Shaking off my umbrella, I stepped into my room exhausted after a long day in Bath, England. Blowing my nose, I noticed a spray of red dirt on the Kleenex…and I remembered the snuff.
Paul, who runs the Star Inn — the most characteristic pub in town — keeps a tin of complementary snuff tobacco on a ledge for customers. I tried some, and — while a drunk guy from Wales tried to squeeze by me holding two big pints of the local brew over my head — I asked Paul about it. He said English coal miners have long used it because cigarettes were too dangerous in the mines, and they needed their tobacco fix. Paul wanted me to take the tin. I put it back on the ledge and said I’d enjoy it the next time I stopped by.
Walking home through the English mist, I reviewed my day backwards. I was pleased that even by just researching B&Bs, restaurants, and pubs in one of the most cutesy and touristy towns in Britain, my day was filled with memories.
School’s out and, while I’m heading home, the streets are filled with young kids partying. English girls out clubbing wiggle down the street like the fanciest of fish lures — each shaking their tassels and shimmying in a way sure to catch a big one. As one passed me, eyeing a gaggle of guys smoking outside a pub, I overheard her saying, “No spray, no lay…no cologne, you go home alone.”
The rock star Meat Loaf was playing a big concert in the park, and during his performance, much of Bath rocked with him. While the concert was sold out, I gathered with a hundred freeloaders craning their necks from across the river for a great view of the stage action.
The musical highlight of my day, however, was a worship service at the Bath Abbey. Earlier I had logged onto www.bathabbey.org, and — bam! — the day’s schedule was right there: Sung matins service at 11:00, visitors welcome.
I’ve noticed that any on-the-ball B&B or guesthouse these days provides free Wi-Fi for guests, and more and more travelers are carrying laptops or handheld computers to get online. I need to be better about using the Internet — it’s how today’s travelers book and buy things like train tickets while on the road.
The Anglican service was crisp, eloquent, and traditional. I was struck by the strong affirmation of their Catholic heritage, the calls for sobriety, and the stress on repentance (repeated references to how we are such wretched sinners). “Knife violence” (by gangs in the streets), which has replaced fear of terrorism as the main threat to communities in England, was a subject of prayers.
The Anglican worship ritual is carefully shuttled from one generation to the next. That continuity seemed to be underlined by the countless tombs and memorials lining walls and floors — worn smooth and shiny by the feet of centuries of worshippers. With the living and the dead all present together, the congregation seemed to raise their heads in praise as sunlight streamed through windows. (Bath’s particularly bright church is nicknamed “the Lantern of the West” for its open, airy lightness and huge windows.)
Glowing Bath stone columns sprouted honey-colored fan vaulting fingers, and cherubic boys in white robes and ruffs (old-time ruffled collars) filled the nave with song — making it a ship of praise. The church was packed with townsfolk, proper and still. Sitting among them, I was no longer a tourist. The scene felt timeless. I gazed at the same windows for the same inspiration that peasants sitting on these pews centuries ago sought.
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| Local volunteer guides still bring the wonders of Bath to life. Enlarge photo |
The sermon was about Christian servanthood. The pastor’s stern comment about the USA took me by surprise: “If, after 9/11, that great Christian nation, the USA, took its responsibility to be a servant among nations seriously, how different our world would be today.” When he was finished and the offering plate was passed, his gentility also caught me off guard: “If you’re a visitor, please don’t be embarrassed to let the plate pass. It’s a way for our regular members to support our work here at the Bath Abbey.”
After the choir paraded out, the huge central doors — doors I didn’t even realize existed — were opened. Indoors and outdoors mingled, as the congregation spilled out onto the main square.
Bath is an expensive town in an expensive country. A young couple hired to manage an elegant Georgian guesthouse I recommend told me they took the gig just to live in Bath. (“Work-a-day English can’t really afford to live here.”) They have an apartment in the basement, but enter through the grand front door just to marvel at the elegant building they live in and manage.
I started my day joining a gaggle of curious visitors in front of the Abbey, where five of a club of 60 volunteer guides divided up the gang and proceeded to take them on a free town walk. My guide, a retired schoolteacher, explained that in 1930 the town’s mayor — proud of the charms of his historic town — took the first group gathered here on a free town walk…and “the mayor’s honorary corps of volunteers” has been leading free walks daily ever since.
