A couple of weeks ago, I went back to the Imperial War Museum and spent quite a while going through the exhibits from WWI & WWII. They have a mock-up of some trenches made to resemble those of WWI, and a lot of uniforms and weapons from that time period. My favorite WWI exhibit was related to the Red Baron: the engine from the plane in which he was shot dead. My most important stop at the museum was the Holocaust Exhibit, the first such exhibit I have been to, as I haven't visited the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. While the exhibit was emotionally and psychologically distressing, it serves as a reminder of the consequences of unbridled racism. At the time of WWII, Anti-Semitism was present in many parts of the world, not just in Nazi Germany. Both the US and the UK were initially reluctant to grant asylum to thousands of Jewish refugees. I didn't have time to see the other exhibits on more recent episodes of genocide, such as that in Rwanda in the 1990s, but I hope to make it back to the Imperial War Museum some time before I leave.

Last Saturday, I took the boat to Greenwich. I set out to take a 45-min cruise down the Thames, but it turned into a much longer affair. I got on a boat at Embankment Pier around 11:15 AM, and it went as far as the Tower Bridge, where I had to disembark at another pier and take another boat the rest of the way. Unfortunately, the company I bought my ticket from had a boat break down, and I had to wait until 12:45 PM for the next boat. Trying to be efficient, I went for a quick tour through the Tower Bridge. At the top, there is a small museum and historical information about the bridge. The walkways provide a great view of the city. I ended up missing the boat at 12:45, but decided I would take the next one a half-hour later. Due to a lack of space, I was going to have to wait until 2 PM to possibly get on a boat down river, so I ended up deciding to take a refund and try another company. Their boats were larger, but quite full on a sunny Saturday afternoon. The boat I ended up getting on went back up the river to Westminster, then down to Greenwich, where I finally arrived about 3:30 PM. Since most every tourist attraction here closes at 5 PM, I didn't have much time left. I dashed up the hill to the Royal Observatory and had about an hour there. I got someone to take my picture with me straddling the Prime Meridian. Of course, they use a laser now to accurately show the meridian, where all time begins. Outside in the courtyard, I saw the public standards of length. In spite of my short stay in Greenwich, I did enjoy being at the "center of the universe" for a few hours. This is another place I'll revisit, if possible.