Platform 9 3/4 is a platform at the King’s Cross underground station featured in the Harry Potter movies as the barrier between muggle platforms nine and ten. This is the platform where students in the movies would board the Hogwarts Express train to take them to the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry itself. Today fans can visit the platform at the station and take a picture with the set up, as I had to do of course being a fan myself.

I did not know much about where any of the Harry Potter movies were filmed prior to visiting London. I had planned on attending Warner Brother’s Harry Potter studio tour before arriving there, but I did not realize how many different real places were also used in the movies and how many references are all over London.

Visiting Platform 9 3/4 and taking a picture as if I were on my way to Hogwarts was a very neat experience for a big Harry Potter fan like myself. I visited Warner Brother’s Studio and it was very exciting to see so many actual sets and props from the movies. I also really enjoyed seeing on-site locations from the movies such as “Diagon Alley” in Tower Hill and the infirmary at The Divinity School at Oxford University. It is amazing to me how the Harry Potter culture is such a phenomenon and how it has truly spread not only throughout England, but the entire world. There were people taking studio tours and visiting Platform 9 3/4 from all over the world and it is amazing to see how the fictional stories of a young wizard can bring so many different cultures together.

The London Underground is the oldest and one of the busiest underground railway networks in the world. The first journey on the underground took place in 1863, built and financed by the Metropolitan Railway company.  The railway network has 250 miles of route throughout the Greater London area and  270 stations. Nearly 1.3 billion passengers use the underground annually to travel around London to work, school, museums, events, tourist attractions, and much more.

We had discussed the Tube in class prior to traveling to London, but I was still not entirely sure how it functioned. I arrived in London with just the words “High Street Kensington” and “Mind the gap” floating in my head. I was completely unaware of how elaborate the system actually is and how one goes about getting from place to place using it. Although we had a fabulous practice session of getting on and off (incorporating the use of desk chairs and a corner of the classroom), I was not fully prepared for the crowds and bustle of the busy Tube stations. I knew that High Street Kensington was the place I needed to end up every night and that was about it. Once actually arriving in London, however, I was shocked at how easily we all picked up how to use the underground to make our way around the city.

Our very first night out on the town in London, a few friends and I embarked on our first journey using the underground system. We looked at the map, swiped our travel cards, and minded the gap onto our first train to Westminster. In the following days, we began to use the Tube to get anywhere and everywhere around the city without any problems. I was very surprised at how easy such an elaborate, massive railway system was to navigate. We could use the underground to get anywhere we wanted to go in London and successfully found our way back to High Street Kensington every evening. Using the underground was a very unique experience, and it is something I will remember most from our trip.

The Crown Jewels, located in the Jewel House inside the Tower of London, are a collection of historic ceremonial objects worn by British royalty during coronation. There are upwards of 100 historic objects, including crowns, swords, rings, dish-ware, royal robes, and many more. Some of the crowns include those of St.Edward, Queen Mary, and the Queen Mother. Within these, there are just under 24,000 diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. Most items were last used at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, but several are also used today for royal christenings and state openings of parliament.

Before being in the presence of the Crown Jewels, I did not know much about the collection. There was discussion in class prior to the trip about them, but I did not really understand what they were. I had pictured a single display case of one crown and a few other historic items, not hundreds of objects crucial to the history of the United Kingdom. I also did not know anything about the historic figures whose crowns were kept in the Jewel House. Visiting the Crown Jewels in person completely changes my view of what the Crown Jewels are and why they are so important to the nation.

Waiting outside the Jewel House, I was entertained by the British guards outside, ceremonially guarding the Jewels. As we stepped inside, the lighting was dim and I was not sure what to expect. Once we reached the first display case, however, I began to realize how many different objects were inside, beyond just a crown and some jewels. I first observed many swords and orbs and looked at all the historic figures’ names that they belonged to. I was shocked at the numerous amount of plates and drink-ware displayed that had been used at coronations, specifically the punch bowl that could hold 144 bottles of wine. I then moved onto the crowns themselves, and was fascinated with the differences among the different sovereigns’ crowns and the detail in the jewels on them. Thousands of years of history are kept inside The Jewel House at The Tower of London, and being able to be a couple of feet away from these items was an amazing experience for me during the trip.

William Shakespeare was buried in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-Upon-Avon in England in 1616. Stratford is the small town (~20,000 people) where Shakespeare was born, and eventually retired back to. His body is said to be buried 17 feet beneath the ground and he placed a curse on his crave in order to not be disturbed after death. The curse reads:

Good friend, for Jesus’ sake forebeare
To digg the dust enclosed heare;
 Bleste be the man that spares thes stones,  
And curst be he that moves my bones

Shakespeare is buried alongside his family in Holy Trinity Church including his beloved wife, Anne Hathaway, where his body will remain in his hometown for good.

