Windsor Castle Recap

I have to keep journals for school, so this is actually for my assignment. I hope to keep these interesting, so I figured I might as well combine my purposes and put it on here. So here we go!

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The trains are different here. Going from the ciminally inefficient Amtrak to the thus-far reliable British railway system is pretty cool. Windsor is an easy hour-long train ride outside of the city. The scenery we travelled through was an interesting blend of old and modern buildings, and everything was lushly green because of the recent rain. It was a very interesting contrast to the brown and khaki landscape at home.

We walked up a long hill to get into the Windsor castle, and the streets were lined with tourist traps. It reminded me a lot of Solvang back home. However, once we got inside the gates, the tacky shops seemed very far removed. The castle's form reflects its intended function: a fortress. The walls are high and it makes for a wonderful view of the surrounding area. We went through to see the dollhouse, but that really didn't strike me. The next room we went into did, though. I was amazed by the sketch room, especially the Leonardo da Vinci sketches. They were so amazingly detailed, and it really made me appreciate how difficult this must have been in a world without photographs. Even the simplest studies for other, larger works were transcendentally beautiful.

As I walked through the apartments, I was really struck by the passage of time. I have mostly regarding history as "a long time agao" and made little distinction between time periods.
What fascinated me was the juxtaposition of the modern world (bobbies with assault rifles) and the armory room. It made me remember that this castle has been around for a long time, and visitors to the castle 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 years ago would have also regarded it as old. The point I'm trying to make is that history isn't just a matter of "recently" versus "a long time ago." I have always understood this fact intellectually, but this was the first time it really struck me in such a visceral way.