London

Our first evening in London was uneventful. After a 1-hour cab ride, we arrived at our hotel around 3:30pm and once in our room, instead of changing and going for a walk, we both fell asleep. We woke around 9pm and for dinner, we had peanut butter crackers Cheryl packed back in Phoenix. That did the trick for us and we were back under the blankets by 9:30.


Our flight over on British Airways was disappointing. We left Phoenix on time, but comfort level compared with American Airlines left a lot to be desired. Just a couple quick observations here. First, the crew wasn’t as friendly as we’ve experienced on several American flights. We have a few more flights on British this trip, so we won’t let one segment be our sole measuring stick, but we sure didn’t get off to a great start. Second, the food was terrible. I ordered a filet for dinner – it was cooked to the max…so it was quite leathery & tasteless. The two accompanying red potatoes were cold. I sampled the only two red wines being offered, and both were quite young and bitter. I opted for vodka & orange juice. Cheryl ordered a mushroom/cheese ravioli dish and her only definition was that it was very bland. Last, while stretching out on a long flight is always a bonus, American Airlines “pods” are not only more comfortable, but storage space is very limited on British for personal items. Everything had to be stored in overhead bins – really an inconvenience. Plus, the pods were arranged in such a way that if the adjoining pod (and passenger) had their leg-rest extended, you were forced to climb over the top of their legs to get to the restroom. It could be that we just had an older airplane, as even the video screens were grainy and the entertainment offered was very limited. Even the navigation channel was blank – which I turned on several times to see where we were at. According to the channel and several hours into the flight, we hadn’t even left Phoenix yet! Disappointing overall, but like I said, one flight does not an airline make – we’ll see how our other segments on British go. On a positive note, they got us here safely!

We both woke at 4am this morning. The coffee in the room was absolutely disgusting. We had to wait until the hotel restaurant opened at 6:00 before we could get our caffeine fix. We’re staying at a Holiday Inn by London University – very nice, comfortable, clean. Reasonably priced for the UK, but expensive by US standards.

We were off and running shortly after breakfast – a very nice buffet provided by the Holiday Inn. Less than two blocks from our hotel, we boarded the first leg of our Hop-on/Hop-off bus. We pre-purchased a two-day, unlimited pass – really the easiest and most economical way to get around large cities. Not the quickest mind you, but the best way to see all the sites at a leisurely pace, which we prefer.

Our first visit to London. First impressions: very green – narrow, coiled roads throughout – heavy traffic at all hours – many bicycles & motorcycles. Even on a Tuesday, large crowds at all major attractions. And it probably goes without saying – old structures, both residential & commercial. With that said, one can see a lot of active renovation in progress, and the major downtown area has numerous, very modern skyscrapers under construction and of unique design and architecture. A very unique city without question, but I think for us, one visit is enough. The ethnicity here is quite interesting. I anticipated more true Brits than what we’ve experienced. There’s quite a noticeable mix of black, middle-east, and western pacific – so a melding pot of several nationalities but all very pleasant. Pleasant, but busy and focused. Much the same as what we experienced in Singapore, Beijing & Seoul – heads down & on a mission. I accidentally bumped a gentleman on a bicycle and apologized profusely…he said laughing…”you must be a foreigner”. Overall, very pleasant! We’ve found all cab drivers particularly nice and helpful.

Gary & Joyce Adams

One of our first day highlights was reuniting with friends from Portland, Oregon. A couple we were tablemates with back on a 2013 world cruise, Gary and Joyce Adams met us in Trafalgar Square (one of London’s main attractions) at the base of Lord Nelson’s column and treated us to an excellent Indian lunch. It was great to see them both again and catch up on our respective travels. They’ll be spending another 12 days here in London before boarding a ship for several weeks…a different itinerary than ours. We’ll be boarding our ship this Saturday in Amsterdam.

Both Cheryl and I are intrigued with murder mysteries. While we limit our television viewing overall, one of our favorite pastimes is watching old reruns of Columbo each Sunday evening, 7pm. When we scheduled our London trip, we knew it would be incomplete without some type of activity related to Jack the Ripper. They say no matter how ugly the truth is the sinner can never remain hidden from the eyes of the world. And, then we have Jack the Ripper, an unidentified serial killer, who committed five heinous murders, all of prostitutes between 1888 and 1891, and was never even identified. Over the century, detectives spent sleepless nights honing their knowledge about the murders to get clues on the person behind them, but nothing substantial ever came to light. The Ripper case has retained its hold on the popular imagination, in part because known instances of serial murder were much rarer at the time than they are today. Jack the Ripper has provided themes for numerous literary and dramatic works. Perhaps the most notable was the horror novel The Lodger (1913) by Marie Adelaide Lowndes, which inspired numerous films, including Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927). More than 100 books about the case have been published, many of which offer conjectures as to the true identity of the murderer and the circumstances surrounding the crimes - including that the murders were part of an occult or Masonic plot and that the police were covering up for highly placed culprits, perhaps even members of the royal family. The best-known of these conspiracy-theory works is Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell’s award-winning graphic novel From Hell (1991–96), which was later adapted into a movie (2001). Many of these books, however, are based on fraudulent claims and documents. The most commonly cited suspects are Montague Druitt, a barrister and teacher with an interest in surgery who was said to be insane, and who disappeared after the final murders and was later found dead; Michael Ostrog, a Russian criminal and physician who had been placed in an asylum because of his homicidal tendencies; and Aaron Kosminski, a Polish Jew and a resident of Whitechapel who was known to have a great animus toward women (particularly prostitutes) and who was hospitalized in an asylum several months after the last murder. Several notable Londoners of the era, such as the painter Walter Sickert and the physician Sir William Gull, also have been subjects of such speculation. The murder sites have become the locus of a macabre tourist industry in London and to our surprise, quite inexpensive. We paid $10 each for 2-hour+ walking tour. And what a tour it was!

