Switzerland, Austria and Southern Germany – April & May 2019

 

Hugh and I flew from Phoenix direct to Heathrow in late April.  As has become our custom, we stopped over in London for a few days enroute to Switzerland.  We became attached to London after visiting Julianna there for 15 years.  There were many restaurants and pubs we wanted to revisit, too many for the few days we laid over, theater we hoped to enjoy, shops that needed our dollars, and streets we needed to walk.  I needed to know I could still take the tube, and walk between some of my favorite shops, without getting too lost.

We were lucky.  We got to take in two musical performances at St. Martin-in-the-Fields.  This is one of my all time favorite places to visit in London.  It has a small venue, or if it isn’t, it feels cozy.  We had tickets for only one performance when we landed, but quickly realized they were performing the Messiah while we were there and so purchased those tickets.

The church constructed in the 18th century sits in Trafalgar Square.

I love the stain glass window at the front of the church.  Designed by a female Iranian artist Shirazeh Houshiary it replaces a window shattered by the bombs of World War II.  Somehow the entire concept of the cross and salvation comes through to me in this window.In the crypt of St. Martin is that there is cafe  where we can eat before or after the performance and enjoy a nice meal with a glass of wine or beer.  I could stare and take photographs of the ceiling for hours.

 

 

 

 

We also took in the National History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the year exhibit.  We have seen this exhibit several times.  The photography is amazing.  Reading the stories of how long some of these photographers waited for just the right moment always leaves me in awe.  One of the winners one year was someone I had met in a photography workshop in Canada!

After a couple of days in London we were off to Switzerland.

Next: Zurich