19th of July 2019
Today we are taking Krystyna to Greenwich. This is one of Alex’s favourite places and we have been here at least 10 times, but each time is different and unique.
We took the train to Waterloo and then our usual form of transport, The Clipper, along the river Thames and through the heart of our wonderful city , London, and into historic Greenwich.
So after arriving at Greenwich by Clipper, we were welcomed by a downpour of rain. The nearest attraction to us was the Cutty Sark. So we entered and were under cover. I changed my Royal Museum membership to family , as this allowed us to take Krystyna in and was cheaper than all the days activities.
The first attraction was the Cutty Sark, as fantastic ship and living museum, with history of voyages across the globe. We couldn’t stay long as we had planetarium shows to attend. We walked through The Naval schools, past the Maritime museum and up the steep hill to the Royal Observatory. The observatory has been here since 1675. It was built with the purpose of rectify the tables of motions of the heavens. It is steeped with history and this is where the Harrison Clocks are displayed. These enabled exact time keeping upon ships and there the resolution of longitude and therefore positioning of locations on the earth. Because of this discovery, the meridian is located here and this is where time begins and ends.
The planetarium shows were amazing and there is much to do and a day is nowhere near enough to see everything. We will undoubtedly return.
As a member I had reserved three free tickets to the opening of the new moon exhibition, celebrating 50 years since man first landed on the moon. It opened at 6 o’clock and we waited patiently outside to enter. #
A truly fantastic exhibition, full of artefacts from our first voyages to the moon and all the men and women who made it happen. From map builders to rocket designers. This wasn’t achieved in the one decade that Kennedy committed us to, but over centuries af man and woman kind discovery more and more about our own place in the Universe and contributing to the science that allowed it all to happen. BUT ESPECIALLY TIME and the clocks that Harrison built. A very apt and suitable place to celebrate this vast achievement.