We returned from Oberammergau on Wednesday and decided on Thursday to tour the Royal Air Force Museum. Our timing was appropriate since this past week was the 70th anniversary of Dunkirk when 338,000 English soldiers were cornered by the Germans and were rescued by a flotilla of hundreds of small boats captained by ordinary English citizens from across the English Channel, many returning several times. It is also the weekend of our Memorial Day when we too thank our servicemen for their selfless acts of courage which have given us our freedoms and our futures. Churchill's reference was to the airmen of the Battle of Britain who fought bravely with more courage than experience. Their tenacity discouraged Hitler and was one of the turning points in the war.
It was also an interesting contrast to observe these killing and bombing machines just after returning from The Passion Play. The story of Jesus, a Jew, being crucified by his own kind and the Roman establishment and hundreds of years later, the story of the Jews being obliterated by Hitler's followers and establishment - such a dichotomy with so much in common. One man against many - one sacred, one evil.
The museum is about an hour and 15 minutes away by foot and by tube. It's on the grounds of a WWII airbase and houses many original airplanes that were used during that conflict. John didn't take many pictures because the buildings were so huge and dimly lit. I couldn't even tell you which one this is because there were so many.
We took a ride in the simulator of a modern day jet that performs aerobatics. It could have been a disappointment but we were sharing it with a family that had two young children and we invited the youngest, a boy, to sit in the front row with us. He just had the best time and made it all the more fun for these two jaded adults!
A walk home and a late dinner at the Ottoman, a neighborhood Turkish restaurant that Ellen and Phillip recommended, rounded out a very much needed quiet day.
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