My first trip to London was in 1987. At school, you could choose between Berlin, Paris, and London as destinations for an educational trip. I chose London because it seemed to be the most modern and lively of the three, and also because I was quite into English pop bands at the time. According to the pictures I have we visited Buckingham Palace and Big Ben. Several trips followed this one, but I haven't done much sightseeing in London. I probably was too busy browsing bookshops and record stores.

Only in 2016 I 'touched' this site again, putting Westminster Abbey on the to-do list of a day trip to London. My visit started with queuing for some 20 minutes in one of the two lines that lead up from the sides to the North Entrance. Upon entering I was spoken to by one of the vergers. After enquiring where I came from (she did not ask whether I came to worship by the way), this friendly elderly lady said she was sorry that no audio tours in Dutch were available. So I settled for one in English. It’s good that one is provided within the entrance fee, though I wasn’t really impressed by its explanations. It does not go much beyond “This is a church where many famous persons are buried and hey, there’s a throne used for coronations too”. My suggestion for improvement would be to be able to select stories from different angles, so as to learn more about the architectural history of the church or Anglicanism (as this will be the only Anglican church most foreign visitors will visit during their whole life).

My lasting impression of Westminster Abbey is that of a monumental graveyard, confined within the limited spaces of a Gothic building. Besides the numerous UK royals and politicians, also scientists such as Newton and Darwin are buried here. It almost feels like sacrilege to step on their graves.