John...Our Ripper Guide

So here we are - small tour group to meet at 7pm outside of exit #4, Aldgate East underground station.The East End, traditional area of London, lying east of Shoreditch High Street, Houndsditch, Aldgate High Street, and Tower Bridge Approach. It extends eastward to the River Lea and lies mainly in the Inner London borough of Tower Hamlets, part of the historic county of Middlesex. In the Middle Ages the East End was part of the great parish of Stepney. It began to take on an identity of its own in the 19th century. The East End has long been known for its immigrant populations and its poverty, and in 1888 it gained notoriety for the Whitechapel Murders attributed to Jack the Ripper. Until the mid-20th century, workers in the area depended largely on employment at the London Docklands; major sources of income now include service industries and light manufacturing - notably clothing. We're told the area underwent considerable reconstruction following the air raids of World War II, and overcrowding is no longer a widespread problem. Points of interest include historic Toynbee Hall, the Whitechapel Art Gallery, Spitalfields Market, and Petticoat Lane Market.

Don't let the cheap tour price fool you. We hooked up with what was advertised as the very best. A guy named Richard Jones began the Ripper Tour back in 1982. They have a unique combination of expert guides, who have written books on the case, and appearances on virtually every television documentary on the subject. Our guide's name was John...a 10-year veteran of the Ripper tours - very knowledgable,  and a native of London which helped bring the story to life with his thick British accent.

Some Original Ripper Buildings Remain!

So as the night falls, and the long shadows reach into the darker recesses of the streets of Whitechapel and Spitalfields, our small group sets out  to join the Victorian police as they hunt history’s most infamous serial killer through the crooked, cobbled alleyways of the Victorian abyss. Our starting point was right in the heart of the area where the Ripper’s crimes occurred. Step-by-step, we found ourselves spirited back to the mean streets of the 19th century East End where every corner turned and every step taken led us further into a murder mystery that has been baffling and terrifying people for more than 125 years...straight into the cobbled alleyways and dimly lit passageways that have hardly changed since those long ago nights when an unknown killer, lurking in the darker recesses, brought terror, panic and revulsion to the very thoroughfares we walked. It was almost as if we'd been transported back in time to the 19th Century East End and, because our walk was structured like an investigation, we got the distinct impression we'd actually joined the Victorian detectives as they race against time to catch Jack before he kills again. And, because we followed a chronological route that began with the first Whitechapel Murder, we moved through the events of that long ago autumn of gaslight and terror as they unfolded. Many of the original buildings and cobblestone streets remain intact today. It was easy to understand how the people of the East End gradually came to realize the full danger posed by this monstrous maniac lurking in their midst and we both got a sense of the panic that gripped the area in the wake of each murder. We also gained an understanding of how, as the weeks went by, and the ferocity of the crimes increased, a surge of genuine terror coursed from the neighborhood and sent shock waves reverberating through the whole of Victorian society.

As you know, a picture is worth a thousand words – and so, as we explored the East End streets, our guide passed out genuine Victorian photographs (several of them unique to this walk) that show the area as it was in 1888. Imagine being able to hold and peruse old black and white images that show the locations where you are standing as they were at the time of the Ripper crimes. It was almost as though we were transported back in time - very cool! And many of the photographs even capture the men, women and children who lived through the horror of Jack the Ripper’s murder spree. We were able to look into their eyes and see the sheer terror and unease etched into their faces. We were also able to examine documents relating to the case that helped build a powerful image of how the crimes were publicized by the Victorian authorities, and also handbills that the police circulated in the area in the desperate hope that somebody might come forward with that elusive piece of information that would help bring the killer to justice and solve the case. Chief amongs thes documents was the notorious Dear Boss letter, which bore the chilling signature Jack the Ripper - and it was the release of this letter that helped turn five sordid East End Murders into an international phenomenon while elevating the unknown miscreant responsible for those murders into the realm of legend.

Jack the Ripper still remains a mystery for the world. The only proof that he existed was the gruesome murders he committed. A maniac serial killer, he brutally killed prostitutes and butchered them inhumanly, mutilating their bodies with their organs removed. He committed murders at night, and left no single evidence behind. There has never been an eye witness to his crimes, only dead bodies with slashed throats who could tell nothing.

If you're ever in London, the Ripper tour is definitely one for your checklist!

Following the tour, we caught a cab and were back at the hotel by 10pm - both exhausted.

Tomorrow, another full day touring London, but here's a compilation of today's sites.