Submitted by Ariel Hannum on the 2019 winter session study abroad program in London, England sponsored by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering…
This past week has been a series of adventures through history, places, people, and ideas. Many of the events are connected together through the three Cs – Castles, Crowns, and Cardiff. There are so many stories and lessons I learned.
To start out the week, I visited Windsor Castle with two of my classmates. This was the first time any of us had visited an area outside of London, utilizing the rail networks that connect London to the rest of the country. We walked through rooms where centuries of leaders previously occupied them. What fascinated me the most was a room containing a shield for every individual who was part of the Order of the Garter, the Crown’s most prestigious British order of chivalry. There are more than 1,000 members and thus over 1,000 shields, several which are white because the person later betrayed the crown. The history of Windsor Castle is much older than U.S. history which continues to amaze me.
In the middle of the week, I visited Buckingham Palace as a part of a long term project I am doing at UD. One of my passions outside of engineering is the art of Johannes Vermeer. One of his paintings, The Music Lesson, is part of the private Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace. I contacted the Palace’s research department in the fall to arrange a guided visit to view the painting. This was an incredible experience. I loved speaking to the Assistant to the Surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures about the painting and how it was originally purchased by King George III under a different artist’s name.
During the weekend, the monarchy continued to play a big role in our activities. After binge-watching the Crown every night, my classmates and I witnessed the filming of the Netflix series right outside of our hotel! The 21st century signs, vehicles and fashions were replaced with the same from the 1960s. Watching the amount of effort that would go into a scene probably only a few minutes long really puts in perspective the production details of making a historic TV show.
To conclude this week, I ventured to Cardiff, Wales. I began and ended my week with a castle. Although much smaller than Windsor Castle, Cardiff Castle has just as rich a history. The most interesting fact I learned was that part of the castle served as a bomb shelter during World War II.
This week really showed me the joys of traveling and how traveling provides so many new perspectives.
