After a failed attempt to go see the Gutenberg Bible at the British Museum yesterday we returned with a vengence to see it today... NOPE, it wasn't going to happen. At least not here. Turns out that during the Millenium celebrations it was moved to the British Library, makes sense, since it's a book and all.

What an interesting building. LIke many we have seen there is an interesting blend of the old and the new. The outside of this building seems old and traditional with tall roman style columns. But when you walk in and thru the outer rim of the building there is this VERY modern dome over what would have been a center courtyard definded by the backs of four buildings. the roof was striking to say the least.

I like to call this, "Where's Waldo", can you find Chris?

There was a large Africa exhibit there which we didn't take the time to see. Museums are interesting to me, a bunch of old stuff but it's all taken out of context. I felt dirty looking at, say, old Egyptian artifacts when I was in London, it made me think... "Well, why aren't these things in Egypt?" Probably because they were taken after they were concurred by some past invasion. Anyway, I just thought that these old things should be where they originated from, not in a kings collection in London.

After we got done playing "Where's Waldo" we headed back to the Underground and found the NEW resting place of the Gutenberg Bible, the British Library.

Chris and the 1457 Gutenberg Bible.

I can't even begin to tell you what this book means to me. Loved by some and hated by others it reprsents the beginning of a time when common man could put his hands on a copy of the bible. 3 guys could now turn out 300 bibles in a like a month or something like that. The sign next to this paper copy said that prior to the movable type press that Gutenberg invented that it would take 3 professional scribes a LIFETIME to do the same thing. (Gutenberg and his assistants made a total of probably 180 bibles in both paper and velum, the British Library also has a complete Velum copy). Prior to Gutenberg the only copies of the bible were literally CHAINED to the alters in the churches making it impossible for the common man to own one. When you put the scriptures into everyones hands and get a real honest to goodness debate going you get some real fireworks.

In 1520, approximately 70 years after Gutenberg, Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Catholic church because he had the nerve to stand up to the church and say, "this isn't right, scripture doesn't teach these things". When told to recant, he said that since Scripture could not rebuff his claims that he would not and COULD not go back on his statements about the Church and the Pope. "His conscience was captive to the Word of God alone." one writer said.

Any good catholic, or at least the ones that read the flash cards that they teach you to whip out on their non catholic friends will tell you that Luther later regreted what he had done to the church and that on his grave stone it says something to that effect. In fact, his grave stone reads in Latin,

The bridge behind us is the Tower Bridge. (My cap says, "Underground")

Many people confuse the Tower Bridge with the London Bridge. We are actually standing on the London Bridge taking a shot of the Tower Bridge. The Tower Bridge looks cool, the London Bridge looks stupid, mainly because it was built in the 1970's. The original London Bridge??? Believe it or not, it's in Arizona at Lake Havasu! Don't ask.

Then we headed down to the Thames River and took a ferry back toward our hotel. We were too tired to take any photos of the boat but we did manage to take this shot of the London Eye from the water. We'll add that to the collection of photos we already have.

The spindly London Eye, I'm telling you a kid with a hack saw could bring that thing down. It scares me.

The view from our window.

Nap time... dinner later. Signing off.