which took us back to Budapest taking a leisurely 90 minutes around the Danube's bends. 

Text and photographs copyright of the author. No part of this article or photographs maybe transmitted or reproduced by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without written permission. Do contact the author on email -- helpthesun@gmail.com