As I was reading your report being in Bath Abbey, I was right there with you. My husband and I were in Bath last month and went to the 3 pm evensong. In the end the organ music was magnificant. It was so thrilling to listen to, it brought tears to our eyes. We left and had to return for the 6 pm service thinking there would be more organ music. Even though there was no organ music just to sit and listen to, we, as a congregation got to sing some hymns as part of the service. What a thrill to be in England, in a large, wonderful, beautiful cathedral singing praises to our God. The message was also to be quiet and be still. We needed that after being on the go for a week starting from London. It is an experience we will never forget. I hope you got to Anne Toalster’s Woodville B&B to visit. She was wondering when you would be by when we stayed with her. It was a wonderful recommendation from your book. A very cordial, welcoming place to come home to after a busy day. Stay information. It is so invaluable.
It’s wonderful to see you writing about Europe once again, I really enjoyed your experiences in Iran, however, glad your back to Europe….It’s also wonderful to read Jackie’s European Odyssey! When will you post Andy’s travel? His should be extremely interesting, living and traveling in Europe is much different…Ciao
Thank you for a nice memory. Bath is one of my favorite cities in England. I’m surprised you did not know about the big door in the Abbey that open into the city square. One of my favorite tours was the Bath Pub Crawl. Andrew was a marvelous guide. Happy Travels!
Good writing Rick. I think the pastor’s stern comment was very correct although not in the way I am certain he meant it! Nice little article in the IBD this week on Rick Steves. Finally, the new 2009 tour schedule looks very interesting, and the prices seem quite reasonable. You are my second favorite travel writer. Mark Twain is still number one. Humberd is number three.
Thank you for posting your experience at Bath Abbey. My husband and I often attend church while traveling. Not only is it spiritually uplifting and/or comforting, it’s a great way to meet local people, hear sacred music where it was meant to be heard, and compare Christian traditions across denominations and cultures. Even if we don’t speak the local language, we have found these experiences meaningful.
After that comment by Ken, how could I not add my 2¢ worth? As for Mark Twain, for an amazing story of Travel, read “The Innocents Abroad.†=== How to explain a city like Bath, England? The old Roman bath, dating from about 2000 years ago, fed by Britain’s only hot mineral springs, is below street level. There is a swimming-pool-size hot tub, a sauna and steam room, and other rooms from Roman days. Kings Bath was used until 1939, the water is still hot, but no longer used. We read somewhere they plan to open it again. A restaurant is called The Pump Room. The Pulteney Bridge, crossing the River Avon, is called the Italian Bridge. It contains stores, as do the Ponte Vecchio in Florence and the Rialto Bridge in Venice. The Cathedral can be seen while standing one level down, next to the Roman Bath. Thomas Gainsborough, English painter of portraits, landscapes, and fancy pictures, painted one of his most famous pictures, “The Blue Boy,†in 1770, while he lived in Bath. That painting can be seen at the Huntington Library in San Marino, CA., next door to Pasadena. (1980)
thank you for your vivid explanations about your travels. right now im at work and im in between tables. im a waiter at IHOP and reading your blog keeps me going throughout the day until I save enough to once again travel again thank you. by the way I wrote this and read your blog through my touch phone. your website works great mobile say thanks to your webmaster.
So glad to hear this description of your experience in Bath. It sounded beautiful and it reminded me of my first time at Westminster Abbey back in the late 90s when it was still free. Only being there 3-4 short days, we ended up going to the Abbey on a Sunday. We weren’t able to tour the Abbey at that time or even go into the nave, but the boys choir was practicing for their next performance (or their next service, can’t quite remember). Our disappointment in not seeing the Abbey was definitely tempered by hearing those soaring voices in that soaring, ancient place; it was magical. And I did return a few years later to see the whole Abbey after all.
I just returned from England a couple of weeks ago and Evensong was one of my favorite activities. I’m sure I’ll set off a firestorm here, but how much more of a servant to the world could our country be than to take on terrorist who threaten the entire world if we don’t all give up our freedom to adhere this Islamic sects of do and don’ts and we ladies walk around in black burkas? Of course, I’m exaggerating a bit but, John 15:13 (in the New Testament) says, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends?” Servanthood is putting others before ourselves. We are one of the few nations who have managed to show any real servanthood rather than just hide under the covers and hope it will just go away. I’m not a war monger. I have several family members serving in Iraq and paying a very high price to do so. I’ll not sit idly by and let their service be deminished by someone missusing his pulpit where he should be speaking the word of God and instead using it as his soapbox. Has he looked at the US budget to see how much in US funds goes to foreign aid any given year. Then tack on to that how much Americans spend on charities abroad. And lets not forget how many of us have contributed to the European economy this year in tourism dollars. I’ll put up America’s record of generosity and seritude against any other country’s any day, any year.
