Vindonissa

Today I will take you for a trip in time. We will move back to the times of the Roman Empire. You already know from our previous trips that the Roman Empire was very large.

We will begin our journey in the Swiss town called nowadays Windisch. Our aim will be to visit the Roman legion camp of Vindonissa.

The camp was large since a Roman legion would include between three and five thousand men. Not mentioning all the administration around them. This is what Vindonissa looked like when it was at its full splendour.

The round shape on the left was the theater. A bit like the Colosseum in Rome. Just smaller. The upper part was made of wood so today we can only see the foundations.

But if you look at one of the side entries and you close your eyes, you can easily imagine the gladiators who enter there to fight fiercely against other slaves or wild animals.

The theater was built with stones, found most probably in the neighbouring fields.

Because when you need to feed five thousand men, you need fields. But even more - you need water. And to bring water to their camps, Romans used aqueducts. One of them is still active today.

Obviously, it is no longer used by the local utilities (though it was two hundred years ago!) but the water is still moving inside the ancient pipes.

One interesting thing is that to build the aqueduct, which was several kilometers long, Romans used a special device called chorobates. The pendula allowed to ensure that it is standing straight.

The binoculars on the top allow to check if the other end of the pipe is in the right position.

Shall we check? Everything seems to be in order.

The main part of the camp was of course surrounded by a wall. To enter inside, one had to pass through a gate. The gates in Vindonissa were of course not as impressive as Porta Nigra, but still they inspired respect.

Of course, this is only a reconstruction. All that remains from the Southern gate are its foundations.

Inside the camp, the most prominent houses belonged of course to the military leaders, the centurions.

Unlike their soldiers who lived together, cooked themselves and generally did not enjoy much of luxury, the Roman officers had large houses with well equipped kitchens and slaves to take care of them.

If your imagination is not working today at full speed, you can always sneak into this magic binocular.

I hope that you have enjoyed our visit in Vindonissa. I was really impressed by the way the site is organised. I particularly appreciated all the visualisations. In one moment we can see the relief of the location ...

... a minute later this is the plan of the Roman legion camp ...

... that converts in a glimpse of an eye in the plan of modern Windisch.

A history that continues beyond the time and space.

London - Marylebone

We were walking last week through Paddington area. We will still remain in the City of Westminster today. I hope that you are not too tired? Otherwise, maybe I should stop by one of the red phone boots ...

... and call you a London cab?

Not required? Then let's move on. By the way - do you know that the City of Westminster, even though it is a part of London, it holds city rights of its own? They date back to 1540, when Henry VIII created the short-lived Diocese of Westminster. Today of course, the Greater London is a huge metropolitan area but Westminster keeps a part of its autonomy, this is why you can spot here the Magistrates Court.

Today, we will walk through yet another area of the Westminster City called Marylebone.

It is a densely populated area, where many famous people lived. Even though some of them for a short period of time (still - the inhabitants are proud of it).

You will surely not be surprised tofind here some churches. In Paddington we have seen the church of St. Mary, and in Marylebone I wanted to show you this one.

Dedicated to St. Mary of course!

I was hoping we could climb the tower but unfortunately it does not seem to be possible. The front side of the church reminds me a bit of Les Invalides.

On the wall you can spot a commemorative plate, on which the people from Marylebone were celebrating the silver jubilee of Queen Elisabeth. A long, long time ago.

Look, yet another plate on the wall next to the St. Mary's church. This one is for the St. John's Ambulance, a charitable non-governmental organisation dedicated to teaching and providing first aid.

And they really do it - with real ambulances.

Marylebone is stretching down to Oxford Street, where it ends around the Marble Arch. In the old days only members of the royal family were allowed to pass it.

Look, there is a post box. Which reminds me of all my friends from Postcrossing.com. We need to find a calm place to write down some postcards.

What do you think about this one? Looks cosy and inviting. So let's order yet another pint (last one today! promised!) and enjoy the lazy autumn afternoon.

London Paddington

I will take you today on a little walk in London. If you expect to see Big Ben or the London Eye, you might be a bit disappointed. Because we will walk around the Paddington area within the City of Westminster, in central London. We will start, not surprisingly, at the Paddington railway station, where you can arrive directly from Heathrow on the Heathrow Express (expensive but really fast).

The Paddington area does not have a central point of its own. Instead it is composed of residential buildings, hotels and small parks. One of the most noticeable public buildings is the St. Mary's hospital.

If you do not want to visit it from the inside, remember one critical instruction: the cars in England move on the left side of the road. So when you cross the street ....

The St. Mary's Hospital stands next to a little canal. It is the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal.

To keep the canal clear of algae and to aerate it, a special "bubbly barrier" was created.

At the very end of the canal comes the Merchant's square. It used to be a kid of market place in the past but today it is a residential and leisure area.

On sunny days, children most probably play by (or in...) the fountain.

Supervised by sir Simon Milton, a former leader of the Westminster City council.

Close to the St. Mary's hospital stand the St. Mary's church in the parish of Little Venice.

Behind it you will find a small park, called St. Mary's churchyard. Very pragmatic.

But before you start running and having fun here, maybe you should take a closer look at the fence. Or at the stones standing by the fence. And yes, this are tombstones.

The churchyard is a former graveyard. Still some bigger graves remain in the middle of the lawn.

To be honest, I find the idea quite spooky. But apparently other people not, since there are residential buildings surrounding the yard.

Not forgetting the City of Westminster College.

In the St. Mary's churchyard you will find graves of some famous people, like Sarah Siddons, the best Lady Macbeth of her times.

Luckily, the Paddington area has also other parks to offer, like the Norfolk square.

Inside, you will find cosy lanes and an abundance of plants.

Let's take a walk inside.

I would expect that flats in the buildings facing the Norfolk Square are more expensive that I can even imagine.

I propose that we take a break and order a pint in one of the pubs. This one looks really welcoming. Maybe they have some good Sherlock Holmes stories to share.