Prior to visiting Shakespeare’s grave in Stratford, I did not know much about the town or his final resting place. I was excited to stand so close to the body of such a historic literary icon as well as see his hometown and walk the same streets that he did during his life. I also knew nothing about The Royal Shakespeare Company before traveling to London, so I knew the workshop and show that we were going to experience would be exciting. I had always been forced to study Shakespeare throughout my years of school, and prior to our trip it had just seemed like a historic name, but visiting Stratford seemed to make it all real, and actually add relevance to the years of attempting to decipher his writings.

Visiting Stratford-Upon-Avon was an eye-opening experience for me. As I mentioned before, growing up I was forced to read Shakespeare and the name always held a negative connotation for me because of my struggles with it in early English classes. My senior year of high school is when I was finally able to really appreciate his works, and so traveling to his hometown during my freshman year of college was very appropriate timing. Walking his streets and seeing both his birthplace and grave were surreal experiences, but just observing the enormous influence he had on not only his hometown, but London in general, was astonishing. Visiting his actual resting place inside Holy Trinity Church was very interesting for me. Hearing about how adamant he was about his grave not being disturbed just shows how truly dedicated he was to his hometown of Stratford. There were many people walking around and visiting his gravesite, paying respects to the greatest writer of the English language right in his own town. Standing right above his grave was a very unique and interesting experience.

The Elgin Marbles are a collection of Greek marble sculptures featured today in the British Museum. They were created mostly by a Greek sculptor named Phidias during the building of the Parthenon between 447 BC and 432 BC to adorn the inside with carvings of historical scenes. Lord Elgin acquired the sculptures in 1801 during his time as an ambassador to the Ottoman Empire and transported them back to Britain. They were then purchased by the British Parliament in 1816 and have remained in The British Museum ever since. The location of the Marbles continue to be a topic of major controversy in Europe because Greece demands them back, saying they were illegally obtained originally, while the British believe they were legally purchased and should remain in the museum where they are today.

I did not know much about The Elgin Marbles and their history before visiting The British Museum in London. We had held a class discussion about the morality of the British refusing to return the Marbles to the Greeks, with a very mixed class response. I believe that this piece of history should be returned to its rightful owner, the Greeks, because of the value the Marbles hold in Greek history. However, they have become a major part of The British Museum, and represent the heavy Greek influence in Britain at the time they were placed there, so I understand the justification of Britain refusing to return them, especially if they were, in fact, obtained legally. Regardless of my personal opinion of the situation, I found the concept of one country hoarding another’s artifacts very interesting. I began wondering how the United States would handle a similar situation if another country were to refuse to return one of our treasured artifacts. Prior to visiting the museum, I did not understand the true historical importance of The Elgin Marbles. I did not realize the sculptures featured influential historical figures and war battles. I also did not expect the quantity and complexity of them by only viewing a few pictures in class prior to the trip. Learning about The Elgin Marbles while at The British Museum was an eye-opening cultural experience.

I was very overwhelmed when physically seeing The Elgin Marbles during our visit to The British Museum. I also learned that the correct name for them is “The Parthenon Marbles.” They exceeded my expectations in the sense that there were many more pieces in the museum than I thought, covering the length of multiple walls. Before visiting, I did not have a strong opinion on whether the sculptures should be returned to Greece or not. After visiting The British Museum and seeing the marbles in person, I cannot imagine them being removed and sent back. They were legally granted to Great Britain and have become a part of their culture, and I believe they should remain in the museum in their current state. The Parthenon Marbles were by far my favorite part of The British Museum.

This oak door featured in Westminster Abbey is Britain’s oldest and only Anglo-Saxon Door. The door has been standing for over 900 years, dating back to the reign of Edward the Confessor during the 1050s. The door is made from a single oak from Eastern England that stood 6.5 feet tall and 4 feet wide. Traces of human skin have been rumored to remain on the door, but it has been proved to be cowhide. The door opens into the octagonal Chapter House, where monks met every day for prayers in the 13th century and today serves as a storage place for important religious documents.

Prior to our trip to Westminster Abbey, this door stood out as an amazing artifact to me just because of its age alone. I found it astounding that a door can still be functional after nearly 900 years of service, although scientists say the constant service is the mere reason for the door’s survival, in addition to it being inside. I then began thinking of all the history the door has experienced. The famous leaders and historical figures that must have passed through, the important decisions made behind its thick wooden structure. The door fascinated me because of how many people in history have stood there and admired it, just as I was going to, but centuries before I was born.

After actually visiting the door at Westminster Abbey, I was somewhat disappointed. It seemed to be just an afterthought we walked by on our tour, while learning about it previously had made it seem like a much more prominent artifact of history. The door was also a lot smaller in person than I expected. It was still fascinating to see Britain’s oldest door in person, but I was one of the few to actually stop and appreciate it because it is in a very dim walkway outside of the main part of Westminster Abbey. This just goes to show how the smallest items can be crucial part of a culture’s history.