Rick, on awakening this morning and reading the headline IRAN FIRES 9 MISSILES, I wonder now if those “Death to ….flavor of the day…..” signs you reported on in Iran are as meaningless as you inferred. Perhaps you need to make an emergency visit to Mahmoud and talk things over with him.
A few years ago I was in Geneva attending a Church Of Scotland service in John Calvin’s Chapel. The main focus of the service was that there was no need for a US military anymore. No mention about other countries. The preacher felt that if the US would disarm, the rest of the world would follow suit since there was really no threat to world peace anymore. The date of the service was September 9, 2001.
Jan, BRAVO!! Please thank your family folks serving in Irag. The service and sacrifice these people are willing to offer up for the rest of us is indeed humbling beyond my comprehension. They make it possible for the rest of us to lead normal lives. Even Anglican pastors!
Great description of Bath England. I was last there in April of 2004. It is such a beautifeul town and just a delight to people watch and grab a pint. There is always something going on on the square next to the church. When I was there it was escape artists who were amazing in their feats of daring. I have to agree with Ken. Humberd is a heck of a writer. Nice post Jim.
Rick, I knew you were there in Bath as I saw you in the T.I. and told you that we’d found driving in England much more scary than you’d led us to believe. “Drifting toward the left,” sounds sort of dreamy, hitting the curb that exists on the left of most narrow English roadways poses extreme danger. There are no shoulders in England except on the motorways. Driving in England is expensive and dangerous. It takes at least 3 or 4 days to become accustomed to it and we have driven in Italy, Spain, France and Greece. Still, Bath was all that you said it would be and the free “Bath walk” was truly fabulous. Stonehenge and Avebury were also worth the terror of driving in England. Cheerio, Ann G.
Right on, Jan! Your thoughtful, quiet eloquence is very powerful. I hope that those who may post to disagree with you are just as respectful to opposing views as you are. Thanks to your family members in the service, and to our servicemen (male and female) everywhere.
Sorry Rick. Jackie’s blog is WAY more interesting!
Among the problems of driving on the wrong side of the road in England, Scotland, and Ireland, is that each morning we must figure all over again, how to do it. The passenger just can’t remember it’s her job to see what’s around the next curve. Sweetie does serve other very useful, and really delightfully curvy functions. ==== We have driven an RV 87,000 miles in about 29 European countries. If someone says, “Let’s play a game,†the first thing you do is find out which game; chess, checkers, baseball, or football. Once you recognize the game, you now know the rules. Same thing with driving in Europe. Once you know which country you are in, you must now drive with their rules, and their driving habits. Or else. === Watch the drivers in Paris, Berlin, or Rome, and you can see exactly how their Armies acted and reacted during WW II. ==== Most Countries have “Traffic Laws and Regulations.†Italy has “Traffic Hints and Suggestions.†When our driver (me) does something in the RV that causes, or results from a traffic complication, or that results in a driving problem, we get the feeling some Italian is saying, “That looks like fun, I must try that some time.â€
Jan, I’m a vet. I lost friends in Vietnam and I have lost friends in Iraq and will probably lose more. But, it is a job. It is employment. The job description is to perform in dangerous situations. We accept pay to do it. It is a fair exchange. No one owes us anything else. We do not give anymore than we are paid for. I appreciate your support, but heros are very rare. Heros are heros for going well beyond their contracted jobs. Usually, to save a buddy one has become close to. My patriotism is not stronger than anyone elses. I have no greater voice than anyone else. I appreciate the checks and balances in our system and that means the right to dissent. That means the preacher in the pulpit you referred to. I have worked in government service. I know where some official USA “aid” money goes and what we get in return for it. Sorry, but everything we do is not altruistic. When you as a tourist visit a european country and spend your money, you are doing so because of what you can get from it, so I think it is intellectually dishonest to suggest it gives you any other kind of leverage. Neither does it give one any moral leverage to give to charities. Hopefully, most who give charitably, do so simply as a gift from the heart, expecting nothing in return. To attach strings, isn’t charity. To keep score seems adversarial. I guess I am the servant you speak of. Me and my young friends. You wish to promote my “service” as some sort of charity to the world. Unfortunately, I have now lived long enough and enough dark history has been revealed that I know all of my service was not done for altruistic reasons. I mean my leaders misled me. I mean I didn’t care about humanity, I just wanted to kill gooks. I am not an exception. We all have a hard time figuring out if what we hear is true. We all have a hard time knowing what our true motivations are. My Dad, a Korean war vet just read this, tears in his eyes, and said “send it”.
