Yep, more stairs.

So I guess it was bound to happen eventually, but today we (well I) was traveling at Bitch Factor V; exhausted and cranky; apparently I’m not 25 anymore and two days of constant walking on cobbles (and stairs) punished my feet. Sleep has been elusive (not for Jim, I think he can sleep anywhere) and so when the lag hit it was brutal. Like falling asleep standing up at the British Museum brutal.

(Cleveland QB Shane Austin’s view of our D-Line)

 

I wanted to like the British Museum more than I did. I don’t know if this was a failing of expectation or of the museum itself. The place is heavy (VERY HEAVY) on the great civilizations (Greece, Rome, Assyria, Japan) which comes off feeling a little vapidly self congratulatory; I get that at one time the British Empire owned one quarter of the world, but where is some of that? Indian art and artifacts, African colonial items, etc. Hell I’ll take some of the loot raided during the Crusades — it’s what I was looking for. Most of the civilizations represented collapsed long before the formation of anything resembling Britain, and a lot of it I’ve seen presented better at other museums in major cities.

(This is where I tell you that the opinions represented here are solely my own and do not represent those of Pflegenbaum, LLC or it’s subsidiary entities. Jim’s mileage may vary and he’ll log on and tell you himself, or not. But since I’m the one writing this it’s my opinion you get.)

There was this guy at the museum though. The one using a 3000 year old sarcophagus as a lean-to. The sarcophagus that was next to some statues and clearly marked as an artifact. In an Egyptian gallery. With mummies and other sarcophagi.

 

And there was this delight, not covered on either the Rick Steves walking tour we downloaded to the phones, or the official museum multimedia tour. (Which is a pity). This is a Roman windchime described on the helpful placard as a “Winged Phallus Lion”. I get the phallus bit — hard to miss, that, what with the phallus head, phallus tail, and phallus in the appropriate part (complete with non anatomical bell on cord). What I don’t get, is the lion. I guess it’s all in that back leg.

Early night for us, we have a 7am flight to Hamburg where we will likely be vegetables tomorrow. People who work from home just aren’t cut out for three days of non-stop walking on cobbles, and we are headed for Miniatur Wonderland on Friday! Hooray!

I think tomorrow you’ll get the first edition of Europe is Weird, a collection of randomness I’ve noted that is just plain, well, weird.

Until tomorrow aus Deutschland!

 

Secret message for Vin and Kim:

Look guys, it’s all of the cool stuff that used to be in the Parthenon with none of the graffiti! Should have skipped Greece and come here, the Brits stole all the good bits anyway!