Hey Rick! I was just in Bath a few weeks ago, took the train there for a day trip with my daughter who lives outside of Cardiff and is married to one of those crazy Welshmen! It is truly a beautiful city and I have to say I enjoyed it more this time even without doing the Roman baths etc…last time we traveled there she recieved hundreds of bed bug bites at a place we stayed…that’s when I vowed to only stay at Rick Steves recommended places from now on!!!
Hey, Terry. My WWII vet father-in-law told us there were no heroes in war. You just want to get it done and survive then go home. He gave the government 4 years of his life and they gave him a paycheck and a lot of bad memories he had to live with. He died a angry, bitter man from it all, and that kept him an arms length from God. True, I wasn’t there, but as I read his journals and thumb through his photos of the Philippines, prisoners, and cleaning his gun, I understand more. It all goes deep in your brain and heart. All I know is I love him for who he was. I can honestly say the same for anyone who had to serve willing or unwilling in war. There are no heroes. That’s why I travel. I need to know the world, no matter what it’s like. Thanks, Rick.
I can see Meat Loaf in Bath!:) Sounds like a lovely town to visit
Terry, your post is extremely well written and wise. It’s too bad others that follow this blog, including myself, haven’t expressed such honest insight into human affairs. The truth can be so enlightening, can’t it? And I thank you for enriching my opinions of the USA vs. The World. Moreover, I hope you’ll comment more often, we faithful need a good writer who expresses themself well.
Karen, what a wonderful expression. One of my brothers fought in the Battle of the Bulge, was awarded the Bronze Star, but in his visits to Europe, he would never visit near a place where he fought, from Normandy, to Luxembourg. I had to “badger†him to get him to write at least some of that story for the Humberd Chronicles, that I insisted each sibling write. Another brother, a Navel Officer, sank several ships all over the So Pac. He told his wife not to worry, he was never more than a mile from ground — straight down. One Brother-in-law fought in North Africa, landed in Italy, and fought till the end of the war. Another fought in the So Pac, then served as a guard returning Japanese prisoners to Japan, then served as a guard at the trials for Japanese General Homma’s and General Yomasheitia’s trials. The most wonderful, most amazing thing is, none got even a scratch. I always accused my mother of being anti-war, she made sure my one brother and I were both born too late to serve during hostilities, but we both did our part at the end of the war. My international travels started at age 17, on a troop ship that visited Manila, Calcutta, and was in Singapore harbor on my 18th birthday. When I was at Fort Sill, OK, after the end of the war, there were men in my barracks who would scream and cry during the night. Many were in such poor shape, that they were of little value to the US Army, but my commanding officer said he would not discharge them, because their problems resulted from service in the Military, so he felt responsible for them, and covered for their lack of work. I am sure there could be 20,000,000 stories just like this one. Oh my, just one more. Since my older brothers were at war, I, as a young teenager, had to throw around bales of hay, and cans of milk, and hurt my back, and it still hurts. The VA doctors laugh when I call that my WW II injury.
Thanks Karen and Kathyn, I guess wisdom like gold, is where you find it. I’m grateful that my inability to find divinity in a book is balanced by my ability to find it in nature and my fellow man. Sorry to lay it on so thick, but this is why I follow Rick. I appreciate and need his example. And the kind thoughts you expressed.
I knew that was you! My wife and I were in that same walking tour group, whispering to each other “I think that’s Rick Steves over there”. We saw you carrying your England book (very dog eared, I might note) and kept comparing your face with the picture on the back cover. The walking tour was great – it’s nice to see a city offering something like that for free. And Bath was very charming – someplace we will try to return to from our home in London. BTW, we had hoped to talk to you that day to thank you for your recommendations for the Ligurian coast – we had a memorable meal at Lampara in Santa Marguerita Ligure. Thanks for all your recommendations!
We once also experienced having these bed bugs and it's very disgusting. But we tried <a href="http://www.bedbugshredder.com/bed-bug-bites/" target="_blank">natural remedies</a> and eliminate these insects. This through washing all the clothes and linens that we have and put our bed foams under the heat of the sunlight and put chemicals on every corner of our rooms. And fortunately it did effect and they've gone until now.